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Trago · Feb 17, 2017

Nintendo has a history of being very Japanese focused when it comes to publishing deals and collaborations with third parties. As someone who's really into Japanese games, I think this is great, but there's only so much appeal your platform can have with those kinds of games. Since we are close to the launch of their next console, I was wondering if to help widen the appeal of the Switch, Nintendo could start looking to some western publishers for exclusive collaborations in the same way they do with Japanese publishers.

Let's look at some examples of collaborations with publishers on Wii U:

- Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge (Keoi Tecmo, Japanese)
- Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate (Capcom, Japanese)
- The Wonderful 101 (Platinum Games, Japanese)
- Sonic Lost World (Sega, Japanese)
- Wii Sports Club (Bandai Namco, Japanese)
- Hyrule Warriors (Koei Tecmo, Japanese)
- Bayonetta 2 (Platinum Games, Japanese)
- Super Smash Bros. Wii U (Bandai Namco, Japanese)
- Fatal Frame V (Koei Tecmo, Japanese)

I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting but you get the point. Outside of some Skylanders marketing deals, and Ubisoft, I don't remember much in the way of western partnerships for Wii U. Maybe things could change for Switch, but so far it looks like we're headed down the same road. Western third parties are the dominating sales force in consoles now. As a platform holder, I you'd think it would be in Nintendo's best interest to try and work with them even a little bit like they do with Japanese publishers. Western third party support on Switch is likely gonna be dry, so it's on Nintendo to try and work with those publishers one way or another.

spekkeh · Feb 17, 2017

TheDinoman · Feb 17, 2017

RIP Rare

Oregano · Feb 17, 2017

Nintendo at least had SiNG Party(Activision) and Lego City Undercover & Scribblenauts(Warner Bros). They even approached Criterion for F-Zero.

You've got to keep in mind its a two way street though. Which western third party wants to work with Nintendo?

EDarkness · Feb 17, 2017

Honest question, would any major western 3rd party company actually WANT to do this? I always got the impression that western devs didn't care about Nintendo collabs at all. I think EA did something once with Motion + and Tiger Woods Golf, but I don't think anyone else has done it.

Would be interesting to see, but I doubt something like that is gonna happen anytime soon.

phanphare · Feb 17, 2017

Yacht Club Games and Shovel Knight

MrT-Tar · Feb 17, 2017

LEGO City Undercover is the first to come to mind. Then I guess you have all the games developed by Monster and Next Level. A bit further back, but I think the Battalion Wars games were developed by Headstrong (who are British) too.

They are definitely the exception to the rule though

bahamut zero · Feb 17, 2017

Japanese Devs make the better games anyway. All the west does is open-world shooters with rpg elements and social media integration.

TheDinoman · Feb 17, 2017

bahamut zero said:
Japanese Devs make the better games anyway. All the west does is open-world shooters with rpg elements and social media integration.

Gee, that isn't generalizing at all.

Penguin · Feb 17, 2017

Yeah, I think it's a matter of getting Western support first

I mean they've tried... Mario was in NBA Streets on the GameCube for example. They funded or assisted with LEGO City Undercover. Think they got some Mario songs in Just Dance

Ahasverus · Feb 17, 2017

bahamut zero said:
Japanese Devs make the better games anyway. All the west does is open-world shooters with rpg elements and social media integration.

There's always one. Why do japanese purists always forget about stuff like The Witcher and the Retro games.

Kouriozan · Feb 17, 2017

Oregano said:
You've got to keep in mind its a two way street though. Which western third party wants to work with Nintendo?

Monster Games and Next Level Games.

sinonobu · Feb 17, 2017

Wasn't there also rumors about Mario X Rabbids game by Ubisoft?

Polygonal_Sprite · Feb 17, 2017

How many times does Nintendo have to say that there's a ton of Western third party games in development?

Trago · Feb 17, 2017

Oregano said:
Nintendo at least had SiNG Party(Activision) and Lego City Undercover & Scribblenauts(Warner Bros). They even approached Criterion for F-Zero.

You've got to keep in mind its a two way street though. Which western third party wants to work with Nintendo?

Ah yes, I forgot about those.

And yeah, maybe there are some publishers who don't want to work with them. Still wouldn't hurt to try and work with them.

Jiffster · Feb 17, 2017

With Unreal engine now supporting Switch, the stage is set for a much broader scope of partnerships for Nintendo and indie developers around the world. Not that the fact it can be done means that it actually will be done of course! But it can't be a bad thing!

Oregano · Feb 17, 2017

Kouriozan said:
Monster Games.

You might want to double check that one nowadays.

Besides we're talking about big developers/publishers. Not 20-man outfits.

