• Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.
  • Do you have audio editing experience and want to help out with the Famiboards Discussion Club Podcast? If so, we're looking for help and would love to have you on the team! Just let us know in the Podcast Thread if you are interested!

Discussion Nintendo: "Switch business has exceeded our expectations", plans to expand game development capability by $900m, $2.7bn for theme parks, stores

Reform Factor 5 Nintendo.
do-it-ben-stiller.gif
 
Terrell said:
Other companies expand via IP acquisition as much as anything else (see example: the MS Bethesda acquisition), Nintendo hasn't done that and don't see them going that way. But even Sony operates in similar ways to Nintendo in this regard: every studio they've acquired is one that they have a long development partnership history with (Sucker Punch, Insomniac, Naughty Dog, etc.) and likely wanted the acquisition to happen.
Click to expand...

Not quoting everything but earlier this year Sony bought Nixxes which they had no prior relationship with. MediaMolecule they bought after just one game. And we know in the case of Insomniac that they tried to buy them several times until they finally came to an agreement. That's where I see the difference between Nintendo and other corporations who are more proactive when it comes to M&As.

I'm not really hung up about the use of averse or "prudent" to describe them but I was specifically using it in the context of potential partners in the first place.
 
Dardan Sandiego said:
Not quoting everything but earlier this year Sony bought Nixxes which they had no prior relationship with. MediaMolecule they bought after just one game. And we know in the case of Insomniac that they tried to buy them several times until they finally came to an agreement. That's where I see the difference between Nintendo and other corporations who are more proactive when it comes to M&As.

I'm not really hung up about the use of averse or "prudent" to describe them but I was specifically using it in the context of potential partners in the first place.
Click to expand...

Uhmmm actually Nixxes did a tiny amount of work on Killzone Shadowfall that one time.
 
Dardan Sandiego said:
Not quoting everything but earlier this year Sony bought Nixxes which they had no prior relationship with. MediaMolecule they bought after just one game. And we know in the case of Insomniac that they tried to buy them several times until they finally came to an agreement. That's where I see the difference between Nintendo and other corporations who are more proactive when it comes to M&As.

I'm not really hung up about the use of averse or "prudent" to describe them but I was specifically using it in the context of potential partners in the first place.
Click to expand...
PlayStation also tried to buy Leyou (who worked on 1st party Xbox stuff) but Tencent beat them out. They don't really at all have a policy of only buying close aligned partner devs.
 
A very significant amount. I hope most if not all goes to expanding Nintendo's Japanese studios. They have a lot of IP laying around that need sequels and a lot of senior talent that don't have the chance to take on their own projects. 900 million would practically double their development staff in Japan.
 
0
Galgavias said:
My Golden Sun senses are tingling

If Camelot do want to do another Golden Sun, they should look at what SquareEnix have been doing on Switch and try to imitate that, rather than do what Monolith have been doing, for instance. A mid-budget RPG with a defined artstyle, instead of a mega-budget open world epic. They don't have the team size for something on the scale of Xenoblade, but something on the scale of Bravely Default II? There are many gameplay similarities between that and the Golden Sun games, so use that as inspiration. Heck, maybe even remake the first two games in this new artstyle, sprinkle in some voice acting, and I'd take it at this point.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, Golden Sun is in a very similar situation as Advance Wars.

What I mean is: Nintendo's IPs aren't tied to specific developers anymore. Nintendo doesn't need Intelligent Systems to make Advance Wars, they can hand it off to WayForward. Nintendo doesn't need Camelot to make Golden Sun, they can hand the IP off to another RPG studio that wants to take a crack at it.

It's just a question of finding the right studio, and whether that studio wants to work on a specific IP.

Will Golden Sun return anytime soon? I don't know, but they don't need Camelot to bring it back.
 
Emily said:
Believe it or not, Golden Sun is in a very similar situation as Advance Wars.

