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[Kilrogg]

I like the talk on creative freedom.

Oddly enough, the reasons I would like just a bit more "creative freedom" seem to be different from many people's here. Say, if I were told to make a remake of Punch-Out!! (like Next-Level Games), I would think it's a shame because there's practically no new content in it. If I were handed a Zelda spin-off, I'd be like "uh, okay, sure... Not sure a Zelda spin-off will end up selling all that well though". DKCR though I wouldn't hesitate because it is a sequel in most ways. The only thing that would piss me off is Nintendo's reluctance to ask David Wise to make the soundtrack because his music was a huge part of the DKC's appeal.

In other words I'd be more concerned with the appeal of the projects (the sales potential if you will) than just being able to make whatever I want. Overall I guess I'd still be thrilled to be working for a company like Nintendo though. Anyone who isn't Miyamoto is controlled anyway, so I wouldn't feel like I'm being treated differently.

At any rate, the situation helps highlighting that neither complete control or complete creative freedom are a good thing... Unless you're some kind of genius I suppose, but even guys like Miyamoto and Will Wright occasionally fail (see Wii Music and Spore for instance).

 

[EatChildren]

Designers are designers though, and those games we love, new or old, come from designers and teams. Some people are quite content to be given flexibility and freedom within the confines of an existing franchise or formula. As controlled as I think Retro are, I know from the Iwata Asks, as well as from an artist posting on GAF, that part of their design and development involved numerous members of the studio throwing ideas around. Everybody was adding little details to levels, adding personal touches, and stuff like that. That kind of creative freedom is great, and I do think Nintendo does allow it if they believe the studio is talented enough (look at what they allowed them to do with Metroid).

But, end of the day, designers still want to create something, especially lead designers. Lead designers are often people who have worked in the industry for a very long time, and have spent many years working on existing franchises with different degrees of creative freedom. I'm sure they valued this time greatly, but there is bound to be a point where they sit back and go "You know what? I've worked on all of these franchises for all of these years, now I kinda want to make the game I'm imagining. After all, the franchises I've worked on only exist because other people elsewhere were, at some point in time, given the freedom that I now crave".

And once that point is hit you can either persue that vision at your current studio, or you cant. If you really desire that freedom, and you really want to persue your vision, then there's really no other option other than to leave.

If people didn't have creative freedom to create something truly new we wouldn't have new franchises ever.

 

[Sipowicz]

i'm glad they're working with capcom as capcom actuallymakes good games for all of the systems i own.

i cant wait to see what they come up with

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Some of you talk like Nintendo barely gave a shit about Retro only a couple of years ago. They own them completely and are very highly invested in them. Nintendo, like activision was concerned about their investment. Having studio leads try to take talent with them and talking to other publishers while on your payroll is a nasty situation.

Anyway, these guys are talented and I'm excited to see what they have to offer. Shame their initial business plan went no where for so long.

 

[Kilrogg]

Designers are designers though, and those games we love, new or old, come from designers and teams. Some people are quite content to be given flexibility and freedom within the confines of an existing franchise or formula. As controlled as I think Retro are, I know from the Iwata Asks, as well as from an artist posting on GAF, that part of their design and development involved numerous members of the studio throwing ideas around. Everybody was adding little details to levels, adding personal touches, and stuff like that. That kind of creative freedom is great, and I do think Nintendo does allow it if they believe the studio is talented enough (look at what they allowed them to do with Metroid).

But, end of the day, designers still want to create something, especially lead designers. Lead designers are often people who have worked in the industry for a very long time, and have spent many years working on existing franchises with different degrees of creative freedom. I'm sure they valued this time greatly, but there is bound to be a point where they sit back and go "You know what? I've worked on all of these franchises for all of these years, now I kinda want to make the game I'm imagining. After all, the franchises I've worked on only exist because other people elsewhere were, at some point in time, given the freedom that I now crave".

And once that point is hit you can either persue that vision at your current studio, or you cant. If you really desire that freedom, and you really want to persue your vision, then there's really no other option other than to leave.

If people didn't have creative freedom to create something truly new we wouldn't have new franchises ever.

