New Indie Game Category launches on PlayStation Store

Hello PlayStation bloggers. I’m Andrew Parsons, Director of Publisher and Developer Relations at SCEE. This means that my team and I have the exciting job of working closely with publishers and developers who make all these wonderful games that you play!

One of the best things about working in this business is the amazing imagination of developers – and I notice this most when talking to the indies. Since the launch of PSN we have encouraged smaller teams and individuals to bring their games to our platforms. This has attracted some really exciting ideas that range from fun, to beautiful, to completely insane.

This week, together with the Sony Network Entertainment team, we are happy to introduce a new indie game area to the PlayStation Store.

This is an exciting space where indie content can receive additional exposure. It’s an opportunity to showcase the best of these great games for PS3 and PS Vita – and for this to be constantly refreshed with the latest releases and promotions. It’s the first and best place to go for indie content (though of course content can still be found through the normal channels too).

I’m delighted that the indie devs have really taken advantage of how open PlayStation is to this tremendous mix of designs and ideas, and that we’re happy to work with everything from traditional buy-and-play games, to free-to-play. We haven’t asked you to trade in sheep for games yet, but I’m sure it’ll come soon.

So, check out the new Indie Game area on the store – where you can download everything from the very best of our indie partners.

To celebrate the launch, you can pick up a copy of one of our favourite independent games, Retro City Rampage by the talented Brian Provinciano of VBlank Entertainment Inc. at a 50% discount.

We asked some of the developers behind the games you should expect to find here if they had any messages they wanted to share our PlayStation community:

Brian Provinciano (VBlank Entertainment Inc.) – Retro City Rampage
“Being an indie developer gives you the freedom to bring your own vision to life. Never during the project did I analyse the market or search out what others might want. I was building the game that I wanted to make, without any boardroom or publisher to decide otherwise. One of the greatest benefits, it was also a risk. Would others connect to my own personal nostalgia? Well, with well over 200,000 players and counting, it’s incredible to see so many have!”

Graham Smith (Drinkbox Studios Inc.) – Guacamelee!
“One of the best things about being an independent developer is the creative freedom that comes with it. With Guacamelee!, we drew a lot of inspiration from the childhood games we grew up playing, but also tried to put in some twists to make the experience feel fresh and unique.”

Louis Patalano (Frima Studio) – Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov’s Revenge
“Inspired by modern strategy games with hero units, Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov’s Revenge is a fast paced RTS with controls designed specifically for consoles. It sports a single player campaign as well as a fast-paced deathmatch multiplayer mode. We are really proud of this title developed, in part, by the same sharp and creative talents behind Zombie Tycoon, A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! and Lights, Camera, Party!”