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Opinions on Nintendo outsourcing to Bandai Namco Studios

Dizagaox

Dizagaox

Banned
Feb 26, 2018
1,076
London
I've not seen much commentary on ResetEra about this, and it's surprised me.

Why exactly is the Nintendo fanbase okay with Nintendo outsourcing games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Metroid Prime 4 to 3rd party Bandai Namco Studios?

And where does it go from here? If SSBU and MP4 are superhits, will Nintendo ever hand over Mario or Zelda?
 
KZXcellent

KZXcellent

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,970
It frees up Nintendo's studios to work on other games.

Smash 4 was dope and Ultimate looks awesome so I have no reason to be concerned.
 

Deleted member 643

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,365
Because clearly with Nintendo supervision the results can be good.

I mean, Nintendo supervision allowed MercurySteam to put out an excellent Metroit game and nobody would have seen that coming
 
Pein

Pein

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,259
NYC
Well they handed off Mario to Ubisoft for that rabbits game.

It's no different than paying for an exclusive I guess, what makes it different than Sony publishing nioh or SFV being funded and exclusive to PS4?

Namco Bandai has fighting game talent, same reason capcom had dimps help out on street fighter.
 
hammurabi

hammurabi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
706
How is it any different than letting retro do MP4? It's fine. Nintendo's Quality Control is top notch, and they always have oversight of such things. Not even remotely a big deal.
 
Doskoi Panda

Doskoi Panda

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,050
Nintendo is pretty good at picking studios who are right for the job and then overseeing them to ensure that they get that job right, or nail future jobs. Many of my favorite Nintendo games were not developed by internal Nintendo studios, and yet still feel distinctly Nintendo.

Remember - you used MP4 as an example, as though Nintendo didn't outright buy a fresh faced western studio to develop the first three. They know how to pick 'em.

don't @ me about some Other M bullshet, game could have been decent at least if somebody at Nintendo hadn't fixated on the "3D NES game" concept way too much
 
Deadpool_X

Deadpool_X

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,104
Indiana
OP, you realize Smash 4 was developed by the same team at Namco Bandai that is doing Smash Ultimate, right?

Also, 4 Zelda games on Nintendo hardware were developed by Capcom, sooo...
 
Ryce

Ryce

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,299
Nintendo didn't develop any of the previous Smash Bros. games, and the director hasn't changed, so is that really "outsourcing"?
 

jdstorm

Member
Jan 6, 2018
7,576
Nintendo needs to expand. Until they realize this outsourcing is the best option for producing more games at a pace their customers want.

Really Nintendo should look at creating an EPD Europe due to the cheap costs of development, the amount of availiable development talent and the diversity it would bring to their portfolio, but that seems unlikely
 

Dark Cloud

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
61,087
What do you mean why is the Nintendo fan base okay with it? You make it sound like Namco is some evil horrific company. They're a good company and help Nintendo put out more games. It's that simple
 
Gardios

Gardios

Member
Oct 26, 2017
116
Canada
Nintendo has already handed Zelda over to Capcom in the past and Mario over to Ubisoft for Mario + Rabbids. So I'm not sure what there is to be concerned about.
 
Charamiwa

Charamiwa

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,069
Not that I have any doubt this is the case, but has there been an official confirmation that Ultimate was made by them?
 
Shoichi

Shoichi

Member
Jan 10, 2018
10,495
3rd party devs get to work on some of Nintendo's beloved franchises and get to have the attention of being a 'Nintendo' game. I mean if Mario+Rabbids didn't star Mario and his gang and was just Rabbids plus random other characters in a non-Mario universe...I doubt it would have been near as successful as it ended up being.

It also allows Nintendo to free themselves up to work on other in-house projects.
 
okayfrog

okayfrog

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,968
Nintendo outsourced F-Zero to Sega and it was awesome. Nintendo outsourcing is fine so long as it results in a quality product.
 
Gotdatmoney

Gotdatmoney

Member
Oct 28, 2017
14,561
I don't care whose developing it. I care if it's good. Smash 4 was good. I have no issue with them doing Smash 5.
 
Dooble

Dooble

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,471
Namco and Nintendo are close, ever since they wanted to buy Bandai (or did they try to buy Namco?).

It started with Baten Kaitos, Donkey Konga and Starfox Assault. Then came Monolith Soft.
 
CupOfDoom

CupOfDoom

Member
Dec 17, 2017
3,199
Outsourcing isn't a bad thing if the developer is good. It also means that all of Nintendo's internal studios are hard at work on other projects.
 
Pancracio17

Pancracio17

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
18,903
mdubs said:
Because clearly with Nintendo supervision the results can be good.

