Switch development kits are much cheaper than the Wii U
Nintendo’s relationship with third parties and indies has been somewhat tumultuous over the years. With every new Nintendo system though it seems things are getting better and better.
Speaking at the Japanese Game Creators Conference 2017, Nintendo’s own Masaru Mitsuyoshi has revealed that Nintendo Switch development kits have a really attractive price to get indie developers on board. The development units are going for around ¥50,000, or around $580AU. Compare this to the Wii U which was several thousand dollars, it looks like Nintendo’s going for the indie developers hard.
The Switch lineup is filling up quickly with indie games, Shovel Knight, The Blinding of Isaac, Yooka-Laylee, RiME, Stardew Valley and many more are all on the way.
Could this lower price point see the Switch get some developers on board who may never even thought about Nintendo in the past? One can only hope.
Source: Nintendo Everything
That’s a great first step to making the platform more accessible. I personally find it a barrier still, as I don’t know if any ideas I have are good until I have a Switch to dev on, and I don’t want to pay several hundred dollars until I know my idea is worth spending the money! Chicken and the egg…