The Nintendo Switch has done something that even Steam hasn’t managed to do (or at least, quite as successfully), allowing indie games by developers to reach the audiences they deserve. What’s more, allowing these indie studios to gain traction, money, and popularity to help them succeed, this alone is proven by the story of the studio behind Blossom Tales. So it is our pleasure to say that Nintendo has recently revealed Nintendo Switch’s best selling indie games since its debut.
While we don’t have specific figures, Kotaku reported that Nintendo indie rep Damon Baker confirmed in a talk at GDC that the most successful digital indie titles on the platform were, in ranked order:
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Enter the Gungeon (Dodge Roll)
- Fast RMX (Shin’en Multimedia)
- Golf Story (Sidebar Games)
- Kamiko (Skipmore)
- NBA Playgrounds (Saber Interactive)
- Overcooked Special Edition (Ghost Town Games)
- Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (Yacht Club Games)
- Stardew Valley (Chucklefish)
- SteamWorld Dig 2 (Image and Form)
Indie games really have found a new life on the Nintendo Switch, and we couldn’t be happier to hear it. Baker also added that “Nintendo fans really tap into those games that share inspiration, or have a sense of, nostalgia, with tried and true franchises, maybe games they grew up playing when they were younger.” He couldn’t be more right. Baker also went on to say that multiplayer titles, in particular, had been incredibly successful, as well as games that had originally been on the PC now being on the move really appealed to a number of fans. It also doesn’t hurt that digital third-party titles have sold better in unit terms compared to that of their physical counterparts, though this is no doubt due to the fact most indie titles rarely get physical copies.
Regardless of how you may feel about Nintendo focusing on indie ports rather than first-party games, it would be wrong to deny the importance of Nintendo and indie developers teaming up to help show the world the vast amount of games at their very fingertips.
