Sony: Indie games are ‘the heartbeat of the industry’

Since the initial reveal of the PlayStation 4, Sony has made it very clear that indie games are extremely important to them. With favorable publishing policies and the willingness to work with smaller studios, Sony has shown a clear commitment to indie developers. SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida even went so far to say that indie games are the future for the industry.

Further bolstering that point is Adam Boyes, VP of Publisher & Developer Relations at PlayStation, who explained to CVG exactly why indie games are so important to not just PlayStation, but the industry as a whole.

"They're the heartbeat of the industry. Anyone that has an idea can bring it to market and put it out there and see what people think," Boyes said.

"To me, that is the most important thing in this industry: sort of fostering creativity and new fresh ideas, and trying risky things, and stuff that big developers or big publishers maybe wouldn't try," he explained. "They're always taking risks and trying new things."

We'll still have our AAA blockbusters, Boyes continued, but "for PlayStation [indies] means a rich, diverse breadth of content."

"From the very top, big Call of Duty and Destiny and Battlefield and Maddens of the world, all the way to Starwhal: Just the Tip or Nidhogg. These things are all extremely important to us because they all do different things."

"I like to use the food analogy: some people want to sit down for a 15-course meal, and some people want to have a yummy bag of chips," he said. "I think all these games offer a different experience along that line."

Boyes comments aren't just fodder either. Proof of Sony's commitment to indie games was on full display earlier this week when the company revealed a slew of new indie games coming to PS4. The list includes games like Escape Goat 2, Chasm, and Apotheon.