Choosing a Platform: PlayStation Sophie Rossetti & Rob Clarke - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Choosing a Platform: PlayStation Sophie Rossetti & Rob Clarke

Summary Introduction 1 A little bit of background to our relationship with Sony Comparison to PC Development 2 The key differences between PC and ALL console development Production Timeline 3 A rundown of everything you need to release a game on a Sony platform Hardware and Other Considerations 4 Things to be aware of about console development Marketing & Store 5 Some Sony specific marketing advice

About Curve Digital We help independent  developers to publish games on console platforms. We handle development , QA  and marketing for each title. We’ve had a relationship with  Sony for 10+ years Also publish on iOS, Nintendo  and Steam.

First Steps Strategic Content and other funding avenues Sony will ask for milestones and may ask for a small period of exclusivity Agostino Simonetta : Agostino_Simonetta@scee.net Developer support : Devrels_support@scee.net

Differences in PC / Console Development A quick disclaimer: Most of the differences here extend to ALL console development, and are getting better all the time.

Differences in PC / Console Development 12 page agreement 3 different agreements - 40 pages 1 Territory 4 Territories Same – day submission and 6 week submission process release One, very short guide Over 70 different pieces of documentation, spread over multiple intranets

Differences in PC / Console Development Speedy support Support can take longer More social media ‘freedom’ Release date relies on Production Pays monthly SCEE: Monthly + 45 days SCEA: Quarterly + 45 days Quick and easy patching 6 week patch submission process

Development Timeline 2 - TPR / DevNet 1 - Licensing and GPP Contracts Product Code 1 Services 2 Submission Metadata 4 4. Patching 3 and DLC 3. Submission FQA Details Costs

Hardware Limitations Consoles don’t like 2D  as much as we’d hoped. Vita is similar in  power to iPhone 4S Unity is here, BUT  Vita is still in Beta and PS4 is in Alpha – it’s NOT perfect yet.

Other Things to Consider Age Ratings: PEGI (Europe), ESRB (US), nothing for AUS Localisation : Required for Metadata (13 in EU, 4 in US) Cross Buy / Save No set way of being implemented

Marketing on PlayStation

How much can you sell? 110m 65m 45m PSN Steam Xbox Live

How much can you sell? 28m 5.5m 4m Steam PS4 Vita

How much can you sell? 12000 10000 8000 PS3 6000 PSV 4000 2000 0 Launch Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7

I There is both an audience and a long tail for indie games on PSN, but it works better with a higher initial RRP.

Promotions with Sony 10,059 1,018 Reviews Store

Promotions with Sony 10,059 4,500 Game 1 Game 2

II Utilising the Sony store and community successfully is vital to the success of your game.

You can use the Sony platform as a launch point for your own PR and marketing. Regional Communities PlayStation Blog Store Promotions PlayStation Plus and Mailshots Conventions Promotional Vouchers

Sony have a huge marketing network and thousands of people ready to buy your game, but YOU need to be proactive.

III Don’t expect Sony to do all the hard work for you.

Agostino Simonetta Sukhi Sandu (Account Manager) (EU Finance) Anthony Darling Rhys Cash Ben Andac (PSN Store) (PSN Store) (Strategic Content) Chris Howe (PlayStation Plus) Jesse Abney Shahid Kamal Colin Goss (US Account Manger) (Strategic Content) (EU Finance) Ian Vinten Norma Walter Sid Shuman (EU Product Marketing) (US Store Operations) (Sony Blog US) Maimoona Block Fred Dutton (US Third Party Marketing) Kristi (Sony Blog) Fernandez Masanobu Kubota (PlayStation Plus US) (US Finance)

Jason Perkins jason@curve-digital.com Rob Clarke rob@curve-digital.com

Conclusion Seeing your games released on console is a really satisfying, exciting moment! Sony remain the best platform holder for indies and things are getting better all the time. BUT make sure you budget time and resources for production, QA and marketing tasks.