PlayStation 4 dev kits ‘being handed out like candy’, Xbox One self-publishing ‘not black and white’ - Gematsu
Although a $2,500 price tag for the PlayStation 4 kit is being cited among developers, Polygon’s development sources all said Sony had lent them dev kits for a limited one-year period, free of charge. As of now, dev kits aren’t being sold.
“All the indies I know got them for free,” said one developer. “Sony has been amazing about kits and development thus far.”
Another developer said Sony is focused on loaning kits, rather than collecting fees. “They are handing them out like candy,” he said.
“Make no mistake; while this is a great thing, it’s again not the equivalent to what other platforms offer. On PS4, for example, developers can tap right into the system; use every bit of RAM and all of its power. Indies have access to everything that the AAA studios do, from platform support to development and release.
“The indication on Xbox One is that it’s essentially [Xbox LIVE Indie Games] 2.0. Instead of XNA, it’s Windows 8. Windows 8, which is already struggling to gain developer interest, will gain a boost from developers wishing to target the console. However, it won’t be as full-fledged as published games on the system.”
