Cube Creator 3D: JP sales “saved” Big John Games, got them a meeting with Nintendo

Cube Creator 3D is a Minecraft clone that came out last year on Nintendo 3DS. In North America, the game didn’t really sell all that well, which put its developers (Big John Games) in a tight spot. It was only made worse by a deal that fell through, that would have allowed the company to expand and go from two full-time staff members (and five part-time workers) to 18 full-time employees.

But thanks to the great sales in Japan (it became the eighth best-selling game for the Nintendo eShop of the Nintendo 3DS), the company was saved from an uncertain future. All in all, Cube Creator 3D sold 10 times as many copies as it had in North America.

In fact, the game sold so well that it even landed them (and Arc System Works, the Japanese publisher) a meeting with Nintendo, in order to “discuss upcoming projects and partnerships”. It looks like they might even get early access to the elusive NX platform. There’s no doubt Nintendo is interested in having Minecraft-like games at launch, to boost sales (it would be unlikely for Minecraft itself to be a launch title).

The good sales were obviously due to the lack of Minecraft release on Nintendo 3DS, which was a golden opportunity for Big John Games and Arc System Works: there was a significant and juicy market to tap into. Obviously, the company didn’t suddenly become rich, but at least, their future is now significantly brighter.

Thanks to that success, Big John Games is now working on another Nintendo 3DS game: Racer Creator. This time around, they’re funding the game themselves, which means the developers have much more freedom than with previous projects.

Source: Post-Bulletin