Topic: For some reason the Switch has made me go crazy for Indie games

I say this since I never really seemed to care much for indie games otherwise. I wasn't really into them on the PS3, I got some indies on the Xbox 360 Arcade a while back but a lot of that was from well known developers or IP's. I never seemed to really care much for indies on my Xbox One, and besides some interesting exclusives I didn't care much for indies on my PS4 either. Even when I was into PC gaming I didn't care for indies unless I got them for next to nothing on sale out of impulse curiosity. In fact, before I got my Switch I was one of those guys who was just like "I simply don't care for Indie games."

...then I got a Nintendo Switch, and I eventually started to become a regular user of this site just to keep up with all the games.

Now I am looking at what is by far the biggest collection of indie games that I have ever had, and they are all on my Switch! Thing is these are all great games, all games that I find very interesting, and a lot of them I passed up on other platforms or simply dismissed.

I don't know why this is, but I am sure glad I got into it.

@JayJ You had probably fallen for the trap that many online do, of thinking that "indie" means cheap or bad. The conspiracy theorist in me likes to think that idea was spread by big companies who are annoyed with the low cost competition.

But it's more likely just because of the way the internet has a tendency to promote negativity.

@JayJ
Good to hear.
Indie games right now are Different with previous era like PS3 / Wii / Xbox 360.
There are a lot of Good Indie games that also in Physical retail.
Better keep your eyes on them.

To me, consoles can be differentiated into two categories (aside from handheld and home console, that is): Liking or even loving a console itself as well as its library, and liking a console‘s library but not really the hardware itself. One is more likely to have interest into a game if the earlier option is the case than with the latter. Personally, I‘ve noticed that on WiiU. Aside from the main course of exclusives and a handful of VC titles, I didn‘t care much for it. But on, Switch, I‘m looking at over 50 games in just ten months! And there are several titles I do wish were coming to the system, something I’ve never done. This may very well be the case with you.

Also, indie games are never to be underestimated. Yes, they may not have that big of a budget but there‘s something much more important that most do have - passion for the game. They don‘t develop it because they wanna make tons of money, most do because it‘s what they wanna do. Some of my favorite games are indie titles. Stardew Valley, Undertale, Minecraft and the list just goes on.

Hi, is the Hori Nintendo Switch mount good for the car or no?

I've heard this a number of times this year. I assume the "play it as a console or handheld" feature just does a good job of getting people to buy different types of games, for whatever reason. Or maybe because Nintendo so far as struck a balance between quantity and quality that the other consoles (and especially Steam) haven't gotten.

All I know, is that as a Wii U owner, I cared about indies on Nintendo before it was cool! hipster But seriously, regardless of why, I am always happy to see people check out a more diverse and varied selection of games.

For me it was mostly the lack of a Virtual console. Sometimes indie games are actually great games, better than many big companies games, I love things like Wulverblade, but there are also many indie games that feels too cheap, are fun maybe but are also so much limited that I cannot really enjoy them. I heard a lot of people enjoying Graceful explosion machine so much for example but to me it was really disapppointing. There are people who just love indie games and that can appreciate a simple and cheap diversion as much as a polished game full of content. I can appreciate some indie games for sure, I can even really love some of them, but I'm not to the point that I don't care about how polished they are. And Switch hasn't changed my mind. But I've felt the need to try some indies that I was not sure about because there was no Virtual console. Sometimes I discovered worthful games (The Bridge for example), other times I was disappointed and regret the purchase

Tetris was an indie game. DOOM was an indie game. Even Grand Theft Auto was an indie game.
Heck, the biggest publishers and devs started their businesses by developing 8-bit indie games.

@SKTTR Digging a bit too deep there, aren't we?

I guess indies are better known for their pick up and play nature (in general). Would also say that aside from indie games, it's pretty slim pickings atm on the Switch for the foreseeable future after completing SMO and XC2 so could have subconsciously changed spending habits?

Games, regardless of budget, can be fun or terrible!

@LuckyLand I really have to agree that the lack of virtual console seems to be the biggest difference between my game buying habits on my Switch vs the Wii and Wii U. On the Wii and Wii U the virtual console essentially dominated, I bought the odd exclusive indie game here and there but the virtual console games were by far my priority. It is honestly why I don't care the slightest about virtual console on my Switch, I feel like I have milked that so well on my Wii, Wii U, and 3DS that I simply have no real need for it anymore. Like, if I want to play some classic Nintendo games I will just do so on one of those consoles. My Switch has more or less been about new things, the ACA games are the only retro thing I am really interested in these days besides some of the arcade archives.

While there may be some good Indy titles out there the market is just so oversaturated with Indy titles that are not. I'd support VC releases (not ACA titles since my arcade experience is limited) over Indy titles, that's not to say I wouldn't buy a decent Indy title by no means but at the same time Nintendo needs to cater to the retro gaming community. The mini retro consoles are not a good solution. They are hard to come by and way overpriced with no way to add to the collection (legally anyway). I would love to see a unified VC across all Nintendo platforms, it certainly would help with the exclusives on systems such as gba VC being only on wiiu and gameboy being on on 3ds.

@GameOtaku There definitely has been a rush of indie games coming out lately, and even as someone who likes to pick up every great game I have to be very choosy about the kind of games that I get since a lot of them just aren't for me. I guess that's the thing, due to the saturation at the moment it is pretty easy to just focus on a genre that you particularly enjoy, for me it has been shoot-em-ups, but I also enjoy creative and classic games as well.

I get more excited by the indies that are out or coming out than first party titles. Binding of Isaac, stardew, Enter the gungeon, Terraria are just as good a reason to buy the switch as Odyssey and Botw. I love how the switch seems to close the gap between vast budgets and one man developers, games of all scopes fit just as well on this console.

So far, none of the truly indie titles have interested me, other than Kamiko, which I enjoyed.

However, I do enjoy the occasional title by the more "mid-tier" developers, such as Shantae & the two recently released Pinball titles (also have my eyes on Wonder Boy & Mummy Demastered).

I think the switch is a brave New world for alot of indie developers.

It makes it so easy to purchase and consume indie titles that it's a no brainer to bring your titles to the system.

That being said, during this relatively early period for the switch , digital releases seem the way to go. People think it's sometimes a bitter pill to pay what retailers are asking for physical AAA titles, let alone paying near those prices for indie games.

I think Switch having no VC has helped indies so much especially when you compare the eshop charts for Switch to the eshop charts of 3DS/Wii U.

@Grumblevolcano Yeah I am glad they are getting past the Virtual Console, but I am also sad to see it go on the Wii. At least we still have the Wii U and 3DS for a while.

With the Switch I am fine with it just having ACA and Arcade Classic releases. It seems perfect for the console, I already have a couple of 3DS consoles and a Wii U that are loaded up with VC classics so I really don't want to be buying those games again anyways. I love how this has opened up the indie market, since the focus on VC got really old and repetitive. It was like, some people just really wanted to be playing the same old games over and over again and buying them over and over again on the Switch, but I am glad we got a different focus.