The Nintendo Switch is becoming the indie platform of choice while Steam Direct has turned Valve’s storefront into a choked mess where games go to fail.
Source article: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2018/03/16/blossom-tales-developers-avoid-closing-thanks-to-switch-sales-after-poor-steam-showing.aspx
Source image for Steam releases: https://u.cubeupload.com/0TCFhm.jpg
EA is selling DLC for DLC in The Sims 4.
I know it has nothing to do with steam but I thought I’d throw that out there.
“Steam is fine, and Steam, is mine” – Gabe Newell probably.
Why am I just now becoming aware of this game’s (Blossom Tales) existence? It looks really fun. Advertise stuff like this to me, Steam store!
The only time I even know about games on steam is when someone else tells me about it because I can never find anything myself. I’m a browser too, trying to find something to add to the wish list every week but it’s just too annoying
Week by week,Switch is also adding pure shite indies. And i love indies, but it’s getting really annoying
Because Steam doesn’t need quality control. Also, I don’t need lungs.
Steam is bad as a store, but it is still great as a delivery network for games…
I think part of the reason it sold better on the Switch is because, unlike Steam, the Switch store front IS closely curated. It doesn’t have even close to the overwhelming amount of games, so something like Blossom Tales or Golf Story jump out. They’re much more visible because there aren’t as many games to slog through.
Nintendo is also using indie games to boost the Switch’s value in between major releases. Which is a smart way to go, honestly.
As you’ve said yourself time and time again, Jim, Valve needs some serious curation on their store front. It’s been a problem for years and it’s only getting worse.
Video’s cut off at the end.
Steam is essentially that CD you see at Walmart that claims “Over 110,000 Games!”
To be fair, the Switch too will get saturated sometime down the line with average indie games if it continues to have success stories like this because developers (actually everybody) follow the money. So enjoy it while you can people
The scary thing: How many Owlboys or Undertales do you think have been lost in the Steam tidal wave, put out by a person with no ability to advertise or drum up social media support? Would we know? How many ACTUAL diamonds in the rough have been lost?
Does itchio have potential to be a haven for indie titles? It seems like that’s what it’s made for, but it seems to wallow in relative obscurity.
Comment section: “Of course it’s doing fine because there’s nothing on Switch” Same excuse people have spouted since the Switch has released.
Steam as the “youtube of videogames” definitely isn’t great, but that is the reality of the situation. It doesn’t surprise me that an indie game did well amongst a smaller catalogue of games on a handheld system that just came out where people are more active in pursuit of something to play on it. Plus it sold better because relatively speaking it’s a small fish in a small pond, rather than a small fish in a huge pond. It’s a lot easier to stand out amongst 200 other indie games that are on the Switch, than stand out amongst the 20,000 (probably more) other indie games on Steam. I think this says a lot more about why new console generations are handy for a fresh chance for devs to make their mark in a smaller fresh catalogue than it does about steam. Releasing a game close to the launch of a new console while it’s got the medias attention can set up a new dev company much easier than releasing at the end of the consoles life cycle where their game has to compete with a huge catalogue of similar games.
You know what I think would vastly improve Steam, but Valve would NEVER implement because they’re too busy counting their mountains of cash.
Have a team of maybe 10-20 people play 10-20 minutes of a submitted game.
Now 20 minutes isn’t nearly long enough to judge whether the whole game is good. But is is enough time to filter out Asset Flips and unplayable garbage and deny them, and blacklist repeat offenders.
But Valve with a nearly LIMITLESS supply of cash WILL NOT hire a small team to moderate games.
FUCK VALVE! YA LAZY CUNTS!
Maybe Valve did make and release Half-Life 3 and nobody can find it
This is why whenever I hear my friends that bad games doesn’t affect Steam sales infuriates me!
Because they ACTUALLY DO!
Steam is resting on its laurels while GoG is slowly growing, its like YT, when someone makes a big platform with bettet standards, the irritated Steam customers will jump ship. While they may have an extensive collection on it, they might start building a new one on the better service provider.
All the new dlc releases of games I don’t even own is almost as annoying as the crap games, makes it even harder to find good games.