Support NeoGAF

[KiNeSiS]

This is good new I'd like to see what they do as far as rpg's on Wii..
JRpg's are a Genre that could use the most innovation they have played considerably the same for 2 decades!

 

[Koshiro]

It is perfectly obvious that the company would do this knowing only what GAFfers know about Monolith Soft. Yes, they have no further knowledge. What were they thinking with the DS and Wii anyway? So little business sense... They should just listen to GAF, definitely.

 

[Mockingbird]

HELLZ YEAH!!! MORE BATEN NOW!!!!!!!!

 

[Terrell]

When you rewrite history it totally makes sense.

Who's rewriting anything? Monolith Soft and Namco basically took the 7 planned episodes, crammed as much as they could into 3, and officially stated they're washing their hands of the whole series, given what a create debacle it became after the first episode. You can't rewrite history when someone already etched it into an adamantium tablet.

EDIT: As a sidenote, who thinks is next on Nintendo's developer grocery list?

 

[Mockingbird]

Tri-crescendo did just about everything worth caring about.

I sorta wished they'd bought tri-ace. Then I wouldn't have to worry about not being to afford the system VP3 ends up on.

How many of you actually looked at the god-damn credits for Baten Kaitos Origins before even spewing this shit? Oh wait...95% of you have never even played the game!

Somebody get me that god damned Super Paper Mario pic and post it for me; because all this bashing that stems from a goddamn 1UP staff who probably never even beat the game is pissing me off.

 

[DefectiveReject]

Spending money on developers.
I know its been said now like 12times, but Disaster must be a very good game for Nintendo to buy them.
I think them sending out a lot of games to 3rd parties to develop (KUJU, the Mario soccer guys, namco teams, sega teams) was a test bed to see if anyone was worth buying

 

[maxmars]

Spending money on developers.
I know its been said now like 12times, but Disaster must be a very good game for Nintendo to buy them.
I think them sending out a lot of games to 3rd parties to develop (KUJU, the Mario soccer guys, namco teams, sega teams) was a test bed to see if anyone was worth buying

If that was the case, they should have bought the F-Zero GX and Mario Strikers team!

 

[flipping_heck]

Monolith made Shogo:MAD right?

if so, please make a sequel to that awesome game. one of the best FPSs from ages ago.

 

[ziran]

I remember an interview with Monolith Soft last year from Cubed3 which I've just found:
http://www.cubed3.com/news/5654

Firstly, Zelda RPG confirmed!! [/joke]

C3: If you could do a crossover Baten Kaitos RPG project with Nintendo, which characters from the Nintendo universe would you like to include and why?

HS: I believe we could create a lot of very exciting elements using the card battle [mechanic] if we could have Link from The Legend of Zelda appear in Baten Kaitos’ world.

And more interestingly:

C3: Has work begun on a Nintendo Wii version of Baten Kaitos or any ideas been formulated yet? And can fans expect Baten Kaitos to remain exclusive to Nintendo formats?

HS: At present, we do not have concrete plan to produce Baten Kaitos for Wii. However, there are several on-going titles exclusively for the Nintendo format. Please look forward to them.

C3: What are your thoughts about the WiConnect24 concept, being able to leave the Nintendo Wii on in order to download new content? How do you think this could be best incorporated into the RPG genre?

HS: I think it is an amazing concept. We will be able to make it clear how the function will be utilised in the game when the on-going titles are announced. We would rather refrain from commenting on the details at this point in time, since our competitors seem to be in the process of the development of their software.

It sounds like there has been a close relationship between Nintendo and Monolith Soft for a while, and I imagine these buyout talks have been happening over a long period. While it does seem bizarre for Nintendo to make this deal, I tend to agree with what many have already said, Nintendo must see potential.

Maybe there are links to all these things. There are obviously multiple titles in development at Monolith on Wii and DS, including Disaster Day of Crisis, and Wiiconnect24 is going to be used in at least one of them.

