Radiohead and Prince are doing it in music.

Many are doing it in gaming such as 2D Boy and Polytron Corporation.

And even more are set to come down the same path. Such is the power of the Internet Clout Mace, baby, and it can’t be denied.

Independence is the hotness because of its… freshness? No really, with independence comes the end of format. No albums or boxed games, more fun, more risks. Thank god independence, if it wasn’t for you we’d have never played Canabalt or Madballs in Babo. We wouldn’t have felt the vibes of Auditorium and Audiosurf. And no Quakelive or Trackmania either.

Not that we don’t like big budget AAAAAAA games. GTA and Call of Duty bring the joy of interactive action movies to our hands. World of Warcraft has millions drawning in geeky happiness. We all heard of private Street Fighter 4 clubs. We want that.

It’s just that, sometimes, big budget means lots of cut scenes but no balls. And, sometimes, we wonder why.

Hotness?

We like hotness. We want to touch it with our hands.