Why Nintendo Rarely Buys Developers

[@Gamesharq64]

I wish more companies operated this way: Owning IPs people care about and working with separate studios to bring them to life in new ways.

[@charlestrudel8308]

in captilism world, nintendo is just Alien.

[@iwatatiff]

Example: Metroid

[@willissudweeks1050]

No other company even owns exclusive IP’s like that in the first place. Maybe Halo but not really even that.

[@willissudweeks1050]

@@charlestrudel8308 No it’s the master. Microsoft and Sony don’t have what Nintendo does. Nintendo has a lot of the popular games that they have as well as their exclusive ones that Microsoft and Sony don’t.

[@charlestrudel8308]

@@willissudweeks1050 I just faile to see why you anwser to me this, but ok.

[@toaker]

Thing is that most developers would jump at the chance work on a Nintendo IP, given how much weight their games carry. So they don’t need to buy other studios.

[@binhhoangbapham7231]

Well said. Look at Niantic

[@ssssssstssssssss]

Acquisition is something common to western companies. Japanese companies tend to prefer collaboration. There are some exceptions though.

[@alinepiroutek8932]

That's how you see Sony had fallen as a Japanese company

[@radim279]

Do they though? Wasn't the Neo-Yellow-Peril "Japan Inc. is coming!!!11!!!" scare in the 80s partially spurred by high-profile Japanese takeovers of American companies? Like, Columbia is Sony to this day.

[@FunkyyP]

With HAL it's actually even more complicated, they both have a share in owning the Kirby franchise, meaning HAL and Nintendo both own it and because of this HAL makes the games for exclusively Nintendo. And they both have co-ownership of the company Warpstar inc. the company in charge of managing the kirby franchise with HAL owning 50% and Nintendo owning the other 50%. So Nintendo doesn't buy HAL because they see them more as a business partner compared to other companies, kind of like the pokemon company being owned by creatures, gamefreak, and nintendo

[@bizarrejelly_hkh8090]

Don’t you wish Nintendo bought Level-5 so it could get some actual representation and respect in the west.

[@HandheldGamer1991]

I need more puzzles from sir top hat god dammit!

[@shepherdsgamingrun]

They did not buy out HAL outright; they invested enough to get Satoru Iwata, probably the best investment ever.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@HandheldGamer1991 Layton is back!!!!!

[@MajoraWaffle]

the answer is simple, really; nintendo are fortunate enough to be in the position of both being a console maker and a software developer with extremely popular ips to boot. they don't need third parties to bolster up sales of their hardware when their in-house developed first party offerings are already some of the most profitable franchises worldwide.

[@stripedrajang3571]

Well said.

[@tylerdohoney1544]

This mindset can be a sticky situation for Nintendo moving forward, though. We only need to look back at the Wii U era to remember that without both a proper outpouring of solid first and third party titles on your console, you have to rely heavily on your handheld market for relevance and stability if no one wants to develop for your specific and non-traditional system. Sure, they’re doing great now, the strongest they’ve been since the one-two punch combo of the DS/Wii, but they no longer have a dedicated handheld to keep things afloat now if their new hybrid follow up fails to retain its predecessor’s install base. It’s important to remember the shift from SNES to N64 and Wii to Wii U, respectively, would have been much less Kind to Nintendo were it not for the GameBoy and 3DS (and amiibo), to respectively cover the costs. It’s this reason (along with an educated guess that Nintendo will continue its trend of using vastly outdated specs for its next system to keep costs down) that I do think now would be a good time for Nintendo to spend a little of its bank on at least one of the following: S-E, Capcom, Namco-Bandai, Sega, or Konami, to let it be known that they are in this game too. I’d rather these studios remain independent, but if it came down to Sony or Nintendo having control of them, I’d rather all my Smash DLC characters have a chance of returning next game.

