Blackbird (Switch) has released on the Nintendo eShop, but does anyone know it exists?

Dynamite Cop · Oct 20, 2018

Switch owners have been clamoring for ports and exclusives since the platform's launch. Publishers and developers have heard you. Especially indie developers. There have been numerous ports of indie games released on Nintendo's eShop. Not many people know about them, though, due to the store's layout and lack of news and promotion on Nintendo's end.

October 18th was the release date for Onion Games'/Yoshiro Kimura's (Million Onion Hotel, Dandy Dungeon, Chulip, No More Heroes) Switch console exclusive game Blackbird. It features art from Kazuyuki Kurashima (Live A Live, Super Mario RPG, moon) and can be best described as an updated and weird take on Fantasy Zone.

Sounds like good talent behind this game would generate some interest and buzz about this game? Not really. Even though the game is fun and has a super interesting style, it's sort of lumped in with every other game that has released within the past week or two.

The game is $19.99 on Switch's eShop and is scheduled to release on Steam by the end of October. Kimura is another creative Japanese game dev that has turned to independent game projects the past few years. I mean, if you liked Katamari Damacy and Keita Takashi's(another awesome dev that has gone indie) other offbeat games, you'll appreciate the what Blackbird has to offer.

Mod Edit: This thread title has been updated for clarity.

DigitalOp · Oct 20, 2018

Go to die?.....

Have you seen the sale numbers on EShop titles?

UsoEwin · Oct 20, 2018

Not every game is going to do well.

harz-marz · Oct 20, 2018

Indie titles often sell in far higher numbers on the e shop? That title is very click baity.

TheMoon · Oct 20, 2018

I guess you figured out how to clickbait.

ShinobiBk · Oct 20, 2018

It's no different than Steam, PSN or XBL. Unfortunately, there's so much competition it's hard to stand out

Claude Augario · Oct 20, 2018

That's one way to derail your own thread.

bitSS · Oct 20, 2018

No, that's Steam.

Real Hero · Oct 20, 2018

Err you might want to look ito how well indie games have done on the system

Deleted member 2791 · Oct 20, 2018

That's one hell of a claim considering the number of indie success story since launch lmao

Apa504 · Oct 20, 2018

Hey, I want to promote this game, lets see, what is the best way to do this. OH I know. Lets make a clickbait tittle so I can derail my own thread and let people talk about my tittle instead of the game.

Tell me in what moment did you think this was intelligent OP.

Deleted member 13364 · Oct 20, 2018

A $20 game is going to need a bit of buzz around it before I buy it, and there's nothing around this.

Deleted member 3700 · Oct 20, 2018

I wouldn't have known about this game if I did not click into the Nintendo eshop thread here.

So I think the problem is on marketing, not eshop.

JustJavi · Oct 20, 2018

Where they go to die? Where have you been the last year and a half?

Twig · Oct 20, 2018

I mean the thread worked cause I didn't know this game existed. And frankly Kimura is an instant buy from me.

But also you could've just said hey check this game out though.

Charamiwa · Oct 20, 2018

Not gonna lie my indie eshop attention these days were on Save Me Mr Tako. But I'll check this out.

Deleted member 36578 · Oct 20, 2018

Honestly I've never heard about this game prior to this topic. I wonder if they're tried to promote it anywhere substantial?

Deleted member 3017 · Oct 20, 2018

What a stupid thread title.

A number of us have been discussing this game in the eShop thread btw. Switch and Steam are great homes for a game like this. It's not the type of game that's going to be very successful anywhere, but they picked the right platforms for it regardless.

Fritz · Oct 20, 2018

Even though the game is fun and has a super interesting style, it's sort of lumped in with every other game that has released within the past week or two.

competition, god forbid!

sschol · Oct 20, 2018

I'll happily pick this up next month!

Philly Cheesesteak · Oct 20, 2018

DigitalOp said:
Go to die?.....

Have you seen the sale numbers on EShop titles?

Let's not act like every indie that goes to eShop is some success story. Of the literally 100s of indie titles on eShop today, only a handful actually have found the success that you are implying. As more and more titles get dumped on eShop, the pool gets diluted. For every Hollow Knight, there's a Plague Road.

Epilexia · Oct 20, 2018

Yoshirou Kimura is one of my video game heroes, I created a thread about the game back when it was announced, this month eShop thread is full of passionate commentaries and feedback about the game, even the shmup thread in Era is full of positive commentaries about the game.

