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Add to SafariWhen comparing Steam Greenlight vs IndieDB, the Slant community recommends IndieDB for most people. In the question“What are the best ways to promote an indie game?” IndieDB is ranked 3rd while Steam Greenlight is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose IndieDB is:
IndieDB isn't just a place where you can build hype for your game: it aims to be the definitive place where you should. Everything about the site's features and interface are designed to help devs present themselves, and to kindle user interest in new games.
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Greenlight Concepts section can help get early feedback
The Concepts section of Greenlight allows incomplete projects to be put on display and receive feedback, including mock-voting as if they were full Greenlight submissions. This can be a valuable tool for refining design, presentation and marketing techniques.
Pro The largest and best-known PC distribution service
Steam's user base is over ten times that of the next nearest competitor, making it by far the largest single marketplace.
Pro Explicit site mission is to connect indie devs with players
IndieDB isn't just a place where you can build hype for your game: it aims to be the definitive place where you should. Everything about the site's features and interface are designed to help devs present themselves, and to kindle user interest in new games.
Pro Large overlap with Desura userbase
Desura and IndieDB were initially both operated by Desura Group, and shared a single user database. Linden Labs obtained Desura (only) in January 2014 and the sites' user bases are now split, but extensive crossover remains. Interest built through IndieDB can translate directly to sales on Desura.
Pro Easy for journalists to look up
People from IndieStatik, Kotaku, etc will check IndieDB for info on new games.
Pro Indie cred
Lots of games and developers on here.
Cons
Con Registration costs $100
In order to submit games to Greenlight at all, you must first purchase a $100 activation for your Steam account. Note that this does not represent profit for Valve: all proceeds are donated to charity. It is strictly a barrier to entry.
Con Approval process is a competitive market
The Greenlight submissions with the most votes are approved in arbitrary batches, generally 50 to 100 per month. No metric is used other than raw quantity of positive votes.
Con Poor metrics for popularity tracking
Your game on IndieDB has a popularity ranking, but it considers only the past 24 hours, making it only good for noticing spikes in attention. Individual pages have hit counters, which can provide a more lasting record of interest but must be tracked and compared manually.
