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[jblank83]

This isn't the first time a digital game has done well on Nintendo platforms. Gunman Clive was one. Mutant Mudds was another.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/2d...than-steam-ps3-ps-vita-combined/1100-6417790/
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/20...es_surpass_combined_totals_on_ios_and_android

Nor the first time a platformer has done better on Nintendo than the "hardcore" systems. Rayman Legends is a prime example.

Wow, really interesting. It did/doing so well on Nintendo platforms. I haven't been following the development of this game, but why wasn't this game released on Sony/MS platforms?

The development team are partial to Nintendo systems. The game pitch fits the Nintendo demographic: 8-bit retro (despite "kiddie" trolling, a large portion of Nintendo owners are fans from the 80s/90s), platforming (fyi, platformers do better on Nintendo than PS/Xbox). Several of the games they worked on previously at Wayforward, individually or together, were Nintendo oriented (Batman Brave and the Bold, A Boy and His Blob, Mighty Switch Force, Contra 4).

They are platform agnostic, though. They've twitch streamed games from almost every system. Some of their previous games were not Nintendo oriented, either (Double Dragon Neon). It's also a very small (and highly skilled) team with one main programmer, which means the scope of their initial release had to be limited.

Which means Nintendo first (target audience) and Steam (games is made on PCs, easiest platform to release for). Eventually Shovel Knight will come to Sony and Microsoft systems, per their own words.


On the subject of sales, I'm very happy to see Shovel Knight doing so well. Yacht Club are passionate, dedicated, intelligent, skilled, personable developers and gamers. It shows in the game and in their streams. They deserve every dollar for such a risky venture, and for all the crazy hours they worked.

I wish them many years of prosperity and many great games.

 

[bobbychalkers]

Day 1 Wii U buyer here, glad to see it did well. I'll double dip for 3DS and PC eventually.

 

[rjc571]

The 3DS version currently has 1426 ratings in the eShop. Assuming it's added a few thousand sales since July 26, this means only 1 out of every ~45 buyers has rated the game.

 

[uncledonnie]

This was such a perfect 3DS game, glad to see the high sales there.

 

[Haunted]

They'll make a killing during Steam sales.

 

[protomouse]

Great Nintendo numbers. Will buy the European release for Wii U.

 

[danielcw]

I am surprised the are allowed to release those numbers.
Does Nintendo allow posting sales numbers now?

 

[megabytecr]

That's a pretty good showing for Wii U and 3DS.

I suspect the Steam proportion will grow a lot once they start doing Steam sales, but especially given full price that's quite solid.

Yes, they seem great, better than I expected but, when you release a good game at the same time as other releases and without missing features, you get good sales. Obviously this game appeals to people with Wii U, that is also important.

Not sure if will get Wii U or 3DS, I am a bit more inclined towards Wii U atm. I have so much right now but this game deserves the sales.

 

[gogogow]

The game was being designed for 3DS as well so at the time (and maybe still?) Unity is not running on that.

Also bear in mind that Nintendo essentially gave/lent Yacht Club Games Wii U and 3DS development kits at no cost to help them start this aspect of their endeavor.

The development team are partial to Nintendo systems. The game pitch fits the Nintendo demographic: 8-bit retro (despite "kiddie" trolling, a large portion of Nintendo owners are fans from the 80s/90s), platforming (fyi, platformers do better on Nintendo than PS/Xbox). Several of the games they've worked on previously were very Nintendo oriented (Batman Brave and the Bold, A Boy and His Blob, Shantae).

They are platform agnostic, though. They've twitch streamed games from almost every system. Some of their previous games were not Nintendo oriented, either (Double Dragon Neon). It's also a very small (and highly skilled) team with one main programmer, which means the scope of their initial release had to be limited.

Which means Nintendo first (target audience) and Steam (games is made on PCs, easiest platform to release for). Eventually Shovel Knight will come to Sony and Microsoft systems, per their own words.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

I actually wanted to buy the game day one for my Wii U, but then I found out there was no release date for Europe :/

 

[CTLance]

Gotta admit that the 1% gog sales share is chilling me to the bone, being a gog fanboy and all. Fuuuuck me, that is damn low.

