Tecmo Koei would be obscenely expensive - it's a top 10 Japanese publisher, and it would add very little value to Nintendo. If Nintendo was going to make an acquisition of that size, it would be better off gunning for Sega, Capcom or EA.
Not that it wouldn't be awesome, assuming Nintendo didn't get too hands on. I'd still rather Nintendo snap up one of the small Japanese otaku developers. Gust being the one that produces the best quality games, though it would be a laugh if they picked up Idea Factory or Grasshopper Manufacture for a Nintendo-touch Hyperdimension Neptunia 3 or Lollypop Chainsaw 2.
GUST was recently acquired by TK though(which is what I was getting at). As for the discussion about a hypothetical Tecmo Koei acquisiton I don't think it can be approached from a purely financial point of view(as counter-intuitive as that sounds). Iwata has discussed in the past that Nintendo's reluctance to acquire external companies stems from the fact that companies have to have similar philosophies otherwise all the talent will leave. In that sense it seems Nintendo and Tecmo Koei are very compatible which can be seen from the long list of collaborations in the past few years, just of the top of my head: Project Zero(and Spirit Camera), Samurai Warriors 3(although that didn't seem to work out perfectly), Metroid: Other M, Dynasty Warriors Vs, Pokémon x Nobunaga, DOA: Dimensions(published by NOE). It also seems that Nintendo is already very hands on in some aspects, with Project Zero 2 Wii and Spirit Camera being full co-productions and also the conception of Pokémon x Nobunaga(TK originally planned to make Pokémon Musou).
Saying that you're probably right that they would be obscenely expensive and it's probably more beneficial that they retain the close relationship whilst remaining separate.
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Not sure why would all these people want small awesome can do what ever the hell they want studios like Platnium games and level-5 to be bought up. It makes more sense ti have close 2nd party relationships anyway.
If they could acquire someone maybe Natsume.
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Tecmo Koei would be obscenely expensive - it's a top 10 Japanese publisher, and it would add very little value to Nintendo. If Nintendo was going to make an acquisition of that size, it would be better off gunning for Sega, Capcom or EA.
Not that it wouldn't be awesome, assuming Nintendo didn't get too hands on. I'd still rather Nintendo snap up one of the small Japanese otaku developers. Gust being the one that produces the best quality games, though it would be a laugh if they picked up Idea Factory or Grasshopper Manufacture for a Nintendo-touch Hyperdimension Neptunia 3 or Lollypop Chainsaw 2.
GUST was recently acquired by TK though(which is what I was getting at). As for the discussion about a hypothetical Tecmo Koei acquisiton I don't think it can be approached from a purely financial point of view(as counter-intuitive as that sounds). Iwata has discussed in the past that Nintendo's reluctance to acquire external companies stems from the fact that companies have to have similar philosophies otherwise all the talent will leave. In that sense it seems Nintendo and Tecmo Koei are very compatible which can be seen from the long list of collaborations in the past few years, just of the top of my head: Project Zero(and Spirit Camera), Samurai Warriors 3(although that didn't seem to work out perfectly), Metroid: Other M, Dynasty Warriors Vs, Pokémon x Nobunaga, DOA: Dimensions(published by NOE). It also seems that Nintendo is already very hands on in some aspects, with Project Zero 2 Wii and Spirit Camera being full co-productions and also the conception of Pokémon x Nobunaga(TK originally planned to make Pokémon Musou).
Saying that you're probably right that they would be obscenely expensive and it's probably more beneficial that they retain the close relationship whilst remaining separate.
Ah. I was away in December last year so I missed that news. That confirms it then, Tecmo Koei is my favourite developer/ publisher in the world. They are beyond awesome.
I was a little surprised to read the news though, as NIS still does the localisation of Gust games, despite Tecmo Koei having a very well-resourced localisation team of its own. Perhaps NIS has a contract that needs to run out first. Sucks for them, funny as it sounds GUST was a pretty lucrative localisation deal with a... rabid... fanbase.
I agree with you that TK and Nintendo have a very close working relationship, but so does Square Enix (Fortune Street, Mario Sports Mix, Dragon Quest Wars on DSiWare, Dragon Quest IX was published by Nintendo in the west). Nintendo invests very heavily on a chosen few Japanese third parties to keep them keen, because Nintendo understands that the Japanese market is still core to it, and it needs TK and SE involved to tackle that market.
I think from a culture and IP point of view, SE would make a better acquisition target than TK for Nintendo, and wouldn't actually be that much more expensive. TK doesn't really have anything Nintendo wants. It doesn't have the charming characters, and Nintendo has shown it has little interest in hardcore strategy games or big action experiences. Nintendo's happy to work with TK because they can give Nintendo consoles something that they don't have on their consoles, but an acquisition needs to be more than that, there needs to be a cultural fit to be successful. I just don't see the next Warriors game being Mario Warriors (though that would be unbelievably awesome. Goodbye 1000 goombas!)
