TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
"I still didn't think it was going to be super popular," Barone said of the days leading up to Stardew Valley's launch in 2016.
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If there's one thing I'm always saying as a PC gamer, it's "I really hope nobody takes a console-exclusive series I loved as a kid that's rarely if ever been replicated on the platform I now predominantly use as an adult and creates a modern homage to it." You know, like we said about Final Fantasy Tactics for years. More stuff like that formative thing I loved? No thank you!
That's basically the reaction Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone expected from Harvest Moon fans back in 2016 when he released his indie farm sim. Thank goodness he was wrong.
Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone sat down to chat with PC Gamer at last year's Game Developer's conference, nine years after Stardew Valley launched. Now Stardew Valley is celebrating its first decade—on February 26, specifically—and I still can't believe that Barone thought that farm sim players weren't going to like his farm sim.
"I still didn't think it was going to be super popular," Barone said of the lead up to launch. "I thought it would be maybe a niche game for Harvest Moon lovers—and I even thought a lot of them would probably hate it because they'd be like 'this isn't as good as my favorite Harvest Moon game' you know?"
We actually interviewed Barone back in March 2016, too, right as he was realizing Stardew Valley was on its way from "success" to "phenomenon." He basically said the same thing then: "I thought it would be popular with people who were fans of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory, and I thought that would pretty much be it."
I do understand Barone's suspicion that a farm sim on PC would be a bit niche. Before Stardew, people just weren't making them, not on PC anyhow. Harvest Moon had always been a console series, had recently gotten split into Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons brands, and the adults who wanted chill farm games were still rocking FarmVille on Facebook. (This is the part of the story that makes a decade feel like a lifetime ago.)
As someone who did love Harvest Moon as a kid—though admittedly my experience was with the single Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life game that I owned and not broadly across the series at that time—I loved Stardew Valley on day one. Well, to day one. My Steam library informs me that I bought it on March 8, 2016. I loved it on day 11. Regardless, I was completely taken with Stardew as soon as I got my hands on it, as were so many others.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as p...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
If there's one thing I'm always saying as a PC gamer, it's "I really hope nobody takes a console-exclusive series I loved as a kid that's rarely if ever been replicated on the platform I now predominantly use as an adult and creates a modern homage to it." You know, like we said about Final Fantasy Tactics for years. More stuff like that formative thing I loved? No thank you!
That's basically the reaction Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone expected from Harvest Moon fans back in 2016 when he released his indie farm sim. Thank goodness he was wrong.
Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone sat down to chat with PC Gamer at last year's Game Developer's conference, nine years after Stardew Valley launched. Now Stardew Valley is celebrating its first decade—on February 26, specifically—and I still can't believe that Barone thought that farm sim players weren't going to like his farm sim.
"I still didn't think it was going to be super popular," Barone said of the lead up to launch. "I thought it would be maybe a niche game for Harvest Moon lovers—and I even thought a lot of them would probably hate it because they'd be like 'this isn't as good as my favorite Harvest Moon game' you know?"
We actually interviewed Barone back in March 2016, too, right as he was realizing Stardew Valley was on its way from "success" to "phenomenon." He basically said the same thing then: "I thought it would be popular with people who were fans of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory, and I thought that would pretty much be it."
I do understand Barone's suspicion that a farm sim on PC would be a bit niche. Before Stardew, people just weren't making them, not on PC anyhow. Harvest Moon had always been a console series, had recently gotten split into Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons brands, and the adults who wanted chill farm games were still rocking FarmVille on Facebook. (This is the part of the story that makes a decade feel like a lifetime ago.)
As someone who did love Harvest Moon as a kid—though admittedly my experience was with the single Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life game that I owned and not broadly across the series at that time—I loved Stardew Valley on day one. Well, to day one. My Steam library informs me that I bought it on March 8, 2016. I loved it on day 11. Regardless, I was completely taken with Stardew as soon as I got my hands on it, as were so many others.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as p...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?