Instead of being ‘Xbox Live Indie Games’ and listed as a major part of the store, now they come under ‘Specialty Shops’ alongside the Avatar Marketplace.
This obscures their game releases they say. The games marketplace now has several sections and one is the ‘Games & Demos’ tab, which includes XBLA, Games on Demand and demos. Indie Games aren’t alongside them but under another tab called ‘Specialty Shops’, joined by the Avatar Marketplace and the Game Room.
”I’d like to know the rationale behind it - at least then the community could try and come up with constructive alternatives, rather than being pushed further into obscurity,” said the Clover: A Curious Tale developer, under the username ‘Deej’.
It makes indie titles less visible to the consumer. ”It’s a categorical failure (literally) … I’m hear (sic) to mourn Indie Games being known as ‘games’, which I suppose we must now rename Indie Specialties,” added Weapon of Choice dev Mommy’s Best Games.
One improvement at least has been the UI adjustment of showcasing the Top 50 Indie Games and not just 20. However being ‘dumped’ under the Speciality Shops section is a major step backward feel the studios. Is this an insult too far?