I fully agree with you, but I might have misphrased my opinion. All I'm saying is that my concern wouldn't be so much "I want to create something my own" (creativity for creativity's sake, if you will), but rather "we must take chances and create new content if we want to be successful". You could say to an extent that my concerns are business-oriented, in a way. In this case, for instance, I'm not questioning the quality of Nintendo's IPs, but the way they are handled (remakes, spin-offs, etc.) in some cases, and the fact that IP creation seems all too rare at Nintendo (although this generation was a bit better, what with Nintendogs, Brain Age, Wii Sports and Wii Fit).

 

[Cipherr]

I think it was time for them to leave, truth is next to noone in the industry, even most of the big names don't have the freedom to just up and do whatever the hell they have on their mind. I mean, maybe Miyamoto? I cant really think of anyone else.

There's just no substitute for running shit yourself. When you hit that point that you don't want to work within confines defined by someone else, start your own shit. I don't blame them or Nintendo for their split, just sad for them that it happened when the industry seems to be in a bit of a rough patch. Basically if your looking to be creating your own IP's from scratch I would think that a second party Nintendo studio would be the LAST place you should be working. The absolute last.


Retro clearly worked out fine in the end. The massive success of DKC almost makes me want to say better than before, but there's no way to know what the outcome would have been had those guys still been there so bleh.

 

[donny2112]

There's a pretty large cultural contrast between Nintendo and Western developers, which is why they've stated a few times they're not interested in working with or owning more Western studios.

(Old) RARE and Nintendo seemed to get along okay. However, RARE was sort of an independent arm. Their very successful track record and willingness to go along with Nintendo suggestions (e.g. Dinosaur Planet -> Star Fox Adventures) probably helped a great deal there. Unlikely to get that setup with another studio, though.

Edit:
Cipherr
Member

Did you used to go by another username? That picture is/was used by someone else, but their username is escaping me at the moment.

 

[legend166]

I completely understand the desire to want to have more creative freedom and work on your own ideas and projects.

Trying to stage a mass exodus of a company behind the backs of management is just childish stuff though, and those guys were deservedly sacked. They couldn't have gone about things in a worse way.

I'm very interested to see whatever is they're making though. They are clearly talented.

 

[Hero of Legend]

DKCR credits get!

http://www.mariowiki.com/Donkey_Kong_Country_Returns/Staff

Replacements:

Mark Pacini - Design director (lead designer on all three Prime games).
Todd Keller - Art director (lead artist on all three Prime games).
Jack Mathews - Principle technology engineer (you get the gist).

Senior Development Director

* Bryan Walker

Art Director

* Vince Joly

Engineering Director

* Tim Little (?)

Maybe, as I didn't see "Principle technology engineer" in there, or Design director, those are my best guesses, odd since MP3 also lists a Engineer Director who was Frank Lafuente.

 

[FindMyFarms]

For some reason I read that as "Amare Stoudemire working with capcom."

 

[Nirolak]

DKCR credits get!

http://www.mariowiki.com/Donkey_Kong_Country_Returns/Staff

Replacements:



Senior Development Director

* Bryan Walker

Art Director

* Vince Joly

Engineering Director

* Tim Little (?)

Maybe, as I didn't see "Principle technology engineer" in there, or Design director, those are my best guesses, odd since MP3 also lists a Engineer Director who was Frank Lafuente.

Actually, a Development Director is very different from a Design Director.

The Project Manager (PM), also called Development Director (DD) at EA, is a critical role and responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of a game, on time and within budget. Prior to production they carry out a detailed analysis of the game design and work out the project ‘milestones’ (specific targets that have to be met by certain dates), agreeing upon these with the key technical and creative managers, such as the Game Designer, Art Director and Lead Programmer. The PM/DD then works out a schedule for the project and decides the personnel and equipment needed.

Once development is underway, the DD monitors the team’s progress against the schedule. They must be able to prioritize when production deadlines are a concern, manage risks, and plan for contingencies. Finally, the PM / DD is responsible for all people management on the team and is tasked with motivating and developing all staff under their management including career development.

