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Nintendo gets Monolith Soft from Bandai-Namco

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O

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
Glad to see Nintendo is getting the cream of the crop when it comes to developer talent.
 
N

Nuclear Muffin

Banned
You only need 51% to have a majority share. It would be a bit shaky but you would technically own the company outright.

MLS is a first party now, Nintendo only had a 49% in Rareware so they stayed as a 2nd party. This is different, since Nintendo own the majority (And by a huge margin, preventing any possible takeover) MLS are a completely Nintendo owned 1st party now.
 
M

Matt

Member
Nuclear Muffin said:
You only need 51% to have a majority share. It would be a bit shaky but you would technically own the company outright.

MLS is a first party now, Nintendo only had a 49% in Rareware so they stayed as a 2nd party. This is different, since Nintendo own the majority (And by a huge margin, preventing any possible takeover) MLS are a completely Nintendo owned 1st party now.
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Nintendo owned 38% of Rare, actually.
 
T

Talladega Knight

Member
Nuclear Muffin said:
You only need 51% to have a majority share. It would be a bit shaky but you would technically own the company outright.

MLS is a first party now, Nintendo only had a 49% in Rareware so they stayed as a 2nd party. This is different, since Nintendo own the majority (And by a huge margin, preventing any possible takeover) MLS are a completely Nintendo owned 1st party now.
Click to expand...
You can have a majority share under 50%. Let's say I own 40% of a certain company, and the remaining 60% is shared between two other companies 30/30. I'd have the majority share.

At least I think, lol.
 
T

Taxman

Member
d[-_-]b said:
According to wikipedia it's second party.
Click to expand...

Using wikipedia as an authoritative source, especially for something this recent, is never a smart idea.

djtiesto said:
Like others said in the thread, I'd have preferred if Nintendo got tri-Ace or tri-Crescendo as RPG devs, instead of Monolith. tri-Ace... there's a company who frequently makes some of the best looking games to take advantage of their respective platforms, I'd argue that they are my favorite development team ever. Would love to see what they do with the Wii remote, not to mention it'd be nice to have another Wii game that looks really good.
Click to expand...

If the Baten Kaitos series is any indication, their upcoming games will at least look really nice.
 
M

Matt

Member
gcfan2k5 said:
VERY NICE, hey folks monolith is also responsible i believe for the graphics engine behind FEAR and Condemned, its lithtech 3.x i think, these guys have long been EXPERT graphics guys.
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UGH!

That's Monolith Productions!

Nintendo just bought Monolith Software!

They are two diffrent companies.
 
J

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
Grimm Fandango said:
So is it safe to say that the Xenosaga IP still belongs to Namco?
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It's actually pretty unclear at this point, I wish someone who can read the PDF would clear this up for us. Jonny did tell us they got Baten Kaitos though.

Nuclear Muffin said:
You only need 51% to have a majority share. It would be a bit shaky but you would technically own the company outright.

MLS is a first party now, Nintendo only had a 49% in Rareware so they stayed as a 2nd party. This is different, since Nintendo own the majority (And by a huge margin, preventing any possible takeover) MLS are a completely Nintendo owned 1st party now.
Click to expand...
That's how I see it as well, and while we know Talladega Knight is right we all know the Stamper bros. owned the majority of Rare when they worked with Nintendo.
 
S

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
nightez said:
True they should have kept Left Field. Excite Bike 64 is still the best dirt bike game i've played ever. I think its the disagreement over the direction of 1080 Snowboarding that made Left Field get dropped so they handed over the title to NST. But Nintendo ended up being wrong in the end anyway, 1080 as they wanted it ended up being crap.


..
Click to expand...


You are correct sir.
 
O

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
Talladega Knight said:
Not very good sarcasm then. I would assume that Nintendo would be at or near the top when it somes to developer talent, but that's just me.
Click to expand...

Great, now I'm confused.

Anyway, my point is, Nintendo hasn't outright bought a developer since Retro, and I was hoping they got something 'worth' getting.
 
S

Segata Sanshiro

Member
JDSN said:
Its not your fault.
Click to expand...
I know you're getting sick of this already, but every single time you post, I have to fight the urge to post your avatar as a response. It's an incredibly powerful urge, equal in intensity to the urge to fap when Jessica Biel is on-screen wearing next to nothing.
 
Y

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
No.

