It’s understandable why a lot of indies would find more success on the Switch over other platforms, given the eShop’s smaller library of content and ease of use. But you’d think that games with almost universal acclaim like Dead Cells would sell just as well on major consoles, given the user base is many millions more.
Turns out that’s not the case.
In an interview with Destructoid’s Kevin McClusky at PAX West, one of the marketers revealed that the Switch port of Dead Cells was outselling the PS4 edition – four to one.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/08/dead-cells-the-kotaku-review/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/hibxlxy5bwc6r4vxl5g1.png” title=”Dead Cells: The Kotaku Review” excerpt=”In my first game of Dead Cells, I died after about four minutes. In my most recent one, I lasted almost an hour. The time difference between those two attempts says a lot about how Dead Cells evolves as you play it, and how you evolve alongside it.”]
The figure didn’t come with specifics, although it was revealed in May that Dead Cells had already sold over 730,000 copies in early access.
Given that Dead Cells has been met with the same kind of praise as Hollow Knight – and got a surprise boost of PR upon release through the plagiarism scandal – I wouldn’t be surprised if the game had sold more than a million copies already.
The key takeaway, though, is the willingness of Switch users to buy content. There are tens of millions more PS4 users than there are Switches, but their appetite for newer games and indies is vastly different. As I wrote earlier this year, indies are finding a second lease of life on the Switch, regardless of what the reception was like with their initial launch.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/07/why-indies-continue-to-thrive-on-the-switch/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/07/fox-and-forests-410×231.jpg” title=”Why Indies Continue To Thrive On The Switch” excerpt=”In a presentation at the White Nights conference last week, Valve business development head Jan-Peter Ewert put some figures on the disturbing reality for indie developers. the market is still very, very crowded. With the removal of Steam Greenlight and the straight-to-door Steam Direct approach, around 180 games get released every single week. Even if most games find no audience at all, the increased noise makes it infinitely harder for good games to stand out. Fortunately, there’s one platform where indies are continuing to find a second lease of life, or a successful first one.”]
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