If anyone was going to acquire TK, I would think it would be Activision if/ when Activision decides to take the Japanese market seriously. They don't have a presence in Japan right now (Square Enix handles Japanese localisation and publishing of Activision projects), and in a mature market acqusition is always an safer way to get a presence than setting up from scratch.
If not Activision perhaps Microsoft. Having TK as an exclusive to Microsoft platforms would see an immediate and big boost to Xbox 360 sales in Japan.
Not sure why would all these people want small awesome can do what ever the hell they want studios like Platnium games and level-5 to be bought up. It makes more sense ti have close 2nd party relationships anyway.
If they could acquire someone maybe Natsume.
Level-5 would be a good fit for Nintendo, though. There's that Disney quality to Level-5 games, the X-factor "magic" that Nintendo and Level-5 both have.
I don't think Nintendo is that interested in more JRPG developer/ publishers though. It just acquired Monolith.
Not sure why would all these people want small awesome can do what ever the hell they want studios like Platnium games and level-5 to be bought up. It makes more sense ti have close 2nd party relationships anyway.
If they could acquire someone maybe Natsume.
I wish I didn't struggle so much when I try to read your posts. I really do.
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Not sure why would all these people want small awesome can do what ever the hell they want studios like Platnium games and level-5 to be bought up. It makes more sense ti have close 2nd party relationships anyway.
If they could acquire someone maybe Natsume.
I wish I didn't struggle so much when I try to read your posts. I really do.
i'm typing on a tablet mostly. (not currently mind you)
The gist of what i said is i personally dislike when people want great self-sufficient studios to get bought out by a larger entity. Level-5 is one of the rising developers coming out of Japan and most of there current franchises are Pokemon esque with a big media push giving the studio a nice flow of money. That and starting to publish their own games and taking over localization efforts shows they want to get bigger on their own terms. Platnium Games is comprised of people who had a bad experience with a larger Publisher when they were clover studios at Capcpom.
The gist of what i said is i personally dislike when people want great self-sufficient studios to get bought out by a larger entity.
Being acquired does mean that these smaller guys have access to far more resources then they'd have being self-sufficient. It is usually a good thing that ensures the future of the company.
The gist of what i said is i personally dislike when people want great self-sufficient studios to get bought out by a larger entity.
Being acquired does mean that these smaller guys have access to far more resources then they'd have being self-sufficient. It is usually a good thing that ensures the future of the company.
That's true but sometimes the studios don't gel that much and can have major communication problems or put on work below there talent. Microsoft buying Rare is pretty big example of this. While they still have had a arguably quality out out alot of people leaving is quite telling of how they didn't quite mesh with Microsoft who was unwilling to fund projects that even sold decently.
(oddly enough Microsoft won't green light core games from Rare but has committed to putting more money into Remedy. )
I was a little surprised to read the news though, as NIS still does the localisation of Gust games, despite Tecmo Koei having a very well-resourced localisation team of its own. Perhaps NIS has a contract that needs to run out first. Sucks for them, funny as it sounds GUST was a pretty lucrative localisation deal with a... rabid... fanbase.
I believe Koei and NIS are on relatively good terms anyway. I'm not 100% sure if it still happens but Koei was NIS' main distributor for Europe.
I think from a culture and IP point of view, SE would make a better acquisition target than TK for Nintendo, and wouldn't actually be that much more expensive.
I'm not completely sure of the specifics but I think SE is several times bigger than TK(they were even planning to buy Tecmo before the merger!). Not only are Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts magnitudes bigger than any TK IP but they also now have Eidos stuff and their side businesses(Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater, etc). In fact I think the exact reason TK would be appealing to Nintendo is that they are still relatively small but have IPs that are reliable performers.
Level-5 would be a good fit for Nintendo, though. There's that Disney quality to Level-5 games, the X-factor "magic" that Nintendo and Level-5 both have.
I don't think Nintendo is that interested in more JRPG developer/ publishers though. It just acquired Monolith.
The Monolith acquisition was five years ago now IIRC and if Nintendo were to be interested in acquiring Level 5 it would likely be for Professor Layton with Inazuma Eleven and Little Battlers being the only RPGs they were interested in. Level 5's other RPG projects are almost insignificant, speaking callously.
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I believe Koei and NIS are on relatively good terms anyway. I'm not 100% sure if it still happens but Koei was NIS' main distributor for Europe.
Actually, you're right. There's a couple of notable exceptions (Disgaea 3 is being looked after by Reef Entertainment on the Vita), but NIS stuff goes through TK in Europe for the most part.
I hope NIS maintains the relationship with GUST, because I can't see TK taking the same level of risk with localising GUST games as NIS is willing to.
I'm not completely sure of the specifics but I think SE is several times bigger than TK(they were even planning to buy Tecmo before the merger!). Not only are Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts magnitudes bigger than any TK IP but they also now have Eidos stuff and their side businesses(Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater, etc). In fact I think the exact reason TK would be appealing to Nintendo is that they are still relatively small but have IPs that are reliable performers.
