Sony has yet to forge a service as prolific or accessible as Microsoft’s Xbox Live Indie Games marketplace, but it appears that the company sees great value in the indie gaming scene. This belief was expressed by Sony Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida to Gamasutra reference to the Playstation Vita’s genesis.

“The whole development process of Vita was us watching the smartphone and the tablet market grow and blossom,” Yoshida said. “We’ve seen lots of small games sold digitally through the app stores of each device, and that’s something we thought is a great addition to the whole offering of video games to the consumers.”

This news doesn’t come a complete surprise, with Sony already having invested time and money into the PubFund. The upcoming Playstation Network game Guacamelee is the latest title to benefit from this project, while standouts like Journey and Pixeljunk Shooter have in the past as well.

Yoshida also endorsed the Vita and the idea of dedicated handhelds in general, despite the ever-growing belief that smartphones are conquering the marketplace.

“We do not necessarily see the smartphone replacing the portable console market. It’s true that many casual people already own smartphones, and spending a dollar for a game is a very easy thing to do. People who really like games want more immersive, deeper games. In addition, they also enjoy short-form, small games.”

Source: Indie Games