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StarTopic Monolith Soft Development and Speculation |ST|

I don't want to make bold claims like "it was obvious Monolith wasn't involved in Legends", especially not until we see the credits, but I honestly never understood what part of the game lead people to believe this was the case, this is just an improvement over Sw/Sh and it's expansion, had Monolith been involved I'd expect we would've seen some blatant shortcomings being fixed in the final game regarding the visuals.
 
Renmazuo said:
Makes sense, considering Splatoon 3 is around the corner. It made more sense to me that would be the game they were helping with.
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Monolith Kyoto can help several teams at the same time as they're mainly doing assets. The rumor was Arceus received help from the same team that helped with BOTW aka second Tokyo unit aka Zelda team. I'm not saying the rumor is true, only that they working on Splatoon 3 or Animal Crossing wouldn't interfere at all.
 
ika said:
Monolith Kyoto can help several teams at the same time as they're mainly doing assets. The rumor was Arceus received help from the same team that helped with BOTW aka second Tokyo unit aka Zelda team. I'm not saying the rumor is true, only that they working on Splatoon 3 or Animal Crossing wouldn't interfere at all.
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Okay, but that team is presumably already working on BOTW2, and their contribution is presumably on the same level as the previous game (ie more than simply creating assets) so it also doesn't sound realistic, you can only work on so much at any given time.

On a different note, this conversation and the past few days have me realize something obvious... Monolith is mostly a support studio now. Essentially 2/3rds of the studio are dedicated to assisting Nintendo EPD games and nothing more. Yeah I know it has been growing a lot these past few years and that Xenoblade has its own production team... but that's it, Xenoblade. Back then they used to make other smaller games beyond their flagship (Xenosaga/Xenoblade), they weren't the biggest or the greatest games but they were there. I can't help but miss them, the Baten Kaitoses, the Project X Zones...

I dunno, it just doesn't sit right with me. Will I ever get to see another Yasuyuki Honne game in my lifetime, for example? It honestly gets kinda hard to remain excited about the studio when they only make Xenoblade and each entry takes several years to make. Reading about how they are hiring new employees or how they created assets for X Nintendo game just isn't very exciting after a while.

Sorry for the rant, I've been kinda down lately and it's seeping into my excitement for videogames.
 
Renmazuo said:
Okay, but that team is presumably already working on BOTW2, and their contribution is presumably on the same level as the previous game (ie more than simply creating assets) so it also doesn't sound realistic, you can only work on so much at any given time.

On a different note, this conversation and the past few days have me realize something obvious... Monolith is mostly a support studio now. Essentially 2/3rds of the studio are dedicated to assisting Nintendo EPD games and nothing more. Yeah I know it has been growing a lot these past few years and that Xenoblade has its own production team... but that's it, Xenoblade. Back then they used to make other smaller games beyond their flagship (Xenosaga/Xenoblade), they weren't the biggest or the greatest games but they were there. I can't help but miss them, the Baten Kaitoses, the Project X Zones...

I dunno, it just doesn't sit right with me. Will I ever get to see another Yasuyuki Honne game in my lifetime, for example? It honestly gets kinda hard to remain excited about the studio when they only make Xenoblade and each entry takes several years to make. Reading about how they are hiring new employees or how they created assets for X Nintendo game just isn't very exciting after a while.

Sorry for the rant, I've been kinda down lately and it's seeping into my excitement for videogames.
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This has essentially been the case for a while now. It isn't brought up much, but about 50 people from Monolith Tokyo assisted on Skyward Sword. It probably didn't impact the production of any Xenoblade projects though since Skyward Sword launched about a year and a half after Xenoblade Wii's JP release. My guess is that a smaller group at Monolith worked on planning and preproduction for Xenoblade X for the first year or so and as Skyward Sword was wrapping up, those Monolith staff members got moved over to Xenoblade X.

The Kyoto studio has always focused on artwork and asset creation, so they don't seem to have the setup for leading their own project. They do seem to assist on Monolith's internal projects as well though, in addition to games like Splatoon and Animal Crossing.

