Indies weigh in on Xbox One self-publishing

After Microsoft’s U-turn regarding indie self-publishing on Xbox One, some indie game creators weigh in on the situation, and their reactions are still mixed.

Courtesy of Shack News, here are some of their responses to the change.

Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine creator Andy Schatz of Pocketwatch Games said that an open platform is much better, because it gets rid of arbiters of taste, reduces energy expended on pitching games, and negates the need for publishers.

“While I enjoyed working with [publisher Majesco], had self-publishing been an option on the Xbox 360 it would have saved me a lot of trouble in the long run, since my destination platform was in limbo until a year before launch. If Microsoft doesn’t promote your game, it will still be a gigantic uphill battle to see any sort of meaningful sales.”

Creator of TowerFall, Matt Thorson, said self-publishing is a “huge difference” for him.

“For me, lack of self-publishing makes it very difficult to consider launching on a platform. I’ve never worked with Microsoft, but I’ve heard horror stories from other indies. Fingers crossed they’re aware of the problems and are ready to put in the work to catch up to Sony. They seem to be on the right track with this and the recent removal of the XBLA patch fee.”

And then comes Jennifer Schneidereit of Tengami developer Nyamyam Games, who sounded a bit unimpressed.

“Up until now Microsoft have displayed a mentality that excludes independent developers. This makes it difficult for me to trust their motives for reversing their stance now. From my time at Microsoft, I know that company goals and direction change frequently. These new plans might just be a last minute band-aid and we’ll end up with a similar situation to Xbox Live Indie Games, where Microsoft provides a system, but doesn’t give it the support it needs to be successful. Microsoft will have to do a lot more to gain my trust than just changing their self-publishing policy.”

Then, Polygon also asked a couple more devs, including Jamie Cheng of Klei Entertainment and their successful Mark of the Ninja title.

“I think the real test will be the discoverability of the games on the dashboard. The gauge of a healthy channel is the success of the middle – it’s not enough that a few games are hits, there also needs to be a wide base of developers that are making a decent income. This lowers the threshold and allows more developers to jump in and take risks.”

Brian Provinciano, the man behind Retro City Rampage, said Microsoft has a way to go to catch up with Sony, saying he has heard that the tools on offer through self-publishing are quite limited.

“After my experience working with them to release on Xbox 360, I have no interest in even buying an Xbox One, let alone developing for it. The policy changes are great, but they don’t undo the experience I had. I’m not ready to forget what I went through. Working with Microsoft was the unhappiest point of my career. Policies are one thing, but developer relations are another.”

Peter Bartholow of Skullgirls developer Lab Zero Games is also wary.

“I’d need to see the fine print before making any kind of final judgment. After all, these new policies were crafted by the same people that made the last set of awful policies.”

While Sony is the big man behind indies and Microsoft is struggling to catch up, Nintendo is steadily, quietly and behind-the-scenes recruiting more indies on their platforms.