What I mean is: Nintendo's IPs aren't tied to specific developers anymore. Nintendo doesn't need Intelligent Systems to make Advance Wars, they can hand it off to WayForward. Nintendo doesn't need Camelot to make Golden Sun, they can hand the IP off to another RPG studio that wants to take a crack at it.

It's just a question of finding the right studio, and whether that studio wants to work on a specific IP.

Will Golden Sun return anytime soon? I don't know, but they don't need Camelot to bring it back.
Click to expand...
i wonder if the wayforward arrangement was because of a good pitch or if Nintendo approached them to do the game or a bit of both.
I do think Nintendo should be courting indie devs more not only to land exclusives or firsts, which Switch already get lots of, but to co-develop more games to fill in the gaps in their release schedule.

For whatever reason Nintendo's software development, even if its farm out, are still all concentrated in Japan
 
Dekuman said:
i wonder if the wayforward arrangement was because of a good pitch or if Nintendo approached them to do the game or a bit of both.
I do think Nintendo should be courting indie devs more not only to land exclusives or firsts, which Switch already get lots of, but to co-develop more games to fill in the gaps in their release schedule.

For whatever reason Nintendo's software development, even if its farm out, are still all concentrated in Japan
Click to expand...
going to "indie" devs mean these games' scopes are gonna be limited. not all of these indies are the size of Wayforward. sure it gets more IPs on shelves, but will you be seeing returns from such an initiative?
 
Emily said:
Believe it or not, Golden Sun is in a very similar situation as Advance Wars.

What I mean is: Nintendo's IPs aren't tied to specific developers anymore. Nintendo doesn't need Intelligent Systems to make Advance Wars, they can hand it off to WayForward. Nintendo doesn't need Camelot to make Golden Sun, they can hand the IP off to another RPG studio that wants to take a crack at it.

It's just a question of finding the right studio, and whether that studio wants to work on a specific IP.

Will Golden Sun return anytime soon? I don't know, but they don't need Camelot to bring it back.
Click to expand...
My assumption is - largely because of the Takahashi brothers - Nintendo wouldn't bring Golden Sun back without Camelot, even if Camelot aren't required for Golden Sun. Perhaps Camelot would at least have some supervisory role, which is what Intelligent Systems seem to have with Reboot Camp. I don't think there's any shared IP ownership with Camelot and Golden Sun, so Nintendo can theoretically do as they please; but they also have their ongoing relationship with Camelot to think about.

More broadly, something that's going to be very interesting to watch in the coming years is how Nintendo's mission to capitalise more broadly on their IP and characters meshes with their game development. The more and varied successful game series they have, the more worlds and characters they have to fit into merchandise, smartphone apps, television, film, and theme parks. Obviously, it makes sense to capitalise on 'the big ones' first, but as we're seeing with Pikmin Bloom, Nintendo will utilise what IP they see fit for different purposes. We're already seeing old IP return in recent years - the more successful IP Nintendo have, the more opportunities they have for their wider business.

This investment in game development will hopefully be positive on that front while also pleasing some long-time fans. And it might also lead to more new IP, which is always interesting.
 
It's still odd to me that AW1+2 doesn't have a Japanese release planned. I assume it's another NOA production following MAU3 and DCSHG but those both did get JP launches? Maybe it'll come later as there's a bit more involved in the localization beyond just the script?
 
ILikeFeet said:
going to "indie" devs mean these games' scopes are gonna be limited. not all of these indies are the size of Wayforward. sure it gets more IPs on shelves, but will you be seeing returns from such an initiative?
Click to expand...
you're right, but i think indie gets used more broadly these days as unaffiliated studios who may sometimes self publish outside of the mainstream.
Wayforward is huge for an indie, as you pointed out. And games like Cadence of Hyrule was a perfect fit for a small studio. So if we go back to Golden Sun, I am sure there is a studio out there who can pull off a scope Nintendo wants and not be associated with or owned by one of the big publishers. The question really is where they want to take that franchise. a top down traditional RPG style would be doable by a lot more sutdios than a 3rd person fully 3D game.
 