If you own 40% of the company and there are 60 other little shits that only own 1% each, you do not have a majority. You have a plurality, but NOT a majority. Majority is strictly what it means.

In the case of Nintendo with Monolith Soft, they have both. So they can get Shittlith to make whatever shitty games their heart desires.
 
S

Segata Sanshiro

Member
Y2Kevbug11 said:
No.

If you own 40% of the company and there are 60 other little shits that only own 1% each, you do not have a majority. You have a plurality, but NOT a majority. Majority is strictly what it means.

In the case of Nintendo with Monolith Soft, they have both. So they can get Shittlith to make whatever shitty games their heart desires.
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Oh man Kev


I hope they make something shitty
 
T

Talladega Knight

Member
Y2Kevbug11 said:
No.

If you own 40% of the company and there are 60 other little shits that only own 1% each, you do not have a majority. You have a plurality, but NOT a majority. Majority is strictly what it means.

In the case of Nintendo with Monolith Soft, they have both. So they can get Shittlith to make whatever shitty games their heart desires.
Click to expand...
Ah, I see see. I stand corrected.
 
Y

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
Segata Sanshiro said:
Oh man Kev


I hope they make something shitty
Click to expand...

Well, I have to admit, squeezing LOL and SHIT into words is one of my all time favorite activities. I mean, you should check the MLB thread. Arod ain't Kid WonderLOL for no reason.

I don't think I've ever enjoyed something they've been responsible for producing, but apparently they had some hand in BK/BKO, though some seem to think the good should be attributed to Tri-Crescendo. Which is probably reasonable, considering how good Tri-Crescendo is.
 
D

d[-_-]b

Banned
Taxman said:
Using wikipedia as an authoritative source, especially for something this recent, is never a smart idea.



If the Baten Kaitos series is any indication, their upcoming games will at least look really nice.
Click to expand...
But it sure is fun.
 
L

LegendofJoe

Member
This was probably done because Namco needed an influx of cash and Monolith Soft was practically a Nintendo 2nd party anyway so they figured hey let's do Namco a favor.

I doubt Nintendo would have purchased them from a straight development standpoint, although if Matsuno is working for Nintendo this would be the natural place to put him.
 
X

X26

Banned
Good move by Namco, the xenosaga games were terrible and I'd find it hard to believe that the people responsible have any talent whatsoever
 
K

Krowley

Member
Grimm Fandango said:
Well Retro turned out great so hopefully Nintendo can set Monolith straight >_>
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Just giving them the mantle of "first party" along with the restrictions and expectations that come from that... That's going to make 100% difference. Especially with nintendo.

Nintendo is going to do everything they can to keep them from releasing a bad game. They'll give them more time, they'll fire people, they'll send nintendo people to take over projects. They'll throw more money at them. Whatever it takes.

That's what they did with retro and that's probably what they'll do here.

If nintendo wants an FF/DQ level jrpg out of monolith, they'll probably come close.. At least in terms of quality.
 
F

Fady K

Member
ethelred said:
80% is pretty damned close to complete and total ownership. Nintendo will be, by far, the controlling shareholder.
Click to expand...

Still smarty, doesnt mean Xenosaga will belong to Nintendo.


ethelred said:
That's cute. They make your favorite game ever and the best story since the Renaissance, but you'd rather have the Tales of the Tempest team make the follow-up game than allow your precious Xeno to move over to Nintendo!
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Barf! Dont use the word cute with me, not from you please :D And oh, they did make my favorite game ever. N, oh yeah, cause you see, the only RPG team available at Namco right now are the dudes behind Tales of the Tempest right. Now that's cute :p


ethelred said:
What in the world would you buy Monolith Soft for other than to make RPGs?
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Until you try out Disaster, you wouldnt know now would you :)
 
G

Grimm Fandango

Member
IF the IP was sold, the series has a much greater chance of being resurrected than if it stayed with Namco.