DarthButcher · Feb 17, 2017

Their Western partnerships are unprecedented.

Icolin · Feb 17, 2017

bahamut zero said:
Japanese Devs make the better games anyway. All the west does is open-world shooters with rpg elements and social media integration.

So I take it that you haven't paid attention or know anything about western games at all.

DeathoftheEndless · Feb 17, 2017

The Mario/Rabbids RPG and Beyond Good & Evil 2 are rumored.

Peltz · Feb 17, 2017

No credit for Next Level Games and Retro?

I thought Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon was a very nice collaboration. It felt like something Nintendo EAD would put out in terms of quality and charm (for the most part).

maxcriden · Feb 17, 2017

Kouriozan said:
Monster Games and Next Level Games.

Yep, those are good examples. Both developers worked on games for Nintendo this gen (which I guess ends in 13 days).

AtomicShroom · Feb 17, 2017

This is something that really annoys me about them.

One other example that really showed their disdain for western audiences was how all the Event courses in Mario Maker featured nothing but Japanese pop-culture icons and references, which were completely lost on us. They didn't have any western celebrities create anything for Event courses... WHY?!

Chindogg · Feb 17, 2017

Ahasverus said:
There's always one. Why do japanese purists always forget about stuff like The Witcher and the Retro games.

Honestly The Witcher, whatever Ancel's working on, and Retro are the only big western studios that I care about anymore.

Shiggy · Feb 17, 2017

Kouriozan said:
Monster Games

That's why they are now working on NASCAR games, which aren't coming to Nintendo systems?

How many times does Nintendo have to say that there's a ton of Western third party games in development?

Until they do.

Donniewahlberg · Feb 17, 2017

I mean, I certainly would welcome it. More games is good in any circumstances and it could be interesting seeing Nintendo work with more devs further afield and how those sensibilities come together. That said, in general rule of thumb when I buy a Nintendo console, I always buy for the unique Japanese qualities, from both Ninty and the third parties they attract, so it's not really something I am actively yearning for, if that makes sense. I would welcome it though for sure, there are a lot of talented people out there it would be exciting to see Nintendo collaborate with, and while it's not something I'm looking for, of course it could become part of the value if they showed some successful results. Nintendo's whole console philosophy is such an attempt to address the Japanese market, and culture shifts of Japan first before how they deal with the rest of the world does make it hard to see becoming a priority.

Willxc123 · Feb 17, 2017

Isn't Snipperclips in collaboration with some European indie team?

Chindogg · Feb 17, 2017

Willxc123 said:
Isn't Snipperclips in collaboration with some European indie team?

"Indie games don't count"

Shiggy · Feb 17, 2017

Willxc123 said:
Isn't Snipperclips in collaboration with some European indie team?

Yes, SFB Games.

Trago · Feb 17, 2017

bahamut zero said:
Japanese Devs make the better games anyway. All the west does is open-world shooters with rpg elements and social media integration.

You might think so, and some might even agree with that for some reason, but you can't deny that western games are the big sellers now. If you're a company platform holder, it's a no brainer to want to work with these companies.

MrT-Tar · Feb 17, 2017

minor example, but doesn't Nintendo own the rights to Bonsai Barber (developed by Zoonami)? I think I recall seeing their name on the free pack of promotion seeds I got several years ago.

lyrick · Feb 17, 2017

Next Level Games

Nirolak · Feb 17, 2017

Oregano said:
Nintendo at least had SiNG Party(Activision) and Lego City Undercover & Scribblenauts(Warner Bros). They even approached Criterion for F-Zero.

You've got to keep in mind its a two way street though. Which western third party wants to work with Nintendo?

EDarkness said:
Honest question, would any major western 3rd party company actually WANT to do this? I always got the impression that western devs didn't care about Nintendo collabs at all. I think EA did something once with Motion + and Tiger Woods Golf, but I don't think anyone else has done it.

Would be interesting to see, but I doubt something like that is gonna happen anytime soon.

This is correct. The surviving major Western publishers are busy killing off 3 million selling IPs in favor of 5-10+ million selling IPs.

They're generally not going to be interested in the tier of project Nintendo can offer them.

Working with independent studios like the Snipperclips people or smaller studios like Next Level is about what they're going to be able to get.

Oregano · Feb 17, 2017

I guess technically Nintendo did collaborate with Microsoft for Minecraft which has been very successful! No.1 Wii U in NPD January 2017!

PdotMichael · Feb 17, 2017

Nintendo America and Europe should be able to act more independent from Japan.

The best market for the N64 was the USA, where the N64 wasn't even that off from the SNES sales, to a large part a result of Nintendo America be able to provide the right games for the American market.