The main difference in output between now and the 3DS/Wii U era seems to be the loss of smaller scale Monolith titles like the Project X Zone series. These smaller games could potentially be a victim of larger projects like Xenoblade needing more resources as tech gets more advanced and production values increase. In addition, nearly all of the smaller internal projects from the late 2000's onward were projects published by Bandai Namco. The only time Nintendo had Monolith working on two internal brand new games at once was Soma Bringer and Disaster Day of Crisis back in 2008. The Monolith developed projects since then that Nintendo has published are Xenoblade Wii, Xenoblade X, Xenoblade 2, the Xenoblade 2 DLC, and Xenoblade Definitive Edition.

I do think the Division split at Monolith Tokyo could ultimately be beneficial. With a section of Monolith Tokyo focused on assisting on Zelda, Takahashi shouldn't have to worry as much about not having enough staff for his own projects. It's also worth mentioning how much Monolith has grown over the last few years. They went from 133 people in April 2017 to 275 people as of July 2021. Most of the mass recruitment drives since 2017 seem to have been for the Tokyo studio in particular. Takahashi's division might be large enough now to work on two projects at once as well since work started on both Xenoblade Definitive Edition and a new project at the same time. Granted one of these projects wasn't a brand new game, but I think it's still interesting to see.

I think one big question stems from how large Division 2 is. If they haven't grown in size much, they might only be working on Zelda at the moment. If they've gone up in size a bit too, though, maybe there's a chance they could have their own project in the works as well.
 
Renmazuo said:
On a different note, this conversation and the past few days have me realize something obvious... Monolith is mostly a support studio now. Essentially 2/3rds of the studio are dedicated to assisting Nintendo EPD games and nothing more. Yeah I know it has been growing a lot these past few years and that Xenoblade has its own production team... but that's it, Xenoblade. Back then they used to make other smaller games beyond their flagship (Xenosaga/Xenoblade), they weren't the biggest or the greatest games but they were there. I can't help but miss them, the Baten Kaitoses, the Project X Zones...

I dunno, it just doesn't sit right with me. Will I ever get to see another Yasuyuki Honne game in my lifetime, for example?
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A discussion regarding the possibility of further games led by Honne took place over the past couple pages, and -- at least here -- there's definitely an audience that would be excited for more from him. I really do hope he gets the chance to lead more games, and would probably be more excited for that than for more Xenoblade, because he's done excellent work.

A key element of that is tied to MonolithSoft's continued growth and the distribution thereof, which will impact how any area of the company functions. I really do hope Kyoto gets built up to where such development is feasible. And then there's the question of whether such a situation has any likelihood.

Of course, Nintendo isn't going to want to lose MonolithSoft's support capabilities, so that will always have to be factored in.

So, yeah, updates on the internal machinations of MonolithSoft will be interesting to see:
Procheno said:
Still waiting for them to update their employee count. Hasn't been updated since July last year. Maybe when XBC3 gets announced next month?
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I suspect part of the reason why the Kyoto team doesn't have a full programming staff is because Monolith hasn't pushed for it. I would think Nintendo is willing to invest in getting more games out of Monolith, but Honne doesn't have the drive to fully build up a team yet
 
ILikeFeet said:
I suspect part of the reason why the Kyoto team doesn't have a full programming staff is because Monolith hasn't pushed for it. I would think Nintendo is willing to invest in getting more games out of Monolith, but Honne doesn't have the drive to fully build up a team yet
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I don’t think it makes sense to just add programmers to an art/asset studio without some major change of role. They don’t really have a programming infrastructure, nor would having programmers synchronize with the stage of production Monolith Kyoto becomes involved in Nintendo’s games.

Asset work happens in the later stages of production. It’s basically adding/supporting to art that’s already been grounded by the lead team and production art team from Nintendo.
 
