This week in a late-night (oooh, sexy) edition of Would You Rather we're talking XBLA games. We've asked you in the past if you'd prefer smaller or larger games but this week we're looking at it from a different angle. In the beginning Xbox Live Arcade was hailed as a great gateway to your favorite arcade titles (when it launched as a disc based service on the Xbox), but then something interesting happened--independent developers looked at the platform as a new source of output. With the introduction of the Xbox 360 and relaunching of the service built into the console, independent developers were met with great success for their titles.
Sure, corporate companies released arcade hits as well but no one took the service as serioulsy as the independent teams did. Today, as XBLA has proven itself to be a strong platform, more corporate companies are releasing titles for the service while independent companies lobby for their games to make it online. In Would You Rather this week we ask, who do you want to see more of a focus from on the XBLA front? Corporate companies with the money and licenses or independent companies with a fresh outlook on game design? Discuss. Vote. Ask for a third option in the comments.
Last weeks WUR results can be find after the jump ... come in and check it out for free!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
6-18-2008 @ 8:13PM
Etchasketchist said...
Not really sure where the line is drawn between "Indie" and "Corporate".
Obviously, Sonic the Hedgehog is "corporate" and Space Giraffe is "indie"
But what about PuzzleQuest?
Rez HD?
Geometry Wars?
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6-18-2008 @ 8:34PM
AoE said...
I'd say indie, indie, ??? who knows, tough call.
PuzzleQuest was developed by a small-time indie developer, ported to the arcade by a larger but still relatively small & certainly independent developer.
Rez HD began life at Sega, true; but the license was bought back by Mizuguichi with his now independent studio Q? Entertainment and porting to XBLA was handled by another small Japanese studio whose name I cannot recall at the moment.
Geometry Wars was of course developed by an independent studio... but I can't recall if MS owns the rights to the series or not, nor if the were listed as the publisher on XBLA or if Bizzare self-published it...
The fact that some of these titles have had big money behind the publishing of them doesn't necessarily imply that they're corporate; indie developers don't often publish thier own works, even on XBLA as it's far wiser for them to partner with a publisher for distribution, promotion, etc. But if the developer owns the IP, and the developer's not owned by a publisher, it's a safe bet it can be considered indie :)
6-19-2008 @ 12:09AM
BananaBoat said...
Believe it or not, there are actually guys out there that create an entire game by themselves, or with a group of friends etc. I'd consider that to be what "indie" refers to, and not just as something meaning the same thing as "less rich version of EA".
I'm all for Indie games as long as the production values aren't so obviously horrible that I couldn't possibly bring myself to spend 10 dollars (or whatever) on their work. Everyday Shooter is a good example of something "indie" that was actually worth it.
6-19-2008 @ 12:12AM
Arnon said...
I'd say a little of both.. but I may be leaning more towards the indie games. From past experience of playing them on either XBLA or some website. They seem the have the most creativity, even if their graphics aren't the best out there. That's just me though.
6-18-2008 @ 8:33PM
Aegis said...
I'd take a new unique IP (Castle Crashers, Schizoid) over some over milked franchise (Sonic, etc).
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6-19-2008 @ 11:46AM
PeacefulOutrage said...
I agree with you, but it's not just about new IPs or old franchises. Large developers/publishers have deep enough pockets to release a disc version of their games, even if smaller games form a compilation disc. Smaller developers don't have the same luxury.
SFII and Bionic Commando may be awesome, but they could still release them on a disc if they had to, even if they weren't 3D $20 million projects. Small Arms and N+ on the other hand, don't have the same luxury.
6-18-2008 @ 8:41PM
AoE said...
I guess if I had to choose I have to say indie... the 360 without Ninja Bee titles would be a sad console indeed. But then again I'd miss the hell out of the Capcom, and strangely enough the Sierra titles...
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6-18-2008 @ 8:46PM
BFBeast666 said...
I'd go for indie devs. Alright, there are some nice corp titles on the XBLA (I especially like most Sierra titles, like Assault Heroes, Aces Of The Galaxy, Carcarsonne and Arkadian Warriors), but small studios often have the more radical ideas and the will to do things differently than the big corps.
So, indie FTW!
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6-18-2008 @ 9:00PM
Kologa said...
Guess it really depends on the game, I like the indie ones though so I will say Indie.
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6-18-2008 @ 9:38PM
Consequence said...
Having played a bit of both; in the future I would love to see some more creatively fresh independent titles. However, if we don't get Power Stone 1 & 2 on XBLA soon I'm gonna Dreamcast myself to death (yes, I still have one). I can't wait for those to come out, so I can't say that I don't want to see corporate games out there as well.
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6-19-2008 @ 2:16AM
Shadowman said...
You speak as if no one else still owns a Dreamcast, My Dreamcast gets more use than the Wii. Also don't forget if it wasn't for the Dreamcast controller we wouldn't have the Big Boy Xbox Controller.
6-18-2008 @ 10:26PM
jdkay20 said...
I choose indie because usually they have more variety instead of the same old. Sometimes its good, sometimes it sucks.
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6-18-2008 @ 10:30PM
Chase said...
I don't care if they're corporate, indie, or koala: I just want solid XBLA games.
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6-19-2008 @ 12:11AM
BananaBoat said...
I'm fine with corporate XBLA games...atleast until they start making Halo solitaire or something else on that level of stupidity.
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6-19-2008 @ 12:16AM
Ninegauger said...
My favorite game on XBLA is probably Alien Hominid (Independent) so if I had to choose...
...but Capcom's doing some good stuff with the space, as has Sierra. Just take what you can get and let me sort out the gems from the garbage (there is a free trial after all).
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6-19-2008 @ 12:27AM
Maxx the Slash said...
I'd rather see games made by established companies. New creations and old classics. From what I've been seeing on Nintendo's WiiWare service, most independant game designers make shit burger games meant for 8 year olds instead of hardcore ass-kicking games (in the Wii's case, Star Soldier R would be an example of doing it RIGHT). Until these independant developers grow the hell up, I don't want to see a thing from them.
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6-19-2008 @ 6:53AM
yost said...
seeing as how I recently started developing my own game I got to go with indie....
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6-19-2008 @ 7:56AM
MikeG said...
I keep hearing about Puzzle Quest in the comments. I like great games like that. But as previously stated, where do you draw the line between indie and corporate? I certainly don't want to spend my money on some game that's just a glorified version of the free, flash-based games you can play in your web browser. When you say "indie", that's exactly what I think of, though.
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6-19-2008 @ 8:00AM
Boff said...
Indie developers.
Keep it real kids.
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6-19-2008 @ 8:12AM
Maverick Saturn said...
Independant by all means, just find them better quality.
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