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Nintendo discusses the Switch eShop, their support of indies, and curating content
Nintendo has made a massive move for indies when it comes to Switch, and it seems like the move is paying off for everyone. Multiple indie devs have seen their games sell best on Switch, with new success stories every week. To learn more about Nintendo's approach to indies, Game Informer sat down with Nintendo's Damon Baker. Baker gave insight into what Nintendo has been doing with Switch and the eShop, and how they made the platform a haven for indies.
“For the last two years, I’ve been asked to head up this initiative, at least here in North America, to reach out to different publishers, from triple-A publishers all the way to independent developers, and evangelize what [Switch] is all about. Developers could certainly go to any of our competitors and have a much larger install base to work with. The reason why they’re really interested in working with us is because of some of the features and functionality [of Switch], but it’s also because we’ve created a framework that is much easier for these developers to bring their content over.
We’re always looking at unique vehicles to be able to promote this great content. We also have a program where we have a free hardware-allocation program for our partners. So, if they’re attending their own events, they’re attending other shows, we can give them the hardware they need to show off their own content independently. As much marketing or PR support that any of us can possibly give to any particular game or any particular franchise, the strongest message out there is the word-of-mouth messaging. That’s more powerful than anything we could do.
It’s our job to go out there and find the things that [the players] are interested in and the types of genres that they can sink their teeth into. Already there’s an amazing catalog of content available. When I look at what’s coming out over the next couple of years and the stuff that we’ve even just most recently announced, people are going to be spending a lot of money on eShop because there’s so much great stuff to choose from. We really do believe that there’s something for everyone.”