Sony software boss says supporting indies 'is important for the industry'

- Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida on why the platform holder works so closely with indie studios. It’s no secret that Sony has run into many bumps in the road lately. One place where its efforts have recently stood out in a positive way, however, is in its support for publishing cutting-edge indie games. This year, titles such as Journey, Papo & Yo, and Dyad have all made their mark. And according to the president of its Worldwide Studios organization, working with indie developers is a priority for the company. “I don't think we're promoting the need to create artistic games per se,” Yoshida tells Gamasutra. “But what we really are working hard is to help create the ecosystem for smaller developers to be able to bring their content to the market and be rewarded financially as well.” The company does this “because it's really important for the industry to always give a chance to these up-and-coming, perhaps more free from conventions, type of developers, to try out something and really get things published and get feedback from consumers.” “That's the best learning process for those young developers,” says Yoshida. “It's very important for us to continue to support this market and make sure the fresh new talent has a chance to learn and grow and express things.” Sony has brought studios like Thatgamecompany and The Unfinished Swan developer Giant Sparrow into its Santa Monica studio to be mentored by experienced console developers from within its own studio organization. “Our producers get a lot of excitement by working with these small developers, because they can defy the conventions, and that helps us to give a fresh regard for the other, more larger projects that we have as well,” says Yoshida. He believes, in essence, that just as these developers learn from his employees, so too can his employees learn from them. “It provides the new and fresh thinking and approach to the game industry,” says Yoshida.