 

[Vagabundo]

I think it is more shocking that Nintendo actually bought another firm then anything else.

This is just the start, they have loads of money and a two hot systems. More studios will be bought.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Monolith made Shogo:MAD right?

if so, please make a sequel to that awesome game. one of the best FPSs from ages ago.

Either you're making an IGN joke, or you're confused.

Monolith (Shogo:MAD, F.E.A.R., Condemned) != MonolithSoft (Xenosaga, Baten Kaitos)

 

[flipping_heck]

Either you're making an IGN joke, or you're confused.

Monolith (Shogo:MAD, F.E.A.R., Condemned) != MonolithSoft (Xenosaga, Baten Kaitos)

oh im just confused then.. i knew Monolith made Shogo:MAD but just got slightly confused which Nintendo got.. but hey, Baten Kaitos and Xenosaga, all good

 

[farnham]

Baten Kaitos Wii and DS confirmed!
Now buy Level 5 Nintendo!

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Wasn't there talk about Nintendo buying Bandai a while back? Maybe they're just gonna do it one studio at a time.

Nintendo bought a tiny, tiny stake (<2.5% IIRC) in Bandai a couple of years back.

 

[Vagabundo]

Now buy Factor 5 Nintendo!

Fixed

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Now buy 8ing, Nintendo!

Fixed again.

 

[farnham]

Fixed

Eggebrecht is on the sony boat now.. unfortunately..

i could see him making a side project on wii though...

or maybe a full fledged starwars rogue squadron 4... (a man can dream)

 

[F#A#Oo]

Nintendo bought a tiny, tiny stake (<2.5% IIRC) in Bandai a couple of years back.

Yes...Nintendo couldn't get their hands on more shares...and when they did try...they were scolded by some shareholders for trying a hostile take-over. IIRC one of the majority share-holders was continually badgered to sell some of his shares.

One day Nintendo will buy Bandai-Namco...(they want more of the Bandai goods then Namco goods though)

 

[Ryuuga]

peace brethren...

 

[Vagabundo]

Eggebrecht is on the sony boat now.. unfortunately..

Hostile takeover involving NINjas. Real console wars...:lol

 

[_Alkaline_]

Solid move I reckon. Just hope this means Disaster is turning out great.

 

[Epiphyte]

Eggebrecht is on the sony boat now.. unfortunately..

i could see him making a side project on wii though...

or maybe a full fledged starwars rogue squadron 4... (a man can dream)

I'd be happy if they just contracted F5 to make some good middleware engines for the Wii. They seem to have the best technical grip on Nintendo consoles and it's become increasingly clear that most 3rd parties can't be arsed to update their PS2 engines in any meaningful way on the Wii.

 

[mclem]

I hear that, in retaliation, Sony is going to be purchasing Ubisoft Shanghai and Microsoft has just announced plans to add TOSE to their repertoire.

Stafy Uncut: HARDCORE EDITION.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Are these the Xenosaga people? If they are....

Do not want!

Xenosaga 3 was like, the best rpg of 2006 out of all i played (yes even ffxii). Baten kaitos origins says hello too.

Its a very good deal for nintendo, its a big RPG development house with experience.

 

[NeonZ]

Xenosaga has violence, mature themes, suicide imagery, and a very heavy religious aspect in the plotline. Infact, the religious aspect of the game is so literal that one of the characters is the aeon of Jesus Christ in the gnostic sense of the word, and the other is Mary Magdalene.

Fire Emblem has had incest(Heck, Fire Emblem 4 had incest relationships in the main storyline rather than hidden in some small subplot), homosexual relationships and, while there have never been such direct ties to a real world religion, in Goddess of Dawn(End game spoilers)

Spoiler

the main characters become allies of the Dark Godess[chaos] and go defeat the Light Godess[order]

.

Of course, NOA is another matter- they even cut a panty shot that was only mentioned in dialogue (from Sacred Stones in one of Amelia's support conversations), but that's only because they wanted to keep the E rating...

