Even as Microsoft and Nintendo continue to make inroads with independent game developers, it sounds like Sony remains the easiest to work with for many smaller game developers- at least if David Condolora of indie studio Brain & Brain (the guys behind Burly Men At Sea) is to be believed.
Speaking to Gamasutra, Condolora said, “I think that Sony is still the biggest game in town. You want to be on a platform that has the most eyeballs on it. Our experience with Microsoft has sort of been the opposite of Sony and sort of what you’re describing. They may be a little more out there, but for a developer like us, where maybe our game is a little bit too small or niche for them to care too much about it behind the scenes. So there wasn’t the interest there.”
Ultimately, Sony’s efforts to reach out to smaller developers of more niche games, and inculcate and foster relationships with them are to be lauded. And although Microsoft has shown some improvement in this area, anecdotes like this demonstrate that they still have work left to do before they catch up.