Sony is making ease of use for game developers a huge priority for the PlayStation 4–both for the AAA titles and smaller indie games.
Speaking with Gamasutra, Sony Computer Entertainment World Wide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida was asked if the PS4 needed indie game developers, to which he responded, "…we want them to be on our platform. You said we need, but it’s more like we want."
"We believe in smaller developers. They are very creative and they go out of the norm to do something really amazing. So we really want to make it easier for them to come to our platform and publish." While not revealing the explicit price of a PS4 development kit, Yoshida explains the cost is still a hurdle and isn’t sure "if it’s cheap enough for those indie guys." His suggestion to indie studios is to explore the PlayStation Mobile platform, because it doesn’t require the purchase of a dev kit as it is "totally software driven."
Dev kits are expensive pieces of hardware which are always necessary for producing a game on a console. Perhaps Sony’s emphasis on reaching out to indie developers like Jonathon Blow will mean making the dev kit cheaper is a goal. Hopefully, the more familiar architecture of the PS4 makes it more approachable for and attractive to indie developers.
Let us know in the comments if you think indie games are important to the success of the PS4 and stay tuned to PSU for more PS4 news.