Ron, on gamereactor.de you where quoted with the following lines (roughly translated back to English):
I’d love to be on a Nintendo. Nintendo is not good in dealing with small publishers and developers in the beginning. They prefer to talk with the large publishers first and after a year they allow smaller things. We definitely do talk with Nintendo . We will start the port as soon as we can do it.
…würde gerne auf Nintendo sein. Nintendo ist anfangs nicht besonders
gut im Umgang mit kleinen Entwicklern und Verlagen, sie gehen gerne zu
den großen Verlagen und nach einem Jahr lassen sie kleinere Dinge zu.
Wir sprechen definitiv mit Nintendo und sobald wir es tun können, werden
wir die Portierung machen.
This leads me to some questions:
Did you allready start porting the code? Currently there is a small library of games for the Switch. Every game released would add extra value on the machine on one hand. On the other hand there is a high chance of getting promoted in the eShop since there is not so much competition yet. this could be a win-win.
Is there any hardware you can test your code with? In my area it is close to impossible to get a device. It is sold out everywhere.
What controls are supposed to be implemented? Touch? Controller? Both?
Do you plan to release it as an electronic download only or as a cartridge as well? It would be cool to see Thimbleweed Park as a boxed version in stores.
With Shovel Knight and World of Goo there allready indy games available on the Nintendo eShop as a download. Is this a sign that Nintendo changed its mind indealing with small publishers?
Do you still have nighmares when you hear the word “Nintendo seal of quality”? Some say that developers had some minor issues with porting adventure games to early Nintendo devices…
I’m not Ron, but I think I can answer at least one of your question.
At the moment they are working on the Android and iOS ports and a DLC.
You can’t develop or test your game on a Switch. As a developer you have to buy a very expensive developer kit and be part of the Nintendo developer program. That’s expensive, especially for a small indie team.
I don’t know how Nintendo handles that today, but the developer has to produce the cartridges. I don’t think that most of the indie developers has the money to do that. A cartridge would be far more expensive than the boxed version of the PC version. And Ron said already that they don’t expect to make money with the box.
I’m curious: On Twitter etc. a lot of people are asking about a Switch port. Is the Switch really such a big market? I would guess there are far more PlayStations out there.
I just can talk for central Europe (including France, Germany and Switzerland). The stores are full of Switch accesoirs but you can hardly find an actual machine. When a store gets some (2 devices or so), they are sold out within hours. So the Switch seems to sell very good here. When buying online you have to wait for 4 weeks or longer till delivery.
On the other hand there is still a small number of titles available. There is Super Mario Kart, Zelda, Lego and some indy/retro/causual titles. But that’s it. I think that also creates a bigger demand on Twitter.
Installed base might be much higher on Xbox and PS4. They are already available for some time.
-seems new users can only put 2 links in a post, hence split post-
…
And yes the switch is wildly popluar, and with it’s current post-launch software drought even the worst of the digital download titles on its “eShop” have been seeing great sales compared to other platforms -source
Interesting. Do you have any numbers about the costs for the approval process and how much of the revenues you/the developers have to pay Nintendo (license fees, etc.)?
Yes, (cite): “… but with key indie publishers …”. So only the “bigger” indies are able to publish their games. I can’t - even if my game would pass their approval system.
My point was that (at least in the public media) it doesn’t seem like cost or sales is a negative factor.
But yes, they are in fact being very picky about which smaller devs they partner with it seems, but it is a possibility:
Damon Baker, head of partner management at Nintendo of America and self-professed indie dev advocate told Gamasutra that “selectivity” is the key word right now in terms of partnerships with smaller devs, which is his area of focus. …Baker plans a carefully curated indie developer lineup that will provide a constant stream of games. It’s an interesting strategy, one that was similarly used at the start of PlayStation 4’s life, when indie games helped fill a gap left by big-budget titles.
And yes, I know TWP on Switch is only dreaming and wishful thinking on mine and others behalf, but it is an avenue that I truly hope the team at least considers or looks into, and not just dismiss due to possibly misconceived concerns. In the end I feel it’s a perfect fit with the handheld&touch and/or couch&controller interface, resolution agnostic, minimal system requirements, small install size, etc. with the added bonuses of possibly high returns from a starving marketplace in a “drought” and (supposedly, at least according to other devs) easy and cheap to develop for, especially for fast ports…
Thimbleweed Park will be available on Nintendo Switch within 2 days (or 1, depending on the “logistic” factors).
Nonetheless, if I search “Thimbleweed Park” on the Nintendo site, Games section, there are still no results.
I wonder why…
Got it and played through it twice on the Switch.
Great port!
The only time the game was too unfair due to Switch controls was the door/sexyRiker puzzle. Not using the touch screen, the timing was too short to be able to do it quick enough.