[@davetheimpaler204]

@@tylerdohoney1544 I hope SOMEONE buys Konami, or at least their IPs, since they apparently have no interest in actually developing games anymore. Nintendo buying Sega would be amazing, tons of great IPs and all the Atlus RPGs would be exclusive to Nintendo as well.

[@jase276]

@@davetheimpaler204 Nintendo buying Sega would be awesome, but I'd prefer an equal partnership instead, like now. Nintendo owning Sega just wouldn't sit right.

[@AceETP]

I imagine it’s likely that Nintendo has a “right of first refusal” contract with some of these companies, so that if Sony offered to buy Intelligent Systems for example, Nintendo could block the sale by buying IS at market cap.

[@fawkewe]

Yes this is actually how it worked for Rare. What happens is if Nintendo can put up the same offer, they get the Company. With Rare however, and Microsofts prime being in the 2000s they just massively overpaid for Rare which is why it took so long for them to actually recoup that investment.

[@oscarzxn4067]

It's interesting to see that also when Nintendo works with a third party company they tend to work with them at least a second time if not more, like when they worked with Gambarion on Pandora's Tower they did it again on Wii Fit U or when they worked with Platinum on Wonderful 101 they then worked again on many other titles. I expect them to work again with Mages after the FDC remake. Of course this aproach is not perfect, aside from the case of Alpha Dream there is Headstron (the Art Academy team) which stopped existing a few years ago or Monster Games, which stopped working with them after a decade for unknown reasons, so you could see a sudden stop of some Nintendo series for this reason and that's a shame, but overall I like this aproach and keep things healthy.

[@gogobrasil7185]

I hope FDC becomes a series

[@ruekurei88]

Man I miss the days when you had independent studios that could knock out some great exclusive games for Nintendo hardware and take full advantage of them, Factor 5, Left Field Productions, Acclaim, Snowblind etc. But those days are done, they either went bankrupt or big third party studios gobbled them up, and now console makers are gobbling those up.

[@mariarome1780]

With the Hal situation I think Nintendo partly owns them because Yamauchi made a deal with Hal in the mid 90s to save them from bankruptcy and then they became a 2nd party developer for Nintendo

[@Sempuukyaku]

Yup, that is 100% correct. They are essentially a 1st party Nintendo studio even though Nintendo didn't have to buy them outright. Genius move.

[@yoonpark8311]

감사합니다. (Thank you in Korean) Thank you Jon for explanation. (I'm not an expert, but I want to say something about it) 1. Nintendo is one of the company that lived over 100 years. In Japanese culture, most of the Japanese business owners don't want to invade or interrupt other competitors because it would damage their brand or business by other group of people or business owners. (Of course there's exception to other Japanese companies, but usually that's how Japanese business works in there.) 3. I think the reason why Nintendo doesn't want to buy other company it's because of the flexibility. 4. If Nitnendo bought other companies, because they usually release on their games on their manufactured gaming consoles first, the other companies that sold on other platforms, they might not able to sold in other platforms such as Steam or Microsoft. 5. When I realize about Nintendo and the other workers(Not all but most of employees), they respect the other companies. Which it makes the best job being a great partnership with others these days. They even literally colaborate with an indie developer. 6. In Future, Nintendo might buy one or two companies for their stability, they won't be crazy enough for keep buying the others. Because they can colaborate with others. 7. an old one said to me, growing a company is easy but keeping it safe is the most hardest thing to most of the business owners. Buying stuff might have a risk in future. 8. We need to understand "WHY SONY and MICROSOFT BUY STUDIOS OR COMPANIES ?" The short answer for it, less content means less interest. Nintendo have their own many recognize brands for over 40 years such as Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Pikachu and so on. But compare to other companies (no offence to them) maybe I didn't play the other platforms but I can't think of a exclusive character in each companies. It might be a benefit for them buying stuff that was already made. Because buying it is better than making it. 9. I'm very very curious what Nintendo is upto their plans.

[@soyalexpop]

People forget that Sony and Microsoft biggest games are not made by them so buying studios made sense. Nintendo can make everything in house plus they give them freedom to be creative and not chained to them.