The thing that I don't get of this thread, as much as I love Kimura-san works, is why the need of creating a clickbait title in the thread, derailing the conversation from the game and the artists behind to talk about how healthy or not is the Switch ecosystem for indie games.

When we have evidences that indeed, it's the opposite.

Seeing how other recent indie release in the last month like the amazing 'Wandersong' has outperformed the Steam version by three to one.

And because of this, I don't get the point of this thread. I fucking adore Yoshirou Kimura's works, this was one of my most anticipated releases in this 2018.

But now, instead of talking about the game, all the talk will degenerate about the sales of indie titles in the eShop.

Fat4all · Oct 20, 2018

is this thread where false equivalence goes to live

Raijinto · Oct 20, 2018

Philly Cheesesteak said:
Let's not act like every indie that goes to eShop is some success story. Of the literally 100s of indie titles on eShop today, only a handful actually have found the success that you are implying. As more and more titles get dumped on eShop, the pool gets diluted. For every Hollow Knight, there's a Plague Road.

Thanks for letting us know.

Deleted member 3017 · Oct 20, 2018

Philly Cheesesteak said:
Let's not act like every indie that goes to eShop is some success story. Of the literally 100s of indie titles on eShop today, only a handful actually have found the success that you are implying. As more and more titles get dumped on eShop, the pool gets diluted. For every Hollow Knight, there's a Plague Road.

"only a handful"

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

Rizific · Oct 20, 2018

The fuck...the game came out two days ago...uh yeah its gonna get lumped into the same place of the eshop as the other games THAT CAME OUT AROUND THE SAME TIME. You could have just made a thread titled "hey check this game out, I think it deserves a look" instead.

SinCityAssassin · Oct 20, 2018

Dynamite Cop said:
Sounds like good talent behind this game would generate some interest and buzz about this game?

I was separately informed of this game through ERA and have been linked the trailer through reddit before this clickbait topic, but by no means was marketing at all actively going out to advertise the game wider than the scope of enthusiasts. And now you're willing to make the discussion about eShop visibility instead of just asking people to give the game a chance?

Should I make a thread at the end of October to say "Blackbird is out. Is Steam where indie titles go to die?"

Deleted member 2791 · Oct 20, 2018

Philly Cheesesteak said:
Let's not act like every indie that goes to eShop is some success story. Of the literally 100s of indie titles on eShop today, only a handful actually have found the success that you are implying. As more and more titles get dumped on eShop, the pool gets diluted. For every Hollow Knight, there's a Plague Road.

yes
this is what the world knows as "competiton" since centuries

sredgrin · Oct 20, 2018

Epilexia said:
Yoshirou Kimura is one of my video game heroes, I created a thread about the game back when it was announced, this month eShop thread is full of passionate commentaries and feedback about the game, even the shmup thread in Era is full of positive commentaries about the game.

The thing that I don't get of this thread, as much as I love Kimura-san works, is why the need of creating a clickbait title in the thread, derailing the conversation from the game and the artists behind to talk about how healthy or not is the Switch ecosystem for indie games.

When we have evidences that indeed, it's the opposite.

Seeing how other recent indie release in the last month like the amazing 'Wandersong' has outperformed the Steam version by three to one.

And because of this, I don't get the point of this thread. I fucking adore Yoshirou Kimura's works, this was one of my most expected releases in this 2018.

But now, instead of talking about the game, all the talk will degenerate about the sales of indie titles in the eShop.

There's like 1 buyer in the Eshop thread and 2 in the shmup thread lol. Hardly "full of passionate commentaries and feedback"

Philly Cheesesteak · Oct 20, 2018

OrbitalBeard said:
"only a handful"

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

"I don't have anything to refute your statement, so let me try to gaslight you."

Sorry, but 30+ titles out of 300+ overall and growing is not a trend despite what you want to believe.

Dambrosi · Oct 20, 2018

I watched a stream of this game yesterday, it looks like a fine Fantasy Zone clone, with its own mood and aesthetic. I'll definitely look into it when i'm finished with the billion or so other shmups on the Switch eShop.

What a fucking problem to have in 2018, eh? Imagine being that spoiled for choice.

Deleted member 3017 · Oct 20, 2018

Philly Cheesesteak said:
"I don't have anything to refute your statement, so let me try to gaslight you."