My guess would be that the actual Design Director at Retro now is a Nintendo employee in Japan.

Edit:

It seems that Tim Little is actually a replacement for Frank Lafuente, who went to work for Insomniac: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=3876479&pid=341003&authType=name&authToken=q1Yy&trk=pbmap

It looks like there was a fairly large exodus at Retro after Pacini got fired since I'm seeing a lot of recent leavings on linkedin with Retro experience.

They probably got replaced by people who fit with Apana's worldview instead, thus why we don't hear of any more leaving.

 

[Celine]

As said, take the Infinity Ward story and swap names.
They wanted to have more creative freedom which is not really possible due to the close supervision and strict guidelines from NCL. Retro was assigned to a Zelda spin-off, the three leads began talks with publishers in order to form their independent studio. For some reason, Nintendo got hold of these talks on April 18th, the day the studio's URL was registered, and the three leads were laid off/departed. Retro was kind of shattered or in limbo for a short time, but then NCL proposed a DKC sequel. And that's the story.

Well at least it end up with a happy ending

 

[Hero of Legend]

I grabbed the MobyGames profiles of most of the DKCR folks:

Retro Studios Staff Credits

Executive Producer

* Michael Kelbaugh

Senior Development Director

* Bryan Walker

Production Manager

* Ryan Harris

Production Coordination

* Shane Lewis

Design

Senior Design

* Kynan Pearson
* Mike Wikan
* Tom Ivey

Design

* Andy Schwalenberg
* Bill Vandervoort
* Brandon Salinas
* Jay Fuller
* Russell O'Henly

Contract Design

* Jonathan Delange
* Stephen Dupree (?)

Art & Animation

Art Director

* Vince Joly

Art Lead

* Ryan Powell

Principal Art

* Elben Schafers

Technical Art

* Chris Voellmann

Senior Art

* Chuck Crist
* Luis Ramirez

Art

* Amanda Rotella
* Jay Epperson (?)
* Matt Manchester
* Quinn Smith
* Sean Horton
* Ted Anderson (?)
* Teague Schultz
* Thomas Robins
* Russell Lingo (?)

Contract Art

* Mark Brady (?)
* Reed Ketcham (nada)
* Mike Witt (?)

Senior Animation

* Dax Pallotta
* Derek Bonikowski
* Will Bate

Animation

* Carlos Mendieta
* Raphael Perkins
* Stephen Zafros

Contract Animation

* Chris Torres (?)
* Nick McBride (nada)

Additional Thanks

* Danny Richardson
* Sammy Hall

Engineering

Engineering Director

* Tim Little (?)

Senior Engineering

* Aaron Walker
* Alex Quinones
* Jim Gage
* Mike Miller (any among these few)

Engineering

* Akintunde Omitowoju
* Andy Hanson
* Dan Higdon (?)
* Eric Rehmeyer
* Frank Maddin
* Jesse Spears
* John Sheblak (?)
* Jose Guerra (?)
* Rhys Lewis (Keyboard Tapper in Banjo-Kazooie)
* Ryan Cornelius

Audio

Audio Supervisor

* Scott Petersen

Contract Sound Design

* Bobby Arlauskas
* Frank Bry
* GL33k, LLC (Epic Mickey)

Contract Sound Scripting

* Monty Goulet (nada)

Operations

* Al Artus
* Ethan McDonald
* Faith Casper
* George Thomas
* Kellie Prinz Johnson

Translation & Administration

* Akiko Furukawa-Laban

Lots of Iquana folks seemingly, no surprise. I also spotted only ONE person who worked on a Rare game. :/

Many, MANY others only have Retro experience, according to MobyGames' records anyway.

 

[VVARIO]

I don't think this is thread worthy, so:
According to Todd Keller's LinkedIn profile, Armature has two projects: one for PSN and one for Vita. They also worked on the Halo Remake.