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ILikeFeet said:
I suspect part of the reason why the Kyoto team doesn't have a full programming staff is because Monolith hasn't pushed for it. I would think Nintendo is willing to invest in getting more games out of Monolith, but Honne doesn't have the drive to fully build up a team yet
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No, Honne has made it clear that he wants to develop original titles at Kyoto Studio.
- Do you have any plans to have programmers or planners at Kyoto Studio in the future, as you do in Tokyo Studio?
Honne: Yes, we do. Of course, we hope to eventually develop original titles in Kyoto Studio.
- Does that mean that you want to develop original titles independently?
Honne: Yes, of course.
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www.monolithsoft.co.jp

取締役 本根康之 蘒原智洋 / 二拠点体制がもたらすもの | インタビュー | RECRUIT | モノリスソフト

株式会社モノリスソフト取締役 本根康之 蘒原智洋のインタビューをご紹介。
www.monolithsoft.co.jp www.monolithsoft.co.jp
 
oracion said:
No, Honne has made it clear that he wants to develop original titles at Kyoto Studio.

www.monolithsoft.co.jp

取締役 本根康之 蘒原智洋 / 二拠点体制がもたらすもの | インタビュー | RECRUIT | モノリスソフト

株式会社モノリスソフト取締役 本根康之 蘒原智洋のインタビューをご紹介。
www.monolithsoft.co.jp www.monolithsoft.co.jp
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Dark Cloud said:
Yeah he’s already said he wants to develop games.
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Yup, mostly I'm hoping they're already making progress toward that point, even if it still won't be for a while yet.
 
Renmazuo said:
So are we going to ignore the insider making false claims or what
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Didn't the claims come from NateTheHate's Direct Feed Games account on Twitter? What's the point in making up that Monolith assisted with PLA? I think this guy pretends to know more than he actually does. Not sure why people believe half the stuff he comes out with.
 
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chocolate_supra said:
I love Takahashi's stories but I love Honne's world design. I want to get absolutely lost in a Xenoblade X-style Honne game.
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2a6a570b3080d2bae0b8efd2607aa71c.png


but in full 3D!
 
Maybe I'm not reading the tweets correctly or missing context, but I thought Honne left Kyoto and moved back to Tokyo in 2018? He traveled to Kyoto from Tokyo weekly from Februaruy 2018 until October 2018 when it was his last day. I assumed he went back to work at the Tokyo studio? Maybe that means he'll be actually working on his own games now? Or Monolithsoft will be able to make other games now?

That's assuming I'm understanding the tweets correctly.



 
Almadel said:
Maybe I'm not reading the tweets correctly or missing context, but I thought Honne left Kyoto and moved back to Tokyo in 2018? He traveled to Kyoto from Tokyo weekly from Februaruy 2018 until October 2018 when it was his last day. I assumed he went back to work at the Tokyo studio? Maybe that means he'll be actually working on his own games now? Or Monolithsoft will be able to make other games now?

That's assuming I'm understanding the tweets correctly.



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Honne back in the directors seat? :O
 
Almadel said:
Maybe I'm not reading the tweets correctly or missing context, but I thought Honne left Kyoto and moved back to Tokyo in 2018? He traveled to Kyoto from Tokyo weekly from Februaruy 2018 until October 2018 when it was his last day. I assumed he went back to work at the Tokyo studio? Maybe that means he'll be actually working on his own games now? Or Monolithsoft will be able to make other games now?

That's assuming I'm understanding the tweets correctly.



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I see, so if he's directing a game again it wouldn't actually be from Kyoto studio.
 
Dunban said:
That would be such a huge task for the Kyoto team. I was thinking something more like Bravely Default 2 but without the weird character models.
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Right, something like that is more akin to what i would expect, though I can't actually speak to what sort of project he would be leading. But I assume it would be fairly differentiated from the Xenoblade games in various ways.

Almadel said:
Maybe I'm not reading the tweets correctly or missing context, but I thought Honne left Kyoto and moved back to Tokyo in 2018? He traveled to Kyoto from Tokyo weekly from Februaruy 2018 until October 2018 when it was his last day. I assumed he went back to work at the Tokyo studio? Maybe that means he'll be actually working on his own games now? Or Monolithsoft will be able to make other games now?

That's assuming I'm understanding the tweets correctly.



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MetalLord said:
He did http://honnesan.seesaa.net/article/462524321.html his non credit in animal crossing further confirms it
Even before this he worked on Xenoblade 2 as an artist
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Oh, fascinating. It sounds like he's actually been back in Tokyo for a while now, then.
 
As a bit of an aside, I’ve recently gotten into collecting premium playing cards, and Honne-san’s social media is full of amazing decks.

Not only that, but the three Bicycle decks he designed are beautiful. Hoping to pick them up in Japan whenever travel opens up.
 
