I'm waiting for the physical copy. It's one of my most wanted games, but am still holding out. Seriously should have just went simultaneous physical/digital release.
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How are Indie games actually performing on Switch? Sales reports so far
- Thread starter Boiled Goose
- Start date
I'm waiting for the physical copy. It's one of my most wanted games, but am still holding out. Seriously should have just went simultaneous physical/digital release.
OP
OP
I think the argument is that the "main" games on other platforms get heavily discounted while the main games on Nintendo consoles tend to be first party games that hold their value for much much longer.
It launched with no fanfare while many were still playing Octopath among other recent releases. Doesn't help that the game did not so well on Steam, and had kind of mediocre reviews. I think if the game had been featured in a direct at some point it would have done a lot better.
We always hear about indies doing great but it's nice to have it summarized like in the OP.
Of course if a dev is "disappointed" would they report it?
Of course if a dev is "disappointed" would they report it?
It's a great console to play indies, and sales seem to be bearing that out.
As far as CSH goes, I'm planning to get it at some point, but I only have so much time. I'm nowhere near done with Octopath, and by the time I finish it there will be another game or two release I want to get too. The game looks great and I love Lunar and I know the devs are inspired by that series, but the Switch just has too many awesome games to be able to buy and play at launch, and I don't buy new games til I am done with whatever I am already playing.
As far as CSH goes, I'm planning to get it at some point, but I only have so much time. I'm nowhere near done with Octopath, and by the time I finish it there will be another game or two release I want to get too. The game looks great and I love Lunar and I know the devs are inspired by that series, but the Switch just has too many awesome games to be able to buy and play at launch, and I don't buy new games til I am done with whatever I am already playing.
There is a reason both Nintendo and Sony gave up on F-Zero and Wipeout as IP. High speed future racers are extremely niche.
OP
OP
Of course there's a bias, but we do frequently hear about bombs and disappointing sales.
Also, I add comparisons to other platforms to give more context to the "happy" numbers
I hope it can sell better in the long term. I preloaded it before launch to show support, I won't start it until I'm done with Octopath, but I think the game looks awesome. I'll also grab the LRG physical release whne that materializes next year.
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Yeah, it's a shame a bunch of Octopath players probably don't know about the game at all. I feel like Nintendo's probably swamped with the sheer amount of indie titles applying for eShop. They need to expand their indie managment division if they want to give more indies a chance to be noticed. I feel like they're doing an decent job of promoting indies compared to other platforms, but definitely still have room for improvement. I think they've basically been cherry picking indies to showcase based on either exclusive Switch content or past acclaim on other platforms.
I was surprised the recent newsfeed featuring female protagonists didn't feature Cosmic Star Heroine, but the list may have been conceived before the game was on the eShop, or they have an internal process of picking indies and haven't considered CSH yet. Have you looked into participating in the Indie-dedicated newsfeed they mentioned on the Nindies showcase? A developer Q&A or something might help get more exposure.
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So many great games decisions must be made. In planning on getting it on steam on a good sale. But yeah with so much content coming out and really a finite amount of gamer dollars to go around it's inevitable great games will undeservedly be ignored. Undertale will grab attention from retro RPG gamers too.
Just want to say that I'm absolutely planning on getting it at some point, just don't have money and too much to play as is.
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Just want to say i still have it on my Wish List and plan to buy it later. I am still not finished with octopath so it is still kind of hard for me to commit to another RPG like that at the moment.
And the last Month was realy kind of crazy with the combination of the release of dead cells and overcooked 2, the summer sales and 2 indi presentations with shadow drops for a few games. I imagine i was not the only one effected by all of this and i hope the sales for the game pick up a little bit later on.
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Well, you just got another sale, so cheers to persistence.
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Super disappointing to hear about Cosmic Star Heroine. I bought it on PS4 last year and loved it. It deserves way better.
I like how the only one reporting meh sales is that Guy from Atooi that also said some time ago that 3DS was dead for indies, because his unremarkable game with little to no marketing died on the eshop.
Ultimately, Atooi's games are good, but not great. And with so many great indies on the eShop, it's tough to justify buying a "good" game outside of a heavy discount.
That being said, I bought it at launch lol
His games are good, but as you say they are not great, so they go under in the sea of better games.
What bothers me is that he then blames everyting but the mediocrity of his own games for their failure.
1) & 2) are certainly my driving factors. Games that have been sent to die on my hard drive are seeing a lease of life on Switch.
This path was actually trod first by Vita, which was an amazing little indie machine. It, unfortunately, didn't understand how to take advantage of itself on a first party front, plus suffered from having everything under the sun thrown at it - touch back, cameras, media functions, apps.
This path was actually trod first by Vita, which was an amazing little indie machine. It, unfortunately, didn't understand how to take advantage of itself on a first party front, plus suffered from having everything under the sun thrown at it - touch back, cameras, media functions, apps.
Nintendo is getting pretty great at marketing indies in a way i actually use their yt channel to have a lot of stuff on my radar to get on PC.
Tho is sorta stupid of them to not help in pushing CSH, since Switch's JRPG library still isn't exacty that big.