Good showing everywhere else.

 

[FZW]

They sold less copies through GOG than they did through Humble Bundle? I just checked and Shovel Knight doesn't appear to be on the Humble Store. Did they really sell more copies through the Humble Widget on their site than they did through GOG?

thats where i got mine. I had no clue how to buy it, went to the site and saw that widget. If i knew it was on GOG i probably wouldve gotten it there.

 

[Sylverstone14]

Backed it for Wii U, so I'm happy to be a part of this chart.

 

[jblank83]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

I actually wanted to buy the game day one for my Wii U, but then I found out there was no release date for Europe :/

You're welcome. Not sure what to say about it other than every version is fundamentally the same, so it doesn't really matter where you buy it. Though I do very much like the 3d layers in the 3DS version.

 

[RayearthRob]

Wii U day one. No regrets!

 

[KingSnake]

Nice sales for them, I'm glad their sales forecast was exceeded in the first month. Well done on the Wii U owners part too. I will contribute to that percentage once the game will be released in Europe.

 

[atbigelow]

Awesome to see it do so well. I backed and got a Wii U copy, but double-dipped for 3DS and THEN bought it as a gift for my friend's kids. Really fantastic game.

 

[Just_myles]

I wonder what the take home payout was after all of those game sales. Anybody have the math on that? Are they paid a percentage of the profit? What about Jack Kaufman? I want the micro details damnit!

It was definitely educational that's for sure!

 

[gogogow]

You're welcome. Not sure what to say about it other than every version is fundamentally the same, so it doesn't really matter where you buy it. Though I do very much like the 3d layers in the 3DS version.

I think since Nintendo introduced the NNID, people are locked to their region of registration, so I can't access the US eShop. Or do you mean to get the Steam version? I'm actually interested in Off-TV play.

 

[MisterGrey3000]

Congrats to Yacht Club games!
I did my part on the WiiU; I'm glad to see that some other owners did the same.

 

[syko de4d]

Nice numbers. Didnt saw Shovel Knight for a long time in the steam top 10 but looks like it was still enough for 67k copies.

And wow steam 37 times bigger than gog.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

Will make sure to buy from GOG as soon as I can. What bonuses do you get there?

 

[SwiftDeath]

congrats yacht club games you deserve it

 

[DedValve]

Just read that whole thing. I've been obsessed with learning video game budgets and what exactly went into them so this level of transparency has been such an engrossing read. I didn't expect to read it all.


Damn, congrats Yacht Clubs! Against all odds you did it!

 

[Morfeo]

I think its important to note that this game is not out for the Nintendo-plattforms here in Europe - which forced many of us to use either steam or some other pc-shop. I know for sure I would have prefered to buy this on both the Wii U and the 3DS if it was already released there - and I cant be the only one.

 

[watershed]

Reading the full article, crazy that they ran thru their budget and still had 5 months of work to do. I'm glad they were able to pull through and make a good game.

 

[JinjoUnchained]

This is awesome news for the clear GOTY so far, IMO. I bought Day 1 on Wii U and am actually considering double dipping on 3DS for a trip this weekend, and I never double dip.

 

[MaverickHunterAsh]

They deserve every last cent. Quite easily my GotY so far!

 

[Armaros]

Reading the full article, crazy that they ran thru their budget and still had 5 months of work to do. I'm glad they were able to pull through and make a good game.

Sounds similar to the Larian dev, they had to eat into the budget of their next game to finish D:OS.


Edit: also just realized that Shovel knight was competing with Divinity for that one 'full priced game that you buy during the middle of a major steam sale.'

 

[low-G]

PC is dead bros

roughly equal to Wii U & Wii U ain't dead yet.

 

[Momentary]

That first Steam sale is going to be crazy. I have a VERY small friends list on Steam and theirs 11 people waiting for this thing to go on sale.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

A Digger's Diary equivalent should be in every Wii U game from now on.

