President of Sony Worldwide Studios for SCE Shuhei Yoshida may be one of the most powerful and renowned men in the gaming industry. Even though the man is responsible for many things, he doesn’t believe in telling developers what to do. This especially applies to indie developers, even if Sony is exclusively publishing the games.
Speaking to Gamasutra, Yoshida stated, “When we fund 100 percent, we publish. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to dictate the creative development of thechineseroom team.” Yoshida refers Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, the developer’s next title, which will be out exclusively for the PS4.
“We don’t think that’s good for the project. We just support the team and probably help them. We have lots of resources, in terms of tech, or services, or testing – whatever it fits with the needs of the team, a small team like thechineseroom, we want to provide support so they can realize their ambitions or vision. They might become even more ambitious with our support.”
What’s the reason for posting such titles from comparatively smaller studios? Yoshida revealed that it’s “just for fun. Because we love working with these teams. We get lots of inspiration from these guys. It’s just healthy for us to work with some of those who are very aggressive creative, who try to do something not conventional.
“We have to provide big titles to support the platform, but if we are just doing that, maybe we lose some touch with the bleeding edge of thinking. It’s not like we have to fund these games. Without us, these teams would create some great indie games on their own. Luckily, these teams who have chosen to work with us have seen some value that we can bring to their project.”
So far, Sony’s indie showcase for the next year is looking pretty impressive with games such as The Witness, Volume and many more scheduled to be timed exclusives for the PS4. Stay tuned for more details.
