The season of acquisitions rolls on, although the latest video-game-company-buys-other-video-game-company news isn't quite a bombshell of the likes we've seen from Microsoft and co. recently. In fact, it's more a solidification and strengthening of long-term relationship which dates back to the early NES days. Aww.
As spotted by Games Industry Biz, Nintendo has acquired long-term development partner SRD Co., the Tokyo-based studio run by director and president Toshihiko Nakago that's partnered with Nintendo on projects dating back nearly four decades, with the latest collaboration being last year's Game Builder Garage. The deal is expected to close on 1st April this year, according to the official press release.
This follows on from the acquisition of Next Level Games last year, who was recently revealed to be behind the upcoming Mario Strikers game for Switch. However, the Canadian company's close association with Nintendo began in 2005 with the first Mario Strikers game on GameCube. By comparison, SRD — which was founded in 1979 — has credits dating back to the NES port of Donkey Kong way back in 1983.
In fact, as noted by Games Industry Biz, an Iwata Asks interview featuring Nakago from the time of Super Mario Bros.' 25th anniversary states that SRD was tasked with making a jump mechanic 'test' for that game at the end of 1984. As per an interview quote from Shigeru Miyamoto:
Around December of 1984, I wanted to see what it would be like with a Mario jumping around who was about twice the size of the one in Mario Bros., so I asked the programmers at Nakago-san's company, SRD, to make a test version - something in which, when you pressed a button, Mario would jump, and if you hit it repeatedly, he would jump in the air, too. And it turned out to be pretty good.
That it did, Shigsy. That it did.
According to the official PR, the acquisition "will have only a minor effect on Nintendo's results".
So there we are — a happy official union for some long-term gaming partners. Someone pass a tissue, will you?
[source nintendo.co.jp, via gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 55
This is a very Nintendo move.
Totally in keeping with preserving Nintendo's DNA.
Oh no it's corporate takeover
Now that's what I call A Link To The Past!
dodges tomatoes and durians
A Japanese company buying another Japanese company: Common
A Japanese company buying a western company: Possible
A western company buying a Japanese one: Borderline impossible
It seems nintendo is only buying out company's that have worked with them over a period of time, not a bad idea at all. Maybe another studio is in order, It would be quite a Alpha move, and is quite a Dream of mine.
I wish Nintendo would buy me but the only thing I can do is hang spoons from my nose and I don’t feel that’s very useful from a games development standpoint.
I say spoons. Just one spoon at this point. And it needs lots of honey to stop it falling off.
With all the acquisitions going on, it kinda makes sense. Nintendo has said they don't want to buy up a bunch of companies, but this at least keeps Microsoft and Sony from acquiring one of their closest partners.
It's a shame Nintendo didn't do this for AlphaDream before they went under, so they could have given them the financial support they needed. Part of me is still hoping Nintendo hired them internally and formed a new studio who is actively working on Mario & Luigi, but who knows?
Then, of course, there's how they let Rare go. Such a baffling decision that after the N64 flopped in part due to poor third-party support, they willingly allowed their biggest (and pretty much only) supporter during that era get bought out.
@Maxz LOL, did you accidentally publish your reply too early and have to edit it? Before I refreshed the page, all it said was, "I wish Nintendo would buy me," and I thought you were talking about something completely different. 😂
@Maxz Same. I can't hang spoons off my nose, but I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich.
@Leuke I will buy you if you buy me. We can be a fantastic nose-spoon and cheese sandwich combo.
Then maybe we’ll be such an alluring package that Nintendo will buy both of us!
@MrHonest I don’t know. Judging from the article, it seems that Nintendo just purchased the developers who invented the jump mechanic. So presumably Sony and Microsoft can’t have jumping in their games anymore without going to court.
Pretty big move if you ask me.
@Maxz I saw I wish Nintendo would buy me lol.
Maybe Nintendo should have bought AlphaDream in 2019.
Then we still would get Mario & Luigi RPGs.
