Vlambeer: ID@Xbox parity clause "problematic for the indie scene"
Rami Ismail on the controversial simultaneous launch rule for Xbox One's indies
Rami Ismail of hot indie developer Vlambeer has shared his concerns over the controversial parity clause in Microsoft's new ID@Xbox scheme for indie developers, which requires participants to launch any title releasing on Xbox One simultaneously with other formats.
"It's problematic for the indie scene at large," Ismail told VG247.
"Having this tilted contract where Sony allows you to launch wherever, and Microsoft only allows you to launch at the same time is problematic for indies who say, 'well Sony has the better deal but I want to launch on both platforms. So we're going to go with the Microsoft deal.' That's problematic because it will essentially force Sony to do the same in return. Well, as indies we should be fighting to get everybody the best deal."
"As indies we should be fighting to get everybody the best deal"
The problem is that small indie outfits don't have the resources to launch on a number of platforms all at once, a process which requires time and money. He said he was otherwise impressed with the programme, and clearly had a lot of its respect for the initiatives lead, Chris Charla.
"Chris has been super-helpful, he's been proactive, he's been calling us every now and then. That's been wonderful, it's just that launch parity thing is problematic enough that we should probably speak up against it. I think technically we've broken some NDAs, but you know, things happen."
Microsoft first announced the ID@Xbox scheme in August, just as Sony announced during its Gamescom conference that it had signed up a number of indie developers, including Vlambeer, to publish on PlayStation 4.
Ismail admitted that Vlambeer avoided the parity clause thanks to a loophole open to developers if they already had an exclusivity deal in place before ID@Xbox was announced. On hearing rumours of the parity clause, Ismail emailed Sony to secure a month of exclusivity with PlayStation.
"With Nuclear Throne, we're launching on PC first, then focusing on other computer, platforms, then focusing on PS4 and Vita. Then after that, Xbox One after we dodged the parity clause by being jerks [laughs]. That was funny by the way, I had so much fun doing that. When I figured out I could play around with the contract that way, I had a good time."
The vast majority of devs are going to have to wait till retail Xbox One can be used as a devkit. If indies knew it'd be in one or two months time, they could delay launching their games so as to get it on Xbox One as well. If it was going to be more like six or nine months, they could release their current game on other platforms, and aim to put the next game on Xbox One.
When ID@Xbox do announce the schedule for retail Xbox One devkits, this problem will largely evaporate. If you're aiming for multiple platforms, you're probably going to be using cross-platform tools like Unity3d, where there are unlikely to be time-consuming technical reasons for the build on one platform being ready months before another
It also makes a lot more sense to simultaneously release across multiple platforms at the same time from a marketing point of view, as there will be no lost sales (and wasted marketing cost) from people who can't play the game due to having the wrong console.
All that combined will probably mean the number of times it is actually a problem are tiny, if non-existent. In any case, if you're going to go for a single platform (say because you're a massive fan of one console), you might as well try and get some sort of exclusivity from the platform you are targeting. Which again, negates the problem, since there is that exclusivity get-out clause
Posted:10 months ago