I mean, Nintendo supervision allowed MercurySteam to put out an excellent Metroit game and nobody would have seen that coming
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This. They have proven that they can make good games and can handle the franchises.
 

Deleted member 44960

User requested account closure
Banned
Jun 12, 2018
114
OP, you do realise Mario and Zelda games have been handled by other developers, eg Rabbids and Minish Cap? That Smash, Metroid, DK and Kirby are all second and third party? That's why we're ok with it.

Edit: Monolithsoft were brought in for BOTW development as well.
 
Apollo

Apollo

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,117
If the work is quality then I don't mind at all. And knowing Nintendo, there is a lot of oversight going on to keep any outsourced work on the right track.
 
Sebastopa

Sebastopa

Member
Apr 27, 2018
1,782
I don't see why there should be any concerns about this. They handled Smash 4 and it was great.
I mean retro was an awful company before Prime 1...
 
CaviarMeths

CaviarMeths

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,655
Western Canada
I mean, some of the best Nintendo games weren't actually made by Nintendo, just under the strict supervision of them. My favorite Nintendo IP is Fire Emblem, which has never been developed in-house. Most notable example though I think are the handheld Zelda games made by Capcom. Oracle games and Minish Cap were all excellent. Nintendo then sniped the director of those games, brought him in-house, and put him on Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild. Right now, he's probably being groomed as Aonuma's successor.
 
Subaru

Subaru

Member
Oct 26, 2017
335
SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil
NIntendo have outsourced:
DKC 1,2,3, 64 - RARE
Diddy Kong Racing - RARE
Super Mario RPG - Squaresoft
Metroid Prime 1/2/3 - Retro Studios
DKCTF - Retro Studios
Star Fox Assault - NAMCO
SSB4/SSBU - Bandai-Namco
Metroid Prime 4 - Bandai-Namco
F-Zero GX - SEGA

and there is A LOT of other partnerships.
It's great, they are amazing at supervising projects. The only game from that list that I've posted (and was released) that isn't AMAZING is Star Fox Assault.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot that Retro is 1st party, my bad.
 
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Alcibiades

Banned
Feb 3, 2018
630
Nintendo seems to bring out the best in other developers whenever they're supervising a project. Wasn't Mario + Rabbid: Kingdom Battle Ubisoft's highest rated game in years? The same goes for MercurySteam and Metroid: Samus Returns. Just look at the portfolio of Next Level Games, the stuff they made for Nintendo is so much better than their other games.

Good management is very important, perhaps even more important than the developers themselves. Alexander the Great once said "I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep, I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion".

With Sakurai at the helm of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate nobody should worry.
 

Alcibiades

Banned
Feb 3, 2018
630
Subaru said:
NIntendo have outsorced:
DKC 1,2,3, 64 - RARE
Diddy Kong Racing - RARE
Super Mario RPG - Squaresoft
Metroid Prime 1/2/3 - Retro Studios
DKCTF - Retro Studios
Star Fox Assault - NAMCO
SSB4/SSBU - Bandai-Namco
Metroid Prime 4 - Bandai-Namco
F-Zero GX - SEGA

and there is A LOT of other partnership.
It's great, they are amazing at supervising project. The only gaming from that list that I've posted (and was released) that isn't AMAZING is Star Fox Assault.
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Retro Studios is First Party.
 
Amiablepercy

Amiablepercy

Banned
Nov 4, 2017
3,587
California
Dizagaox said:
I've not seen much commentary on ResetEra about this, and it's surprised me.

Why exactly is the Nintendo fanbase okay with Nintendo outsourcing games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Metroid Prime 4 to 3rd party Bandai Namco Studios?

And where does it go from here? If SSBU and MP4 are superhits, will Nintendo ever hand over Mario or Zelda?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Bandai has made good games doing contract work with Nintendo. Nintendo obviously has a good/positive working relationship with them. It allows Nintendo to put development energies in other games. Basically, everything everybody has said. Contempt prior to investigating the experience of these collaborations helps no one.
 
Nanashrew

Nanashrew

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,328
Dizagaox said:
will Nintendo ever hand over Mario or Zelda?
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It's not unheard of to let others try their hand at one of their big franchises. I just don't know about Mario outside of spinoff titles. But Zelda had the Oracle games and Minish Cap done by Capcom back in the day.

Outsourcing isn't necessarily a bad thing.
 

Deleted member 5535

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
13,656
Because Nintendo do it all the time? Most of what Nintendo publish per year is developed by external developers, not internally.

And Bandai Namco Studios proved that most of the time they can make good games.
 
somerandomweirdguy

somerandomweirdguy

Member
Nov 2, 2017
2,094
I want a Western story oriented Zelda with considerable Japanese art design input

Honestly just more Western takes on Nintendo properties in general, but that's my dream one.
 
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