Nintendo‘s indie program has a particular method of selecting titles for their consoles and it’s all about keeping it safe and fun. Last week, the company exhibited a few of the 60 plus games available for the Nintendo Switch and they’re all relatively similar in genre and gameplay style – retro, shooter, action, and/or adventure. Of course, each of them have something different to offer to players in regards to story, graphics, and artistry.

For example, Hawaii Shakedown is an open world, action shooter about making the streets your territory, even if that means shooting a rocket launchers at cars and torching an entire grove. Nintendo recently revealed a few more titles which will launch throughout 2017, including “Graceful Explosion Machine”, “Mr. Shifty”, “Pocket Rumble” and more. Just by looking at the trailer for each of them on their official YouTube page, one can tell that they’re all very predictable selections. It’s not necessarily a negative preference because big changes aren’t always welcomed with open arms.

A recent Gamasutra interview with Damon Baker, Head of Partner Management for Nintendo of America, dives a bit deeper into the head space of the company. Part of their approach is to establish and nurture high quality publishers and partnerships like the ones with Chucklefish, Team17 and Devolver Digital.

“We want to honor our fans by making sure we’ve got original content, that we’re forward-looking rather than backwards,” said Baker. “That’s not to say that there aren’t ports or other great content that have come out in the past couple or few years that wouldn’t work perfect on Switch. It’s just not a priority for right now.”

While safe and fun seems like a simple explanation for Nintendo’s indie program process, a few other factors come into play as well. Limited resources and attention implies the investment toward established collaborations and alliances, and those interpersonal relations can take years. “It hasn’t happened overnight. It’s taken the last few years to focus efforts there. And now we’re starting to see some of those relationships turn into actual products,” Baker mentioned. So, for indie developers hoping to get in with Nintendo’s indie program – while the task isn’t impossible, it will take time and patience.

What do you think of Nintendo’s selection process? Do you believe they’ll begin to branch out in due time? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below or begin your own conversation on Don’t Feed the Gamers Disqus channel! To stay up to date on the latest news in the gaming world, follow us on Facebook and Twitter!