Sony has said that it will guarantee development budgets on self-published PlayStation Network titles that remain exclusive to the PS3.
Doublesix's Burn Zombie Burn!, which was released on the PSN yesterday, has already taken advantage of the scheme, dubbed the Pub Fund.
Sony's development relations manager, Chris Eden, told an audience at the Game Developers Conference that this is not the platform holder taking control of projects. "A really important thing to point out is that this is not first-party publishing, this is not Sony buying your product. You'll be the publisher, you'll own the IP and you'll control your product. This is assisting you to make your next step from developer to publisher", he said.
"It's all very well for us as platform holders to say 'put all your money into PlayStation Network, it's a fantastic idea', but are we prepared to put or money where our mouth is? The answer is yes", Eden said.
Another statement from Eden, however, made the scheme not sound quite so rosy as it initially seems. "We're looking for a number of great games, and in return for exclusivity we'll match your development budget with guaranteed royalties", Eden said. The use of the term "guaranteed royalties" sounds like a catch. While the meaning isn't crystal clear, it sounds like, "if the royalties you make cover dev costs, great. If not, we'll make up the difference". So, if your game covers its dev costs naturally with revenue from users, Sony won't give you any extra cash.
Still, it removes a great deal of risk. On top of that, Sony will also reportedly assist developers with game design and the most significant hurdle for devs selling digital content with no publishing experience - marketing plans. That certainly fits with doublesix's assertion that "Burn Zombie Burn! is one of Sony Computer Entertainment America's exclusive downloadable games on their PlayStation Network, and will be given the all star promotional treatment to ensure it's (sic) success."
For some, this may be seen as Sony evening the score, at least a little, after the revelation that it is charging publishers of downloadable games a bandwidth fee for content on the PSN.
Sources:
Gamesindustry.biz
IGN
Doublesix's Burn Zombie Burn!, which was released on the PSN yesterday, has already taken advantage of the scheme, dubbed the Pub Fund.
Sony's development relations manager, Chris Eden, told an audience at the Game Developers Conference that this is not the platform holder taking control of projects. "A really important thing to point out is that this is not first-party publishing, this is not Sony buying your product. You'll be the publisher, you'll own the IP and you'll control your product. This is assisting you to make your next step from developer to publisher", he said.
"It's all very well for us as platform holders to say 'put all your money into PlayStation Network, it's a fantastic idea', but are we prepared to put or money where our mouth is? The answer is yes", Eden said.
Another statement from Eden, however, made the scheme not sound quite so rosy as it initially seems. "We're looking for a number of great games, and in return for exclusivity we'll match your development budget with guaranteed royalties", Eden said. The use of the term "guaranteed royalties" sounds like a catch. While the meaning isn't crystal clear, it sounds like, "if the royalties you make cover dev costs, great. If not, we'll make up the difference". So, if your game covers its dev costs naturally with revenue from users, Sony won't give you any extra cash.
Still, it removes a great deal of risk. On top of that, Sony will also reportedly assist developers with game design and the most significant hurdle for devs selling digital content with no publishing experience - marketing plans. That certainly fits with doublesix's assertion that "Burn Zombie Burn! is one of Sony Computer Entertainment America's exclusive downloadable games on their PlayStation Network, and will be given the all star promotional treatment to ensure it's (sic) success."
For some, this may be seen as Sony evening the score, at least a little, after the revelation that it is charging publishers of downloadable games a bandwidth fee for content on the PSN.
Sources:
Gamesindustry.biz
IGN
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