With the success of independent game apps such as Flappy Bird, it was past time for Apple to highlight independent developers and small firms creating some terrific games. Now, iTunes has a button that takes you to a curated list of such developers, labeled Indie Game Showcase. As Apple says, "Often made up of just a few dedicated members, independent studios prove that what really matters is the size of your dream. In each Indie Game Showcase, we celebrate a popular game and its creative team, highlighting the developer's titles along with their favorite games from other studios."
The current developer Apple is featuring is Simogo and specifically their Device 6 app. It's a $3.99 app, which is on the high-end, especially for indie developers, but reasonable given the care that went into this stylish and interactive update to the traditional text adventure game.
It's not clear how often Apple will rotate the showcase to reveal a new developer and their games. If they update the showcase weekly, Apple would still only highlight 52 developers per year, and even then, just game developers.Bbut it's a good start. Large firms like Electronic Arts have huge marketing budgets and can strike deals with Apple and other vendors that make it hard for the independent developer to compete. Apple's efforts to help out the little guy is welcome. Not only will the showcase give exposure to worthy developers, but it will help customers find hidden gems.
