Jubenhimer
Member
Metroid Prime is one of the greatest games ever created. Released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002, Prime successfuly translated Nintendo's Metroid franchise into the 3D first person space and the atmosphere and art direction made it one of the greatest games on the Purple square. But as we know, the story of its development was rooted in management chaos, development hell... And spite.
We all know Retro Studios, the Texas based Nintendo subsidiary that developed the Metroid Prime series. But it's origins go way beyond just Metroid Prime. In the late 90s, Jeff Spanganberg, after being laid off from Iguana Entertainment (the developers of the Turok series), struck a deal with Nintendo to form a new second party studio named Retro Studios. Retro's marching orders were simple, create edgy, western market oriented games for Nintendo's next home console, the Nintendo GameCube.
Retro immediately got to work on four projects, An action RPG titled Raven Blade, a Football game, a Car combat game ala Twisted Metal, and an engine for a first person game that could be used for something.
As we all know things turned rocky pretty quickly, all four projects were languishing in development hell, and Jeff Spanganberg's constant absence and shady side hustles started to annoy Nintendo, including the highest levels of the company in Kyoto. Up to this point Retro Studios had been under the jurisdiction of Nintendo of America, which was a problem because NOA development execs didn't make games, they only understood game development in vibes and marketing demographics. The whole reason NOA signed Retro was to give the GameCube a "cool western edge" for the young adult audience. But when Nintendo Co., Ltd. In Japan noticed that NOA spent money on starting an ambitious second party in Texas, and has nothing to show for it.
So NCL decided to fly reps from the department that actually makes their best games, Nintendo EAD, led by Shigeru Miyamoto, out to Austin to see what's actually going on over there. Once Miyamoto and his crew arrived at Retro Studios, the results were a bloodbath. EAD hated every project Retro was making, and how they were making them, with none of the major titles coming together at all.
But Miyamoto did see one project he did like, that first person engine Retro devs were making. So Nintendo EAD made the ruthless call, cancel every other project, and turn that first person engine, into a Metroid game.
At first this seems confusing. Nintendo EAD didn't make Metroid, that was Nintendo R&D1's franchise. Miyamoto didn't care about Metroid, didn't know anything about Metroid, didn't even like Metroid. Even Retro Studios staff was like "Bro, don't you hate Metroid?". So it does seem perplexing that Miyamoto would request a new game in a franchise he actually kind of hates... It makes no sense, unless you understand how Nintendo was run back then and who was in charge, then it starts to make perfect sense.
During most of Prime's development, Nintendo was still under the rule of the Infamous Hiroshi Yamauchi, and one of Yamauchi's leadership policies was to pit all of Nintendo's product development departments against each other in order to force them to make the best products, according to former Nintendo developer, Motoi Okamoto. When Miyamoto asked R&D1's Yoshio Sakamoto why they haven't made a Metroid game for Nintendo 64, Sakamoto said that the team didn't know how to translate the series into 3D, especially with the N64's weird ass controller.
Besides, Nintendo R&D1 was already struggling with the one N64 project they did have in development, Sin & Punishment, which they were working on with Treasure. So Miyamoto's decision to give Retro the Metroid franchise was more than likely born out of pure selfishness, his logic being "If we hire this small team in Texas to make Metroid for us, then Yamauchi-san will let EAD keep the franchise!"
In other words, Nintendo EAD put a small, unproven and poorly managed studio in Texas in charge of a 3D Metroid... Just to spite Nintendo R&D1. EAD was basically telling them "If you guys aren't going to make a 3D Metroid, then we will".
So Retro Studios opted to go all in on Metroid Prime with Nintendo EAD taking over production from Nintendo of America, and of course, the game turned out to be a critical and commercial success.
EAD's ambitions of a hostile takeover for Metroid were moot though, as by the time Metroid Prime released, Hiroshi Yamauchi resigned as Nintendo president, replaced by the late Satoru Iwata. Iwata was move away from Yamauchi's toxic warring tribes culture, restructuring Nintendo's Game development operations into a newly restructured EAD, and the new Software Planning & Development division (SPD) in 2004. Production of the Metroid Prime series was given to SPD Production Group No. 3, led by Kensuke Tanabe, who would oversee all future titles, as well as other western developed Nintendo games.
