One of the more popular indies to arrive on Switch in recent weeks is A Short Hike, a game which not only took the crown as our favourite Switch eShop game of August 2020, but also nabbed a rare 10/10 score in our review.
It's a lovely experience that deserves to perform well, and thankfully, it would appear that the game is doing very well indeed on Switch. Speaking to Nintendo Everything, creator Adam Robinson-Yu has said that "so far the sales have been much stronger on Switch," with "the PC release [being] much quieter by comparison.”
It's a familiar story. Just last week, we shared the news that Alwa's Legacy has also seen significantly better sales on Nintendo's platform than on Steam, with Switch owners seemingly gobbling up top-quality titles in great numbers.
As part of Nintendo Everything's interview, Robinson-Yu also shared the following:
"Pretty much as soon as A Short Hike came out for PC, I started getting requests for a Switch port! I was also excited to get the game onto the console, but it ended up taking me a while. There was a lot more to do on the business side of things, which I wasn’t super prepared to handle. I also wanted to do the actual porting work myself, to make sure the port was at the quality I wanted it to be. It wasn’t super tough, but the whole process took much longer than I anticipated!"
If you haven't checked out A Short Hike yet, we certainly recommend reading our review and giving it a go if it seems like something you'd enjoy. Let us know if you've already played it with a comment below.
[source nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 50
Well deserved.
Good to hear it doing well. I really enjoyed this game.
It's a great little game. I need to play more of the side stories/quests.
Really good game at a very reasonable price point. Good to see it doing well on the system, not that that's much of a surprise.
Good to see.
This will really annoy that Rose guy! Time for another lengthy Twitter rant!
way to short for a video game, I beat it and already forgot about it the day it came out.
@stevep
May want to see a Dr about that.
Wonderful game. Already owned it on PC but had to get it on Switch as well.
Has anyone made any studies into why Switch owners buy more of these indie games than PC gamers? It would be interesting to see some someone try to come up with a possible explanation.
Without any numbers one would just be plainly speculating as to why.
A wonderful little game, loved every second of it! Glad to see it was a success in terms of sales too
@Bomberman64 Would be super interesting! Personally, i just feel like, why would i buy it on PC when i can have it portable and stationary? And with indie games that the Switch can easily handle, there's just no downside to playing them on it. I feel like the take-it-anywhere aspect is huge for many people.
@stevep the whole experience clearly went over your head
Sales generally being better on the Switch makes the publisher decision not to release Crash Bandicoot 4 on Switch, a poor one.
i'm with stevep on this one to some extent, it was a fine game but not the Second Coming a lot of people make it out to be
was worth the itch.io money i paid for it, glad it's doing well
@Bomberman64 A lot of indie games tend to make really good handheld games. Easy to casually pick up and play anywhere and they're generally not too graphically demanding in the first place so there's no compromise being made for the portability.
@Bomberman64 I always thought Switch being portable was the reason indies did so well on the console. Nintendolife could do a poll (if they haven't already).
@MichaelHarvey It could be a deliberate strategy to announce a Switch port later down the line when the sales dry up to maximise on the number of people who double dip.
Played this during a two week quarantine. It is short but it’s also very sweet and fun, relaxing and mildly challenging. I thought of it more as a digital toy with gaming elements. It reminded me a little of Touryst, with small side games you can go back to and play as standalone entertainment. Happy to see it’s been a commercial success.
While the PC and Switch audiences are a little different I suspect much of the difference is simply due to press coverage. Just comparing Short Hike on Metacritic:
PC version:
10 reviews (several are months after release)
80 average
77th best game of the year (2019)
Switch version:
13 reviews (within a month of release)
88 average
5th best game of the year
That's a huge difference in coverage.
I don't know, I just don't like the visuals. I think they were trying to make it bright and colorful, but that filter makes it look like something from the 1990s.
@LatsaSpege You can change it to "small pixels" in the settings which removes the "filter" and gives it a less blocky look.
I hope it sells well everywhere. However, interesting & actually kinda heartening that it's selling well on the Switch.
Wonder how the "better Switch sales" for this game factor in EGS? Had this on my Steam and GoG wishlist before realizing I owned it on Epic when they gave it away for free.
Picked this up after I read about it here. Fantastic game to play through with my daughter.
