Indie games and streamed games are hit or miss subjects with lots of people, but Sony Worldwide’s Shuhei Yoshida had no fear about discussing those controversial topics in a recent interview with GamesIndustry International. In so few words, this industry visionary doesn’t understand why gamers have such animosity about both of these areas. His sentiments expressed during the chat offer a clear look at his confusion.
On the subject of indie games, Yoshida spoke quite freely. “I realize that some people are only interested in big-budget AAA games. I don’t really understand those people. [Resogun was] free for a long time on PS Plus, [and] not every PS Plus member downloaded it. That’s a key question for us.” There’s the suggestion that casual consumers may look at indie games as a method of padding out a weak content library, but Shuhei would prefer that folks open their minds to what indie experiences have to offer.
Equally as polarizing is Sony’s new streaming service called PlayStation Now. The platform has been in closed beta for some time in the US, and will be open to the public by the end of this month. Pricing has always been a concern for Now, and it seems Yoshida has a “wait and see” attitude on the matter. Currently the beta focuses on rental prices and time configurations on a game-by-game basis, but there are many consumers that would prefer the simplicity of a Netflix unlimited access model instead. Yoshida says his company “is looking at doing a subscription model” in the future, but wouldn’t offer any concrete details on it at this time.
Why do you think people feel unsure about indie games and PlayStation Now? Leave a comment below to let me know!