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MMV undergoes massive restructuring

Jonnyram said:
I'm not even sure what they've published recently. Nier being published by Square Enix was pretty telling.

MMV, not surprising. They were simply too bold. "Hey let's make loads of new IP with ridiculous budgets." They should have started off with way smaller projects.
Also, I love XSEED (and I hate ignition to death) but let's just say they were kind of unlucky with whom they chose to publish them, XSEED was of course mighty fine, but their advertising/establishment with communities and distribution is poor, and Ignition just plainly sucks.

My point? Atlus could have made the difference, as a publisher (and on the translations as well... damn you ignition)

They were unlucky, really.
trinest said:
Nintendo should just buy the remains of MMV and Cing.
Well, truth to be told, on cing's case nintendo could just offer them to start up a new studio for them, instead of "buying" them and clearing their depth.

Brownie Brown was made of Square Seiken Densetsu team dissidents after all, skip was made out of ex-love-de-lic employee's... AlphaDream was made out of square's mario rpg team dissidents... none of them were actually purchased (and lots of Rareware employee's made it over to other Nintendo studios, including Retro Studios)

Same happens elsewhere, with teams like feelplus being what's left of nautilus and stuff.

From a business standpoint CING is worth nothing, their good games were published (and overssen) by Nintendo anyway (counting little king story co-development aside) so they aren't really known to the consumer, but with that said I think their talent was the real deal and they should be saved as a working team, perhaps not through purchase but saved nonetheless.
 

tim.mbp

Member
lostinblue said:
My point? Atlus could have made the difference, as a publisher (and on the translations as well... damn you ignition)

Atlus did publish some MMV games. Including one of my favorites, Contact. Don't think it helped sales.
 
lostinblue said:
Also, I love XSEED (and I hate ignition to death) but let's just say they were kind of unlucky with whom they chose to publish them, XSEED was of course mighty fine, but their advertising/establishment with communities and distribution is poor, and Ignition just plainly sucks.

My point? Atlus could have made the difference, as a publisher (and on the translations as well... damn you ignition)

They were unlucky, really.Well, truth to be told, on cing's case nintendo could just offer them to start up a new studio for them, instead of "buying" them and clearing their depth.

Brownie Brown was made of Square Seiken Densetsu team dissidents after all, skip was made out of ex-love-de-lic employee's... AlphaDream was made out of square's mario rpg team dissidents... none of them were actually purchased (and lots of Rareware employee's made it over to other Nintendo studios, including Retro Studios)

Same happens elsewhere, with teams like feelplus being what's left of nautilus and stuff.

From a business standpoint CING is worth nothing, their good games were published (and overssen) by Nintendo anyway (counting little king story co-development aside) so they aren't really known to the consumer, but with that said I think their talent was the real deal and they should be saved as a working team, perhaps not through purchase but saved nonetheless.

I've HEARD this but I thought I imagined it, source?

And what other Nintendo teams are Rare folks at?
 
Hero of Legend said:
I've HEARD this but I thought I imagined it, source?

And what other Nintendo teams are Rare folks at?
Can't really point it out, I know I've read it as fact in articles (IGN?) but tried to trace it now with no success.

Nintendo EAD japan still has some of them I think, one of them notably helped out on the Gamecube hardware/tools iirc.

But they're not a "team" per see, we're talking about dispersed members I guess.
tim.mbp said:
Atlus did publish some MMV games. Including one of my favorites, Contact. Don't think it helped sales.
That was always a obscure title no matter how you see it, and on a platform that is crowded (therefore saturated) with RPG's too.

I was talking about games like Muramasa, Arc Rise Fantasia and Little King Story. I feel Atlus could have made a difference (although Arc Rise Fantasia hasn't launched yet, but it's in the hands of those Ignition dorks, it'll have no publicity, it's localization will utterly suck and it will bomb)
 

TunaLover

Member
That´s unfortunate, at least I did my part with Rune Factory Frontier, NMH, Muramasa, and LKS. =(

I guess the two unnaounced Wii titles are HM games =/

Nintendo could give them a hand though, there much talent to go throw the drain like that.
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
lostinblue said:
But they're not a "team" per see, we're talking about dispersed members I guess.That was always a obscure title no matter how you see it, and on a platform that is crowded (therefore saturated) with RPG's too.