Todd Keller
Art Director/Visual Development
Location: Austin, Texas Area

Todd Keller's Overview
Current: Art Director/Visual Development, team member and partner at Armature Studio
Past: Art director at Retro Studios

Todd Keller's Summary
Various Arcade titles
World Driver Championshop--N64
Metroid Prime--Gamecube
Metroid Hunters--DS
Metroid Prime 2--Gamecube
Metroid Prime 3--Wii
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Playstation Vita Unannounced Project
PSN Unannounced Project

http://www.linkedin.com/in/toddekeller

 

[Traumnovelle]

interesting........

 

[Krev]

I don't think this is thread worthy, so:
According to Todd Keller's LinkedIn profile, Armature has two projects: one for PSN and one for Vita. They also worked on the Halo Remake.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/toddekeller

Very interesting. It would make sense if they've partnered with Sony. They seem like a much better home for these guys and their vision than Capcom.
Big coup for Vita to have the Metroid Prime director and other leads working on what sounds like an exclusive.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

If those people have left Retro Studios, how come the Studio is as fine as ever? Not very important staff?

Because NCL can polish a turd up to shine like gold. Going from Turok to Prime was no easy feat.

 

[StealthGoblin]

I don't think this is thread worthy, so:
According to Todd Keller's LinkedIn profile, Armature has two projects: one for PSN and one for Vita. They also worked on the Halo Remake.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/toddekeller

From that I gleam that the title will be a PSN-Vita cross compatible game, like Ruin is from Sony. Nice.

 

[SykoTech]

Sony does seem to offer more creative freedom than the others, so it makes sense. Seems like it could be a cross-play game.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

An interesting note is that Nintendo has continued to work with almost all their Japanese partners and almost none of their Western partners.

There's a pretty large cultural contrast between Nintendo and Western developers, which is why they've stated a few times they're not interested in working with or owning more Western studios.

I thought they recently said the opposite that they were looking further into finding 3rd party partners in particular in the west. They seem to be developing a close relationship with Next Level Games and Monster Games. Granted NST has basically been reduced down considerably from their former glory of doing Wave Race, 1080 Avalanche, and even MPH(granted it was pretty bad) to cancelled Project Hammer and DSiware applications.

It looks like there was a fairly large exodus at Retro after Pacini got fired since I'm seeing a lot of recent leavings on linkedin with Retro experience.

They probably got replaced by people who fit with Apana's worldview instead, thus why we don't hear of any more leaving.

Are there still original members of the staff left?

 

[Krev]

From that I gleam that the title will be a PSN-Vita cross compatible game, like Ruin is from Sony. Nice.

If that were the case, wouldn't it make more sense to list that as 'Playstation Vita/PSN unannounced project'?
Also, I think Ruin is going to be a full retail game on PS3, so if they're doing something similar it would make no sense to call that project 'PSN' instead of 'PS3' when it's going on a resumé.
I don't think Sony will want the same game to be released as a downloadable title on PS3 and a retail title on Vita, because it sends a message about the handheld games being worth less, and there'd likely be a huge price difference between the versions.
It really sounds to me that these are two different games. Keller is an art director, so maybe one only exists as a proposal at the moment while the other is currently in full development.

In any case, hopefully we'll hear something about this game (or these games) at GamesCon.

 

[robor]

This is FANTASTIC news. I was worried about their deal with EA (I'm ALWAYS worried when anything is related to EA) and that going with Capcom gives them that ideal ticket for "creative freedom", imho...

I've been following Armature for quite a while now and it's just oh so sweet to hear some news about their current status. Kudos to them.

Now, as for the creative freedom argument. My perspective is that, depending on your themes, environmental, character and story ideas, they can actually formulate interesting gameplay and mechanics pretty naturally in a game designer's mind. That's the beauty of the imagination. Sure they might be generic and imitate established staple concepts from other renowned dev studios. But, if you're creative enough, those ideas can naturally inspire new gameplay concepts and mechanics purely BASED on those aforementioned elements (which are more the tools and assets for creating interesting gameplay).

It works the other way too. You might have interesting mechanics and gameplay that can easily fit an established franchise ala Metroid Prime.

Still, I think these guys definitely have the creative integrity to have something that is ATLEAST interesting.

 

[maeda]

I am still kind of curious how bad their Zelda spin-off really was that it simply got cancelled. I mean Nintendo turned around the development of MP 1, which was a complete mess.