[@kaspervletter290]

@ТоммуInnit 🅥 sftu

[@fawkewe]

Sony actually kinda works in a similar way. All the studios they actually went out of their way to purchase had close ties and history with working with PlayStation. If anything they were Indie studios and PlayStation just gave them the money to make something big. Microsoft no defence there. Like they just buy *Bethesda* and say its an exclusive.

[@Loanshark753]

Another issue is that Nintendo might have tried to conserve money during the Wii U and 3ds era. This of course depends on their finances during that era.

[@blakenava5336]

According to VGChartz, the global sales of the Nintendo Switch have surpassed the original PlayStation (also known as the PS1 or PSX). The Switch sold 341,662 units in the week ending January 15, 2022, bringing its total sales to 102.81 million units. This also means that the Nintendo Switch officially surpassed the 102.5 million sales of Sony’s PlayStation (the first generation) and jumped to fifth place in the history of game console sales.

Yeah and...?

[@blakenava5336]

@ And Nintendo Switch is INCREDIBLE.

[@neypaz8054]

VGChartz is untrustworthy. Better wait until Nintendo themselves report the latest sales figures

[@blakenava5336]

@@neypaz8054 Just in, Nintendo themselves confirmed it! Over 103 Million!

[@neypaz8054]

@@blakenava5336 Nintendo didn't "confirm" anything. They themselves made an official report of the system's sales. VGChartz has no credibility when it comes to sales numbers, and it's stupid to think that an unofficial site of dubious reputation got the sales data before a video game company. did. Their information is always skewed

[@stevesteve0521]

Look at every Nintendo’s handheld and home consoles top 20 sold games for each of them and you’ll get your answer.

[@brianvaira486]

Nintendo operates in it's own demographic separate from Sony and Microsoft. I don't think Hal Laboratories, Intelligent systems, Camelot, or Good feel would be good fits for sony or microsoft, so it makes sense to just do business with Nintendo. If there was a 4th console manufacturer that tried to directly compete with Nintendo, like if Sega was still in the console business, than it would make sense for Nintendo to buy more companies, but they don't really have to.

[@Moonstrider]

Love the way that Nintendo operates, and how they’ve always been operating

[@Elephant-Fresh]

Yes except when it comes to music they are yeaaars behind

[@mukiex4413]

Really the only "company" they bought recently was the team that built Mario Party, though what they actually did was basically hire everyone who made it after Konami shut the studio down.

[@austingeisinger2945]

I don't like what appears to be a gaming monopoly forming and can see Nintendo just staying out. But if they need to get into the game, buying Platinum Games would be amazing. They've all ready made several great exclusives with them.

[@MrSentinel07]

That's probably unlikely unless Nintendo blows them away with an offer they can't refuse. Much of Platinum Games' top brass are former executives of Clover Studios who wanted to get away from being ruled over (as Capcom did).

[@gamerguy6990]

Yeah no, I want Platinum independent, and they’re style to be enjoyed by all and not hampered by the tech Nintendo currently has.

[@terrysyvertson9205]

Nintendo isn't going to buy platinum games because tencent is funding platinum games and Nintendo wants nothing to do with a Chinese company

[@piklan89]

@@terrysyvertson9205 ?? Pokemon unite is made by tencent

[@matttheshadowman2790]

This is where the fact Nintendo doesn't fully own Pokemon comes into play, they may or may not like working with Tencent but if Game Freak and Creatures agree to it then they have enough say for it to go ahead as they each own roughly equal shares in The Pokemon Company.

[@_e1i]

Yeah but if a few studio acquisitions could help them get more regular releases for the Metroid, Donkey Kong, Kid Icarus, F-Zero and Pikmin series, then I’d be all for it

[@elusivelight3766]

Nintendo doesn't need to because they are smart and talented enough. Also when it comes to Square Enix they are mainly a Playstation company and Nintendo. Thats fine as long as they stay with those two. Besides that Nintendi really should find a way to buy Game Freak. 👍

[@Vashkey]

Now that we have established that Nintendo buying out a bunch of game companies is not what they do, this is now exactly what they will do.