I was talking about games like Muramasa, Arc Rise Fantasia and Little King Story. I feel Atlus could have made a difference (although Arc Rise Fantasia hasn't launched yet, but it's in the hands of those Ignition dorks, it'll have no publicity, it's localization will utterly suck and it will bomb)

Didnt Contact come out when there were almost no RPGs on the system? Like pre FFIII?
 
Yeah Contact was super early before the JRPG boom. I remember trading in my DS Lite(when Contact was out) and then months later FFIII came out and then bam.
 

Ridley327

Member
Dascu said:
Damn. I did my part, I bought most of their Wii games. Hope this doesn't have any negative impact on developers that worked with MMV, especially Grasshopper Manufacture.

I can't imagine that Grasshopper will be affected by this much, outside of some uncertainty as to how the NMH IP will be used from here on out. They have tons of contacts in the industry and have already graduated to being in the limelight, thanks to the EA game they're working on.
 
HK-47 said:
Didnt Contact come out when there were almost no RPGs on the system? Like pre FFIII?
Indeed, first wave of RPG's definetly.

But no matter how you look at it, it looks niche and there were already other titles on the horizon. Marvelous has recent games that are definetly not niche in the RPG range, unlike contact.

They were just unlucky.
 
This thread just makes me want to replay my small number of MMV games and appreciate them further for the niche they represented in the market.
 
Okay I need to find sources for a lot of this: but just want to correct some misinformation in this thread while I go looking for them



said:
I'm guessing that's why they ultimately ended up getting NMH1 ported to the 360 and PS3

That didn't turn out so well.!

- They actually said that NMH x-box360/ps3 Performed to expections.

duckroll said:
When a Japanese company spokesman makes a statement like "We don't want to die just yet" while giving a briefing on the company's future business direction, I think words like "dog shit" are perfectly suited!

The we don't want to die yet is not regarding this matter it was made more then a year ago and (became a rather famous quote)http://prg.mmv.co.jp/blog/project-o/archives/2009/06/post-89.html as an appeal to try and get people to purchase the game.


Tiktaalik said:
Do we have a list of games they did well on vs games they did poorly on? I'm curious if we can guess at how they'll scale back.

Yeah, basically every single one of thier new ips, If it's not a Monster hunter rip-off or game aimed at children new ips just can't seem to catch a break.


____

More fun Japanese News: Success is basically dead, they just making free to play browser games now http://www.success-corp.co.jp/?page/schedule/ (Izuna, rondo of swords, touch detective
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Ugh, geez. Do what you have to do to save the company but that's just rather unfortunate. I hope they did well with the US release of Deadly Premonition anyway.
 

ixix

Exists in a perpetual state of Quantum Crotch Uncertainty.
FINALFANTASYDOG said:
More fun Japanese News: Success is basically dead, they just making free to play browser games now http://www.success-corp.co.jp/?page/schedule/ (Izuna, rondo of swords, touch detective

Looks like Atlus USA is going to have to get creative when it comes to filling gaps in their release schedule.

Edit: They made a Metal Saga browser game?

metalsagabrowser.jpg


And it has land sharks?

This doesn't seem like very bad news at all.
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
So to make things a bit more positive, what other niche devs are doing well/fine/stable?

From what I know Atlus is doing well. Not sure about NIS/Compile Heart/Idea Factory/Gust (guessing Gust is doing fine).
 
Out of curiosity, what happens to their IP if the company goes under and no one buys them? Will the developers get the chance to get them back? I don't want No More Heroes and Deadly Premonition to go away forever. :(

ULTROS! said:
From what I know Atlus is doing well. Not sure about NIS/Compile Heart/Idea Factory/Gust (guessing Gust is doing fine).
Didn't NIS report a 97% profit drop last year?
 