 

[Traumnovelle]

This is FANTASTIC news. I was worried about their deal with EA (I'm ALWAYS worried when anything is related to EA) and that going with Capcom gives them that ideal ticket for "creative freedom", imho...

I've been following Armature for quite a while now and it's just oh so sweet to hear some news about their current status. Kudos to them.

Now, as for the creative freedom argument. My perspective is that, depending on your themes, environmental, character and story ideas, they can actually formulate interesting gameplay and mechanics pretty naturally in a game designer's mind. That's the beauty of the imagination. Sure they might be generic and imitate established staple concepts from other renowned dev studios. But, if you're creative enough, those ideas can naturally inspire new gameplay concepts and mechanics purely BASED on those aforementioned elements (which are more the tools and assets for creating interesting gameplay).

It works the other way too. You might have interesting mechanics and gameplay that can easily fit an established franchise ala Metroid Prime.

Still, I think these guys definitely have the creative integrity to have something that is ATLEAST interesting.

It seems like they're working with Sony (the Capcom deal probably fell through like EA). Anyway it's kind of odd that you think Capcom would have given them the "ideal ticket for creative freedom" instead of EA, as EA has generally been good (more in funding than marketing) of new and risky ip's through it's EA partners label, whereas Capcom seems more focused on its existing brands (hence its recent history of farming old ips to western developers) and thus you had so many of its core people leave to create new studios like Platinum, Tango and Comcept.

Anyway Sony seems like a win-win as they have been good with new ips and indie developers in the psn/vita front.

 

[apana]

So are they now Sony first party or Capcom is making a Sony exclusive game?

Very interesting. It would make sense if they've partnered with Sony. They seem like a much better home for these guys and their vision than Capcom.
Big coup for Vita to have the Metroid Prime director and other leads working on what sounds like an exclusive.

Not really, I mean people move around all the time. A couple of the metroid prime guys work for Sony Santa Monica.

 

[maeda]

Anyway Sony seems like a win-win as they have been good with new ips and indie developers in the psn/vita front.

Too bad they suck at pushing their games.

 

[robor]

It seems like they're working with Sony (the Capcom deal probably fell through like EA). Anyway it's kind of odd that you think Capcom would have given them the "ideal ticket for creative freedom" instead of EA, as EA has generally been good (more in funding than marketing) of new and risky ip's through it's EA partners label, whereas Capcom seems more focused on its existing brands (hence its recent history of farming old ips to western developers) and thus you had so many of its core people leave to create new studios like Platinum, Tango and Comcept.

Anyway Sony seems like a win-win as they have been good with new ips and indie developers in the psn/vita front.

Sony!? That's even better!

Maybe I've got it all wrong but I've heard some pretty bad shit has gone down with certain designers over at EA.

 

[Krev]

This is FANTASTIC news. I was worried about their deal with EA (I'm ALWAYS worried when anything is related to EA) and that going with Capcom gives them that ideal ticket for "creative freedom", imho...

I've been following Armature for quite a while now and it's just oh so sweet to hear some news about their current status. Kudos to them.

Now, as for the creative freedom argument. My perspective is that, depending on your themes, environmental, character and story ideas, they can actually formulate interesting gameplay and mechanics pretty naturally in a game designer's mind. That's the beauty of the imagination. Sure they might be generic and imitate established staple concepts from other renowned dev studios. But, if you're creative enough, those ideas can naturally inspire new gameplay concepts and mechanics purely BASED on those aforementioned elements (which are more the tools and assets for creating interesting gameplay).

It works the other way too. You might have interesting mechanics and gameplay that can easily fit an established franchise ala Metroid Prime.

Still, I think these guys definitely have the creative integrity to have something that is ATLEAST interesting.

While all of that is true, I don't blame these guys for wanting to work on the games they want to make. Directors and writers can hypothetically devise all sorts of creative approaches to narrative and aesthetics when working on sequels to other people's fims, but they understandably would rather work on something they have more ownership over, even if only to make a greater creative statement. I'm sure the same is true here. The other issue is that working on a new IP means greater freedom from the shackles of expectation.

