Switch exclusive Kamiko hits 110,000 sales

Digital Switch exclusive Kamiko has sold over 110,000 copies, co-founder and CEO of Circle Entertainment Chris Chau has told Nintendo Life. Developed by two-person Japanese outfit Skipmore and published by Flyhigh Works with assistance from Circle Entertainment, the game has been one of the console’s early digital hits, joining the likes of Curve Digital’s Flame in the Flood as one of the eShop’s best-selling titles.

The game’s biggest market has been the US, claiming 48 per cent of its total sales, Chau said. Next is Europe and Australia with 27 per cent, with Japan claiming the last 25 per cent. It was also No.4 in Japan for the first six months on sale, he added.

Kamiko was one of the first digital titles to be released on the Switch, and a combination of positive reviews and a low price of £4.49/$4.99 were no doubt key in helping to drive sales in the face of its more expensive eShop competition. Chau also said, however, that there are still "a lot of users we can’t ignore" in the Eastern market, and he urged developers to consider adding Chinese language packs to their games in order to help boost sales further.

"We are usually thinking about why some local titles perform better than Western titles in Japan, and we think most of the reasoning comes back to game pricing, localization and local PR," he told Nintendo Life. "Of course it’s case by case, but regardless I think the Eastern market deserves attention from developers. Also we know many Chinese gamers may purchase a Switch from Hong Kong, so we’ve suggested to the developers that they should consider a Chinese language pack."

Skipmore will also be bringing its next title, Picontier, to the Switch sometime this year. Chau said "the game content will be richer than previous Skipmore titles" and described it as a "slow-living miniscape RPG." Players will live on an island and spend their time farming, crafting, fishing, mining and battling monsters.