Sorry, but 30+ titles out of 300+ overall and growing is not a trend despite what you want to believe.

Well, first of all, "30+ titles" is a hell of a lot more than "only a handful".

Second, it's a looooot more than 30 titles. My favorite was when Super Meat Boy dropped on the eShop almost out of nowhere and nearly beat its launch week numbers from seven years earlier.

Jawbreaker · Oct 20, 2018

It just doesn't look very appealing to me, honestly. There are a lot of games competing for my time and money.

Khanimus · Oct 20, 2018

Not every game is going to find success. Even if the quality is there, it is impossible to guarantee eyes on your game. That's the tragic reality of such a gamble.

There's plenty of criticism to lend towards how Nintendo organizes its store and how it affects visibility on games. But I don'r see how its chances fare much better on any other platform. Steam is not the haven it used to be - it's a million new people trying to cram into the same doorway at once each and every day. The indie games that shout their Switch success stories of that version handily outselling all others combined should tell you, not just of the health of the eshop, but how disengaged other user bases might be and how hard it is to be noticed in other marketplaces.

tolkir · Oct 20, 2018

I doubt that those Switch owners clamoring ports and exclusives were asking indies because they were there since day 1.

Shelbyville Milhouse · Oct 20, 2018

One game is not a hit --> e-shop is doomed

SinCityAssassin · Oct 20, 2018

There's also a different cut of the trailer with a more foreboding presentation to show both sides of how the game is presented.

Philly Cheesesteak · Oct 20, 2018

Khanimus said:
Not every game is going to find success. Even if the quality is there, it is impossible to guarantee eyes on your game. That's the tragic reality of such a gamble.

There's plenty of criticism to lend towards how Nintendo organizes its store and how it affects visibility on games. But I don'r see how its chances fare much better on any other platform. Steam is not the haven it used to be - it's a million new people trying to cram into the same doorway at once each and every day. The indie games that shout their Switch success stories of that version handily outselling all others combined should tell you, not just of the health of the eshop, but how disengaged other user bases might be and how hard it is to be noticed in other marketplaces.

Someone with common sense.

Fat4all · Oct 20, 2018

damn you, Nindendo

Epilexia · Oct 20, 2018

sredgrin said:
There's like 1 buyer in the Eshop thread and 2 in the shmup thread lol. Hardly "full of passionate commentaries and feedback"

This premise is not truth, if you take the time to read all the pages in the eShop thread. It's more than your "one person" talking about the game in these last weeks.

And indeed, this was the purpose of the eShop threads when they were created. To have a place to discuss about small games that normally don't see official topics in Era.

But once again, this is other evidence of why this thread's premise and clickbait title are wrong in so many points: now, all the things will degenerate in a "console wars" thing discussing about the healthy market for indie titles in Switch (or not).

But nobody is talking about the new game from Yoshirou Kimura, which is one of the most important creators in video game history.

.exe · Oct 20, 2018

One look at that trailer and I can't say I'm surprised. Especially at that price point. Eshop discovery (or lack thereof) is one thing, but certain genres/styles are also just more difficult to market.

Almyn · Oct 20, 2018

I actually hadn't heard of this. So thanks for the post. Million onion hotel was probably my favourite game released last year, I still play it regularly and Dandy dungeon is also still loaded up on occasion.

I'll pick it up in a few weeks when I can afford it. Looks fantastic though.

Deleted member 3017 · Oct 20, 2018

daxy said:
One look at that trailer and I can't say I'm surprised. Especially at that price point.

That's its biggest hurdle. $20 is a hard sell. I wish more indie developers would price games like this at $10. It's entirely possible this game is worth $20, but there's so much to play on the eShop and Steam, it makes it hard to take a gamble on something like this, a game most won't be sure they'll love before trying it.

At $10, I probably would have bough it already. At $20, I need to see a lot more impressions or a sale.

MayorSquirtle · Oct 20, 2018

Philly Cheesesteak said:
Let's not act like every indie that goes to eShop is some success story. Of the literally 100s of indie titles on eShop today, only a handful actually have found the success that you are implying. As more and more titles get dumped on eShop, the pool gets diluted. For every Hollow Knight, there's a Plague Road.

Even indies that don't do amazingly on Switch still frequently report selling better on Switch than on other platforms.