[@Peanut.Butter.Runner]

Nintendo own so many IPs that have a special place in peoples hearts due to childhood memories. That sells games and means they aren’t really in direct competition with Sony and Microsoft who don’t have the same luxury. For Nintendo buying studios doesn’t make financial sense, for Sony and Microsoft it does. It’s not Nintendo being a “nicer” company or caring more about the fans as they do plenty of things that are anti consumer. While I don’t like what Sony and Microsoft are doing I don’t blame them. They are not in the same situation as Nintendo so I can’t see how it’s directly comparable. All three companies are doing what they think will make them the most money long term, that’s it.

[@MrMichaelJBoyd]

Not sure where else to leave this so I’ll leave it here. Jon, (and I say this also loving everything else I see on the channel with Zion and Alex too. You’re all incredible.) I will greatly miss your contributions to Nintendo Life. I’d been a life long casual Nintendo fan who basically missed everything from GameCube through to 3DS and then bought a Switch a year after launch for Breath Of The Wild. Like many the pandemic have me time to delve deep into video games, Nintendo in particular. This channel was one of the first I came across when I started down the Nintendo KZbin rabbit-hole. Your deep dives into games like The Frog For Whom The Bell Tolls have honestly been enchanting. Can’t wait to see what you do next. (And I can’t wait to keep up with this channel and all that Alex and Zion continue to do.) Sincere thanks to you all.

[@TariqYasiinProd]

Nintendo is the majority holder of these companies shares in Japan that's why Nintendo influences their decisions. For example, Pokémon GO didn't get announced until Nintendo announced they decided to do mobile games.

[@googamp32]

I'm on the opposite view, Jon. If Nintendo DID acquire more studios, Microsoft wouldn't have ruined Rare and we would have gotten Banjo-Threeie, Hudson Soft would have kept making more Mario Parties, and Alpha Dream wouldn't have collapsed.

[@Michael-590]

I kind of wish Nintendo would purchase Sega and Konami as well, given how neither company is doing well.

[@Gzilla313]

@@Michael-590 add Capcom to that list. Make Megaman, Sonic, and Castlevania official Nintendo IP.

[@MrSentinel07]

@@Michael-590 Konami would be nice. Not only would that add Castlevania to the line-up, but also hopefully improve Konami's notoriously bad work culture.

[@samusismyhero]

and because of this past mistake they bought Next Level Games before history could repeat itself. can't say anything about Alpha Dream though, Nintendo dropped the ball on that one.

[@SuperFirstSecond]

ND Cube is almost entirely made of the old Hudson staff that made Mario Party. Literally the same people that made MP8 made MP9. Rare would have likely turned out differently in some ways, but I'm not sure Banjo would have the future people keep imagining. You'd have probably seen a Wii game that still became the blacksheep of the family. KI3 and Sea of Thieves would have never happened. There'd be more DK games.

[@Maplewest]

I always thought Nintendo didn't buy many developers because they have enough to stand on with their own development. Who knows.

[@svenstylesz]

I play since 1986 and I own mostly every console of any company. I’m this type of generation who see the fascinating Time of the Beginning and the (for me) Prime time of the Videogame history (90s - middle 2000s). I’m very into the thematics of the Videogameindustry. What actually happened is not what I expected when I think about „how the Videogameindustry should work“ but I can’t change it. But as a consumer I can choose what company or games I use most for my hobby. And if I think about what’s going on in the moment and how especially MS, Sony and Nintendo acting, I can identify most with Nintendo. Not everything what Nintendo do is gold and also Nintendo changed a little bit (it’s normal). But overall, Nintendo still works rather traditionally compared to the competition. And that’s what i like. Many people say that progress is always good. I still like the classical way. And for me personally, I see more negative things in the way things are currently going than positive. Technology in general is going in a direction that I personally don't like. Everything is losing personality. Nintendo, for example, has built a strong personality as a company. In this point MS and Sony could and can never keep up. What you still call "it has heart" is no longer present to the same extent as in the past, because Nintendo now has to act more like a big company and it's also about the money, but for me there is still more love and tradition behind it than with the competition.

