The big indie games usually get promoted. Basically for NOA eShop, the more hype your game has, more it's like to show up.
Armillo, 1001 Spikes, Shovel Knight, Guacamelee, Steamworld Dig, etc. All been featured. They always feature the big guys.
They just suck at featuring us little guys in any way. It's one of the issues a lot of us devs have with NOA's marketing for the Wii U eShop, as they only market you if you have hype. So if your a new indie with new game noone heard of, good luck!
Perfect example of this I think might just be Gunman Clive for 3DS. Small $1.99 game that wasn't featured on 3DS (NOA eShop that is) at start. But it blew up big, with NOA caught with their pants down. With all the hype it had a day or 2 after it launched, NOA caught on and made it featured (as it should, since it's awesome).
don't get me wrong, I love the Wii U eShop for devs, perfect place for all of us. NOA just kinda sucks at featuring lesser indie devs.