The Furukawa quote about making games “with shorter development periods” got a lot of play. But looking at the indifference, sneers, and hostility that Drag x Drive, Welcome Tour, and ArcSys’ Damon & Baby received, many gamers don’t actually want smaller games despite their proclamation—and the Steam data proves that.
On Steam, the sales of games released from 2022 to 2024 skewed heavily toward $59+ titles. It seems risky for larger devs, who have more overhead, to release smaller games. Since the line is exponential, not linear or logarithmic, it’s even riskier to make mid-range games than cheap ones.
![[Chart] Game Units Sold (Mean); numbers from data table upthread](https://ninpatentswatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/bafkreigxbp7t6npgdcf5pzw4wab5jhqnan2gc6pj2sn77ifbokbvbgxueu.jpg)
![[Chart] Game Units Sold (Median); numbers from data table upthread](https://ninpatentswatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/bafkreiajcio446celqronokrli3u64suyfsbvy2qhfw3ascxot7ibwhrju.jpg)
Like eating heathy, many people like smaller games only in theory but not in practice. Heathy food will always taste “worse” than the gut-busters, unless you learn to appreciate their unique qualities.
Data: Video Game Insights; Steam games released 20220101-20241231; database last updated 20250707
[Originally posted on 2025-07-08 Pacific Time]
