A little less than a month ago, Sony had some pretty nasty things to say about Microsoft, specifically regarding Xbox Live. Their assertion was that publishers were “getting the crap kicked out of them” by Microsoft.
This was followed by complaints from Team Meat, creators of Super Meat Boy, about the company as well. Now it seems, however, that Sony and their Playstation Network isn’t all puppies and rainbows either.
At least that’s how Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, Studio Manager at Nine Dots Studio Inc. feels, having some not so nice stuff to say himself in an exclusive interview with IndustryGamers.
“Microsoft’s XBLA is very strict, and their technical requirements represent about 800 man hours from the programming team to adapt to. PSN doesn’t have those kind of requirements, but at the same time, PSN is an almost complete failure in regards to sales, so they have to find a way to cater to developers somehow, and they do so by having very low standards,” he commented.
“I’ve quit Activision a few months ago and I am now working on a game that will be submitted on either XBLIG or XBLA. My personal experience with them is very positive so far. There is no chance in hell that PlayStation would offer a platform that is as open as Xbox Live Indie Games. The test kits for PlayStation are also something way beyond what a startup could afford, so their accessibility is a moot point if you don’t have significant funding. So while you have very strict requirements for XBLA, it’s a very successful platform in terms of sales and consistency, and there’s a lot of freedom on XBLIG.”
He’s isn’t quite done yet, however, going on the warpath against Team Meat as well, the developer who was most vocal about Microsoft’s inadequacies.
“I think that Super Meat Boy’s team is just being loud crybabies and Sony wants to use their recent noise to stand out as the good guy. But among a lot of people I know in the indie community, SMB is perceived very negatively for their childish and egocentric behavior,” he added.
So is this a frustrated developer bravely speaking out, or just a man with a vendetta howling at the wind? We’ll have to wait and see if more developers come out of the woodwork.
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