0
Dekuman said:
i wonder if the wayforward arrangement was because of a good pitch or if Nintendo approached them to do the game or a bit of both.
I do think Nintendo should be courting indie devs more not only to land exclusives or firsts, which Switch already get lots of, but to co-develop more games to fill in the gaps in their release schedule.

For whatever reason Nintendo's software development, even if its farm out, are still all concentrated in Japan
Click to expand...

I always felt Nintendo should take smaller IPs (Ice Climbers, Balloon Fight) and let indie developers make new, modern versions of these games for the eShop.

These type of IPs don't require big budgets or ambitious scopes.
 
MisterSpo said:
My assumption is - largely because of the Takahashi brothers - Nintendo wouldn't bring Golden Sun back without Camelot, even if Camelot aren't required for Golden Sun. Perhaps Camelot would at least have some supervisory role, which is what Intelligent Systems seem to have with Reboot Camp. I don't think there's any shared IP ownership with Camelot and Golden Sun, so Nintendo can theoretically do as they please; but they also have their ongoing relationship with Camelot to think about.

More broadly, something that's going to be very interesting to watch in the coming years is how Nintendo's mission to capitalise more broadly on their IP and characters meshes with their game development. The more and varied successful game series they have, the more worlds and characters they have to fit into merchandise, smartphone apps, television, film, and theme parks. Obviously, it makes sense to capitalise on 'the big ones' first, but as we're seeing with Pikmin Bloom, Nintendo will utilise what IP they see fit for different purposes. We're already seeing old IP return in recent years - the more successful IP Nintendo have, the more opportunities they have for their wider business.

This investment in game development will hopefully be positive on that front while also pleasing some long-time fans. And it might also lead to more new IP, which is always interesting.
Click to expand...

Unless the Astral Chain thing was a wider thing where Nintendo has been buying their partners out then Camelot definitely has shared copyright over Golden Sun.
 
0
Emily said:
Believe it or not, Golden Sun is in a very similar situation as Advance Wars.

What I mean is: Nintendo's IPs aren't tied to specific developers anymore. Nintendo doesn't need Intelligent Systems to make Advance Wars, they can hand it off to WayForward. Nintendo doesn't need Camelot to make Golden Sun, they can hand the IP off to another RPG studio that wants to take a crack at it.

It's just a question of finding the right studio, and whether that studio wants to work on a specific IP.

Will Golden Sun return anytime soon? I don't know, but they don't need Camelot to bring it back.
Click to expand...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Camelot co-own the IP with Nintendo? If that was the case, Camelot would have to involved somehow, even if it's just them giving a new studio the green light, like we've seen with Wayforward and Intelligent Systems.

I do agree that Advance Wars returning (which is actually even more hype inducing to me personally than Golden Sun) does give hope for many of Nintendo's dormant IPs.
 
How did I forget about Monolith West? They can finally pay us for all the work we do.



We totally should've named this forum Monolith West.
 
IntSys also holds some rights over AW1 and AW2 specifically. They don't co-own the Wars IP though, unlike with Fire Emblem, but they hold shared copyright over some of the games they made.

I do kinda wonder if they have any oversight or involvement with the remake?
 
0
Galgavias said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Camelot co-own the IP with Nintendo? If that was the case, Camelot would have to involved somehow, even if it's just them giving a new studio the green light, like we've seen with Wayforward and Intelligent Systems.

I do agree that Advance Wars returning (which is actually even more hype inducing to me personally than Golden Sun) does give hope for many of Nintendo's dormant IPs.
Click to expand...

I'll put it this way: Internally, in the last ten years, Nintendo has shown more interest in Golden Sun than people realize.

Nintendo likes Golden Sun. The big thing holding it back is finding the right developer/studio to work on it. Because Camelot has its plate full with Mario sports, and Mario sports makes Nintendo a lot of money.

If were up to me, I think Nintendo should find a studio to re-make Golden Sun 1 and 2. Remakes would be much, much easier to develop than a brand new Golden Sun.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
All Nintendo has to do is get a developer to remake the first 2 Golden Sun games. Just do the same thing like Wayforward is with Advance Wars 1 + 2. I’m sure there’s some developers out there who would love to do it.
 
