Third-party titles and indie games have been finding success on the Nintendo Switch console, including Stardew Valley which is close to reaching a million in global sales, and Overcooked: Special Edition has reached over 500,000 in global sales.
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There are also titles being released by publishers who had previously not been seen on Nintendo platforms, such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim from Bethesda Softworks. When these publishers release their titles for Nintendo Switch, their sales grow. Even for titles that were already available on other companies’ platforms, it seems that consumers are experiencing new ways to have fun when those titles are combined with the unique hardware features of Nintendo Switch. These publishers are preparing new ideas for consumers who purchased Nintendo Switch so they could enjoy these types of titles.
A wide variety of publishers of all sizes from regions around the globe including indie developers have been on board since the release of Nintendo Switch, thanks to the early availability of a development environment. The number of titles available for purchase on Nintendo eShop from publishers stood at over 600 titles as of the end of March 2018. This pace of availability on Nintendo eShop is over 10 times the rate seen for the same period after the Nintendo 3DS launch. We see this as an expression of how the new approach of Nintendo Switch is resonating with publishers around the world. And we expect this trend to continue. Indie developers have realized ideas that utilize the special features of the Nintendo Switch hardware, and their unique features of gameplay and operability have won praise from consumers and the media alike.
Note: The number of titles is the total number of titles available from Nintendo eShop sites around the world. Localized titles are not counted as separate titles.
Several titles from these indie developers have remained at the top of the download rankings. One example is Rocket League, which was released last November. This title is now also available as a packaged version in markets outside of Japan and many people have enjoyed its game play around the world. Another example is Stardew Valley, which is heading for global sales of 1 million units after being released last October in the US and Europe, and then in Japan at the start of this year. And Overcooked: Special Edition, which was released last summer in Japan and other markets, has already sold over a half-million units. All of these titles were released for other companies’ platforms before ever being available for Nintendo Switch, so it seems consumers have recognized how well they fit with the “anytime, anywhere, with anyone” concept of Nintendo Switch.
Titles from indie developers have a particular presence in the North American and European markets. Compared to other parts of the world, there is still work to be done in Japan to expand awareness of titles from indie developers. We want to give as many consumers as possible the chance to find the kinds of games they have always wanted to play. By expanding the game genres and increasing the number of game titles, we anticipate more interest from consumers who originally had little interest in Nintendo platforms.