About Atooi, i really liked Chicken Wiggle but Mutant Mudds and Xeodrifter were pretty meh imo.
Tho is sorta stupid of them to not help in pushing CSH, since Switch's JRPG library still isn't exacty that big.
About Atooi, i really liked Chicken Wiggle but Mutant Mudds and Xeodrifter were pretty meh imo.
Well I do absolutely think "less competition" is huge for some of these games. The Switch didn't have many big-budget or Nintendo heavy hitters this year, so you have hungry users browsing an eshop for content. That eshop doesn't have many releases per week, so indie devs are getting precious visibility that is much harder on Steam or even PSN. Many of these indie titles are ports of already decent to great selling games that were critically well received, and/or in genres/sub-genres that Nintendo's older consoles had that fans still want. Stardew Valley is Harvest Moon, Hollow Knight is Metroid, Brawlout is Smash Bros before real Smash Bros released, etc.
Many of these games, especially the rogue-lites, work very well on the go for short sessions.
Many of these games, especially the rogue-lites, work very well on the go for short sessions.
For a system that has only been out for about a year and a half, the Switch's JRPG library is huge. 2 major first party exclusive releases (Xenoblade 2 & Octopath), a lot of ports and a handful of same day launch multiplatform releases. At this stage in its life, most systems have next to nothing in the JRPG genre.
I agree with some of your points, but "That eshop doesn't have many releases per week" ??? There are well over 20 new games every week on the eshop.
Excellent thread. Was looking for this info some time ago. Thanks a lot for the effort OP its so nice to have it all in one place.
I think one big point is that quality is the most important qualifier for many Switch owners. They are just looking for good games and if the quality is there they are willing to buy.
On other, more established platforms, quality is also a factor...but the price is the more deciding factor. Unless the game is dirt cheap many players will just straight up ignore a release....and dont bother or wait for a sale. And even when the sale happens that game competes with all other indie titles that also have to one sales for them to sell...as well as the dozen of past AAA titles that get discounted all the time.
Thats not a great spot to be in most of the time....knowing all the work you put into a game, might be rendered useless unless your game ends up being nearly free or as part of some indie bundle.
Yeah, always have to shake my head when people act like Switch is some JRPG wasteland when it stacks up quite well for a young system.
On other, more established platforms, quality is also a factor...but the price is the more deciding factor. Unless the game is dirt cheap many players will just straight up ignore a release....and dont bother or wait for a sale. And even when the sale happens that game competes with all other indie titles that also have to one sales for them to sell...as well as the dozen of past AAA titles that get discounted all the time.
Thats not a great spot to be in most of the time....knowing all the work you put into a game, might be rendered useless unless your game ends up being nearly free or as part of some indie bundle.
Yeah, always have to shake my head when people act like Switch is some JRPG wasteland when it stacks up quite well for a young system.
Yeah I understand that but as more 3rd party games come to switch it will happen. Skyrim has been £15 in playstation sales and at some point it will be that price on switch, then the latest £15 - £20 indie game has more competition.
Couldn't see it in the OP
https://www.destructoid.com/fox-n-f...-ratio-with-pc-and-4-1-with-ps4--511028.phtml
Fox N Forests was 3:1 on Switch compared to PC and 4:1 compared to PS4
https://www.destructoid.com/fox-n-f...-ratio-with-pc-and-4-1-with-ps4--511028.phtml
Fox N Forests was 3:1 on Switch compared to PC and 4:1 compared to PS4
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I see that you do have a channel for CSH. How easy is it to publish to that channel? I see a lot of regular updates with interesting lore or behind the scenes stuff for games like Earthlock and Hyper Sentinel. Don't know if they translate to many sales but they've definitely managed to keep the games on my radar!
Also have you spoken to some of the devs who've released demos on the eshop? Are those a good investment to make?
I see that you do have a channel for CSH. How easy is it to publish to that channel? I see a lot of regular updates with interesting lore or behind the scenes stuff for games like Earthlock and Hyper Sentinel. Don't know if they translate to many sales but they've definitely managed to keep the games on my radar!
Also have you spoken to some of the devs who've released demos on the eshop? Are those a good investment to make?
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It's lovely to see them finding success on the platform!
Brawlout is 150k though!
https://nintendoeverything.com/yooka-laylee-revealed-for-brawlout-over-150000-players-on-switch/
Brawlout is 150k though!
https://nintendoeverything.com/yooka-laylee-revealed-for-brawlout-over-150000-players-on-switch/
Many these sales figures are not updated, Shin'en said last year sales were similar to Kamiko.
But earlier this year at GDC Nintendo announced that Fast RMX was one of the top 10 best selling indie games on Switch, pretty sure it's above that now, so don't jump to conclusions.
Though Blossom Tales is available only on Switch on consoles, Cosmic Star Heroine launched last year first on all other consoles including Vita, and i think it was first announced at a Playstation event (PSX maybe?) so people could have associated it with their platforms.