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ILikeFeet said:
2a6a570b3080d2bae0b8efd2607aa71c.png


but in full 3D!
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Gorgeous game. Needs to be on Switch.
Dark Cloud said:
Didn’t Nate kind of hint Monolith has another game coming besides Xenoblade 3? I have to look to see if I can find it.
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Nate basically said Monolith Soft are doing more than Xenoblade and Zelda. If Honne has been back in Tokyo for a while, maybe he's heading up a new game with production group 2 in Tokyo. While we know the headcount for Monolith as a whole is 270ish, we don't know how that splits between the two Tokyo groups and the Kyoto group, so it's difficult to know what could be in the works. It could also easily be the case that a hypothetical Honne game is a joint venture between Monolith Soft and an external studio, so even if there were only a few dozen 'free staff in Tokyo, they could still have something in the works given how common development collaboration is.
 
MisterSpo said:
Gorgeous game. Needs to be on Switch.

Nate basically said Monolith Soft are doing more than Xenoblade and Zelda. If Honne has been back in Tokyo for a while, maybe he's heading up a new game with production group 2 in Tokyo. While we know the headcount for Monolith as a whole is 270ish, we don't know how that splits between the two Tokyo groups and the Kyoto group, so it's difficult to know what could be in the works. It could also easily be the case that a hypothetical Honne game is a joint venture between Monolith Soft and an external studio, so even if there were only a few dozen 'free staff in Tokyo, they could still have something in the works given how common development collaboration is.
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Right, because MLS are also supporting Splatoon 3 again. :)

Luke88 said:
I don't want to make bold claims like "it was obvious Monolith wasn't involved in Legends", especially not until we see the credits,
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I'm sorry for missing out on this rumor cycle 'cause I would have gladly made that claim. :D
They only assist with certain EPD projects.
 
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Dark Cloud said:
What’s the point in hinting at something they support? They support a lot of games and franchises already.
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Idk but I always assume nothing before they confirm something. Makes it easier to level expectation. Hoping for two games simultaneously
 
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Kano said:
Wasn't he wrong just last week in hinting at Monolith Soft supporting on Pokémon Arceus, when we now know it's not the case?
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And since he didn't even allude at any game other than xenoblade in his last podcast that might have very well been what he was referring to so lol
 
It says Monolith Soft Kyoto is hiring for designers and other positions

“Currently, Monolith Soft Kyoto Studio is looking for designers.

As a special project, we will introduce the development of Kyoto Studio in an interview format according to the person in charge of "Animal Crossing : New Clothes Forest" .”
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They’re also integrating social media from Monolith Kyoto

As of February 28, 2022, we will integrate the following Monolith Soft official social media accounts.

  • Official Twitter "Monolith Soft Kyoto Studio"
    integrated with official Twitter "Monolith Soft"
  • Official Facebook "Monolith Soft Kyoto Studio"
    integrated with official Facebook "Monolith Soft"
We look forward to your continued support for the official Monolith Soft account.
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They still have the fantasy picture up in the recruitment page. Wish it was translatable in English so I could read what it says and if it changed since the last website design. I can't seem to find the Production Team 1 recruitment page anymore though
 
Procheno said:
They still have the fantasy picture up in the recruitment page. Wish it was translatable in English so I could read what it says and if it changed since the last website design. I can't seem to find the Production Team 1 recruitment page anymore though
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There doesn't look to be any change. I'm surprised they even kept the page up this long

bellydrum said:
They were not.
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Supposedly, some Monolith staff did work on it but are listed individually rather than by company. Also, I don't know if it's exactly the same people or just people named the same
 
There's a lot to go over on the site but yeah it looks like the current staff total is 273 as of December 2021. If the new interview mentions the Kyoto studio having about 30 people, then it's a smaller group than I expected. It would mean the Tokyo studio has about 240 staff members in total.

The Production Division 1 recruitment page seems to be gone, but the Production Division 2 recruitment page and the Special recruitment page are still up. The pages that hosted all the recruitment art and the anniversary art seem to be gone too, but I think I saved most of those images before the pages went down.

PandaAndino said:
Do we have last employer count from july?
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They were at 275 in July.
 
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