Kyle Pittman From Minor Key Games who created Super Win The Game has done a blog post on Gamasutra about their games, and it shows more poor reception from Linux gamers.
They also only sold 694 in the first week on Steam, and that's very low. It seems the main problem has been press, and the lack of it for SWtG. Press is very important of course, but not always the deciding factor.
SWtG was quite unique too, as it used some interested visual effects to make the game really feel like it was from a different time. Of course there lies the problem, a retro-styled game like SWtG is hitting a very niche market, so it wasn't exactly positioned to sell millions.
I was a gamer back in the days of the Amiga, and I loved it back then, but it doesn't mean I want to go back to those games with their awkward controls and funny looking screens. Not to say SWtG is awkward, but it's very much like all those games I played before my teens.
The game is interesting for the use of screen-effects, but when you get down to it, the graphics and gameplay are very simplistic.
It might be right up your street though, it just isn't my cup.
See the full post here.
I hope the developer manages to do better with their next game. If you wish, you can check out Super Win the Game on Steam or buy it directly with the humble widget.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GSMutcLaiU Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
QuoteI’ve sold about fifty copies on Linux, which is a drop in the bucket next to what it cost me financially and emotionally to support that platform.
They also only sold 694 in the first week on Steam, and that's very low. It seems the main problem has been press, and the lack of it for SWtG. Press is very important of course, but not always the deciding factor.
SWtG was quite unique too, as it used some interested visual effects to make the game really feel like it was from a different time. Of course there lies the problem, a retro-styled game like SWtG is hitting a very niche market, so it wasn't exactly positioned to sell millions.
I was a gamer back in the days of the Amiga, and I loved it back then, but it doesn't mean I want to go back to those games with their awkward controls and funny looking screens. Not to say SWtG is awkward, but it's very much like all those games I played before my teens.
The game is interesting for the use of screen-effects, but when you get down to it, the graphics and gameplay are very simplistic.
It might be right up your street though, it just isn't my cup.
See the full post here.
I hope the developer manages to do better with their next game. If you wish, you can check out Super Win the Game on Steam or buy it directly with the humble widget.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GSMutcLaiU Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
0 Likes
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
Linux users only make up about 2% of steam overall. So 2% Linux sales is the baseline for "normal" reception from Linux gamers.
You should only question that if your sales are below 2%, and if your sales are above 2% you should be thanking Linux users, not taking a dump on them.
This makes me feel no sympathy for them whatsoever. To blame the group of gamers that had a higher ratio of supporters within its own playerbase than the other OS which they didn't even mention is inexcusable.
Again, this is not what the developer is doing in the Gamasutra article at all. He's simply stating that those 50 sales didn't even come close to covering the cost of porting his engine to Linux.
And I just noticed this part from the article:
I was a gamer back in the days of the Amiga, and I loved it back then, but it doesn't mean I want to go back to those games with their awkward controls and funny looking screens. Not to say SWtG is awkward, but it's very much like all those games I played before my teens.
SWtG is actually nothing like those Amiga games, or the NES games it draws inspiration from, in terms of controls. Both it and its free predecessor You Have to Win the Game have extremely tight controls and are a joy to play for any platformer enthusiast.
1 Likes, Who?
If they had only sold 2 copies, 1 on windows and 1 on linux, that would be 50% for linux, which is huge, but only 1 sale is just horrible. Percentage only matters if the sampling is big enough. 900 sales are not really representative compared to the millions of steam users.
Glad someone else sees it from my point of view.
1 Likes, Who?
Metallinatus 16 Nov 2014
Wait what? Didn't that game was released on Steam some time ago FREE?
I am pretty sure it was o.õ
I am pretty sure it was o.õ
0 Likes
Wait what? Didn't that game was released on Steam some time ago FREE?
I am pretty sure it was o.õ
That was its predecessor "You Have to Win the Game".
0 Likes
scotsman9999 16 Nov 2014
I have this game on my want list, but I admit 15 bucks is steep considering what it is. If he had priced this more like 7.99 it would have felt like an easier purchase.
