Upcoming game Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is an intriguing mix of side-scrolling action gameplay and third-person, 3D farming. The title is the result of the hard work of developer Edelweiss and publishers Marvelous Entertainment and XSEED. The game was announced nearly four years ago and is finally available for purchase today, but apparently there was a bit of a journey before Sakuna would up on Switch. According to XSEED’s Executive Vice President Kenji Hosoi, Nintendo had to do some convincing to get the game onto Switch.
Speaking to Siliconera, Hosoi said the following:
“Initially our plan was to release on PC and PS4 only, but after Sakuna was announced as being in the works, our Nintendo contact at the time reached out to us on more than one occasion to consider releasing the game on the Nintendo Switch as well.
We were initially hesitant on the first few reach-outs, as it just was not part of the original plan and we would have had to reschedule everything, but after multiple talks with Nintendo and hearing how passionate they were about the game, we ultimately decided to release the game on the Switch as well.
That wasn’t an easy ask for Edelweiss, but we all agreed that Switch would be a great platform for the game. In hindsight, we’re glad we took their request seriously as we have nothing but appreciation towards Nintendo for actively showcasing the game, and in terms of sales impact, we’re seeing great launch orders on the Switch—about a 2-to-1 over PS4.”
It’s fascinating to think that the console that the team had to be convinced to design for wound up being the more popular platform for consumers to preorder for. Will you be picking up a copy of Sakuna? Tell us in the comments and on social media!
Source: Siliconera
