Chicken Wiggle on the 3DS has only been out for a handful of weeks and the developer has uploaded a rather heartfelt blog post highlighting the recent poor sales figures for the title. The cute platformer is a great addition to the 3DS eShop and I recommend you go and check it out. However, even after great reviews, Chicken Wiggle has performed well under expectations according to Jools Watsham who is the main man behind the game.
“First day sales were shockingly low. Worldwide sales for Chicken Wiggle on day one were about 10% of Xeodrifter’s day one sales in North America. Xeodrifter’s numbers dwarf Chicken Wiggle’s, but Xeodrifter’s numbers weren’t particularly impressive compared to what is considered a “success” on the 3DS eShop. Chicken Wiggle’s first day sales were so low, I thought there was an error in the sales report. Many of my developer friends thought the same when I shared the news. “That can’t be right!” echoed in my mind.”
Watsham goes on to explain that he thinks that focus is being shifted on to the Nintendo Switch which may have impacted sales:
“While big titles like Miitopia and Metroid will surely sell more than Chicken Wiggle on their first day, they are Nintendo titles that have a strong brand and marketing budgets behind them. Sadly, I believe the Nintendo 3DS eShop is dead for “Nindies”. The audience that buys indie titles on Nintendo platforms has moved on to the Switch. I expected the Switch would impact the success of Chicken Wiggle on 3DS, but not to the extent that it has.”
You can read the full blog post here.
Rerelease it on the switch maybe. I didn’t ever buy any indie games for the 3ds, but I like buying as many as I can for the switch just because they are supporting the system. I’d look into, especially if it had good reviews.
I was waiting for Chiken Wiggle since…. may I guess, and planning to purchase the game at lunch until I watched the price in my 3ds. I’m from Mexico and prices sky rocket since January….but that was to much. I expected something around mighty gunbolt burst or blaster master zero (189) aaaand chicken giggle is 300. So nop, I’ll wait for it
Honestly, he should have known better. Switch is the hottest system right now and is portable, the 3DS is soon to be phased out, no one is looking to buy indies on the 3DS anymore
He couldn’t have possibly have known this when he first started working on the game.
I haven’t played it, and I had no interest in it whatsoever. It had a more kiddie vibe coming from it than the 2D stuff that came out of Renegade Kid in the past. Mutant Mudds might have had very similar visuals, but the trailers for it didn’t have the same kind of weird voice overs on them.
The price tag wasn’t exactly inviting either. The game might have a lot of value to it to those who’ve played it, but at face value it’s a brand new IP with a fairly generic looking yellow bird as the main character. Very reminiscent of all sorts of free or 1$ bird-based platformers on phone app stores. Is it really worth the same price as something like Gunvolt, Shantae, Might Switch Force or Severed? I dunno, but to me personally as someone who enjoys platformers and my 3DS, I didn’t bother.
They really should just port it to the switch though. It’s worth enough of a shot. I know a few people who buy just about anything off the eshop just so they can play more stuff on their switch, even if they already have it on steam. Not to call the 3DS a dying console, there’s still a bit of life left in it, but yeah for a new indie IP, it’s definitely not worth it.
*smug face*
Personally, I have no interest in games with kiddie sounding titles like “chicken wiggle” as honestly it sounds cringe worthy as heck. Also the fact that it was on the 3ds was also a poor move on his part.
Honestly this guy was developing this game for the wrong reasons. As a game developer myself, I’m ONLY making my game for my own entertainment and absolutely nothing to do with making big bucks or becoming famous. I also give no shits that my game is extremely similar to metroid since I only care about making what I want to play.
He desperately needs to give up on the dream of making any sort of money from stuff like this because most indies are selling jackshit amounts of copies with only very few exceptions. Hence, this is why I gave up on the idea of making money from the beginning.
I’m not sure what this game is,but if it was on the Switch I’d have give it a look at least to see if its any good
I think the name “Chicken Wiggle” may have also impacted the game.
Exactly. It sounds like shovelware or some shitty little kiddy game for babies. I’m not saying anything like cod is the best thing ever but usually trying to tap into the casual-cutesy crowd (like the ones who play mobile games) is basically financial suicide since that market’s already covered by giant, multi-million corporations. Appealing to anyone other than a niche is basically financial suicide in today’s over saturated indiepocalypse!
Yeah, I feel the same way. A game doesn’t have to be gritty and “hardcore” to be great, but “Chicken Wiggle” doesn’t seem a fitting name for an quality side scrolling adventure.
I suppose the name didn’t help much, but looking at a gameplay video, it has this SNES platforming vibe IMO. I’d be ok with having it on my Switch, but honestly, other than Metroid, my 3DS is basically dead for me with gaming. It’s sad to see it go, but it’s time. It had a good run. This game could find some success on Switch I’m sure.