I don't really care if Xenosaga is continued, Episode III wrapped it up nicely. I would like to see a new RPG series from them now. Or if Disaster works out, that's fine :)
 
M

Mockingbird

Member
Baten Kaitos Origins Credits:

Directors: Yasayuki Honne (Monolith)
Hiroya Hatsushiba: (Tri-Crescendo)

Assistant Director: Yoko Kigawa (Monolith)

Executive Producer: Sataoru Iwata (Nintendo)

Co Producers: Shinji Nogochi (NGBI)
Katsumi Miyazaki (Monolith)

Producer: Hirohide Sugiura (Monolith)

Scenario Writer: Koh Kojima (Monolith)

Composer: Motoi Sakuraba (Freelance)

Character Designer: Makata Higurashi (Freelance)

Art Director: Yasayuki Honne (Monolith)
Main Planners:
- Quest Planning Director: Koh Kojima (Monolith)-
- Event Planning Director: Keiici Ono (Monolith)
- Battle Planning Director: Shuhei Rokumoto (Tri-Crescendo)
- 3d Character Director: Hiroshi Uchiyama (Monolith)
- Animation Director: Hirotaka Orita (Monolith)
- Effects Director: Toshiyuki Takatade (Monolith)
- Sound Director: Riei Saito (Tri-Crescendo)

Quest Event Planners:
Koh Kojima (Monolith)
Keiichi Ono (Monolith)
Shinji Sakisako (Monolith)
Hiroshi Yoshida (Monolith)
Tomonori Kawazoe (Monolith)
Kotaro Honda (Monolith)
Sanae Hourai (Monolith)
Kanae Nakayama (Monolith)

Battle Planners:
Shuhei Rokumoto (Tri-Crescendo)
Takeshi Yamamoto (Tri-Crescendo)
Hikaru Yoshida (Tri-Crescendo)

Battle Programmers:
Shuhei Rokumoto (Tri-Crescendo)
Yoshiharu Miyake (Tri-Crescendo)
Takashi Asai (Tri-Crescendo)

Effect Programmer: Yoshiharu Miyake (Tri-Crescendo)
Field Programmer: Shuhei Rokumoto (Tri-Crescendo)

Camp Programmer, Localization Programmer: Muneshito Yasui (Tri-Crescendo)
System Programmer: Shigujumi Nakahara (Tri-Crescendo)
Sound Programmer: Hiroya Hatsushiba

3D Character/Enemy Designers:
Hiroshi Uchiyama (Monolith)
Ayumi Fujita (Monolith)
Tatsuo Oshima (Monolith)
Hiromi Hayashi (Monolith)
Kei Kato (Monolith)

3d Enemy Designer: Memi Ikuda (Freelance)
3D 2nd Enemy Designer: Nakaba Hirushi (Freelance)

Map Painter: Yasuyuki Honne (Monolith)
Map Deisgners: Yasuyuki Honne (Monolith)
Ryoko Kobayashi (Monolith)
Tatsuro Abe (Monolith)
Kazue Hiramoto (Monolith)

Battle Map Designer: Takashi Mikami (Monolith)

Effects Designers: Toshiyuki Takadate (Monolith)
Kaneko Sano (Monolith)
Takashi Kawaguchi (Monolith)
Yuji Tago (Monolith)
Ikuto Matsumoto (Monolith)

Animation Designers: Hirotaka Prita (Monolith)
Deiki Hayashiidani (Monolith)
Seiichi Hishimura (Monolith)
Nobuhiko Okayasu (Monolith)
Chizua Utazu (Monolith)
Kengo Inoue (Monolith)

Menu Designer: Motonori Nakamura (Tri-Crescendo)

Card Designer: Mami Ikeda (Freelance)
Face Graphics Designer: Nakaba Higurashi (Freelance)

Sound Effect Engineers: Riei Saito (Tri-Crescendo)
Kazufumi Satoh (Tri-Crescendo)
Ippai Shiraki (Tri-Crescendo)
Kohei Sagara (Tri-Crescendo)

Sound Effect Assistant: Eri Shiba (Tri-Crescendo)

OP Movie Designer: Yasayuki Honne (Monolith)

Production Staff: 5 Monolith Guys
Publicity: 5 monolith Guys
Special Thanks:
5 Monolith Guy and a freelancer

What is Baten Kaitos Known for? The awesome backgrounds and unique art-style. Card Battles. A 2-Part story, when combined, adds so much god-damn depth and so many unexpected twists in the plot. The great Motoi Sakuraba Music.

So before you go spewing your mouth about how Nintendo should've gotten the part that matters in the Baten Kaitos team....play the god-damn game first.
 
D

Durante

Member
Krowley said:
If nintendo wants an FF/DQ level jrpg out of monolith, they'll probably come close.. At least in terms of quality.
Click to expand...
FF level? Hell yeah. But DQ is just about the exact opposite of what Monolith has been doing so far. I don't think you can lump them together like that.