 

[jett]

Once again, a really fantastic success story. Wonder what is next for them...after they're done shoveling.

It's derived from the ideal scenario here:

$10,000 * 24 months (two years) = $240,000 per employee

Oh of course.

 

[UrbanRats]

It's derived from the ideal scenario here:

$10,000 * 24 months (two years) = $240,000 per employee

10 thousand dollars a month? I'm not reading it right, i think.

 

[sörine]

Great numbers, the game really deserves all the success it gets. I look forward to Super Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight 64 and Shovel Boy in the future.

 

[MisterGrey3000]

A Digger's Diary equivalent should be in every Wii U game from now on.

Yeah, that thing is amazing.

Not surprised by the strong 3DS/Wii U performance. It's a very "Nintendo" looking game that fans on the platform would gravitate to.

Yeah, it really shouldn't be too surprising to anyone.
It only makes sense that a heavily promoted Nintendo-like platformer would end up performing really well on two Nintendo produced consoles; if the game completely tanked, that would have been a huge problem.

 

[Sify64]

I'm happy to see that Shovel Knight sold well on all three platforms. I'm sure there are a lot of people like me waiting for the EU launch, so the worldwide sales could be really big.

 

[jacobeid]

I bought the game on Wii U.

 

[jblank83]

I think since Nintendo introduced the NNID, people are locked to their region of registration, so I can't access the US eShop. Or do you mean to get the Steam version? I'm actually interested in Off-TV play.

Yes, I meant the Steam/GoG version, if you don't mind it.

I understand wanting it on a console, though. I wouldn't have chosen PC over 3DS, even if it was cheaper.

 

[zhorkat]

thats where i got mine. I had no clue how to buy it, went to the site and saw that widget. If i knew it was on GOG i probably wouldve gotten it there.

I mean, it's good that you bought it through their widget because it gives them more money and you get both a DRM-free copy and a Steam key, but yeah, not a good sign for GOG.

 

[Exile20]

Proud Wii U owner. So glad Wii U owners represented.

 

[akidnamededdy]

Love it on my 3DS, considering picking it up on one of the other platforms.

 

[thefro]

10 thousand dollars a month? I'm not reading it right, i think.

That's all their expenses... so rent for their office space, computers, electric bill, software licenses, health insurance, taxes, etc.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

I bought it on Wii U, I'm glad the numbers are good.

 

[Hindl]

Dam great sales. Non-backer but proud day 1 Wii U owner. I'm even looking forward yo other ports since this was such an excellent game(not finished yet) but Sony/MS fans should also get in on the fun

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Picked it up on Steam. Might grab it on the 3DS in the future, though that dpad...

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

I wonder what the take home payout was after all of those game sales. Anybody have the math on that? Are they paid a percentage of the profit? What about Jack Kaufman? I want the micro details damnit!

It was definitely educational that's for sure!

Can't speak for Shovel Knight specifically, but most digital stores do a 70/30 split (dev/store). And you usually lose a couple percentage from miscellaneous fees.

 

[Davey Cakes]

I bought this on Wii U.

Can only budget for so many games these days but this one I was anticipating for a while and I knew I'd get it on Wii U. Gotta support these devs on that system where possible.

 

[SovanJedi]

10 thousand dollars a month? I'm not reading it right, i think.

It was their safe, ideal estimate, which would have included other expenses per person such as office space, software and hardware, electricity bills, pensions, and so forth. In truth they took home far, far less than that, and for 5 whole months they weren't getting paid at all. Funding for indie development is such a rollercoaster of fortunes sometimes, it can be really scary. I'm super glad it's worked out so well for them eventually, though, and that they took the time to explain things in such clarity is a blessing for other developers going through the same torment. You can come up smelling of roses if you keep at it!

 

[HyruleGuardian]

I'm not surprised that the game is doing well on Nintendo platforms.

Remember, Rayman sells more on Nintendo consoles than it does on the other consoles combined.

Platforming fans = Nintendo fans.

The people who are all like "LOL Nintendo" are the people who don't like platformers.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I bought on GOG! Truly in the 1%.