GamesIndustry.biz - Are the walls closing in on indie developers?

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-12-16-are-the-walls-closing-in-on-indie-developers

This article talks about how, even though there has been a massive surge for indie developers in the past few years, the marketplace is not able to hold up the number of new releases:

• "Virtually every marketplace has proved unable to support the spiralling number of new releases."
• "After less than five months of 2014 had passed, Valve's platform had already added more new games than in the whole of the previous year."
• "Initiatives like Greenlight and Early Access were designed.. but they were so effective that some of what made it such a positive force for indies was lost in the process."
• "Steam's culture of deep-discounting has become more pervasive and intense in the face of this chronic overcrowding, stirring up impassioned debate over what some believe will be profound long-term effects for the perceived value of PC games."
• "[Kickstarter] faced similar problems in 2014, blighted by the twin spectres of too much content and not enough money to go around... with several notable figures struggling to find enough backers within the crowd. "
• "Overcrowding is certainly a key aspect of the overall picture, but the act of making and releasing a game is only getting easier, and the allure of development as a career choice seems to grow with each passing month."
• "There are few guarantees in this or any other business, but the conditions have also never been more appropriate for personality and individuality to be the smartest commercial strategy. "
• "We're drowning in games about combat, but This War of Mine took a small step to the left and was greeted with every kind of success."
• "No matter how crowded the market has become, strong ideas executed with care are still able to rise above the clamour, no huge marketing spend required. As long as that's still possible, indies have all of the control they need."

It is clear from this article that delving into indie development at this moment in time is a risky endeavour and that you are unlikely to meet with success unless you can create an unique premise for your game and making yourself stand out amongst the hundreds of other indie developers vying for the same position as you. This is an interesting point to consider when looking for a job to apply for, and even though this applies more to developers, as the article said, 'the act of making and releasing a game is only getting easier' and most indie developers work by themselves or in small teams. 

Harvard Reference: Handrahan, M. (2014) Are the walls closing in on indie developers?. GamesIndustry. Available from: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-12-16-are-the-walls-closing-in-on-indie-developers [Accessed 14 January 2015]