Nintendo acquires Next Level Games

Evangelion Unit-01

Evangelion Unit-01

Master Chief
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Nintendo has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the outstanding shares of the Vancouver, Canada-based Next Level Games to make it a wholly owned subsidiary, the company announced. The acquisition is expected to close on March 1.

Next Level Games has developed a number of a Nintendo titles in the past, including Super Mario Strikers for GameCube, Mario Strikers Charged and Punch-Out!! for Wii, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Metroid Prime: Federation Force for 3DS, and Luigi's Mansion 3 for Switch.
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Source: https://www.gematsu.com/2021/01/nintendo-acquires-next-level-games

Next Level Games is a video game development company based in Vancouver, Canada which has nearly two decades of experience creating video games for various console platforms. More recently, Next Level Games has worked exclusively with Nintendo in developing software titles for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch systems, including titles in the critically acclaimed Luigi's Mansion series of video games.

Next Level Games's shares are currently held entirely by its owner-directors and employees. A number of owner-directors recently determined that the time is right for them to sell their shares, and Next Level Games therefore began exploring potential sale transactions. Completion of the Acquisition will serve to secure the availability of Next Level Games development resources for Nintendo, including development expertise, as well as facilitate an anticipated improvement in development speed and quality by enabling closer communication and exchange of staff with the Nintendo development team.

The Acquisition is expected to close on March 1, 2021, pending satisfaction of all relevant terms and conditions, including shareholders' approval, regulatory approval under the Investment Canada Act and other customary closing conditions.
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Source: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2021/210105e.pdf
 
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NLG is awesome, and in my head was already synonymous with Nintendo so it makes total sense.

I do think Luigi's Mansion was better before they took it over though, so hopefully they work on a new Punch-Out!! or Mario Strikers (or better yet a new IP) before churning out another one.
 
That's a great partnership for all involved. Really been impressed with them and look forward to seeing what comes next.
 
Very rare to see Nintendo acquiring dev's, looks like they really didnt want to see Next Level Games go.

Nice to see and looking forward to the positive affects this will have.
 
Good acquisition for them. Swimming in cash right now and in need of a constant stream of content which was sadly poor in 2020. Content gaps need to be managed a bit better.
 
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Codename: Classified said:
Good acquisition for them. Swimming in cash right now and in need of a constant stream of content which was sadly poor in 2020. Content gaps need to be managed a bit better.
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Yeah that's one of the many things I don't understand about Nintendo. If they set up or bought about 10 studios with their infinite money it would be so good for their schedule. But nope.
 
I thought they pretty much already owned them?

Cool to see them secure them.

LM3 is amazing and has been a humongous hit for them.

It's good for Nintendo to add more talent to their stable.

Looking forward to seeing what they make next.

Ps. These guys are based where I live so this is really cool. One of the guys I went to school with worked on the lighting for LM3.
 
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LM3 is going to sell 10 million units and Nintendo made a good decision to acquire them.

The engine tech that's currently used by NLG is very great for Nintendo Switch system by acquiring NLG, Nintendo could also use the tech for other games.
 
That's cool.
They were so much in with Nintendo anyway.
A long term relationship between dev and console maker that leads to this is great news.

Now go for Shin'en, Nintendo.. :D
(I know they want to stay independent ;) )
 
Very surprising that they bought a Western dev after the Retro Studios fiasco post-Metroid Prime 3. What are you getting when you buy these guys? Next Level don't have any original IPs and the talent they have could leave the door any moment.
 
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A perfect fit! I'm glad Nintendo never let them get away, or let them fall by the wayside like so many of the past studios Nintendo has worked with. Now let them have multiple teams within the studio and allow them some freedom so Nintendo fans can have a greater variety of games to choose from.
 
Thicc Team Six said:
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Source: https://www.gematsu.com/2021/01/nintendo-acquires-next-level-games


Source: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2021/210105e.pdf
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Great acquisition, NLG clearly worked well with Nintendo and proved themselves with a streak of great first party quality titles (see LM for 3DS and LM3 for Switch for example).

