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[JB2448]

A small aside: I have a friend who works at a high school in Japan and he overheard some students talking about LM2 when it came out. He mentioned to them that it was a NA game not a Japanese game and they straight up refused to believe him.

That doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

I was thinking more Metroid or StarFox, but that could be cool as well

And yeah, what do they consider a "better IP" than Luigi's Mansion? Oh man, if it's anything near Metroid, Star Fox, or F-Zero consider me hyped. Consider me very, very hyped. Of course, even if it isn't, I'll be buying their next game. The fun I've had with Punch-Out!! and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is still very fresh in my mind.

 

[zeldablue]

A port? No thanks. New game please.

...

Well is there a way to play 3DS games on the TV? D:

 

[w1gglyjones]

...

Well is there a way to play 3DS games on the TV? D:

You got me

I bet they just need to release one wii u game before people stop hyping retro studios as Nintendo's western savior

 

[JoeM86]

...

Well is there a way to play 3DS games on the TV? D:

Not an official one, but I can do it through some PC trickery

 

[HUELEN10]

To those asking for Strikers 3: Don't. There is an injustice that must be corrected before we get a 3rd helping. Seriously, volleyball and wrestling? It needs to happen.

As for the article, I am glad that they like their relationship with Nintendo. Didn't know they had 70 people though. Nintendo should just buy them out at this point and rename them Nintendo Vancouver Studio.

 

[Zalman]

I'm torn. I don't really want a new Strikers, but I would love to see this in HD.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

Punch-Out!! and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon were both fantastic uses of Nintendo IPs. This is the sort of Western partnership Nintendo needs to help fill software gaps, and if Next Level keeps pumping out games of a similar caliber I'll be eager to see what their next project is. They've obviously got heart.

 

[Shaanyboi]

I was thinking more Metroid or StarFox, but that could be cool as well

How about... Metroid X Star Fox?

 

[KingSnake]

There needs to be a football game on Wii U, so I want a Mario Strikers game. Hell, they can do a whole sports series and add Punch U Out and hockey something.

 

[Thoraxes]

A small aside: I have a friend who works at a high school in Japan and he overheard some students talking about LM2 when it came out. He mentioned to them that it was a NA game not a Japanese game and they straight up refused to believe him.

If I didn't read GAF or anything, i'd not have a damn clue.

 

[Celine]

They do their best work with Nintendo, so I'm glad they enjoy it. Keep up the kickass games.

How did Luigi's Mansion do?

Good as all of their projects for Nintendo.
That's why Nintendo is giving them moree important IP to work on.

Next Level Games ' Nintendo games sales:

Super Mario Strikers: 1,75M
Mario Strikers Charged: 2,58M
Punch Out!!!: 1,13M
Luigi's Mansion 2: 3,13M as September 2013 but it's going to sell more than 4M...

 

[E-phonk]

There needs to be a football game on Wii U, so I want a Mario Strikers game. Hell, they can do a whole sports series and add Punch U Out and hockey something.

Since they already have those engines, it shouldn't be that hard to port them to WiiU, use higher poly models and tweak the gameplay further.
Bonus points for adding netcode and making both those games playable online.

It would be a good strategy for nintendo to have a smaller team work on this (one release in 2014, the other in 2015) while another team prepares a completely new game.

Luigi's Mansion 2: 1,22M as March 2012 but it going to sell more than 4M...

Yeah, since it's almost at a million in JPN alone.

 

[L~A]

wasn't...even before LM2 started?
I remember they saying that one day N called them and mandatory pretend them to stop developing whatever it was, because they had to start on LM2!

Yep, this was found on the LinkedIn profile of one Devon Blancher (I believe Emily Rogers tweeted this back then) :

Not sure how reliable that is. They probably had started something with a real small team, maybe a couple of guys, until LM2 was completed.

 

[Pikawil]

High Moon Studios (Transformers: War for Cybertron) seemingly now on Call of Duty
Next Level Games (Transformers: Cybertron Adventures, the utterly dumbed down Wii counterpart of War for Cybertron) seemingly now with Nintendo

Moral of the day: Nintendo has a Midas touch in the long run. Activision has a reverse Midas touch in the long run.

 

[Shinta]

Luigi's Mansion 2 was so fantastic.

These guys can be the next Retro if they have another hit on that level. It's that good. I can't wait to see what they work on next!

 

[Aostia]

There needs to be a football game on Wii U, so I want a Mario Strikers game. Hell, they can do a whole sports series and add Punch U Out and hockey something.

what about they developing Mario&Sonic at the World Cup for June 2014 on the Wii U, as third Sonic game?

 

[Phazon]

High Moon Studios (Transformers: War for Cybertron) seemingly now on Call of Duty
Next Level Games (Transformers: Cybertron Adventures, the utterly dumbed down Wii counterpart of War for Cybertron) seemingly now with Nintendo

Moral of the day: Nintendo has a Midas touch in the long run. Activision has a reverse Midas touch in the long run.

