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GamesIndustry.biz reports Nintendo are "deep in conversation" with three studios to license out IP

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
Christopher Dring from GiBiz recently posted an opinion piece regarding what to expect from Switch successor. Among the interesting things he mentioned in the article was that Nintendo are apparently deep in conversation around making games based on IP they own with 3 studios other than the usual 3rd party partners they work with. Full excerpt below:

I also know that Nintendo is actively meeting with independent developers to find new partners. Some of that is around publishing indie games, which Nintendo does from time-to-time, but it's also seeking studios that could work on some of its IP. Nintendo regularly works with third-party teams, including Bandai Namco, Team Ninja, Platinum Games, MercurySteam, WayForward and Grezzo. But the company is looking to add to that roster, and I know of three studios that are deep in conversation around making games based on Nintendo brands.

 
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ChoosableOne

ChoosableAll
Luigi's Mansion by Bloober Team

Awkward The Office GIF
 

Woopah

Member
If he knows about it, they probably are western studios.
This is my big hope. Nintendo has added a fair few new partners in the past decade, but most of them have been in Japan (MercurySteam and WayForward are the only ones I think).
 

Fess

Member
Will the games release on other platforms?
Or is it just like MercurySteam in how they use a 3rd party dev to make exclusives?
 

Zannegan

Member
I wonder if he's talking about original games only, like Capcom with Minish Cap, or if remakes are on the table too. For example, it wouldn't be too crazy to imagine that Xenoblade Chronicles X remake (if ut even exists) being done by a third party because Monolith is too busy working on their next mainline game and supporting other studios releasing on launch year. Metroid Prime was handled with loving care at Retro, but that doesn't mean Prime 2 or 3 remakes couldn't be outsourced.

Whatever the case, if this is true, I'm glad they're doing something to try to combat the increased dev times that come with increasing graphical fidelity.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
So that’s who Kojima is working with

Mario Gear Stranding. I’m ready.
 

Jinzo Prime

Member
Blizzard - Pokemon MMO 😯

Hi-Rez - Nintendo Hero 'Shooter'

Ubisoft Toronto or Fishlabs - Star Fox

EA Codemasters - Excite Bike or F-Zero
 
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nial

Member
This is my big hope. Nintendo has added a fair few new partners in the past decade, but most of them have been in Japan (MercurySteam and WayForward are the only ones I think).
They have to let them make new IPs, though. I do think it's getting boring to only see western takes on old Nintendo EAD games.
 

tr1p1ex

Member
Yes this is new partners that they haven't worked with before (similar to what they did throughout the Switch era).

The way he’s wording it sounds like it’s not someone they regularly work with.
The existing partners named in the OP weren't Ubi, Sega and Komei Tecmo.

That being said the point was really showing what another company using Nintendo IP has meant in the past.

I wouldn't get too excited. Plus I'm sure there are always discussions.
 
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Robb

Gold Member
Looking forward to hearing more. Outside of Metroid Prime 4 which turned out so bad they had to scrap everything and restart in-house I feel they’ve been pretty successful with these endeavors.

Metroid Dread turned out amazing. Smash Bros. Ultimate as well. And while not my cup of tea, Mario & Rabidds and all the Musou games seem to have turned out pretty great.
 

Dazraell

Member
I mean, they already did that for Mario & Rabbids series and with Metroid series (Dread, Samus Returns). They probably see the benefits of that approach and based on reception of these games, I'm not surprised
 

Woopah

Member
They have to let them make new IPs, though. I do think it's getting boring to only see western takes on old Nintendo EAD games.
I hope so too. We've seen that happen with Eastern partners (such as Astral Chain and Daemon Ex Machina), but we haven't big new Western IP since Geist and Eternal Darkness.

The new IP from Nintendo's Western partnerships in the Switch era have been smaller titles. And from Chris' article, that will continue with the Switch 2 era.
The existing partners named in the OP weren't Ubi, Sega and Komei Tecmo.

That being said the point was really showing what another company using Nintendo IP has meant in the past.

I wouldn't get too excited. Plus I'm sure there are always discussions.
The ones he wrote are just examples, not a comprehensive list of Nintendo's 15+ external partners.

He specifically says that Nintendo is adding to its roster, which means these are developers not on Nintendo's roster currently.
 

tr1p1ex

Member
The ones he wrote are just examples, not a comprehensive list of Nintendo's 15+ external partners.

He specifically says that Nintendo is adding to its roster, which means these are developers not on Nintendo's roster currently.
Yeah and if Sega, UBi and Kei Tecmo are considered partners then tone down the expectations. ;)
 

Woopah

Member
Yeah and if Sega, UBi and Kei Tecmo are considered partners then tone down the expectations. ;)
I don't think Ubi and Sega would be counted as (recently) those are just companies Nintendo licensed Mario to.

This sounds like the much more common type of partnership Nintendo does, where they publish the game and collaborate on development.

This happens a lot, so we can't tell the quality of the finished product from this hint alone. But it shows Nintendo is making the right moves to maintain a high level of output.
 
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