[@s-wo8781]

You are 100% right about this. They don't need to.

[@heavylobster4339]

Nintendo really has no need to buy studios for their IPs, since they already have more IPs than they know what to do with and have the clout to make popular new IPs if there's a genre they don't have covered. If they do buy a studio it'll probably be for developer talent as opposed to absorbing a large established company with name recognition, because Nintendo doesn't need it for the purposes of selling their console. Sony and especially Microsoft can't compare in terms of their own in-house devs and franchises.

[@Henshingod]

Look up the concept of Zaibatsu. Japanese culture is all about loyalty and honor in business.

[@TheInternetIsDeadToMe]

I wondered if anyone would mention this. It’s essentially another word for top down Monopoly. Oddly enough Microsoft love a monopoly. I think Japan has a habit of keeping things Japanese.

[@charlestrudel8308]

@@TheInternetIsDeadToMe even then, Square enix have bought lots of western studios.

[@charlestrudel8308]

@@TheInternetIsDeadToMe Bandai namco may be like that too thought, financially supporting by parthnership the Dark Picture series.

[@TheTrueJBru]

1:10 Chef’s kiss for that Kirby fade in!

[@richardw1043]

The fact is, at the height of their share prices and company evaluation during the Wii days, they could've bought Factor 5 or Free Radical who were going down the drain. Nintendo could've bought a couple of studios on the cheap, downsize them accordingly and prevented software droughts.

[@ShuajoX]

Nintendo makes a lot of their own games. They don't just own first party studios, they ARE the first party studios.

[@sevenheavenhavengaming]

It's all in their brand name my dude! Nintendo translates to "leave luck to heaven"! That's why they're so chill and I love Nintendo for that and not giving any care for others think and do. Although I'm kinda upset to how they use their cease and desist methods for shutting down fanmade games I still like Nintendo's library of games. They're the first console I've played on as a kid with the Famicom the Japanese equivalent to the NES. I'll always side with Nintendo whoever wins the console and gaming wars that everyone is so into nowadays even though the war has been going on since the 80s. Also Nintendo has so many great IPs at their disposal. They can easily utilize like they're doing now with Kirby and Metroid.

[@Nintentional]

Very well put together video, Jon. Fantastic job 👏🏼

[@masterpenguin8472]

I think that in Nintendo's minds, just buying a ridiculous amount of indie companies is just plain stupid!

[@Yusei255]

@ТоммуInnit 🅥 get that crap out of here it's not needed. plus do you really think you are fooling everyone with that fake verify mark

[@zero94430]

1) Shin´en multimedia is a good choice to buy creators of Fast RMX, The Touryst, Jett Rocket, nano assault. 2) Vanillaware creators of Muramasa the demon blade, Dragons Crown and Odin sphere. 3) Playtonic games creators of Yooka laylee and the exelent 2D game Yooka laylee and the imposible lair

[@mattholt5063]

Great video. Everything you’ve said makes sense. The only exception would be if the likes of Microsoft start to muscle in on those developers Nintendo have built big relationships with. Unless they are under Nintendo’s ownership they could be under someone else’s. With the industry is going it seems the purchasing spree won’t end yet.

[@alangreenway6695]

Realistically Nintendo need 8-12 exclusives a year to keep their customers happy. As long as their current 2nd party partners are solvent and willing to do business, they don’t need more developers. The difference is Xbox is playing catch up and are throwing money to try and get interest in their previously flat lineup. I get the feeling Bethesda and Activision will actually end up making less games because of the acquisition as Microsoft try’s to find a variety in what at the moment is a heavily FPS leaning lineup.

