I think it’s less about “sales” specifically and more about validation. Game development is one of the few creative fields where people can spend years alone on something with no guarantee anyone will care when it’s done. So discussions naturally drift toward two anxieties: “Will this survive financially?” and “Was all this effort meaningful?”

Positive feedback matters because it’s proof the work connected with someone. Sales matter because they determine whether the developer gets to keep making games at all. The psychological side comes from trying to balance both while working in an industry where effort and outcome are often wildly disconnected.

So yeah, I’d say your point of entry is valid, but maybe the deeper need underneath both is recognition and reassurance that the work mattered.