Always great to see how much of a difference a good and involving publisher can make to a studio's portfolio. (They also made a Ghost Recon on Wii, but that wasn't very good either)


In an interview, they said they would love to work on Mario or Zelda. I think a new 'Four Swords' Zelda multiplayer game would be a good fit for them to develop.

 

[NateDrake]

When they are with Nintendo they create greatness. LM2 is their biggest success in terms of sales with each region nearing or passing a million. Strikers on Wii U with great online would be perfect for them.

 

[KingSnake]

what about they developing Mario&Sonic at the World Cup for June 2014 on the Wii U, as third Sonic game?

But that series is developed by Sega. Do you think Sega has what it takes for that?

The hockey game in the Mario & Sonic at Sochi 2014 is not bad at all.

 

[Aostia]

But that series is developed by Sega. Do you think Sega has what it takes for that?

The hockey game in the Mario & Sonic at Sochi 2014 is not bad at all.

Nope, that's the reason I was pointing NL Games as "lead developers" for that
In the case of Sega handling the development, they should reunite the Soccer Slam team at least.
But you know? I'd like a GOOD football/soccer game based on the two mascottes for the World Cup (I liked both Mario Strikers and Sega Soccer)

 

[Celine]

A small aside: I have a friend who works at a high school in Japan and he overheard some students talking about LM2 when it came out. He mentioned to them that it was a NA game not a Japanese game and they straight up refused to believe him.

NLG shoud put that as a tag on their website:
"We can make games so good that japanese kids won't believe they were not done by japanese developers".

 

[JODOROWSKY51]

Luigi's Castle

A mix of Luigi's Mansion and Clue, but now in a victorian castle

Spoiler

with Vampire Koopas and Frankengoombas

Rooms, NPSs, puzzles and bosses would change place every time you replay.
Should feel like a DuckTales episode in terms of humor and look.

 

[Yoshi]

I wonder what bigger franchise than Luigi they could still get. Above that there are only very few, Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, DK, Wii * (arguably not anymore). Luigi is already bigger than the Mario RPGs (solidifed thanks to LM2), Pikmin, Metroid, ....

 

[Shaanyboi]

I wonder what bigger franchise than Luigi they could still get. Above that there are only very few, Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, DK, Wii * (arguably not anymore). Luigi is already bigger than the Mario RPGs (solidifed thanks to LM2), Pikmin, Metroid, ....

Honestly, I'm inclined to believe Metroid.

 

[big_z]

many companies could learn from the way Nintendo lets their teams operate.
its also similar to how rare did things before Microsoft bought them and completely changed their creative process.


anyway they could take punch out and strikers add a bit of content and do 3DS remixes for the eshop. those would make nice cheap games to fill in between the larger releases.
it be interesting to see them do a new take on Ice Hockey with Mario characters.... or diddy kong racing.

Honestly, I'm inclined to believe Metroid.

Metroid is coming for sure and im guessing it will be on 3ds. Nintendo has mentioned they would like to go back to Metroid Dread a few years back.

 

[Oregano]

They be totally making Eternal Darkness 2 so Nintendo keeps the trademark.

 

[Yoshi]

Honestly, I'm inclined to believe Metroid.

Considering the superb level design in Luigi's Mansion 2 and the great environmental puzzles, I'd think they are a good fit.

 

[dannyQ]

Looking forward to their next project and I still haven't played Dark Moon yet!
Are these guys considered 2nd party now?

 

[FryHole]

Luigi's Castle

A mix of Luigi's Mansion and Clue, but now in a victorian castle

Spoiler

with Vampire Koopas and Frankengoombas

Rooms, NPSs, puzzles and bosses would change place every time you replay.
Should feel like a DuckTales episode in terms of humor and look.

If this doesn't happen I'm blaming you for even raising the idea of its existence.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Very cool. So they are handful of people or so smaller than Retro. You can definitely tell they had fun by playing their games. Dark Moon seemed to be a big challenge for them, taking over three years to complete. The patient part of me wants to see another ignored Nintendo franchise be their next game on Wii U, but the impatient part of me wants them to do another LM on 3DS. They know the hardware and they know the essence of LM, so they could probably get a sequel out sooner rather than later.

 

[Glass Rebel]

From the sound of it, they probably won't have to rely on other publishers anymore. Which is good, Transformers, Ghost Recon and Captain America were... lacking, while their Nintendo published games have been consistently great.

 

[tsab]

They need to do a Arm Wrestling remake for 3DS eshop!


here have my moniez Next Level

 

[Deap92x]

I trust this developer using nintendo's ips

 

[Aostia]

it's quiet obvious that they'll develop Cranky Kong

 

[MrChom]

How did I miss that next level gaming was basically a successor to Black Box....I loved the Hitz series.