JJConrad

Sucks at viral marketing
I'm pretty sure all of the MMV information is just a reiteration of things they've already announced from earlier this year. Things aren't quite as bad as it would seem and we won't see a drastic new change. Their president has openly been discussing how the company has been too ambitious and has been stating that they don't have to the resources/muscle to successfully publish their new IP's for about a year now. I hope this restructure works out.

I'm not sure if that "no new IP" comment should be interpreted as meaning that they will only focus on established brands, so much as they will be working on building up their existing IPs. I think they way they've been moving from one new IP to another until something takes off is a bad idea and that they should focus on what they already have. LKS and NMH certainly have the potential to be built into a bigger brand than they currently are.


I'd personally like to see them move away from Xseed and Atlus and make some deals with some bigger publisher that will actually put effort into the releases (read as, "not Ubisoft").
 

Pein

Banned
faridmon said:
ffs Japan, first you just ruined the Anime industry with your bloody Moe and lollicon focused shows, now you can't even manage your companies well enough to be in the business.
.
yeah, its their fault they mostly have to make moe shows these days.
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
Sigh, more depressing news in video game land... it's only gonna get worse from here on out, I feel :(

Bought LKS and really enjoyed what I've played... also plan on buying Arc Rise when it comes out here. This gen has been REALLY bad for niche devs :(
 

Durante

Member
ULTROS! said:
From what I know Atlus is doing well. Not sure about NIS/Compile Heart/Idea Factory/Gust (guessing Gust is doing fine).
I really admire what Gust did this gen. In terms of business I mean, I already loved their games' novel battle systems, amazing music and detailed characters on PS2.

They took Sony's free engine (and maybe even support ?) and made one of the earliest JRPGs on PS3 with Atelier Rorona - selling more than any of their Atelier or related titles (on vastly more successful hardware platforms) since 2004.

Then they took their expertise with the engine and made another PS3 JRPG, Ar Tonelico 3, which went on to become the best selling entry in that series -- despite being released on the same day as two other JRPGs IIRC. Ar Tonelico is the only JRPG series I can think of with an increase in sales with each installment, even going from PS2 to PS3.

And now they're soon going to release the Rorona sequel, and I think it will do well.

Basically, by taking early advantage of free third party tools (PhyreEngine), they managed to greatly increase the presentation quality of their output while bypassing most of the associated expenses. Even better, it allowed them to release relatively early, and with each title they are able to reap the benefits of SCEI's worldwide effort to improve their tech -- without paying a cent (or rather yen).

I always felt like Japanese developers could benefit greatly from embracing third party tools like western devs do, and wondered what was holding them back (eg. language or cultural - development culture I mean - barriers). I think with their smart choice at the onset of this gen Gust proved this feeling right. It's not surprising to see more of these small developers starting to use PhyreEngine, and rumours of even more (eg. Disgaea 4).

Sorry for the rant, I just love to see it when technology allows people to work smarter and create more efficiently.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
ULTROS! said:
So to make things a bit more positive, what other niche devs are doing well/fine/stable?

From what I know Atlus is doing well. Not sure about NIS/Compile Heart/Idea Factory/Gust (guessing Gust is doing fine).
Unfortunately NIS is in pretty horrible shape.

First they had a 97% profit dip which later turned into some pretty bad losses.

Their outlook ended up being so bad that their president had to resign.
 

Celine

Member
ULTROS! said:
So to make things a bit more positive, what other niche devs are doing well/fine/stable?