[@toffitagufa8777]

Every Japanese game company aside from sony: I hope this ages well.

[@PikaPhantomVG]

I personally would like to see Nintendo buy some of their longtime partners, but I don't want to see buyouts of large third party companies (with the exception of Level-5 because it seems unlikely that their games will come west if they remain independent and I think they'd be a great fit for each other). It makes sense for Nintendo to focus on contracts and partnerships, but they've lost several partners over the years when they could've swooped in. Rare, AlphaDream, Skip, and now Monster Games are all unfortunate missed opportunities. I think it'd be good for Nintendo to at least buy MercurySteam, as nothing they've released outside of contract work has really gained traction and they have potential to work on other Nintendo IP or to do their own thing with more promotion. I also have a gut feeling that Babylon's Fall is going to flop due to the negative reactions to the recent trailers and closed betas, which might mean PlatinumGames could consider selling if it hurts them hard enough - and if there's any company I think should buy them, it'd be Nintendo And if nothing else, I'm glad it's the major players that are buying studios like Activision Blizzard and Bungie and not outside companies trying to get in on gaming (Amazon, Google, Netflix) or Tencent

[@ruekurei88]

Platinum doesn't want to be bought out last I checked. Not sure why Nintendo would want to buy Monster Games either, they just made a couple games that didn't sell gangbuster numbers and mostly worked on ports or support. Not sure about the Mercury Steam one either. They worked on a remake and a new game, but it's not like they've handled their own independent projects under Nintendo's umbrella yet.

[@mds_main]

I agree with you, Nintendo should outright buy those second party studios (especially Game Freak and Creatures for obvious reasons). Not only to gain more control but also to gain more manpower that cab also be used to revive old IPs or help other studios. Now third parties are of course another story and I too don't want them to start buying them left and right, however as you said Level 5 would be great.

[@Play_Dreams]

This is exactly what I was thinking. Nintendo won't purchase their development partners unless they are in danger of being bought by another company.

[@MajoraWaffle]

rare says hi

[@joskalnunez381]

Rip Rare

[@MidniteAndBeyond]

"Even if Skip were acquired, would that have saved Chibi-Robo?" My heart! DX I was thinking the about this exact same topic recently, and you definitely bring up a lot of good points. When the news popped up of Nintendo buying Next Level Games, my first thought was "Wait, they didn't already own them?" A lot of my favorite Nintendo titles all come from creative minds outside of the core company, itself. So while I'd love to see more companies get the opportunity to work on all of these beloved Nintendo franchises, buying the company outright doesn't really seem like a necessary step to make that happen, since Nintendo has shown plenty of times that they're willing to let others try their hand at bringing their own ideas to a pre-existing franchise. My biggest concern with ANY company buying any other company is the thought of a pre-existing franchise becoming exclusive to a single platform when it wasn't previously. I am glad that companies seem to be a lot more open to the idea of third party companies who've made a name for themselves on all platforms to continue to cater to each of those platforms, rather than keeping everything under their control and having exclusive title after exclusive title. I always find the most magical gaming experiences come about when companies work together and just make something fun and a celebration of ALL kinds of games and creators (Smash, Layton VS Wright, etc). So here's hoping that continues to be the case and more collaborations and cross platform opportunities present themselves in the future.

[@A.S.Bridges]

Fantastic video! So helpful and very instructive. I honestly learned a lot that I never knew about my favorite video game company. You guys rock!

[@FrostScytha]

If it’s in the cards that Capcom or Square Enix has to sell no matter what I hope Nintendo is the one that buys them. If what these KZbinr’s are saying is true with the industry consolidating then Nintendo should not sit idly by on their hands while Sony and Microsoft slowly makes the video game landscape smaller and smaller. Despite owning a PS5/Series X I really only play on my Switch. As of right now these acquisitions from Microsoft and Sony doesn’t really bother me because they haven’t bought a publisher or studio that I heavily support.