I think I'll go and pray quietly for Nintendo Super Smash Hockey.....the amusement level of Captain Falcon body checking Link into row Q before an epic slapshot is just too great.

 

[gerudoman]

After playing Luigi's Mansion 2 I want their new game to be along its lines. It doesn't mean I didn't like Punch Out or Strikers, in fact I enjoyed all of them quite a bit (except for Charged maybe, they overcomplicated the formula) but given the great work they did with Dark Moon's puzles and variety of situations I expect their next game to be meatier than an arcade.

 

[Sendou]

They also were working on an unknown project for Nintendo when they told them to make Luigi's Mansion 2 instead. Combining this with the fact that they seem to be rather exclusively working for Nintendo and that they're a two team studio could very well mean that their next game is due this year.

 

[Nemo]

Strikers Charged is one of the best multiplayer sports games of all time

 

[Nicktendo86]

many companies could learn from the way Nintendo lets their teams operate.
its also similar to how rare did things before Microsoft bought them and completely changed their creative process.

I know I should be over it by now but the way MS gutted the culture at Rare still pisses me off. Chris Seavor has said that Nintendo had them working like dogs but they enjoyed it as they were so fucking proud of the work they were putting out. *sigh*

Anyway, good to hear Next Level are happy, they really could be the next Retro. Give them Metroid to work on so Retro can come up with a new IP and I would be very happy.

 

[wsippel]

wasn't...even before LM2 started?
I remember they saying that one day N called them and mandatory pretend them to stop developing whatever it was, because they had to start on LM2!

They pitched an original IP a couple years back, a PS360 title called Catalyst. Maybe that's what they were working on when Nintendo called.

 

[mantidor]

Luigi's Castle

A mix of Luigi's Mansion and Clue, but now in a victorian castle

Spoiler

with Vampire Koopas and Frankengoombas

Rooms, NPSs, puzzles and bosses would change place every time you replay.
Should feel like a DuckTales episode in terms of humor and look.

Urgh now you have ruined my day by the fact this game will never exist.

 

[mclem]

it's quiet obvious that they'll develop Cranky Kong

A retelling of Donkey Kong from Cranky's perspective, with some embellishments to the story? I'd go for that.

"So I'd heroically saved this girl from the alien invasion when this *carpenter* starts chasing me down with a hammer. Of course, I fle... uh, led him to a building site where I could use my fine simian climbing skills to get away... but when I got there, the Barreloids had attacked! It was all I could do to fight them off, hundreds of them tumbled down the girders..."

 

[Sendou]

They pitched an original IP a couple years back, a PS360 title called Catalyst. Maybe that's what they were working on when Nintendo called.

No, it was something for Nintendo. They mentioned that in the Iwata Asks: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.

Bryce: At the time, we were actually involved with a completely different project for Nintendo, and one day we had a video conference about that.
Chad: We had made a prototype in preparation for that meeting.
Bryce: And Kensuke Tanabe-san suddenly started something like a drumroll and said, "You're gonna make Luigi's Mansion 2!" I was so surprised I could barely speak.

 

[Tenki]

I'm in for whatever they make. I'm glad to see there's a good relationship with Nintendo and they're happy with their jobs.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

They should make a Kid Icarus game for Wii U.

Either that or a new Punchout!! with unlockable bonus enemies from Nintendo's history - characters we've all been dying to give a good beating to like Tom Nook, Tingle, and above all The Dog from Duckhunt.

edit: ya'll know you want it

 

[NotLiquid]

I've said this before but I need a new Wii U Strikers in my veins.

Bring that hardcore soccer back and make it crazier than ever, with even better online.

 

[JDSN]

Im honestly looking forward to their output compared to whatever is going on at Retro, they still have their own voice, they can do all kinds of genre with no problem and the studio still have western people directing their games.

 

[Sendou]

Im honestly looking forward to their output compared to whatever is going on at Retro, they still have their own voice, they can do all kinds of genre with no problem and the studio still have western people directing their games.

So how are Next Level Games and Retro really different? Both have western people directing their games. Both have certain amount of say of what Nintendo property they will work on (which obviously is not much, just don't think Next Level Games has anymore say on this than Retro. It's probably the other way around). Both can work on a various amount of genres.

 

[Brainiac 8]

I really want a new Punch Out for the WiiU.

 

[Thomas_Daly]

Luigi's Castle

A mix of Luigi's Mansion and Clue, but now in a victorian castle

Spoiler

with Vampire Koopas and Frankengoombas

Rooms, NPSs, puzzles and bosses would change place every time you replay.
Should feel like a DuckTales episode in terms of humor and look.

omg yes oh yes wii u please