Square Enix market cap: 180.7B Yen Tecmo Koei market cap: 60.7B Yen
Square Enix is three times as large as TK in terms of numbers. That's not outside of the realm of possibility. Both would be very large acquisitions for Nintendo, so they as part of due diligence would consider an acquisition three times as large as TK.
The reality is, when you're talking about market caps of companies that are both big, and only 120B yen or so separate, if you were looking to acquire one, you'd be far more interested in acquiring one whose properties allign with your own than something that would only ever have a niche following within your core audience. The likes of Chocobo, Moogle, Slime and co are forever going to be more appealing to Nintendo fans than Nobunaga Oda and big bouncing breasts.
It's also worth noting that Tecmo Koei is an espectially unappealing acquisition target because its number #1 IP isn't even really its own. While TK owns the Warriors engine, it doesn't own the characters. Anyone can come along and make a game staring Nobunaga Oda (as Capcom has done with Sengoku Basara). This massively devalues that brand, since exclusive IP is the only IP really worth money. That removes TK's most valuable property from the table in any acquisition discussion, but amusingly enough doesn't remove the property from the cost of acquisition. All of SE's major IPs are its own.
Well I know you might not want to hear this but with Pokémon x Nobunaga outselling all of the Ambition games that wouldn't really be a requirement.
Which would just make TK an even less attractive acquisiton for Nintendo, as the company culture is built around the hardcore strategy genre, not Pokemon. Far better for Nintendo to simply license things out then attempt to change the culture of a company with some six offices around the world.
The Monolith acquisition was five years ago now IIRC and if Nintendo were to be interested in acquiring Level 5 it would likely be for Professor Layton with Inazuma Eleven and Little Battlers being the only RPGs they were interested in. Level 5's other RPG projects are almost insignificant, speaking callously.
I'm going to take an educated guess and say Ni No Kuni and White Knight Chronicles are both more expensive productions. Once again, that's a cultural thing. If you're going to buy a company, it's because you want what the company has to offer. With Level-5 that means some very expensive JRPG franchises.
The reality is, when you're talking about market caps of companies that are both big, and only 120B yen or so separate, if you were looking to acquire one, you'd be far more interested in acquiring one whose properties allign with your own than something that would only ever have a niche following within your core audience. The likes of Chocobo, Moogle, Slime and co are forever going to be more appealing to Nintendo fans than Nobunaga Oda and big bouncing breasts.
OBJECTION! Nothing is more appealing than big bouncing breasts.
As for your point about SE's IPs integrating more naturally with Nintendo's: That is true but it depends whether or not that was the goal. Nintendo's investment in the Project Zero 2 series indicates that they are interested in expanding the variety of their IPs(on that note who actually owns Project Zero? Project Zero 2 Wii seems to be copyrighted and trademarked to Nintendo despite the fact it's a remake of a PS2/Xbox game)
It's also worth noting that Tecmo Koei is an espectially unappealing acquisition target because its number #1 IP isn't even really its own. While TK owns the Warriors engine, it doesn't own the characters. Anyone can come along and make a game staring Nobunaga Oda (as Capcom has done with Sengoku Basara)[....] All of SE's major IPs are its own.
That is quite true, but the Musou brand name is almost largely than the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Warring States settings of the two flagship branches and can easily be crossed over to other franchises with a lot of success. On an unrelated note Fire Emblem Musou could be cool.
Also just for the last part there's some funny business with Dragon Quest. IIRC(and I probably don't) whilst SE owns the series, Armor Project owns the scenario, Bird Studios owns the designs and Koigi Sugiyama owns the music... which could become problematic.
Which would just make TK an even less attractive acquisiton for Nintendo, as the company culture is built around the hardcore strategy genre, not Pokemon. Far better for Nintendo to simply license things out then attempt to change the culture of a company with some six offices around the world.
Well the point is that they obviously had no issue with adapting to a new style and achieved a greater success through it. If they so wished(and I don't think they do to be fair) they could easily leave behind NA and RotTKs and focus on Pokémon x Nobunaga(or similar stuff).
I'm going to take an educated guess and say Ni No Kuni and White Knight Chronicles are both more expensive productions. Once again, that's a cultural thing. If you're going to buy a company, it's because you want what the company has to offer. With Level-5 that means some very expensive JRPG franchises.
Ni No Kuni and WKC are more expensive, and they are also less successful than PH, IE and LB(not to mention the fact that the successful version of Ni No Kuni was the DS version which sold over five times what the PS3 version did). What Level 5 has to offer to a prospective buyer is two series with mainstream appeal both within Japan and in western markets(IE less so than Professor Layton) and a franchise that has met success in Japan and with the right push could become a big success in the west. That is what Nintendo would be interested in and if, again hypothetically, they did acquire Level 5 that is what they would focus on as well as trying to launch new mainstream brands(such as Yokai Watch).
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Topic: Who would you like to see Nintendo acquire?
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