@Maxz I don't know Ninty could pass that up. Maybe we can also find someone who can pull a tablecloth without disturbing the dishes.
It’s not really comparable to Xbox buying Bethesda and Activision. The two companies nintendo has acquired where pretty synonymous with them as it was.
Where Xbox bought companies that were Multiplatform.
And Sony bought something that used to be synonymous with Xbox. (I think? I’m not really an expert on that field)
Yes, it is a shame they didn’t do that with alpha dream or rare, but it’s nice to see them taking some studios in house.
Makes you wonder, what other studios they might take in, that they don’t own but are pretty much Nintendo studios.
Any names spring to mind? There must be a few
Does Nintendo own grezzo? If not they might to lock that down pretty quick.
Koei Tecmo would be a nice catch for Nintendo, as a more significant move.
@Not_Soos actually everybody at Rare was burned out and leaving - the geniuses who made all that wonder for the N64 were leaving Rare - Microsoft bought the IP essentially, which is why they coughed up the abomination that is Perfect Dark Zero and then you never saw that spinning R again
@Alpha008 you’re thinking of Sony buying Bungie, the original Halo developer
I'm more surprised this hadn't happened sooner really. SRD's office in Kyoto was even INSIDE Nintendo's own building so it's not like they were not sort of "part" of Nintendo already.
Oh yeah this is sure to rival Microsofts acquisitions........
didnt you just make a article that nintendo has no plans about aquiring any companies?
Nintendo's acquisitions are entirely reasonable, and seem to only be meant to strengthen ties that already exist.
Microsoft and Sony acquisitions feel a bit more... impactful in terms of platform exclusivity.
@Adamn
Nintendo said that they wouldn't acquire any 3rd party developers. With this case, SRD was very close to Nintendo and seems to have only worked with Nintendo in a similar sense to Next Level Games.
@HollowSpectre I don't think they do. I suppose it isn't necessary, but Grezzo definitely have that Nintendo DNA at this point so it would be a good move.
It’s such a typical old Kyoto company way of growing - find your vendors, build long-term relationships with them, bring the ones you like into the company.
No rush to aggressively buy out huge competitors or score headlines. Just solidify and stay true to your vision and keep providing what the other publishers can’t.
I would only feel nervous if MS or Sony crack into Japan’s dev industry and try to exclude Nintendo from their biggest 3rd party publishers. Even then, I wonder if Nintendo would spend more freely on acquisitions? In their quiet way, they’re probably already preparing to weather the storm and let the others spend the billions.
If only they acquired Rare years ago. We could still be getting new Banjo Kazooie games and Donkey Kong 3D games. Banjo Kazooie should have been a Nintendo property. Microsoft completely wasted it while Nintendo would have kept it going like Mario, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, Metroid etc etc. With them doing 'Mario + Rabbids' games they should try and acquire the rights to Rayman.
> The CEO of SRD co-created Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda along with Miyamoto and Tezuka.
> The COO of SRD was the programming director of Ocarina of Time and a supervisor on Breath of the Wild.
> The CTO of SRD suggested the idea of porting Link to the Past onto GameBoy, which led to the development of Link's Awakening. He is also the reason why fishing minigames are in most Zelda games due to his love for fishing in real life.
SRD has been a critical part of Nintendo's history. Makes sense that they would be a Nintendo studio.
While not a tidal wave like MS's recent acquisitions, it's nice to see Nintendo making moves.
SRD wasn't really on my radar, but I suppose buying them makes a lot of sense if Nintendo is focused on pursuing increasing their own development resources. I'm guessing other key parts of their plan are growing 1-UP Studio so they are more than just a support studio and NST so that they can do bigger games than Mario vs. Donkey Kong in the future (which we already saw with Bowser's Fury)
@Snatcher They hired basically all the core employees from AlphaDream when they collapsed, the company itself was worthless so they just got the important part, the people.
@link3710 Arguably less than worthless because their debts were in the millions of pounds or dollars by the time they were bankrupt.
