For the longest time, PlayStation has been the go-to place when it comes to Japanese games, especially the smaller, more niche ones—which has been best exemplified by companies like Falcom and NIS America putting their games on PlayStation platforms first and foremost.
But cracks have begun to show in that monopoly of late, and companies have been bringing their niche, smaller games to other platforms, primarily Nintendo—as evidenced by companies like NISA throwing in their hat in the Switch’s ring.
Apparently, that move has paid off in spades for NISA, who recently stated in an interview that, when they release their games simultaneously on the Switch and PS4, the Switch versions of their games sell double that of the PS4 versions.
Shockingly enough, that’s not where they ended either, with NISA’s President outright calling Sony out, saying they do not support smaller developers well enough, and are only interested in larger developers and publishers.
“We’re starting to do more on Nintendo Switch,” NIS America president Takuro Yamashita said in an interview with MCV (via Nintendo Everything). “SNK Heroines is not the only one. They support us in a good way. Compared to that, Sony is not friendly with small publishers like us. They just care about big Japanese companies. Also, if we simultaneously release a Switch version and a PS4 version of the same title, currently the sales trend is two to one. That means the Switch version sells twice as much as the PS4 version. Physically and digitally. A lot of PS4 titles are coming up, so the market is very competitive. Compared to that, the Switch market still has lots of room for publishers to make money.”
This is a sentiment that can actually be proven if you just look at the games Sony chooses to market—in the early years, Sony was definitely pushing smaller niche and indie games, making a show of caring for those titles. They have stopped highlighting those of late, instead focusing on big AAA titles, with Sony’s Jim Ryan openly stating that the company does not feel it wise to showcase indie games anymore.
It makes sense, then, that jilted smaller developers have turned to Nintendo, who has been welcoming indie and niche developers with open arms on the Switch. All we can hope for is that for Nintendo, this won’t be a temporary trend like it was for Sony.