We all know Retro Studios, the Texas based Nintendo subsidiary that developed the Metroid Prime series. But it's origins go way beyond just Metroid Prime. In the late 90s, Jeff Spanganberg, after being laid off from Iguana Entertainment (the developers of the Turok series), struck a deal with Nintendo to form a new second party studio named Retro Studios. Retro's marching orders were simple, create edgy, western market oriented games for Nintendo's next home console, the Nintendo GameCube.
Retro immediately got to work on four projects, An action RPG titled Raven Blade, a Football game, a Car combat game ala Twisted Metal, and an engine for a first person game that could be used for something.
As we all know things turned rocky pretty quickly, all four projects were languishing in development hell, and Jeff Spanganberg's constant absence and shady side hustles started to annoy Nintendo, including the highest levels of the company in Kyoto. Up to this point Retro Studios had been under the jurisdiction of Nintendo of America, which was a problem because NOA development execs didn't make games, they only understood game development in vibes and marketing demographics. The whole reason NOA signed Retro was to give the GameCube a "cool western edge" for the young adult audience. But when Nintendo Co., Ltd. In Japan noticed that NOA spent money on starting an ambitious second party in Texas, and has nothing to show for it.
So NCL decided to fly reps from the department that actually makes their best games, Nintendo EAD, led by Shigeru Miyamoto, out to Austin to see what's actually going on over there. Once Miyamoto and his crew arrived at Retro Studios, the results were a bloodbath. EAD hated every project Retro was making, and how they were making them, with none of the major titles coming together at all.
But Miyamoto did see one project he did like, that first person engine Retro devs were making. So Nintendo EAD made the ruthless call, cancel every other project, and turn that first person engine, into a Metroid game.
At first this seems confusing. Nintendo EAD didn't make Metroid, that was Nintendo R&D1's franchise. Miyamoto didn't care about Metroid, didn't know anything about Metroid, didn't even like Metroid. Even Retro Studios staff was like "Bro, don't you hate Metroid?". So it does seem perplexing that Miyamoto would request a new game in a franchise he actually kind of hates... It makes no sense, unless you understand how Nintendo was run back then and who was in charge, then it starts to make perfect sense.
During most of Prime's development, Nintendo was still under the rule of the Infamous Hiroshi Yamauchi, and one of Yamauchi's leadership policies was to pit all of Nintendo's product development departments against each other in order to force them to make the best products, according to former Nintendo developer, Motoi Okamoto. When Miyamoto asked R&D1's Yoshio Sakamoto why they haven't made a Metroid game for Nintendo 64, Sakamoto said that the team didn't know how to translate the series into 3D, especially with the N64's weird ass controller.
Besides, Nintendo R&D1 was already struggling with the one N64 project they did have in development, Sin & Punishment, which they were working on with Treasure. So Miyamoto's decision to give Retro the Metroid franchise was more than likely born out of pure selfishness, his logic being "If we hire this small team in Texas to make Metroid for us, then Yamauchi-san will let EAD keep the franchise!"
In other words, Nintendo EAD put a small, unproven and poorly managed studio in Texas in charge of a 3D Metroid... Just to spite Nintendo R&D1. EAD was basically telling them "If you guys aren't going to make a 3D Metroid, then we will".
So Retro Studios opted to go all in on Metroid Prime with Nintendo EAD taking over production from Nintendo of America, and of course, the game turned out to be a critical and commercial success.
EAD's ambitions of a hostile takeover for Metroid were moot though, as by the time Metroid Prime released, Hiroshi Yamauchi resigned as Nintendo president, replaced by the late Satoru Iwata. Iwata was move away from Yamauchi's toxic warring tribes culture, restructuring Nintendo's Game development operations into a newly restructured EAD, and the new Software Planning & Development division (SPD) in 2004. Production of the Metroid Prime series was given to SPD Production Group No. 3, led by Kensuke Tanabe, who would oversee all future titles, as well as other western developed Nintendo games.