0 Likes
I think steam already has too much retro games so It is tight market and I do not think that too many people like them. I grow playing NES and Sega. But I do not like most of retro games on steam 
0 Likes
I have this game on my want list, but I admit 15 bucks is steep considering what it is. If he had priced this more like 7.99 it would have felt like an easier purchase.
IMHO that game is great. While it looks like many other retro-themed platformers, it manages to catch the NES feeling in many detailed and subtle ways. Still, I agree that the price tag is bit too high.
Apart from that, the fact that it is a commercial failure shows once more how difficult it got in the indie business to sell your stuff without excessive and professional promotion.
1 Likes, Who?
Metallinatus 16 Nov 2014
Wait what? Didn't that game was released on Steam some time ago FREE?That was its predecessor "You Have to Win the Game".
I am pretty sure it was o.õ
Ohhhhh true, that was the name of the one I played!!
I didn't even know (or didn't remember) it has a sequel.... and honestly, now that I know.... I will still not buy it.
26 "reais" is just waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much for a game like this one....
0 Likes
It's of course impossible to compare hours played to the worth of a game, as it also depends on how much you enjoyed the time you put into a game. I however got 12 hours of game time out of a game I paid 13.49€ for and for me that's definitely worth it. If I were to compare that to Borderlands 2, which I paid 16.50€ for and only played for half an hour, SWtG definitely isn't the overpriced one in my book. ;)
1 Likes, Who?
If they had only sold 2 copies, 1 on windows and 1 on linux, that would be 50% for linux, which is huge, but only 1 sale is just horrible. Percentage only matters if the sampling is big enough. 900 sales are not really representative compared to the millions of steam users.
But this argument doesn't really say much. Even if statistics are uncertain, and they are abused for their uncertainty, that abuse of the statistics would point at windows users not doing their part.
But we are more reasonable than that, of course that's not the case. But I fail to see how an improved statistic (even an uncertain one) is cause to say that we did worse somehow than the windows users.
The problem is simply that sales were bad across the board. Linux upheld it's expected share of the sales and then some. There is nothing to any of these numbers or statistics that justifies them singling out Linux users.
As in your example, with 2 sales 1 being Linux that's not much of a statistic, but it's also sure as hell not justification for them to put the blame on Linux.
1 Likes, Who?
well, another retro platformer, indie game market is just over-saturated, i feel we will hear alot of such in future. furthermore if you buy a game on steam you cant choose for which platform you are buying it, so whats the point of that argument anyway.
0 Likes
There are indie games we must play, and indie games that fade into obscurity. I wouldn't buy this game. Even if it were free I probably wouldn't complete it, let alone play it. It's just too dated. I know it's intentional but I'm still very uninterested.
These aspiring developers need to understand that game development is very stressful, time consuming, and hardly rewarding the first time around. It's not an 80's montage that ends with the success of Hotline Miami. Even most small studios barely break even on their first few titles. I hate to say this, but a Mac/Linux port prior to success was a bad idea.
These aspiring developers need to understand that game development is very stressful, time consuming, and hardly rewarding the first time around. It's not an 80's montage that ends with the success of Hotline Miami. Even most small studios barely break even on their first few titles. I hate to say this, but a Mac/Linux port prior to success was a bad idea.
0 Likes
I think that the big problem here, as has been mentioned by several posters already, is not that Linux game sales are low, rather that this game's sales are low. The fact of the matter is that there are loads of retro games already available on Linux, it is already a niche market and then your talking about a game that has a niche market within a niche market. Sales are always going to be low, regardless of the system that it is ported too.
This also shows that Linux gamers are becoming a bit more frugal with their money, back in the days before the Humble Bundles etc most Linux gamers (myself included) would buy a game simply because it had been ported to Linux, regardless of the quality (I think I own the majority of the LGP boxed games.) But now you have to stand out in a marketplace that isn't crowded, but there are certainly more traders selling their wares than there were previously. I'm into retro gaming personally, I saw this title when it was released, but it didn't appeal to me. It is simply that the game has a limited market and a sign of the times: Linux gamers are now becoming more discerning in their purchases.