0
Going back to my suggestion that they should tap Square Enix to put Tokyo RPG Factory on Golden Sun remakes. Just get Sakuraba to remaster the OST and you’re halfway there.
 
0
Grezzo could probably do it justice, though hopefully they can work on their own original stuff too.
 
I'm worried if F-Zero ever returns, it might return in a "monkey paw" sort of way.

Either Nintendo will give it a very divisive control scheme for the sake of "innovation". (See Star Fox Zero)

Or they'll do something to make it appeal to casual gamers, which will anger F-Zero fans.

Just let F-Zero be F-Zero. Don't mess with the formula too much.
 
Hope this is the kind of things you can really feel the results of. Consistent movies and shows will be noticeable, along with the theme park, though I dunno when I’ll ever get to go to it. Going from two systems to one with the switch made a huge difference to me. Even if the raw number of games didn’t increase, having everything all together in whatever form I prefer them was huge. I hope to feels similar vibes when all these things come together over the years.

And of course, with all the various “comebacks” they’ve made recently, I’ve got a lot of hope for stuff like f-zero. Getting to the point where we get all the worthwhile old stuff back along with new stuff. That’s the dream.
 
0
Emily said:
I'm worried if F-Zero ever returns, it might return in a "monkey paw" sort of way.

Either Nintendo will give it a very divisive control scheme for the sake of "innovation". (See Star Fox Zero)

Or they'll do something to make it appeal to casual gamers, which will anger F-Zero fans.

Just let F-Zero be F-Zero. Don't mess with the formula too much.
Click to expand...
Emily, as long as you're talking about dormant or dead franchises, is there any possible way you've heard about any interest from Nintendo in the Eternal Darkness franchise?

I'm pretty sure I know the answer (that answer being "no") but Alex Roivas being one of the first front and center Smash Ultimate Spirits gave me hope that the franchise is still at least somewhere in their collective thoughts and potential plans.

Either that or Sakurai is probably a fan.
 
9-Volt said:
Let's not get over our heads here. Level-5 has created one of the greatest JRPG's ever, I remind you. Dragon Quest 8. Whatever they'd do would definitely be better than Dark Dawn.
Click to expand...
Not only was DQ8 years ago, but modern Level-5 ain't got the talent nor manpower to do Golden Sun justice.
 
Emily said:
I'm worried if F-Zero ever returns, it might return in a "monkey paw" sort of way.

Either Nintendo will give it a very divisive control scheme for the sake of "innovation". (See Star Fox Zero)

Or they'll do something to make it appeal to casual gamers, which will anger F-Zero fans.

Just let F-Zero be F-Zero. Don't mess with the formula too much.
Click to expand...
I imagine they'd try to enhance casual appeal by extending stuff to do outside of races in the singleplayer campaign.

Not necessarily making Captain Falcon open world action adventure some people dreamt of, as that would be too development-intensive and might detract from actual core race gameplay, but something more like the monastery stuff in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

A story campaign like that could be a cool selling point for casuals who'd have less interest in pure racing. They could very easily make more traditional modes using the same race courses that would still be there and avoid turning away those who just wanna race.

If done right, I think that could be a hit with the reviewers too.
 
Last edited:
Skittzo said:
Emily, as long as you're talking about dormant or dead franchises, is there any possible way you've heard about any interest from Nintendo in the Eternal Darkness franchise.
Click to expand...
Haven't heard a peep about Eternal Darkness. Not even a whisper.

One problem with Eternal Darkness is Ken McCulloch. McCulloch co-wrote Eternal Darkness's story, and he pleaded guilty to possession, distribution and creation of child pornography.

And how would people feel about Nintendo working with Denis Dyack again? Because I don't see how Nintendo could remake/remaster Eternal Darkness without Dyack as some type of adviser/consultant/supervisor. Dyack would have to be involved in some capacity.
 