We hear this type of thing regularly. It's an interesting rebuttal to the developers who say the eShop is a difficult business venue. Success can be found. Some of it is understanding Nintendo's audience and making a game that appeals to it, which this game does.
@chardir That is a very interesting comparison. Thanks for posting that. That is huge difference.
Yes, a Short Hike is short. And I do think play time factors into how good a game is. On the opposite side, I have played RPGs that are good, but after 40 hours, I am ready for it to be finished.
I think unless a game has great exploration and/or creation (BotW, ACNH) or it has continually engaging play mechanics (Rocket League) then it is better to be on the shorter side than the longer side. Just my opinion . . .
PS: I love Short Hike!
It’s a great game I thoroughly enjoyed it, hope there’s some more content somewhere along the line!
It's a great game. And I just think these indie games are mostly a better fit for a hybrid console, honestly. I have a beast gaming rig, but it's kind of reserved for times when I can afford to really sit down and spend a couple hours on a game. For smaller games like this, it's much easier to game portably for 10 minutes and then put it down.
Definitely a very pleasant little experience, so I’m glad to see it’s doing well. For many people it may be over in an evening, but it’ll be an evening well spent.
Interesting, but it does not surprise me. I really think that the portability factor has a lot to do with why this happens.
I am sure that there are many more examples of what games do much better on Switch, and would be interested in seeing a list. I know for a fact ToeJam and Earl BITG performed best on Switch by a long-shot.
A superb game with a superb seamless soundtrack. Love the heck out of this little adventure.
@Bomberman64 Personally, I bought more little indie experiences for 3DS and Switch because it's a console meant to go with you, and it's the double whammy of my go-to multiplayer console. You don't see many triple-A games going for co-op or short little experiences, things that suit handheld games well.
@Bomberman64 as you say, I can only speculate and speak for myself: but as a Nintendo fan and PC Gamer who enjoys Indie games, I've found that for the focused play experience of an Indie game, the Switch platform is perfect. I don't need a whole keyboard and mouse set-up when a pair of Joycons will do.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is a huge Venn diagram overlap between people who enjoy Super Mario Bros. and people who like Indie experiences, for that matter: Nintendo fans are the natural audience for this sort of thing.
Deserves every one of those sales. What a lovely gem of a game.
Great game, excellent price point, and very imaginative use of BotW-like mechanics...so imaginative, you can't really say they "stole" or copied, it is similar but fits in well with the game.
If you want to "beat" the game, you could "finish" it in about 30-45 minutes. But the real joy is going around, exploring, and meeting the characters...I spent about 5+ hours, and loved every minute of it! I keep meaning to go back, and try to get more of the hidden items. Next holiday, maybe.
Freaking beautiful game. One of the few games I've 100% completed and then jumped back into days later just to experience the warm, friendly feels it gives me.
I keep playing 3+ hours in, after doing mostly everything, only to find more little things to discover. Such a special game, and the music is beyond good.
Got it on release. Such a good little game. Not too long, not too short. It's wonderful.
I still need to pick this up. It sounds like a good (and short!) game to dig into for a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon.
The game was nice but overrated. I'd say it's 7/10 at max. It's just too short.
As we all see the Switch is a portable platform that lends itself to developer expanding their horizon and gamers on the go are leading that results. The portable nature of the Switch helps to improve sales where people aren't tied down to the couch just to have a fun game.
@Bomberman64 guessing that PC gamers are more graphic intensive types, high performance gamers that push their investment. I am a casual gamer, probably lots more like me than on PC
@ritouf We need more games like this that are only a couple hours long. Perfect for a rainy afternoon bundled up in some blankets.
This game is just the cutest thing ever.
It's exactly the sort of thing I'd expect to do well with the Nintendo audience, so I'm glad to heard that this is the case.
@LatsaSpege
There's not filter. Just a decidedly low resolution.
never heard of it...is it good?
Just stopped by to say that I absolutely love this game. Part of me was originally sad with its length, but it still feels great to explore after you've found everything there is to do. It is so close to "perfect" for me that I'll just say it's perfect...
It was being given away for free in the epic gamestore at some point, I wonder if those counted as sales.
Definitely deserved. This game has easily become one of my favorite games of all time!
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