There's a new article on Reuters about how gaming companies in Europe are moving to North America. Read it here (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=3336700). Near the end, it becomes relevant as it talks about independent game developers (retail orientated):

Consolidation has swept the sector, with the number of independent UK development studios dwindling from 200 in the late 1990s to fifty today, says ELSPA's Bennett.

Well, no surprise there.

State-of-the-art games are big budget projects, taking years to produce. A flop can spell doom for developers and publishers.

Maybe because they are targeting an over saturated hardcore market and missing the much larger "rest of the world" casual games market?

Michael Sikora
Guardian Light Studios (http://www.guardianlightstudios.com)

I think that the majors will release more "mainstream" games in the near future. These guys and girls ain't stupid. What will be the function of indie/shareware developers then?

They make lots of mainstream games right now. Rollercoaster Tycoon, Mall Tycoon, ____ Hunter, Jurassic Park, Zoo Tycoon, sims wannabes (I can't remember the title), etc... The problem with them is that you have to go to the store to buy them, or wait for them to show up in the mail if you order from Amazon, or whatever.

To me, the biggest thing Indie games have going for them is instant gratification. Download the demo, play it, pay for it. No having to get up out of your chair to hop in the car or on the bus to go to the store and hope the game you want is on the shelf. No searching amazon or ebgames, ordering, and then waiting 3-5 days for it to show up at your door.

In the future, of course, the publishers will figure this out, and the games will be available for download somehow, but they're overly concerned with copy protection and aren't customer friendly, and I doubt that will ever change.

There will always be a place for indies.

Originally posted by lakibuk
I think that the majors will release more "mainstream" games in the near future. These guys and girls ain't stupid. What will be the function of indie/shareware developers then?

The neglected hardcore market of course. Where they go we aviod :-)