The recent announcement of PlayStation 4 has it labeled as a console for easier game development.
For Arizona independent game developers, this is good news.
“I appreciate that the PS4 is fairly friendly toward the indies," independent game developer Erin Robinson said. "There’s no behind the scenes dealings. You don’t have to negotiate every time you sign a contract.”
Other indie game developers such as Ben Ruiz, designer and artist at Team Colorblind, said he would love to bring his game to the consoles but there are simply too many hoops to jump through, especially for his two-man development team.
Kyle Pulver, independent game developer of KPULV said it is difficult for indie game makers to deal with big company practices, Sony's latest PlayStation will change this.
“I think that technically, it’ll be easier to develop for like writing code for it and developing the game," he said. "Sony has been really nice to indie developers. They have no choice to make it easier because the Mac app store is blowing up with tons of indie games."
There might not be a Bungie or Blizzard Studio in Phoenix, but with recent talks of over-funded and bloated AAA game budgets with the Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed franchises, independent game developers might just be on the right track after all.
Reach the reporter at shfawcet@asu.edu and follow him on Twitter @MaroonandGamer
