Co-Founder Of Nintendo-Owned Studio Next Level Games Announces Retirement

Looks like he passed the reigns to someone else is what it means.

Aw, it sounds like he going to have a nice life with his wife, and all that rhymed.

Good for him, though I can't help but worry about Next Level going under poor management like Retro. Hopefully that won't happen.

What an incredible legacy coming from a good company. I wish him the best.

@Not_Soos
What makes you think they are or may be being poorly managed?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO WAIT YOU CAN'T RETIRE YET, WHAT ABOUT MARIO STRIKE--oh wait, that was announced a little bit ago. Never mind, have a great retirement!

I got a Luigi's Mansion 3 poster (framed) on my wall, and I loved Punch-Out!! Wii... to the point of declaring myself in punch-drunk with it! Rock on, sir!

I never really followed the people behind most game companies beyond the most famous, but the quality of Next Level’s output is incredible. Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Punch Out Wii both crack my top 10 games list. I wish this guy all the best.

"NEXT LEVEL GAMES!" - Daisy

@westman98

Not sure if they are at the moment, but there were a LOT of reports about mismanagement, employee crunch, poor communication, an unclear vision for projects, lack of willingness to listen to employee concerns, burnout, etc. with Retro over the past several years. Hence, why we haven't gotten a new game from them in nearly a decade. Hopefully, the company culture has gotten a lot better since then.

I have no real reason to think the same will happen with Next Level, other than the fact they operate outside of Japan, which means Nintendo probably has a more difficult time supervising them. I don't necessarily think it's super likely, but it's still a concern for me--especially in the wake of Kotick. Nintendo themselves have also been a lot less consumer-friendly since Iwata's passing, though I like to think they at least treat their employees equitably, which is the important thing. Reggie is also gone too, so things just feel very different now.

Any time something undergoes a change in leadership, it carries a certain degree of uncertainty with it.

I wish him good luck as he moves onto the Next Level of his life.

@Not_Soos
Nintendo supervising Next Level Games is a good thing - their output under Nintendo is several orders of magnitude better than their non-Nintendo output.

@westman98 Oh, I agree. I just mean that I don't think Nintendo can manage them as well from abroad as they could one of the domestic companies who works closely with them like HAL. Which is how I think Retro got into the shape it's in--because Nintendo couldn't keep as close of an eye on how they were running things, since they were an ocean apart.

@PBandSmelly they keep the spirit of Nintendo’s more care-free years of the late 90’s early 00’s, but not in a let’s pair up with the rabbids kind of way, something more specific to that period

My first experience playing one of Next Level's games was Punch-Out on the Wii, it was a fantastic entry in the series and everything I wanted. Luigi's Mansion 3 is one of my favorite Switch games. Solid company, hopefully the quality won't drop too far off under whoever he's passing the keys to.

Luigis mansion 3, the graphics where truly next level, the animation in this game, mind blowing. I wish they made a new mario game like this.

@Not_Soos do you have a spruce for your information?

I was able to find this on the net:

“ Next Level Games has an overall rating of 4.3 out of 5, based on over 19 reviews left anonymously by employees. 84% of employees would recommend working at Next Level Games to a friend and 84% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.”

Why do I get the feeling we will never see another Luigi's mansion? After all Nintendo is killing all my beloved series one by one.

He sold his company to Nintendo. Definitely became a millionaire. Surely the best time for him to enjoy life.

You gave me Luigi mansion games, thank you so much. From GameCube release title to now.
Hope the studio get to work on another one very soon.

@Not_Soos
Retro's problems are Retro's problems, not a fault of Nintendo's supervision (or lack thereof).

Well deserved!

Goodbye old friend, and may the Force be with you.

Have a good retirement. Thank for for your work.

I guess that explains the sale… securing his legacy, and a nice retirement bonus, well done, level up indeed…

How many of us would love to say that?
Have a long lasting and enjoyable retirement, im sure you trully earn it. 🤘🏻

When did Nintendo buy them?
Has he now fulfilled his contractual obligation to "hang around for a few years" and can start spending his money and having a good time? ^_^;;

@Pod
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/01/nintendo_is_buying_luigis_mansion_studio_next_level_games

Last year was when Nintendo acquired them. Gotta say, I'm liking Nintendo's approach with acquisitions compared to Sony and Microsoft.

@ModdedInkling Agreed. Sometimes you don't NEED to buy out a close partner.

@Henmii i found very unlikely that Nintendo would not release another Luigi Mansion, expecialy, after how sucefull Luigi Mansion 3 are.

@Giancarlothomaz
Ehh... it's probably more than the reason why they might release another Luigi's Mansion game. The only exception that Nintendo ever made was Mario Kart 8, because unlike other successful titles, Mario Kart 8 continued to be the best-selling long after its lifespan ended, all the way to the point where Nintendo decided to bring in DLC.

Everything else is bound to get some sort of sequel. Breath of the Wild 2, Bowser's Fury, Splatoon 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, you name it.

@Giancarlothomaz

I hope you are right. The good sales might lead to a new Luigi's mansion. I can wait a couple of years (and we just had number 3) so they can make it juicy. As long as it happens!

I appreciate the work I know of NLG, and I fully understand the choice to stop working and explore the world. That's life, work for an income to pay bills and rent for basic birthrights, and tax extortion, isn't, no matter how much you loved doing that work on a good day. Enjoy life.