Nintendo should bring F-Zero back as is. Don’t need to casualize it. The Switch audience will carry the sales. They can add more to it like a hub world and other things to do.
 
0
Emily said:
Haven't heard a peep about Eternal Darkness. Not even a whisper.

One problem with Eternal Darkness is Ken McCulloch. McCulloch co-wrote Eternal Darkness's story, and he pleaded guilty to possession, distribution and creation of child pornography.

And how would people feel about Nintendo working with Denis Dyack again? Because I don't see how Nintendo could remake/remaster Eternal Darkness without Dyack as some type of adviser/consultant/supervisor.
Click to expand...
Have you heard anything new on Pikmin 4?
 
0
Let F-Zero be F-Zero. Nothing they do to it is going to make it appeal to a more mainstream audience without making it a completely different game. Not everything needs to be a 2 million+ seller and they can afford more expensive, niche projects like this, especially since they continue to fund stuff like Bayonetta.
 
0
Emily said:
Haven't heard a peep about Eternal Darkness. Not even a whisper.

One problem with Eternal Darkness is Ken McCulloch. McCulloch co-wrote Eternal Darkness's story, and he pleaded guilty to possession, distribution and creation of child pornography.

And how would people feel about Nintendo working with Denis Dyack again? Because I don't see how Nintendo could remake/remaster Eternal Darkness without Dyack as some type of adviser/consultant/supervisor. Dyack would have to be involved in some capacity.
Click to expand...
I was under the impression they fully owned the game so they really wouldn't need to with with any of the unsavory folks who used to be at Silicon Knights but yeah it that's not the case then it'll stay dead and that's okay.
 
Emily said:
I always felt Nintendo should take smaller IPs (Ice Climbers, Balloon Fight) and let indie developers make new, modern versions of these games for the eShop.

These type of IPs don't require big budgets or ambitious scopes.
Click to expand...
OR just let EPD devs do it, bundle 'em up and finally give us Nintendo Land 2.

Skittzo said:
Grezzo could probably do it justice, though hopefully they can work on their own original stuff too.
Click to expand...
Grezzo's probably better served sticking with Zelda remakes.

My suggestion would be h.a.n.d., they a super reliable dev that can do a nice looking release and have a good track record working with Square, Bandai and L5.
 
Emily said:
I'll put it this way: Internally, in the last ten years, Nintendo has shown more interest in Golden Sun than people realize.

Nintendo likes Golden Sun. The big thing holding it back is finding the right developer/studio to work on it. Because Camelot has its plate full with Mario sports, and Mario sports makes Nintendo a lot of money.

If were up to me, I think Nintendo should find a studio to re-make Golden Sun 1 and 2. Remakes would be much, much easier to develop than a brand new Golden Sun.
Click to expand...
It's comforting to know the series still has fans within Nintendo. I don't blame Camelot for focusing on the Mario Sports games (much safer bets and cheaper to make than a full blown JRPG), but my main worry was that Nintendo would see Golden Sun as no longer being necessary as the JRPG niche was well and truly filled by Xenoblade.

You're right though, Nintendo love their remakes and doing so for the first two games to re-introduce the series somewhat would be a much safer bet than a sequel (although would be nice if they resolved that Dark Dawn cliffhanger someday). As I've said, the JRPG's SquareEnix have been popping out should be what Nintendo look at for inspiration for what to do with Golden Sun.

Touching on some of your other points, I do hope Nintendo have seen value in embracing the indie scene and entrust some of their franchises to them. It'd be a good way of nurturing relationships with devs without going to the expense of buying studios. A new 2D Kid Icarus? A stylised F-Zero? Maybe something super far out like StarTropics? Indie partnerships are relatively low risk with big rewards if they get it right. There's plenty of scope there if Nintendo opens their vaults, so let's hope Cadance of Hyrule and Advance Wars are just the beginning.

And regarding Eternal Darkness...yeah that's one of a few Nintendo IPs I consider properly dead. Though could be a nice addition if Nintendo ever get around to adding GameCube games to Switch online.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top Bottom