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Now buy Sega Nintendo and get EAD to make a good Sonic game!

Fixed for truth!

 

[lo zaffo]

Given how Nintendo published BK2/O everywhere they got the license as well right?

More BK for us all? :O

Everywhere??? BKO is not published in Europe!

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Fire Emblem has had incest(Heck, Fire Emblem 4 had incest relationships in the main storyline rather than hidden in some small subplot), homosexual relationships and, while there have never been such direct ties to a real world religion, in Goddess of Dawn(End game spoilers)

Spoiler

the main characters become allies of the Dark Godess[chaos] and go defeat the Light Godess[order]

.

Of course, NOA is another matter- they even cut a panty shot that was only mentioned in dialogue (from Sacred Stones in one of Amelia's support conversations), but that's only because they wanted to keep the E rating...

You could happily marry your twin in FE8, IIRC. Good times.

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

Anytime Microsoft is rumored to buy someone out it is made out to be pointless (all the talent will leave, etc).

Anyways...........

In this case, I think Nintendo's direction will make a better studio out of them. Too bad Nintendo has alot of work cut out for them!

I just can't believe it appears that Namco is getting out of the RPG business.

 

[ylvis_]

 

[Polari]

It's probably just a way of expanding development quickly for Nintendo. That they're an RPG house is a nice bonus.

 

[Ramenman]

I wonder if this means Nintendo is looking to develop a strong first/second-party RPG franchise. A Baten Kaitos III would be groovy, but I'd like to see Monolith develop a new IP.

They are currently on Disaster.

Spoiler

Not ?

 

[PolyGone]

forget Xeno series and Baten Kaitos, bring on the new IPs please

 

[Vagabundo]

They are currently on Disaster.

Correct

 

[Furoba]

Xenosaga 3 was like, the best rpg of 2006 out of all i played (yes even ffxii). Baten kaitos origins says hello too.

Its a very good deal for nintendo, its a big RPG development house with experience.

A few years back, Yamauchi would certainly be turning in his yet undug grave. ;p

 

[jesusraz]

There were also these two snippets from that same interview:

C3: When the Nintendo DS was originally announced, a list of future games was released that included a version of Baten Kaitos. However, since Xenosaga I & II was revealed and released in Japan nothing has been heard about BK on the DS. Is the project still alive?

HS: Please ask Namco for this question, because they sell the title. We are strongly willing to develop this.

[ In response, one of Namco’s Producers said the following: "The Baten Kaitos DS project has been stopped once. Further development
is currently undecided at this point." ]

Perhaps it is ready to be resurrected now Nintendo has the majority of Monolith Soft's stocks?

C3: Baten Kaitos was co-developed with tri-Crescendo. Is this the case with Baten Kaitos Origins? And if so, which areas did they contribute to?

HS: Yes, we co-developed with tri-Crescendo this time as well. Mainly tri-Crescendo was in charge of the battle direction and sound. The idea of Magnus Battle [ also ] came from them.

Just for those wondering who did what in Baten Kaitos Origins...

 

[wsippel]

They are currently on Disaster.

Spoiler

Not ?

They are currently working on several games for Wii. Disaster is one of them. They also have a RPG in the works, but it's probably not Baten Kaitos.

 

[Kiriku]

Probably a good purchase for Nintendo, assuming Monolith Soft manage to make profitable games for them.

I like the Xenosaga series quite a lot (need to start playing the third game), but the story arc ended with Ep III as I understand it? So it's not like they would dropping the series Shenmue-style.
Baten Kaitos is nice I guess, although I don't care as much about that. But I still think it fills somewhat of a void for Nintendo (ie a somewhat serious, non-cartoony RPG).

 

[Pureauthor]

Of course, NOA is another matter- they even cut a panty shot that was only mentioned in dialogue (from Sacred Stones in one of Amelia's support conversations), but that's only because they wanted to keep the E rating...