From what I know Atlus is doing well. Not sure about NIS/Compile Heart/Idea Factory/Gust (guessing Gust is doing fine).
Not niche but Level-5 explosion this generation is amazing.
Sure their past JRPG for Sony are quite know and developing Dragon Quest gave them great exposure but on DS they've been able to create ( self financing thus becoming a publisher ) brand new IPs that eventually have sold 1 million units in Japan alone.
Also Layton is really popular in Europe ( even more tha in Japan ) and Inazuma have a shot to meet the same success in the old continent ( if it will be ever released ).
 

faridmon

Member
Pein said:
yeah, its their fault they mostly have to make moe shows these days.
I don't want to get into Anime debate, but the could have captlise the really good sales of older hit Anime Like FMA, Evanglion, Coowboy Bepop and other great Animes that had a great sales in the start of 00s. they failed to that. now they have to rely in Moe crap for them to sell a product.
Celine said:
It isn't anymore.
They should have already sold their stakes to Bergsala ( the sweden company that co founded RSG with MMV ) and another ( japanese ? ) company.

EDIT:
Beaten.


No, they are alive for now, just not owned by MMV anymore.
well, at least there are one good news in a sea of bad news. Cheers mate.
 

jesusraz

Member
wrowa said:
The reason for the success was simple, though: Havest Moon DS was published by RSG, but the distribution and marketing was handled by Nintendo. The second one was published by RSG alone and they were unable to gather the attention of the casuals. I remember seeing a crazy amount of unsold copies at many stores...
That's completely wrong. Nintendo has handled ALL Harvest Moon games since the first HMDS. RSG is in fact working to get out of that deal in an effort to help promote the series properly.

When it comes to Rune Factory RSG completely dropped the ball, though. Europe got Frontier a year after the US and RF2 still isn't released here. Rising Star successfully killed any potential of the series in Europe with simply don't bothering with them.
RFF has done moderately well here in the UK so far, and across the rest of Europe.

EDIT: Oh, and by the way, RSG is doing well for itself. The severed link with MMV has led to it being able to pick up new games it wasn't allowed to touch previously. Also, there are tentative plans to open a US branch at some point.
 
jesusraz said:
That's completely wrong. Nintendo has handled ALL Harvest Moon games since the first HMDS. RSG is in fact working to get out of that deal in an effort to help promote the series properly.


RFF has done moderately well here in the UK so far, and across the rest of Europe.

EDIT: Oh, and by the way, RSG is doing well for itself. The severed link with MMV has led to it being able to pick up new games it wasn't allowed to touch previously. Also, there are tentative plans to open a US branch at some point.

:O

Hope this eventual branch can be "MMV USA" as it was meant to be; no more crappy Ignition-localized MMV games?

Oh the possibilities.
 

jesusraz

Member
Hero of Legend said:
:O

Hope this eventual branch can be "MMV USA" as it was meant to be; no more crappy Ignition-localized MMV games?

Oh the possibilities.
Don't even know if it's definitely going to happen. It's only 'whispers on the wind'...so nobody go quoting it elsewhere, okay ;P
 

GhaleonQ

Member
Marvelous will not release 3DS software during the current fiscal year (ie; until after March 2011).

While the company will not be publishing any new I.P. during the current fiscal year, MMV confirmed they will reveal an original title for new hardware, during the next fiscal term. This “new hardware” likely isn’t the 3DS, as the device was mentioned by name several times during the Q&A.

http://www.siliconera.com/2010/06/27/marvelous-to-reveal-new-i-p-next-fiscal-year
 
GhaleonQ said:
Marvelous will not release 3DS software during the current fiscal year (ie; until after March 2011).

While the company will not be publishing any new I.P. during the current fiscal year, MMV confirmed they will reveal an original title for new hardware, during the next fiscal term. This “new hardware” likely isn’t the 3DS, as the device was mentioned by name several times during the Q&A.

http://www.siliconera.com/2010/06/27/marvelous-to-reveal-new-i-p-next-fiscal-year

!?

That could mean mobile phones, or a possibility of Wii 2 or PSP2....
 

stuminus3

Member
Why would anyone expect Nintendo do to anything for Cing? They didn't even bother to release games that Cing already made for them.

/bitter
 
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