 

[Krev]

Not really, I mean people move around all the time. A couple of the metroid prime guys work for Sony Santa Monica.

I would say any new game from the director, art director and lead programmer of the Metroid Prime series is a very big deal, and a very big coup for the platform holder if it's exclusive.
Also, how often does a designer as significant as Mark Pacini walk away from a comfortable position where they have achieved great success?

 

[maeda]

Also, how often does a designer as significant as Mark Pacini walk away from a comfortable position where they have achieved great success?

Let's not get carried away. Are you suggesting that Pacini is a persona of Mikami or Kamiya's pedigree? If anything these guys have a lot to prove, because they haven't done anything without Nintendo overseeing their projects. To see what kind of difference Nintendo's influence makes on the games you don't have to go too far, just look at NLG's for Nintendo and for other publishers.

 

[robor]

While all of that is true, I don't blame these guys for wanting to work on the games they want to make. Directors and writers can hypothetically devise all sorts of creative approaches to narrative and aesthetics when working on sequels to other people's fims, but they understandably would rather work on something they have more ownership over, even if only to make a greater creative statement. I'm sure the same is true here. The other issue is that working on a new IP means greater freedom from the shackles of expectation.

A fine point that I completely agree with. It's these words you say that excites me about this small studio's potential output.

 

[JordanLMiller]

It's been a ridiculously long time since we first heard about them becoming a new studio and yet still no games have surfaced. I really hope having "creative freedom" was worth it.

 

[Boerseun]

These guys were willing to lead co-workers at Retro into an unpaid, uncertain future just so they could satisfy their own personal little vendettas against Nintendo. Regardless of their obvious talent, if I was a producer working for a big publisher, I would be very careful about signing them to work on my game.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if they actually had much less creative freedom now that they are a small team and living hand to mouth (figuratively speaking), than when they were working on high profile titles under Nintendo.

 

[cuyahoga]

They basically stayed afloat by doing uncredited contract work for multiple games after Capcom/EA fell through, and even then it seems they were on the brink of closure (a bunch of layoffs in April, according to LinkedIn). They're sitting on a treasure trove of IP from their incubatory period with EA.

Sony deal must be fairly recent, like May or so.

 

[Shiggy]

The Capcom deal might've fell through earlier this year...did anything happen during that time at Capcom?

Armature seems to focus on downloadable titles now.


The Halo work is not what they actually had in mind when they founded that studio...

They basically stayed afloat by doing uncredited contract work for multiple games after Capcom/EA fell through, and even then it seems they were on the brink of closure (a bunch of layoffs in April, according to LinkedIn). They're sitting on a treasure trove of IP from their incubatory period with EA.

Sony deal must be fairly recent, like May or so.

Do you know what they did for those publishers?

 

[V_Ben]

They basically stayed afloat by doing uncredited contract work for multiple games after Capcom/EA fell through, and even then it seems they were on the brink of closure (a bunch of layoffs in April, according to LinkedIn). They're sitting on a treasure trove of IP from their incubatory period with EA.

Sony deal must be fairly recent, like May or so.

Their Capcom stuff fell through too? Man, they can't catch a break.

 

[robor]

Armature seems to focus on downloadable titles now.

For real? So I'm assuming PSN games then...

 

[cuyahoga]

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if they actually had much less creative freedom now that they are a small team and living hand to mouth (figuratively speaking), than when they were working on high profile titles under Nintendo.

From what I've heard, Nintendo is perhaps the worst partner out there when it comes to creative freedom for Western studios. So I'm going to guess they had a lot more leeway outside of Nintendo.

Do you know what they did for those publishers?

EA/Capcom? Develop IP and make a game, respectively.

 

[Shiggy]

From what I've heard, Nintendo is perhaps the worst partner out there when it comes to creative freedom for Western studios. So I'm going to guess they had a lot more leeway outside of Nintendo.

You should've said "absolutely worst partner"

EA/Capcom? Develop IP and make a game, respectively.

Any details? I heard they looked like a typical Western sci-fi game with a futuristic setting.