They'd basically have been buying an extremely expensive logo and a lot of debts to pay off.
I hope the Big N acquires Konami next
I was reading the Iwata Asks interview a few weeks ago, when Iwata was remembering the making of Super Mario Bros. with Miyamoto and the original staff, and SRD was pivotal on making the games for the NES, and for the console's development. And this longstanding collaboration has given us the best games in the world. With this action, Nintendo is solidifying their status as the world's best game and console developers.
Maybe a foreshadow into some GameCube/WiiU ports?
C’mon F-Zero GX, StarFox Zero, and Wind Waker HD!
At least these acquisition make sense as they had history tied to Nintendo. Hopefully great things comes from these. Can't wait what Next Level Games would bring to the table in the future.
not the next studios i was expecting Nintendo to buy, i would be very happy if Nintendo bought Grezzo/Platinum Games.
lol, that's a big take-over...please hold me!
Apparently Nintendo only paid ¥5 million (~$450,000) for SRD, which has got to be one of the cheapest acquisitions of a 100+ person company that I have ever seen.
Doesn’t change much of anything. They were a true 2nd party already and literally was working within Nintendo building anyway. This was likely more that the old ceo just wanted to retire with Nintendo being the natural buyer of less then 500k
Anyone that thinks this means Nintendo will join the shopping sprees like Sony and MS is gonna have a rude awakening
My relationship with Nintendo dates back to 1990. Except it's a little more one sided. I play their game, and they don't know I even exist. I'm still hoping my last name could be Miyamoto one day, but I can't fond a way to submit the adoption papework without a certain legend's input.
"According to the official PR, the acquisition "will have only a minor effect on Nintendo's results"".
For Nintendo it's peanuts. I hope that Nintendo become a bit more generous to their fans because they're richer than ever and also stingier than ever.
Lame as f***. This doesn't change anything. This is in no way comparable to Microsoft or Sony's acquisitions. I wish Nintendo wasn't so cheap. I want them to buy platinum games.
This acquisition makes more sense than M$' shopping spree. Considering that they have been working close with Nintendo, it's only about time that Nintendo acquire them. If there's any other company that needs to be acquired by Nintendo, I'd say it's Game Freak.
@Banjo-
They already exclusively worked at Nintendo. So all this does is prevent Sony or Microsoft from buying them. They will be doing the same thing they have done for 40 years, so that is why nothing will really change.
Might as well purchase Intelligent Systems, Grezzo and Camelot while they're at it, Mercury Steam also be a good purchase, Koei Tecmo or SEGA if they feel they've got a hole burning in their pocket.
It may be a (warp) pipe dream, but I would love to see Nintendo buy Rare back from Microsoft. Rare's heyday was with Nintendo during the 1980s and 1990s, but the same cannot be said of them under Microsoft's banner.
@blindsquarel In reality, it was a double reflection. Nintendo suggested that this is peanuts for them in economic terms but at the same time they are stingier than ever to their fans in terms of value, now that they are richer than ever.
I mean…. That’s a fine I guess
Not a huge move but at least they are moving
What do they mean by that “ According to the official PR, the acquisition "will have only a minor effect on Nintendo's results"”
@westman98 Where'd you hear about the cost of the acquisition?
@Tantani
The company has been working with Nintendo since the og Mario bros released. What the acquisition means is that Microsoft or Sony can’t buy them. What they mean by nothing changing is they will be doing the same job they have done for 40 years.
@Giancarlothomaz I think Platinum has made a very strong stance that they don’t want to be limited to one console.
Honestly Nintendo has always been very laid back with acquisitions. Not only did they let Rare go after they essentially helped carry the N64, but they also let Atlus go by when they were up for sale right before Persona 5 was released, which would have been a pretty keen grab. They don’t even own Retro Studios, Hal Laboratories, or Sora (Sakurai’s studio) which is not the norm when companies like EA and Activision hoover up game companies like breakfast.
At least it's part of their continue company investments not buying out for IP copyright fights.
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