Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
It’s no secret that the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store are more “curated” than the Nintendo eShop. In between absolute gems like Axiom Verge and Shovel Knight, the digital storefront for the 3DS and Wii U is absolutely cluttered with a wide variety of shovelware.
Nintendo doesn’t want to make this same mistake with the Switch, and their Publisher and Developer Relations department is working with indie developers to create an impressive portfolio of downloadable titles for the Switch… and possibly find the next big thing. Best of all, this mission has already borne fruit. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Snipperclips, and FAST RMX were Switch exclusives that made the console feel like more than a “Zelda Machine” in its first few weeks.
But Thomas Whitehead of Nintendo Life has heard from some indie developers (even longstanding “Nindie” teams) that working with Nintendo is much harder than it used to be. After conducting a wide-ranging series of interviews, he delved into some of their frustrations with Nintendo’s (possibly flawed) new process for acquiring indie games:
Not long ago, however, we were contacted by and followed up with multiple respected and established ‘Nindie’ developers unhappy with aspects of Nintendo’s approach to the Switch eShop. Issues related to curation and communication have been at the core, and we were painted a picture of an arrangement and set of policies that undoubtedly pleases those in the door, but has left those on the outside at times frustrated, ignored and in some respects embittered. Some were hesitant to be quoted even anonymously due to upcoming business with Nintendo, while others were happy to share their perspectives – directly and indirectly quoted – while being un-named.
Whitehead’s report can be read in full at Nintendo Life.