 

[StealthGoblin]

Sony seem to be working with a lot of 3rd party teams at present. If they start pumping out 2nd party games as quickly as they pump out 1st party games. . .crikey. Vita should do really well out of this. Getting these guys to work on PlayStation exclusives is quite a win.

 

[V_Ben]

Sony seem to be working with a lot of 3rd party teams at present. If they start pumping out 2nd party games as quickly as they pump out 1st party games. . .crikey. Vita should do really well out of this. Getting these guys to work on PlayStation exclusives is quite a win.

Yeah, they really seem to have gotten a whole load more developers making games for their platforms, by hook or by crook. It's good to see, and I wonder who's been leading this charge. Yoshida? Morgan Haro, who they got when Hudson went under? Either way, it's great.

 

[StealthGoblin]

Yeah, they really seem to have gotten a whole load more developers making games for their platforms, by hook or by crook. It's good to see, and I wonder who's been leading this charge. Yoshida? Morgan Haro, who they got when Hudson went under? Either way, it's great.

I would imagine its Yoshida. He wants to make PlayStation more inclusive, and if we judge him on the line-up he's got sorted for Vita so far, he has things in order. Seems like a pretty wide net he has cast.

SCEJ have Level-5, Media Vision, Clap Hanz and Q games working on exclusives for them (stretching across PS3, Vita and PSN).

SCEA have Sucker Punch, Insomniac, LightBox Interactive, Eat.Sleep.Play, United Front Games, Sanzaru Games, ThatGameCompany, BluePoint games, Nihilistic Software, The Workshop, Zindagi Games, Slant Six, Ready at Dawn etc.

SCEE have Quantic Dream, Novarama, DONTNOD Entertainment, Tarsier Studios, Supermassive Games, Double11 etc (as well as some unannounced partnerships in Poland, Sweden, The Netherlands and France.

I've missed a load out too. Thats a lot of teams supplementing Sony's first party offerings.

 

[Shiggy]

We have new contract and full-time openings. Please click Jobs on the left for a list of open positions.

Full-Time:

Producer
Character Modeler
Animator

Full-Time or Contract:

Systems Engineer
Systems Engineer (2)

Contract:

Character Concept Artist

Probably for their PSN & Vita project.

 

[Effect]

I wonder if they regret the events that led up to them being fired by Nintendo. Sure freedom is great but a steady source of income without the dread of not knowing if you'll be in business next month would be even better I think.

 

[ScionOfTheRisingSun]

I'd offer my first borne to the gaming gods in a sacrificial pyre if only they'd grant me a barrage of humiliating abysmal failures stemming from Japanese westernization efforts of such q magnitude that the entire region is scared straight and unanimously swears off the practice forever.

We are talking falling on their faces so hard that twenty years from now if any of the younger staff in a studio brings up the idea of perhaps overseas outsourcing a small insignificant project the senior staff will slap him across the face, reprimand him in front of the whole company and whisper, remember what happened twenty years ago.

 

[wrowa]

I wonder why all of their deals fell through. There definitely must have been rather strong interest if they had deals with EA and Capcom... Has anything surfaced about the quality of their prototypes? Maybe they aren't living up to the expectations?

 

[scitek]

What were they working on while at Retro that got them in trouble? Or were they just talking to EA while employed by Nintendo and that's what got them in trouble?

 

[Nirolak]

What were they working on while at Retro that got them in trouble? Or were they just talking to EA while employed by Nintendo and that's what got them in trouble?

To my understanding, they were making a first person Sheik game that got canceled, felt they didn't have enough creative freedom, and decided to hit the door.

They just didn't leave immediately, and Nintendo noticed that they were actively looking for new jobs, so they had security escort them out of the building.

Only a handful of people were escorted out, but basically everyone who was still at the company from when Metroid Prime shipped left shortly after that event, with a few holding out until after Donkey Kong.

 

[StuBurns]

I didn't know it was that many people, wow.

 

[Shiggy]

To my understanding, they were making a first person Sheik game that got canceled, so they decided to hit the door.

We will never know whether the game was cancelled and then they left or whether they cancelled the game because they left.

And concerning those credits, didn't most already leave after MP1?