[@monsterjamfan100xtreme4]

All I want to see is Nintendo buying Capcom, and they can even be more greater than ever. Second, Nintendo could save Capcom if one day Capcom can’t save themselves and needs more help.

[@alectronic0]

Should have bought rare though back in the day 😞

[@jumponeverything]

Great video, clearly explains why these purchases from Microsoft and Sony are potentially going to be detrimental and also shows why the Nintendo buying someone suggestions just make no sense

[@LouisandraGan]

"Loyalty" is the key here.

[@wooperman6960]

Developers want to work with nintendo with their wealth of legendary ips

[@linow5975]

It's all fun and games until another company comes by purchasing everything, leaving no one to work together with them. Imagine losing Square Enix and Capcom.

[@RoboticEdward]

Another thing to consider is companies like Square and Bandai Namco are *more* than game publishers/developers, as they have businesses like manga, music, anime, freaking GUNDAM in Bandai Namco's case. On top of that Nintendo has small shares within those companies among other game and non-game businesses. A western business buying a Japanese one rarely ever happens so if you think Microsoft are gonna buy Sega, that's gonna be an uphill battle. In general Sony and Microsoft aren't going to be scooping up these JP businesses. With that said I do think Nintendo will eventually scoop up HAL, IS, and Grezzo in the future since they're trying to make sure everything is consolidated and just in case something bad happens in the future. Nintendo did save HAL in the past from bankruptcy for example so even if they don't own the whole studio, but it was necessary to keep them afloat. There's also smaller issues like, let's say people think Nintendo should buy Platinum. While Platinum has been a great partner with Nintendo they're also known for their contractual work with other studios as that's all they have. They did attempt to publish their own IPs like W101 but the rights to the IP are still up in the air. They have published their own mobile titles as well. Platinum has also been on a crappy side of business lately. Would Nintendo purchasing them necessarily make them a better studio? I doubt this since they have a lot of other issues to take into consideration.

[@charlestrudel8308]

bandai case, sword art online multiverse XD...

[@charlestrudel8308]

also, HAL gave nintendo a lot of very high ranking people... just iwata for example.

[@wrong_reginald]

Actually surprised you didn't mention Monster Games, recently bought by another company.

[@magicjohnson3121]

NASCAR?

[@matttheshadowman2790]

@@magicjohnson3121 They worked with Nintendo on some stuff too, most notably the 3DS port of Xenoblade Chronicles

[@cosmicspacething3474]

2:18 Mario power tennis exists tho

[@narayanafry3314]

I don't necessarily want to see Nintendo buy studios. I would like to see Nintendo buy Konami's dormant IP's. They obviously have no intention of giving any real love and they'd be a great fit for Nintendo's retro vibe.

[@rovidelarosa]

This. I wanna see Nintendo-made Castlevania, Contra, Suikoden and Gradius. But they should sell Silent Hill and Metal Gear to Kojima.

[@narayanafry3314]

@@rovidelarosa Yeah. Perhaps a deal where Sony gets the rights, Kojima makes them, and Nintendo gets them a generation later? Doesn't make sense to tie those series down to weaker hardware.

[@Jonathan-io2qk]

Great analysis here jon especially with the comparison to Disneys amalgamation of the movie industry. I hope these massive company buy ups don't restrict innovation, and drag down the general quality of the market, like Disney and marvel seem to have done.

[@RedKnight26]

This is the Good Side of Nintendo, Letting Companies that are helping them and making exclusives for them do their own things. And being loyal, it's awesome

[@SquirrelMario]

I’m still pissed that they didn’t buy alphadream

[@TheSirLaguna]

The thing with Square Enix that not many know is that they do much more than games. They run arcades (through their acquisition of Taito), they supposedly have a theme park in the works, and they also own the manga publisher Gangan Comics (which published Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater, Black Butler, and the list goes on. They've even published Fire Emblem manga.)

[@georgeknight7946]

If they're not purchasing companies then maybe buying IP's would be intriguing. Nintendo getting back Banjo or something more off the wall with yooka laylee or shovel knight would make more sense than a studio.