Quite happy to see them taking part in shaping future Nintendo HW, SW, and overal platform (my hope is that today's Nintendo takes more and more input from their first party devs to shape their consoles, dev tools, and strategy).
 
Next Level who?
... Figures, mostly a bunch of Nintendo exclusive games I never touched. But that's great, about time they put a ring on it.
 
From the sounds of it this was very similar to what happened with Rare, only this time Nintendo stepped in with the cash.
 
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Makes sense. Next Level Games already delivered a few stellar games based on Nintendo IP's and seem to have a good relationship with them. I'm interested to see what they will do with Luigi's Mansion and other franchises in the future.
 
Stiflers Mom said:
That's cool.
They were so much in with Nintendo anyway.
A long term relationship between dev and console maker that leads to this is great news.

Now go for Shin'en, Nintendo.. :D
(I know they want to stay independent ;) )
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:messenger_angry:
..
.
Hopefuly MS snatch them before that
 
First time they bought a studio in over 10 years since they acquired monolith soft
edit: almost 14 years now. they bought MS in 2007
 
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I have a feeling they will be the next big thing, 2000s Retro Studios style, and continue getting better with time, either giving a long dead IP the Metroid Prime revival ( f - zero?) or making awesome new games of alive franchises

I love them tho, they have an innate Nintendo touch, who is rare as hell to find, and I understood this playing Dark Moon

Talking about studio buyings tho, N desperately needs to buy a capital S jrpg studio to work on pokémon franchise ( I know it's the pokemon company who decides, but...), sword and shield are fucking embarassing and would have been even ten years ago
 
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Capicola said:
First time they bought a studio in over 10 years since they acquired monolith soft
edit: almost 14 years now. they bought MS in 2007
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Yeah, this is true, unless we also count studios whow do not make games. Nintendo aquired Actimagine 2011, and the studio was renamed Nintendo European Redearch and Development (or NERD for short).
 
Coolwhhip said:
Yeah that's one of the many things I don't understand about Nintendo. If they set up or bought about 10 studios with their infinite money it would be so good for their schedule. But nope.
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It's hard to maintain 10 studios up to the standards though. I agree that they need to do more but doing it like Sony and Microsoft to the point of these studios closing down? nAw.

Guardian's Light said:
Talking about studio buyings tho, N desperately needs to buy a capital S jrpg studio to work on pokémon franchise ( I know it's the pokemon company who decides, but...), sword and shield are fucking embarassing and would have been even ten years ago
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No one could manage the IP from merchandise works, brandings, media like anime/movies while also consistently churning decent to good release every 2-3 years better than the Pokemon Company.
 
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Makes sense, they've mostly developed games with Nintendo IPs and since they or their owner wanted to sell their shares Nintendo jumped at the chance.
 
Stiflers Mom said:
That's cool.
They were so much in with Nintendo anyway.
A long term relationship between dev and console maker that leads to this is great news.

Now go for Shin'en, Nintendo.. :D
(I know they want to stay independent ;) )
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That would flipping rule. Give them f-zero.

Im gonna say it , get way forward as well.

those three are great 😊

next level:Luigi and punch out wave race ?
Shin'en: F-Zero star fox general tech wizardry
Way forward: Metroid. 2D pixel games.
Old school Kirby games.

shin'en knocked it out the park with fast RMX and the touryst
Give them them all ball and keys to the kingdom. Design help from Nintendo etc.
 
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I honestly thought they were already.

It's never good news when when a studio is bought up by a publisher of course. The fact they were already putting out such great games on the system, goes to show the existing set up was already delivering great Nintendo exclusives. As a fan of their work with a Switch, I gain nothing from this.

The only thing that's changed is that there is no longer a possibility of their great games being enjoyed by a wider audience.
 
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ScarletSpider said:
LOOOOOVED Mario strikers charged, would love to see that come back.
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It's one hell of a party game, perfect for an afternoon with friends and a lot of beers.

I wan't a sequel but plase, make it more than the GC one and less than the Wii one.
 
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