The console market is something that Fargo plans to think about after Wasteland II has shipped. Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo are all saying that indies are more important to them, but the details still haven't been fully revealed. “It's been happening, and I've heard from Microsoft,” Fargo said. He recalls how it used to be when dealing with Microsoft. “I used to want to publish directly on the Xbox, and it was 'OK, how many retail SKUs are you going to put out?' I always felt there was there this huge disconnect – why do I have to put products on a retail shelf in order to be on XBLA?”
Now the situation is completely different. “You're hearing Microsoft reaching out, they're saying 'Hey, we want you on the machine,' they're making the calls,” Fargo said. “You can use the hardware as a development kit, making it more accessible, because indies can't afford to buy [development kits]. It used to be that if you shipped on Sony first you could never be on the Xbox. Now they're like 'Well, we're flexible, maybe there's features...' There's a different dialog there.
“They've come full circle in a matter of ninety days on every part of it, including the ability to be on the platform at all. Sony was already there. They go one step further with their Dev Pub fund, where they actually give developers money upon delivery of a game. You're actually hearing executives at both those companies – and Nintendo, I should say – talk about why indies are important. Someone called it the Cambrian explosion of creativity, I love that phrase.”
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