Anyway, most people who played Xenosaga 3 would agree that Monolith don't need to be "straightened out" by Nintendo.

Baten Kaitos Origins Credits ...
Click to expand...
I didn't know that. Why did you only bold some of the Monolith employees? Maybe I'll have to play that game after all. I was scared away because Dragona and error liked it :lol
 
G

Grimm Fandango

Member
Durante said:
Anyway, most people who played Xenosaga 3 would agree that Monolith don't need to be "straightened out" by Nintendo.
Click to expand...

I only used that term because this is GAF and people hate Xenosaga...

I loved Episode III personally.
 
S

Shanks

Member
I know we don't have confirmation yet, but it would interesting if Nintendo got the Xenosaga license. I personally don't think they did, but whatever.
 
D

Dragona Akehi

Retired
Mockingbird said:
What is Baten Kaitos Known for? The awesome backgrounds and unique art-style. Card Battles. A 2-Part story, when combined, adds so much god-damn depth and so many unexpected twists in the plot. The great Motoi Sakuraba Music.
Click to expand...

No it's known for its AWESOME battle system and strategic deck building. All my BK love comes from the gameplay aspects. All the plot-fluff I enjoyed was a result of NOA and 8-4's fabulous localization. :p

Oh and of course, I do consider Sakuraba's work on the BK series to be his best outside of Valkyrie Profile.
 
B

B.K.

Member
VultureDude said:
just curious, but what games has Monolith Soft made that aren't RPGs?
Click to expand...

Disaster: Day of Crisis is an action(?) game and Namco x Capcom was a SRPG. Besides those two, everything they've done have RPGs.
 
V

VultureDude

Member
B.K. said:
Disaster: Day of Crisis is an action(?) game and Namco x Capcom was a SRPG. Besides those two, everything they've done have RPGs.
Click to expand...

heh, it'll be interesting to see how they deal with Disaster then... maybe the reason it's been so long without an update is due to their lack of familiarity... I hope not.
 
M

Mockingbird

Member
Dragona Akehi said:
No it's known for its AWESOME battle system and strategic deck building. All my BK love comes from the gameplay aspects. All the plot-fluff I enjoyed was a result of NOA and 8-4's fabulous localization. :p

Oh and of course, I do consider Sakuraba's work on the BK series to be his best outside of Valkyrie Profile.
Click to expand...

Yeah strategic deck building that needed RE-building between Baten Kaitos I and II. There's a reason why they did not decide to use the same battle types between the two games. That is not to say I do not love BKO's battle system. I do and it would've been much better had they kept the ability to level up as you willed it like in part I. The plot stuff? It's localization of something that came from Koh Kojima's monolith. I agree that a good localization matters on these things - you can tell what happens when a game gets a good localization when you see BKO and BK1. And which company is responsible for the horrid voice thru a tube sound from BK1 anyways? And how can you not like the beautifully drawn environments and the world envisioned that is Baten Kaitos?

Basically in BK1 Monolith got their parts right.

Anyways, aren't the battles in Xenosaga 3 supposedly good?
 
I

ivysaur12

Banned
jj984jj said:
It's actually pretty unclear at this point, I wish someone who can read the PDF would clear this up for us. Jonny did tell us they got Baten Kaitos though.


That's how I see it as well, and while we know Talladega Knight is right we all know the Stamper bros. owned the majority of Rare when they worked with Nintendo.
Click to expand...

He said they got Baten Kaitos? I need to read this thread more carefully.

EDIT: And Dragona, as awesome as BKO is, it did have a great plot with AMAZING characters. Seriously. Koh Kojima is awesome.
 
J

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
ivysaur12 said:
He said they got Baten Kaitos? I need to read this thread more carefully.
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Pg.2 (Uhh.. probably 3 or 4 for you):

Jonnyram said:
I'm pretty confident Tri-Crescendo didn't want to make another BK game, and that Nintendo has got the rights to the IP out of this deal. I think Nintendo wants to continue the franchise but noone else did.
Click to expand...

And then people on GFAQs who translated it claim they got both IPs, so that's why I'm hoping for a proper translation.
 
I

ivysaur12

Banned
I wonder why he's confident that tri-Cresncendo wouldn't want to make another BK game... That makes me sad. Hopfully they will be on board for the basically confirmed Baten Kaitos III.
 
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