UnemployedVillain · Feb 17, 2017

I think it might be budgetary reasons. You look at the relative budgets of big name Japanese vs Western games, and the latter always seem to cost drastically more. So I figure Nintendo considers the fact they can have 2 collaborations with a Japanese 3rd party for the price or one with a major Western 3rd party, and still have a well made, highly reviewed game made, and probably just goes with that

I'd much rather they establish more Western studios, if only for the different perspective in making games. There's no reason NOA should only be a North American sales branch or localizer

Linkstrikesback · Feb 17, 2017

AtomicShroom said:
This is something that really annoys me about them.

One other example that really showed their disdain for western audiences was how all the Event courses in Mario Maker featured nothing but Japanese pop-culture icons and references, which were completely lost on us. They didn't have any western celebrities create anything for Event courses... WHY?!

They did however organise that sponge Bob vs Patrick splatfests, so they do also sometimes use and acknowledge the western base stuff.

They also had that Australian studio Tantalus work on TPHD, which worked out well for everyone and they're now doing a couple other switch ports( I think they were doing sonic mania switch version, for one?)

While they're hardly Activision level, they still did good work.

TheDinoman · Feb 17, 2017

Peltz said:
No credit for Next Level Games and Retro?

I thought Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon was a very nice collaboration. It felt like something Nintendo EAD would put out in terms of quality and charm (for the most part).

I agree Next Level should be credited, but technically speaking, Retro Studios is a first party subsidiary of Nintendo, not a third party developer like Ubisoft or Rockstar, which is what I think Trago is talking about here.

Pif · Feb 17, 2017

Western devs barelly have an audience on Nintendo.

Unless the poney-up a lot of the cost, GTAs and CoDs are not happening I guess.

jax · Feb 17, 2017

Blizzard games seem like a natural fit for the Switch. Come on Nintendo.

Radec · Feb 17, 2017

bahamut zero said:
Japanese Devs make the better games anyway. All the west does is open-world shooters with rpg elements and social media integration.

lol

Nirolak · Feb 17, 2017

Oregano said:
I guess technically Nintendo did collaborate with Microsoft for Minecraft which has been very successful! No.1 Wii U in NPD January 2017!

I'd actually point to Pokemon Go as their most successful Western collaboration, but that's the mobile market, and technically through a partially owned subsidiary company.

James Scott · Feb 17, 2017

Next level and Monster games aren't 1st party.
They've worked with others in the past like the Lego team with city. The collaborations just aren't as interesting as say Hyrule Warriors

opricnik · Feb 17, 2017

Oregano said:
Nintendo at least had SiNG Party(Activision) and Lego City Undercover & Scribblenauts(Warner Bros). They even approached Criterion for F-Zero.

You've got to keep in mind its a two way street though. Which western third party wants to work with Nintendo?

A lot developers would die to work for Nintendo. A lot. You just think EA/Ubisoft or something. We have tons of developers that could work on their franchises much better then EA/Activision etc.Obsidian,Team17,United Front,Sumo Digital,Starbreeze(Metroid?),TaleWorlds, etc etc
a lots indies.

Why not fucking collaborate with Metroid 2.5 devolopers instead of dmca-ing .

Oregano · Feb 17, 2017

Nirolak said:
I'd actually point to Pokemon Go as their most successful Western collaboration, but that's the mobile market, and technically through a partially owned subsidiary company.

That's true. Weird when you think about it like that...

Sponge · Feb 17, 2017

I've said it before, but Nintendo really needs to expand Retro. They should be a two team studio. It's crazy that we have debates on if we should get a new DK or Metroid next. We should be getting both.

OrbitalBeard · Feb 17, 2017

Retro Studios (first party)
Next Level Games
Monster Games
Headstrong Games
Tantalus Media

Nintendo partners with western third parties more often than a lot of people seem to realize. I'd certainly like to see more of it (as well as a new western first party studio), of course.

Jackano · Feb 17, 2017

It's Kimishima's call now, but I think it will take time (and Switch success and money) before the president eventually take the subject seriously.

Once everything's will be back in the green, maybe he'll think about expanding to the West, or ask Miyamoto/Koizumi for more western collabs.

Trago · Feb 17, 2017

James Scott said:
Next level and Monster games aren't 1st party.
They've worked with others in the past like the Lego team with city. The collaborations just aren't as interesting as say Hyrule Warriors

That's true, and they are great developers, but they need more western talent on their platform. Since establishing more studios is expensive, collaborations are the next best thing I think.

Penguin · Feb 17, 2017

The Conduit wasn't anything special, but feel like missed the boat on not fostering a better relationship with them... if nothing else to help develop some tech.

There was also that n-Space chapter.

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