Interview: Super Rare Games Discusses Entering the Physical Nintendo Switch Game Market

Hitting the Ground Running On Switch

First off, what prompted you guys to get into the game publishing business? Were you inspired by the likes of Limited Run Games, or did you have your own plan in mind?

I think there are a few key things that played large parts on the creation of SRG. Firstly, the lack of Switch indie physical releases out there was a key thing which meant we wanted to break into the market. When our first release, Human: Fall Flat was released, it was only the second of its kind. Secondly, I like having games I worked on as a physical copy - there is no greater feeling than having them on your shelf. Both Human and The Flame in the Flood were my first two games I worked on as a Producer for a porting house who were responsible for the switch release. When I realised that they weren't getting a retail release, I was gutted. Some could say Super Rare was partly me wanting to keep my shelf full of game I was involved in ;). Limited Run had a few good things they were doing and they showed that there is an ever-growing market of people who love games in a physical format. We aimed to take what we learnt from studying their practices for a long time and then to go one step further to try and add our own flair. Our mission is to keep the games we work on curated and only release content which we love. That mixed with the fact we only work with Nintendo and also that we only sell one game a month, helps us keep and grow the exclusivity around our brand.

How does your team go about the selection process when it comes to deciding what gets published?

The selection process is a fun one! We get a large amount of fans reaching out to us asking us to publish games and this fuels large amounts of the business development we conduct. Once we have a shortlist of games that we know us and our fans love, we reach out to the developers and go from there. The industry is very small and half of the time I share mutual friends with the teams we reach out to and we connect very easily. We have only been around for 5 months but everything happens much quicker and easier now, we are building up trust as people see the quality of the service we provide.

Describe the process of talking to the developers about getting their game published in physical form.

It's always an amazing experience working with such a wide range of multi-talented developers. Almost all of the time they are so thrilled to have the opportunity to bring their creations to life and is so warming to be able to help with that. We work very closely with them to create the best package we can and this is very special for both parties involved. I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it is when we get all the games dropped off at our warehouse! I usually grab 5 copies and go and stick them on my shelf proudly! Once I recover from the excitement we send a load to the developers so they can have the same moment.

The Current Line-Up and What's Next

There are some who feel that physical-based gaming is on its way out compared to digital. What's your two cents on this?

The reality of the situation is that it is on its way out. Give it 10 years and I reckon that 90% of console gaming will be digital. It's a sad but unfortunate truth. The convenience of digital media is unrivalled and it will eventually become the only way of playing games - it won't be long till consoles don't even support physical releases. Its fairly bleak for us collectors out there but I hope that Nintendo keep doing what they are doing as I think they are the one company who will still offer the same level of physical releases which we have grown to love.

Tell us about your current line-up, and what you'd like to do with game releases in the future.

Our current lineup is something which really excites me. It's such a wide range of games that all are completely different genres. You have amazing indie talent from the likes of Jools Watsham who made the wonderful retro inspired 2D-Platformer Mutant Mudds, to the cult hit Worms: WMD from the ever-talented Team 17. You have a wacky, hilarious story of The Adventure Pals coupled with the commercially and critically acclaimed Snake Pass. One of the hardest and most loved speedrun games in N++ Ultimate Edition alongside one of the best Shoot em' ups Sterdeen: Binary Stars. If that wasn't enough, you can play one of the best designed games I've played in a long time, whilst reliving the nostalgia of the old Zelda games whilst you play Fairune Collection.

Will people be able to buy your games at trade shows, or only online for the moment?

We went to EGX Rezzed in London but we don't have any other shows which we will be selling at planned. It's certainly something we would love to do again but we are focused for now on growing and establishing the business. SRG is a small 4 person team so we don't have the time/resources to sell games at trade shows. In the future, we will definitely be there!

is there one key release out there that you'd love to release in physical form, but can't just yet?

I think at this point, everyone wants to sign Celeste. I fear it may have already been snatched up, however!

A lot of these games should be available this year, with some on hand right now! To learn more, visit the official Super Rare Games website.