This also shows that Linux gamers are becoming a bit more frugal with their money, back in the days before the Humble Bundles etc most Linux gamers (myself included) would buy a game simply because it had been ported to Linux, regardless of the quality (I think I own the majority of the LGP boxed games.) But now you have to stand out in a marketplace that isn't crowded, but there are certainly more traders selling their wares than there were previously. I'm into retro gaming personally, I saw this title when it was released, but it didn't appeal to me. It is simply that the game has a limited market and a sign of the times: Linux gamers are now becoming more discerning in their purchases.
1 Likes, Who?
This also shows that Linux gamers are becoming a bit more frugal with their money, back in the days before the Humble Bundles etc most Linux gamers (myself included) would buy a game simply because it had been ported to Linux, regardless of the quality (I think I own the majority of the LGP boxed games.) But now you have to stand out in a marketplace that isn't crowded, but there are certainly more traders selling their wares than there were previously. I'm into retro gaming personally, I saw this title when it was released, but it didn't appeal to me. It is simply that the game has a limited market and a sign of the times: Linux gamers are now becoming more discerning in their purchases.
Indeed, I was more willing to throw money for Linux games just as a sign of appreciation sometimes. I bought games that I never played or tried (and I knew that before buying them).
We were indeed more generous (and still are) but it was a sign of these exciting new times for us after years of "starvation".
But now I have options, lots of them, and I have to pick carefully since I don't have a money tree in my backyard.
(I don't even have a backyard)
0 Likes
ElectricPrism 17 Nov 2014
I played that game, it sucked. Low sales? Maybe theres a legit reason.
0 Likes
oldrocker99 18 Nov 2014
I certainly like to support Linux game developers, and have bought (some time ago) some games just because they had come out for Linux, not because the kind of game it was appealed to me.
These days, with 284 Steam games and God knows how many Desura games as well, I have become more...picky about what I buy. When I started noticing that I was having to visit the store page for games in my library to remember what they were, it slowly dawned on me that I had too many Linux games.
6 years ago, I wouldn't have believed that something like this could ever exist. The only commercial game I had was Neverwinter Nights (which I still play), and I had little reason to believe that much more than that would ever be available. I even dual-booted for a while, but not any more. Windows shall never darken my desktop again!
These days, with 284 Steam games and God knows how many Desura games as well, I have become more...picky about what I buy. When I started noticing that I was having to visit the store page for games in my library to remember what they were, it slowly dawned on me that I had too many Linux games.
6 years ago, I wouldn't have believed that something like this could ever exist. The only commercial game I had was Neverwinter Nights (which I still play), and I had little reason to believe that much more than that would ever be available. I even dual-booted for a while, but not any more. Windows shall never darken my desktop again!
0 Likes
Cyba.Cowboy 18 Nov 2014
Yeah, I'm the same as many of you guys - a year or two ago, I bought pretty much every game for Linux-based operating systems... But these days, now that the number of games for Linux-based operating systems is starting to get quite large, I'm quite picky.
Generally-speaking, I won't buy just any game for Linux-based operating systems these days... Though there are exceptions - such as when a major game studio releases a so-called "AAA" title, then I will usually purchase the game "just because it's for Linux-based operating systems" and I want to show the developer that we want games too.
I'm not going to lie - I'm not a big fan of "indie" titles and don't buy a whole lot of them... But I always check them out because one thing I do know, is that some "indie" titles are absolute gems!
Generally-speaking, I won't buy just any game for Linux-based operating systems these days... Though there are exceptions - such as when a major game studio releases a so-called "AAA" title, then I will usually purchase the game "just because it's for Linux-based operating systems" and I want to show the developer that we want games too.
I'm not going to lie - I'm not a big fan of "indie" titles and don't buy a whole lot of them... But I always check them out because one thing I do know, is that some "indie" titles are absolute gems!
1 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
How to set, change and reset your SteamOS / Steam Deck desktop sudo password
How to set up Decky Loader on Steam Deck / SteamOS for easy plugins
See more from me