Keep in mind they are still "officially" considered as a subsidiary of GungHo (Puzzle & Dragons dev). I had talked about this on a thread only a few days ago, but it now hit me that putting Nintendo as a client might mean more than being a distributor of their games. Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is being distributed by Nintendo for the physical version but is not being published by them. NMH is self-published.
I have looked at the company fact sheet that Grasshopper has been keeping up on https://www.grasshopper.co.jp/en/company/outline.html
Some quick digging with google cache have shown that their sheet have changed recently, a few days ago in fact, when they haven't changed during most of their time at Gung-Ho. The change happened between November 19, 2018 and December 12, 2018.
Here is what it looks on November 19, 2018:
Here's how it changed between November 19, 2018 and December 12, 2018
The new outlook of the company shows several things:
Why is it interesting ? First of all, despite being still officially a subsidiary of GungHo, they have moved OUT of GungHo's office (the classy building below) to move not far from there in a more commercial part of Jimbocho.
This is where they are located now
All of this seems like weird signs for a company that remains as a subsidiary of GungHo. My pinky tells me they've actually gone truly indie and split off with GungHo, especially considering Travis Strikes Again:No More Heroes is self-published and seemingly without GungHo's involvement. However, they are still listed as a subsidiary in GungHo's reports, and I don't know if it's entirely legal to keep calling a company a subsidiary when it's not anymore. Other things of note: GungHo's name has never came up in any capacity by Suda or Grasshopper's staff in months. Also, Hideyuki Shin, the director of Killer is Dead and Let it Die seems to have scrubbed every mention of Grasshopper in his twitter handle and bio, potentially meaning that he parted ways with the company (maybe to remain with GungHo ? GhM doesn't seem like they could still be working on Let it Die with their current staff).
But that's not the most interesting thing, what's interesting is that Nintendo is listed as a major client, and the previous major clients were only those who *actually* published Grasshopper's games. GungHo published Let it Die, Kadokawa games published Killer is Dead, they were the ones who gave funds to the company.
At this stage, Nintendo doesn't seem to have given any funding that we know of, considering TSA is a self-published game but the listing is curious. I don't think they have any staff to spare to make another game on top of Travis Strikes Again, but it might be the beginning of a partnership in the making. I know previous Nintendo president Furukuwa apparently really appreciated Suda's appeareance during the Switch reveal conference. Suda had also said that a Nintendo of Europe rep had recently discussed with him about how Killer7 was seen as a great success in Europe for them.
As always, it's speculation, but there are big changes in the making for the company. Maybe Travis Strikes Again truly is a test in more ways than the funding No More Heroes 3 ? Could Nintendo potentially being one to foot the bill if the western appeal of No More Heroes remained strong ? The road ahead is interesting.
I have looked at the company fact sheet that Grasshopper has been keeping up on https://www.grasshopper.co.jp/en/company/outline.html
Some quick digging with google cache have shown that their sheet have changed recently, a few days ago in fact, when they haven't changed during most of their time at Gung-Ho. The change happened between November 19, 2018 and December 12, 2018.
Here is what it looks on November 19, 2018:
Here's how it changed between November 19, 2018 and December 12, 2018
The new outlook of the company shows several things:
- They have changed their office location
- The number of employees has been downsized from 35 to 20
- The amount of capital they owned went from 50M Yen to 10M Yen.
- Nintendo is listed as "Major Clients"
- They have changed banks, when they remained with Mizuho Bank, Ltd. for the entirety of the duration with Gung-Ho, according to the timeline of the fact sheet.
Why is it interesting ? First of all, despite being still officially a subsidiary of GungHo, they have moved OUT of GungHo's office (the classy building below) to move not far from there in a more commercial part of Jimbocho.
This is where they are located now
All of this seems like weird signs for a company that remains as a subsidiary of GungHo. My pinky tells me they've actually gone truly indie and split off with GungHo, especially considering Travis Strikes Again:No More Heroes is self-published and seemingly without GungHo's involvement. However, they are still listed as a subsidiary in GungHo's reports, and I don't know if it's entirely legal to keep calling a company a subsidiary when it's not anymore. Other things of note: GungHo's name has never came up in any capacity by Suda or Grasshopper's staff in months. Also, Hideyuki Shin, the director of Killer is Dead and Let it Die seems to have scrubbed every mention of Grasshopper in his twitter handle and bio, potentially meaning that he parted ways with the company (maybe to remain with GungHo ? GhM doesn't seem like they could still be working on Let it Die with their current staff).
But that's not the most interesting thing, what's interesting is that Nintendo is listed as a major client, and the previous major clients were only those who *actually* published Grasshopper's games. GungHo published Let it Die, Kadokawa games published Killer is Dead, they were the ones who gave funds to the company.
At this stage, Nintendo doesn't seem to have given any funding that we know of, considering TSA is a self-published game but the listing is curious. I don't think they have any staff to spare to make another game on top of Travis Strikes Again, but it might be the beginning of a partnership in the making. I know previous Nintendo president Furukuwa apparently really appreciated Suda's appeareance during the Switch reveal conference. Suda had also said that a Nintendo of Europe rep had recently discussed with him about how Killer7 was seen as a great success in Europe for them.
As always, it's speculation, but there are big changes in the making for the company. Maybe Travis Strikes Again truly is a test in more ways than the funding No More Heroes 3 ? Could Nintendo potentially being one to foot the bill if the western appeal of No More Heroes remained strong ? The road ahead is interesting.
