Topic: Introversion: Steam sale saved our company

[idolminds]

Account needed to read
Eurogamer sums it up

I'm sure its entirely true. Getting your game on Steam is a huge boon at this point and Introversion was in trouble before Steam started carrying their games. But, quotes like this make me think less of Introversion:

"I'd go so far as to say that if you're not on Steam, then you're not an indie game developer of any note," he said. "You absolutely have to be on that platform at the moment. Steam doesn't ask for exclusivity, and I know it's hard to get on there - Valve doesn't make it easy - but that's part of the challenge. If you want to run a company you have to find a way of getting your game on there.

I think this is a very bad thing at the moment. Everyone has it in their head that Steam/Valve is a very good thing for indie developers. And its true, but only if they allow your game on there. It is not an open platform and there have been several games that I can think of that have been turned down or taken months to even get on there. Aquaria took forever, Braid was turned down until it became a hit on Xbox, recent indie games like Dins Curse and the PomPom Games like Mutant Storm Empire and Astro Tripper have been turned down. This is a real problem because not getting on that retailer can mean the difference between success and failure. This isn't really a problem with Steam but more of the userbase that won't look at anything unless its on Steam, which seems to be a frightening large portion of PC gamers. In the long run I think this could hurt more indie games than it helps.

Saying "you aren't an indie developer of any note" if you aren't on Steam is just a dickish thing to say.

[MysterD]

Why do many game dev's seem to treat Impulse like a red-headed step-child of some kind? 
Seriously - WTF?

Also - what about Direct2Drive? GamersGate? 

[idolminds]

Well thats for another topic. I just think that was a silly thing to say considering all the indie games out there. Its like saying "if your album isn't sold at walmart, you aren't a musician of any note." Its just absurd.

[MysterD]

I just think that was a silly thing to say considering all the indie games out there. Its like saying "if your album isn't sold at walmart, you aren't a musician of any note." Its just absurd.

Agreed 100%.

[Cobra951]

Well thats for another topic. I just think that was a silly thing to say considering all the indie games out there. Its like saying "if your album isn't sold at walmart, you aren't a musician of any note." Its just absurd.

Absurd indeed.  It's not just a dickish thing to say.  It also perpetuates the fallacy.

I could only read the first couple of lines of that article.  They want me to register to see the rest, which I won't do.

[idolminds]

I don't hang around the Stardock forums with any regularity but since I just got Elemental I've been reading it a bit. And there was a thread on this article, and Brad Wardell had a response:

Or another way to look at this story is that perhaps the developer should have made their game available through additional channels.  They were unwilling to put their titles onto Impulse.

Which is interesting. Usually you hear about DD services turning down games, but it appears in this case the dev turned down Impulse. Perhaps they made some special deal with Valve by then?

[MysterD]

Perhaps they made some special deal with Valve by then?

That would NOT surprise me - especially given the number of 3rd party games lately that have been flat-out Steam exclusives; especially big-title games.

Civ 5, Brink, Fallout: New Vegas, Metro 2033, Saints Row 2, Just Cause 2, Modern Warfare 2, etc.

[MysterD]

PC Gamer -> Introversion will likely NOT work w/ Microsoft ever again.

Mark Morris – the business mind behind Introversion – has declared at GDC that he doesnt believe the team would ever work alongside industrial giant Microsoft in the future.

“Do we regret working with Microsoft?” said Morris. “No, but it’s unlikely we’ll work with them again … they make you work harder on the production value, but they don’t back it up with sales.”

Referring to the Xbox Live Arcade ports of Darwinia and Multiwinia, Morris remarked: “XBLA were good to us and put us in the deal of the week, but it had no impact. Steam promotion was an order of magnitude better.”

[Cobra951]

That's just stupid.  Those games simply don't appeal to the console masses, and are better suited to the PC crowd.  Wouldn't sales be something the games themselves have to attract?  XBLA did its part (more so if it made these a deal of the week).  If people don't want something on the console, all the marketing in the world won't make it a hit.