Ewan/Amelia is a sucky pairing anyway.

 

[thefro]

Nintendo needed to expand the number of internal studios they had, so this is a good move. They probably have the capacity to work on a couple more Wii games in addition to Disaster. It's also a great sign for how Disaster is coming along.

 

[medrew]

Well, Tabris, Nintendo does not fully own Monolith Soft - yet, maybe?

By the sounds of it Nintendo has purchased over 50% of the company -- a controlling stake -- which means it basically has all directing power over the company and becomes a subsidiary.

I dont have much hope for Xenosaga IV either, but Nintendo and Monolith both dont own the Xenosaga franchise. N who knows, since Namco Bandai and Monolith still have, albeit barely, any relations, maybe Xenosaga IV will happen one day.

Doesn't Nintendo own a small percentage of Namco-Bandai, about 3-4%? I'm pretty sure they do, and they've been on goods terms the last 3 or 4 years so I wouldn't be shocked to see a licensing deal worked out for Xenosaga if Nintendo wants to pursue it (and if Monolith Soft does not in fact own the IP)

 

[Krowley]

If i had to guess, i would say this is nintendo trying to make their own personal RPG studio...

I don't expect to see xenosaga or BK. I think it will be new IP's.

 

[fly high ~ayunite~]

Any developer who had a hand in the Baten Kaitos games is fine by me! And I'm just glad that Nintendo might be changing their tune on second parties.


Nintendo doesn't own Kuju. They're making a PSP game for Sega at the moment.

They fund/own Kuju's London Studio.

 

[smartestpersonever]

Ugh. Hope they won't make a habbit out of this. :S

What? Acquiring talented software devs? Don't let it troubble you. ;l

 

[Kafel]

GG Nintendo.

 

[Zerodoppler]

I hope they didn't buy them to make RPG's or Mario spin-offs.

 

[Conrad Link]

Wow!! I can't believe Nintendo actually bought someone!! :O

Seriously, this isn't like them at all, they're all about making the 'exclusive' game deals but never out and out acquiring, nice work!

I'm over the moon about this, I absolutely love Baten Kaitos, I've been saying all along Nintendo wanted to make this their signature RPG series - while thats still up in the air I still love the fact Nintendo are trying to broaden their dev studios with specialised teams. This is another quality RPG maker under their roof now, one known for 'teh maturez' story telling too not just Paper Mario or Pokemon Coliseum type RPGs which will help having a range of exclusives on the systems.

This also gives another team Nintendo can dump on the development of SquareEnix games. Wouldn't be the first time a team of former Squaresoft employees now working for Nintendo went back to their old franchise for something on a Nintendo system.

The options are still there, Baten Kaitos DS? Baten Kaitos Wii? (yes please) - I'm sure a deal could be worked out with Namco (its not like they'll ever use it).

Or simply make a 'new' franchise called Katen Baitos or something. :lol Hey it worked with the Xenosaga/gears thing!

Either way, great news, good job Nintendo!

 

[_Alkaline_]

I would like to see them move away from BK, simply because the series' sales have been overall poor and not much can be done to renew that.

However, I would like their new IPs to be RPGs, ones that appeal more to the Japanese market.

 

[ethelred]

If they axe the Xenocrapa team then that would be ace! Dont want them with Nintendo.

I know! Wouldn't that just be the worst? :lol

Well, Tabris, Nintendo does not fully own Monolith Soft - yet, maybe?

80% is pretty damned close to complete and total ownership. Nintendo will be, by far, the controlling shareholder.

But Monolith does not own the Xenosaga franchise. So, there may be hope some day, but Im not going to anticipate anything for now.

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!

I hope they didn't buy them to make RPG's

What in the world would you buy Monolith Soft for other than to make RPGs?

 

[Pureauthor]

What in the world would you buy Monolith Soft for other than to make RPGs?

.

Nintendo bought them so they could use the building to store all their money.