Sony handing out free Vita dev kits to indies

Sony is pretty serious about its support for independent developers, going so far as to quietly give away Vita development kits to at least one small studio.

A spokesperson for Great Little War Game developer Icon Games made a post on NeoGaf saying Sony has a "good attitude towards Indies".

"We showed them our game, they liked it loads and thought it a good fit for their machine, so they sent us four kits. Gratis. Just like that," the representative, called Rubicon, said.

"This has got to be good news for both devs and gamers. Unlike Nintendo, Sony now 'get it'".

Great Little War Game is out now for iOS, and thanks to its early gift of dev kits, the Vita version will be avilable when the new handheld launches.

"I can confirm that the machine is everything you'd like it to be - a really sweet bit of kit," another post said.

"And best of all, Sony [is] seriously pushing indies forward, so its AppStore should start filling up in the same way the iOS one has. Nintendo can learn a lot from [Sony's] attitude."

Sony made a strong attempt to interest indie developers with its Minis initiative, and has also funded larger downloadable indie projects like thatgamecompany's Flower and Journey. It recently set aside a $20 million fund for publication of PlayStation Network exclusives.

No release date has been set for Vita, although it's predicted to launch in Japan before the end of the year.

Thanks, Destructoid.