A little bummed by this cause JRPGs are doing so well on the system so far, i think the timing didn't help and from a big egoistic perspective for us europeans having more languages available is very important. (I've no problems with english, but i know many people who buy games only with multi language option, at least text, dub is not that important)
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It's know it's memetic at this point, but my anecdotal evidence is that the format of the hardware does seem to make people at least a little less risk averse and a little more prone to purchasing sub-$60 games like indies. From a personal standpoint, my Switch collection is over 40 games in about 18 months -- I've never had that much density in my library on a console or handheld so early on. I don't know if it's convenience, portability, or just the general tactile appeal of the hardware, but I know I'm not alone in being more liable to pick stuff up on Switch than I am elsewhere -- it's something that I hear pretty commonly, whether it's more openness to giving something a shot for the first time or even to buy it again just to have it with a portable option.
Did the game sell well though or just less badly than on other platforms? The ratio is still super impressive considering install bases of course.
It also raises in interesting point about people claiming switch owners just want good games. Fox n Forests is incredibly average and had no hype or word of mouth.
Wow, Nintendo treated you badly, huh, that's a shame to hear :/
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I never bought indie titles for XB/PC because it felt like a "waste", playing smaller titles on the big screen instead of AAA titles.
On Switch, they are perfect.
On Switch, they are perfect.
I still think Cosmic Star Heroine is a nice fit for the Switch, as proved by Octopath Traveler, there are a lot of Switch owners who remember and still love the golden age of JRPG and CSH is a love letter to that epoch with its own spin.
But I do think there is a visibility issue in that who might be interested in CSH don't know about it and maybe is still busy with OT.
For example I believe that many that don't know about CSH before hand but are interested in 16 bit RPG are less likely to click on the game to visit the eshop page due to the icon and name of the game that don't reflect instantly that it might be a JRPG throwback.
I think the best event it could happen to CSH sales is if a few months from OT release, Nintendo publish a newsfeed about "other games like Octopath Traveler" and CSH is included in the selection.
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There is a difference between being niche and being marketed right.
Do you believe those two would sell less than a million?
100k for a launch title is really unfortunate results for the attention it did get.
I always wonder if openly criticizing is the right move in that situation - at the end of the day people run that dev-relation/indie support over there and you were one of the vocal public voices that criticized Nintendo for how they were treating indies based on your personal experience early in the life cycle.
Ever since last year we had a bunch of weeks with +20 eShop releases per week, a bunch of nindies showcases and who knows how many dev-kits sent to many devs worldwide. So i would assume that they have been already dedicating alot of resources to that area even if it wasnt enough to meet every devs demand or wishes.
There are alot of great games that get ported to the system and just appear without alot of fan fare or marketing support from the first party side....considering the volume of releases thats just not realistic to expect.
Limited resources and making them look somewhat bad online is probably not the best combination for getting some better treatment.....but i get your frustration. When you read about the indie success stories early on and have a game ready to drop asap, know it would do well because of the lack of competition...and then getting stonewalled must suck.
Ever since last year we had a bunch of weeks with +20 eShop releases per week, a bunch of nindies showcases and who knows how many dev-kits sent to many devs worldwide. So i would assume that they have been already dedicating alot of resources to that area even if it wasnt enough to meet every devs demand or wishes.
There are alot of great games that get ported to the system and just appear without alot of fan fare or marketing support from the first party side....considering the volume of releases thats just not realistic to expect.
Limited resources and making them look somewhat bad online is probably not the best combination for getting some better treatment.....but i get your frustration. When you read about the indie success stories early on and have a game ready to drop asap, know it would do well because of the lack of competition...and then getting stonewalled must suck.
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The game released in a stacked period of Indie games on the Switch which most likely affected the sales I'd say. It's on my list of gets as soon as I wrap up Hollow Knight and I'm sure that's the case for many.
Either way, I am hoping for the game to keep selling.
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Yes, a new Wipeout has a high chance to sell less than a million.
F-Zero if done right probably would edge a million.
EDIT:
To clarify why I think Wipeout was never as a big seller as many think, only two Wipeout games have ever sold more than 150K in US.
Now it doesn't even make sense to release a Wipeout game as it was a full price retail release, sales simply aren't there.
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Josh from Mighty Rabbit said Saturday Morning RPG's digital sales were below expectations a while ago, but I believe the physical release made up the difference eventually.
OT: I do find it fantastic the way Nintendo are giving indie games exposure and its nice to see all these success stories. I was a big advocate of indies on Vita (Still am) and the handheld form factor meshes so well with many of these titles.
I really wish there had been an indie explosion early in Vita's life but sadly it came a bit too late (2014 onwards) so Switch makes for an interesting case study of what happens when you push these games early on. Same thing PS4 did too actually.
Nah, there are so many Switch titles I sincerely doubt the majority have overperformed.
Underperforming being the minority doesnt mean that the majority has over performered.
Most titles probably sell around what is expected and that at full price....which already is a big upgrade compared to some other store where you cant expect any kind of numbers before some severe price drops.
Also Jools in general seem to have had some crazy expectations with its past releases....next to no marketing, premium price points and still expecting the games to sell well when there is much high quality indie content available.