Indie games can be system sellers, says Xbox boss Phil Harrison

March 25th, 2014, 00:28 Posted By: wraggster

Big budget blockbusters like Titanfall are expected to drive hardware sales, but Phil Harrison, corporate VP of the Xbox division, argues that smaller indie titles can sell systems too.
In an interview with CVG at GDC last week, Harrison said that indie titles brought to Xbox One via its ID@Xbox initiative can "absolutely" sell systems.
"I think there are games in this room that will be incredibly meaningful to their potential audience and we hope people will buy an Xbox One as a result," he said, speaking in a room full of some 25 indie games announced at GDC for Xbox One.
"The greatest complement you can ever pay a developer is 'I bought a piece of hardware to play your game'. That is what warms your heart, when you hear that from a player. I'm very confident that there will be things in this room [that do that]," he added.
Harrison argued elsewhere in the interview that, despite the controversies surrounding the release parity clause, the ID@Xbox program has been a success for the firm.
"I think we've been successful," he commented. "As you said, 250 developers are already working on Xbox One through this program, which is more than the entire developer community on Xbox 360 over its entire life. So within a few months of announcing the ID@Xbox program, we've already exceeded the independent developer initiative on Xbox 360, which is a great direction to travel."
Read the full interview with Phil Harrison here.
Microsoft announced 25 indie games headed to Xbox One via ID@Xbox at GDC Tuesday.
The self-publishing program will be home to titles like Super Time Force from Capybara Games, Contrast by Compulsion Games, and Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition. The full list of titles is through here.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...phil-harrison/

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