As part of a press briefing at GDC 2018 - where it was also revealed that the Nintendo Switch eShop will receive an update to improve game visibility - Nintendo revealed the top ten selling indie games, and it's a who's who of independently-developed hits. Here's the list (in no particular order):
- SteamWorld Dig 2
- Stardew Valley
- Kamiko
- Celeste
- Fast RMX
- Overcooked: Special Edition
- Golf Story
- Enter The Gungeon
- NBA Playgrounds
- Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
There are some expected big hitters in there, such as the brilliant Celeste, the ever-engrossing Stardew Valley and the superior sequel, SteamWorld Dig 2. There are also a few surprising entries, such as Fast RMX and NBA Playgrounds (presumably driven by the fact they were released early in Switch's life cycle where there were fewer games to choose from on the eShop).
Nintendo also revealed digital third-party unit sales surpassed those of physical units in the North America - a first for the region. "This means we're setting a very similar course to the likes of EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Take Two - all those guys are 50-60 of their total revenue is digital," comments senior manager for publisher and developer relations Damon Baker. "It's really encouraging to see this resonating with a Nintendo audience as well."
What do you make of the list? Are there any indie games you think should have sold more and made the top ten? Share your thoughts below...
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 28
Seems pretty congruent with the quality of the games involved. Stardew Valley was my GotY 2016 and having it on Switch is great. Golf Story was a surprising gem and probably the coolest Switch-exclusive eShop game. SteamWorld Dig 2 is of course a top notch game, and Celeste looks to be a contender for GotY 2018.
All well deserved. Pretty great to see Celeste shoot up to the top 10 despite being the eShop for like a month. Really happy for I&F and the success with the SteamWorld IP as a whole.
Impressive that Celeste and Enter the Gungeon are already in the top 10, given that both are relatively recent releases, particularly Celeste. I'd have guessed something like Blaster Master Zero would have made the list, simply because it's been around since launch (and it's also excellent). And I'm guessing Rocket League doesn't count as an indie, because I'd be gobsmacked if it weren't in the top 3 overall.
Good list, though. Golf Story and SteamWorld Dig 2 are two of the best games on Switch, indie or not. Can't speak for Stardew Valley - I don't dare buy it, as it's such a time sink, I'd never play anything else!
But but but...I have it from a reliable source in Ireland that digital only sales aren’t significant. This must be a mistake.
I have all but two of those, NBA Playgrounds and Golf Story. The latter I will get eventually. All of them are great games.
Not too surprised. I have put well over 100 hours into Stardew and am not done yet. I really like Golf story as well.
I would be really curious to know, for games that were released, at the same time BOTH physical and digital, what the balance in sales is. Because if they are going over all, with so many games only digital, or having limited edition physical releases often coming much later, that would make that number almost meaningless in my book.
Also sad that Night in the Woods did not get more love. It is an OUTSTANDING narrative adventure. But I kind of understand, given it's relatively narrow target audience.
Switch is all about the indies now eh? Indies this indies that, indies all the way until Smash Bros comes out.
Glad Golf Story is getting some eShop love. Far better than Mario Golf outings in my opinion. All the humour and charm of older Nintendo efforts.
Need to try Celeste next...
I have 5/10 of these so far. It’s good to see quality shining through into sales. Switch fans must be a discerning bunch.
Not surprising the digital game split because of the smaller number of good physical games. I'm way more likely to pick up indie titles due to their smaller size in general digitally, and when at least 80% of the switch titles are probably indie it will make it happen.
Celeste was one of the most compelling and surprising games I’ve played in years. I’m so glad it has been so successful. It deserves every single sale.
Enter the Gungeon is literal days of fun for me. I hoped I would like it, but it is amazing how much I do.
Everyone should have Shovelknight if they enjoyed Megaman or Ducktales as kids.
wtf no Rocket League?? Really surprised it's not in there!?
Great to see. These games are digital download only.
@K1LLERBEAN Maybe people went for the physical version mostly, I'm just guessing. I know I did. Seems to be the thing with Switch.
Own 3 of these. Some of them don't appeal to me but it's great to see variety in the eshop top 10.
@Grawlog
Overcooked has some progression issues, but otherwise our family loves it. You need to be careful not to destroy friendships while playing, however. lol. It's all about multiplayer, too, and three to four players is probably best. Right now, we are finding that the fun and silliness is giving way to wanting to perfect things and some of the later stage challenges are just a bit of a chore... but that could be partly due to switching to two-player most of the time, now.
Looking forward to playing Steamworld Dig 2, really enjoyed the first one. Celeste is the big winner so far this year for me, but I also like the co-op, so Aegis Defenders is right up there.
Not enough time for all these games, though. Haven't even done the DLC for Zelda yet. Splatoon 2, Mario Odyssey, Shovel Knight are all games I really love but aren't getting as much play as I want to give them. So many backlogged games on Switch, Wii U, and PC.
@K1LLERBEAN I wouldn't read much into it. There are only 10 games in a top ten list. There are a few conspicuous omissions and they are likely in the 11-15 range, right?
@aaronsullivan true!
4/10 of those for sure will be appearing on my future Switch. I'm one of the ten people who hasn't played Shovel Knight, am dying to try Steamworld Dig 2 (and re-download its predecessor), am very intrigued by Celeste, and despite my dislike of golf, I'm even considering Golf Story.
@K1LLERBEAN I think Nintendo isn't classing Rocket League as an indie game. If they were then for sure that along with Stardew Valley are the top 2 best selling games on the Eshop.
The only ones on the list I don't own are Kamiko, Overcooked, Shovel Knight and Golf Story. The first 2 don't interest me, Shovel Knight I have on Wii U and played it so much I'm in no rush to again but I will get it in a future sale., Golf Story I just haven't got around to buying yet but I will.
@OorWullie you maybe right but it’s been sitting in the 15 or so best selling games since it came out...i’m just surprised it didn’t make the cut. Great multiplayer game and great port!
Great list. £279 sounds like a lot for a console just to play indie titles but that's what I've been enjoying playing the most. 100+ hours on zelda, 40+ on MK8 and 20+ on Odyssey. But I've played more than 200 collective hours on indie titles. And at the moment, there's nothing coming soon that's considered anything but indie that I'm really that bothered about. However my wishlist of indie titles grows every other day!
NBA Playgrounds is the only one that surprises me. I assume there's a good reason for Rocket League's absence. Would have liked to see the splendid Thumper get a bit more love but probably unlikely. Niche and available elsewhere.
I'm not sure why it's surprising to see Fast RMX on that list, it's a fantastic racer even a year after release that still doesn't have a rival.
Don't run down FastRMX...
Slime-San should be on that list, but Celeste and Golf Story's inclusions make me smile. They're both good, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good!
I also feel that fast rmx is not surprising. It's a fantastic well reviewed game with a great amount of content for the price,
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