Welcome to todays ‘Spot The Irony’ competition in which you – yes you – could win nothing at all. The backstory: Team Meat (the guys behind Super Meat Boy) had a bit of a whinge at Microsoft for failing to promote their game. Sales were low, Microsoft refused to help out.
Step forward Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, Studio Manager at Nine Dots Studio Inc, a chap who recently left Activision and has said ‘I think that the Super Meat Boy team is just being loud crybabies’. He then continues,
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.
Nine Dots Studios Inc are currently working on a side scrolling platformer called ‘Brand’ which you will be very unsurprised to discover will only be released on the Xbox 360 Indie channel.
A quick look at the best selling Indie games on Xbox 360 in the UK reveals the top three places being taken by Minecraft rip offs and at number four is ‘Angry Fish’ – you can guess what title that looks like.  A few places down we find a ‘game’ that makes prank phone calls.
What was that about ‘low standards’ on the PSN, Mr. Boucher-Vidal?
Source: IndustryGamers
nemesisND1derboy
Arrogant twat.
Although I don’t have any sales figures to corroborate this, I highly doubt it’s a complete failure when it comes to sales. Games like Joe Danger and Dead Nation etc. we know have sold very well. Sure, sales on XBLA are probably better, but this guy is just coming across as an absolute douche. I’m open to hearing facts, but not with such doucebaggery.
scavenga
+1 on all accounts.
What a twattage.
Phizzy
This article is a bit ad hom, the guy’s comparing XBLA and PSN and you call his statements ironic because he develops for XBLIG? Try addressing his argument rather than his business’ (irrelevant) target platform.
MayContainEvil
Did you actually read the whole article?
Perfectly justified, what an absolute wanker. Love the article Tuffcub, irony is such an amusement, and I am glad this guy is being pulled up for being the ass he seems intent on coming across as.
Tuffcub
He argues that XBLA requires quality but Nine Dots site says their game Brand “will be available on the Xbox live Indie Games channel”
Perhaps their game ‘Brand’ does not make the mark when ‘Microsoft’s XBLA is very strict, and their technical requirements represent about 800 man hours from the programming team’?
Also a terrible name for a game – try seatching for “Brand Trailer” on YouTube and you get thousadns of hits for “Brand NEW”
Jakster123x
Haha!
I hate people like this tbh, saying that, I don’t know him at all and maybe should judge him, but what I will say is this – he is a twat, maybe.
Jakster123x
Shouldn’t* -_-
SpikeyMikey23
Be careful tuffcub, your in danger of angering the mob. I can see the glow of torches and hear the clanging of pitchforks already
DeathByNumbers
If they say it’s true it must be true.
Speaking for myself, I’ve spent tons more money on PSN than XBL, they both have their strengths and weaknesses but I don’t understand where this guy gets his information.
PSN does not have very low standards, it has less content due to not being around as long, being more complex and expensive to develop for, and having tighter standards over what is permitted. There may be some utter tripe PSN games that is true but compared to XBL it’s a very small amount.
skibadee
wow the Xbox guy hates PSN lol.
enroene
lol
BrendanCalls
There is some fantastic games on the PSN, I’m sure there is on XBL-Indie too, but there is actually a hell of a load of twaddle on there.
The amount of awful purchases I made in the first year of owning a PS3 is sickening, Ive since learnt and i now purchase incredibly little from the PSN
skibadee
but that is you as a individual what you hate others may like simple.
Mr-Flame-Head
a perfect example is pain, i personally love the game and as such have everything to do with pain but on the other hand lots of people hate the game and wished it would die off after about 2 pieces of dlc
Kennykazey
I like Pain too, but find the DLC to be too pricey to be worth it.
3shirts
I agree. I love Pain but the only DLC I’ve bought is a couple of the levels and The Hoff (who I swear develops less Ooch than the other characters). Great party game though and even after all the other games I’ve bought since then, I still go back to it when a few mates are round
Darth Newdar
I spot a highly biased opinion. Wonder whether this was part of the licence with Microsoft?
On the subject of sales on XBLA/PSN, have a look at this: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/xbla-a-slaughterhouse-for-small-devs
According to Hello Games (the developers of Joe Danger), half of XBLA titles sell less than 25,000 copies. Joe Danger, in comparison, sold 50,000 in its first week. So the statement that PSN is a “complete failure” is rubbish.
Bilbo_bobbins
To be honest I hardly every buy from PSN, nothing since the hack, mainly because the games look rubbish, apart from a few decent ones.
aphex187
Who is this guy again? What a t1t!
fattyuk
Yeah he’s right PSN is a failure
(fattyuk looks his 130+ downloaded psn games list)