Rodjer · Oct 20, 2018

OrbitalBeard said:
My favorite was when Super Meat Boy dropped on the eShop almost out of nowhere and nearly beat its launch week numbers from seven years earlier.

This is not a fair comparison, Super Meat Boy is a well known indie, this one is not, it's easy to find success if you are already estabilished, as a franchise or as a standalone title on other platforms.
A lot of the top tier indies are coming to Nintendo Switch because they found success first on other platforms, just think about Rocket League, Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley, Darkest Dungeon etc...

It's easy to sell your game if you are already known in other platforms and you don't have to market your game.

Redcrayon · Oct 20, 2018

Philly Cheesesteak said:
"I don't have anything to refute your statement, so let me try to gaslight you."

Sorry, but 30+ titles out of 300+ overall and growing is not a trend despite what you want to believe.

30 is a bit more than a handful, and even on these numbers you've pulled out of thin air, you're defeating your own case here- a 10% breakout hit rate would be phenomenal for any online store.

A lot of Switch games do very well, comparatively, that doesn't mean that all of them will, particularly niche titles with little promotion. If you think this game deserved more visibility than the others that released in a similar timeframe, why not make an OT packed with info rather than a clickbait thread because a game most people have barely heard of got buried?

Deleted member 3017 · Oct 20, 2018

Rodjer said:
This is not a fair comparison, Super Meat Boy is a well known indie, this one is not, it's easy to find success if you are already estabilished, as a franchise or as a standalone title on other platforms.
A lot of the top tier indies are coming to Nintendo Switch because they found success first on other platforms, just think about Rocket League, Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley, Darkest Dungeon etc...

It's easy to sell your game if you are already known in other platforms and you don't have to market your game.

I didn't say it was the best comparison, I said it was my favorite success story, because Super Meat Boy has been available for pennies numerous times over the years,. There are dozens of success stories for games that saw little to no success before Switch, such as Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, Forma.8, SteamWorld Dig 2, Blossom Tales, and The Flame and the Flood.

.exe · Oct 20, 2018

OrbitalBeard said:
That's its biggest hurdle. $20 is a hard sell. I wish more indie developers would price games like this at $10. It's entirely possible this game is worth $20, but there's so much to play on the eShop and Steam, it makes it hard to take a gamble on something like this, a game most won't be sure they'll love before trying it.

At $10, I probably would have bough it already. At $20, I need to see a lot more impressions or a sale.

It's tough. At $20 it has passed giants like Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley, and Golf Story; and is in the territory of Shovel Knight, Rocket League, Okami, and Celeste. $20 will get you hell of a game. Incredible value, incredible polish, the whole package. On its own, it's a fine price for the game, but in the context of its competition it becomes a harder sell. I still recall how a lot of people who were excited for The Witness completely and unabashedly turned on it when its $40 price tag was revealed. Blow didn't want to underprice the years of work that went into it. A lot of people claimed indie games can't be worth $40 and called it overpriced. I bet putting a price tag on creative work is one of the most difficult things to do for a dev, because it requires them to be painfully honest about the game and its opportunities. I don't think Hollow Knight, Stardew, and Golf Story should've been that cheap. I think it was more a pricing strategy, really. There's just no way you look at that, scratch your head, and conclude "yep, that's worth about a tenner and change."

Rodjer said:
This is not a fair comparison, Super Meat Boy is a well knows indie, this one is not, it's easy to find success if you are already estabilished, as a franchise or as a standalone title on other platforms.

Almost all indies were unknown quantities at one point. A lot of the the big names today were shadow drops. Even Meat Boy.

pswii60 · Oct 20, 2018

Philly Cheesesteak said:
Let's not act like every indie that goes to eShop is some success story. Of the literally 100s of indie titles on eShop today, only a handful actually have found the success that you are implying. As more and more titles get dumped on eShop, the pool gets diluted. For every Hollow Knight, there's a Plague Road.

Which is the case on every platform.

Mass_Pincup · Oct 20, 2018

The more games a platform receives, the less "success stories" there will be.

Look at the PSVita for exemple, at the start every indie was sharing their success on the platform it slowed down later on though. Same thing with Steam, before, being on Steam was a guaranteed success. Now you need to be extremely good and stand out to find success.

A platform can't bring success to every game on it. Supply and demand is a thing.

Blackbird (Switch) has released on the Nintendo eShop, but does anyone know it exists?

|OT|

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