[@davosmando]

I just wish Nintendo had acquired Rare when they had the chance.

[@eggdogtim8593]

Tomorrow: Nintendo buys Sega and Capcom.

[@jaretco6423]

I hope not.

[@wiseman8728]

The nintendo reputation is enough to attract devs. They have so many popular titles that some titles are even developed by many devs. Pokemon for example has been shown to have titles not by gamefreak. So yeah I don't see them changing anytime soon. They have the rep to demmand that you get to use their IPs as long as you allow them to have a form of supervision. It's a big win win... Plus just like pokemon who didn't change much until Arcreus but sold millions of copies, any developer would be crazy to not kiss up with nintendo. Their games even if it stays repetitive will sell, so it's not even that risky cause u could just use the same formula and just add your own spice.

[@mr.sentryanddispenser]

I wish they bought Rare back...

[@mr.cringe61]

Same though

[@danielclemente1253]

I think that the next studio that will collaborate with Nintendo is level 5

[@soyalexpop]

Un les Nintendo wants to resurrect a dead company i doubt it

[@danielclemente1253]

@@soyalexpop if i remember, they're still Alive, they only closed his localization team

[@unstoppableExodia]

Nintendo formed ND cube to get former Hudson soft employees who had developed previous Mario party games to develop future Mario party games

[@riccardoarpea9966]

Because their main focus is making good games instead of services. And so far it’s worked out marvellously for them.

[@Perplexum]

The danger for Nintendo, of course, is that another publisher could buy up some of the developers that Nintendo relies on. It works to their advantage that mergers and acquisitions are rare in Japanese business culture, but not so much outside of it. Next Level Game is a good example. Nintendo had to buy them out to maintain the status quo and keep a developer for one of their bigger IPs (Luigi's Mansion), but they could have gone to someone else.

[@brendonspencer5788]

This was actually quite insightful! Thanks for sharing this information in such a succinct manner!

[@StoryTeller796]

This could be an interesting system to experiment with if and when I make a studio of my own to add to my list of Sociological systems that could work.

[@busymike]

They should have bought Atlus instead of letting Sega get it.

[@thierrys85]

Nintendo's under relatively new management now though. Furukawa might have different ideas than his predecessors. With all the acquisitions by MS and Sony, Nintendo may feel pressured to follow suit so as not to be overwhelmed. Some intelligent acquisitions of companies that fit in well and/or fill gaps in what they themselves can offer, would make sense. Who knows, they might never buy another big studio, or they might go on a buying streak and buy several. The industry is changing, massively, and Nintendo might not be able to afford being left behind. "It's not what Nintendo do" isn't a good argument for them not doing it in the future, at all.

[@JCO78]

Agreed.

[@tiozindapacoca0162]

I can see your point, but furukawa has been in charge for a very long time and all we've seen was Nintendo buying next level games, it's true that it could happen but in general furukawa seems to be following the footsteps of Iwata and kimishima instead of having a very distinct filosofy, wich make me believe that that's still out of the books.

[@NoonDragoon]

Nintendo is not being "left behind" in the slightest. The Switch has been the best selling console for almost every month for something like 3 years straight, and multiple Nintendo games break 10 million sales.

[@thierrys85]

@@NoonDragoon This isn't about the past, or the present. Read what I wrote, and please don't cherry pick. It's about the future (obviously). I'm a big Nintendo fan, and yes they're doing extremely well. And those MS and Sony acquisitions aren't doing them any good right now, but they will in the future, when the games start releasing. Besides, fortunes can change very, very quickly. Look at Nintendo going from the Wii (100+ million sold) to Wii U (13 million sold).

[@gogobrasil7185]

My main issue is exactly that: things are looking bleak and if Nintendo doesn't do something, Sony and Microsoft will sweep up major third parties that work with them. Like Bandai Namco, Sega, Square Enix, etc. If those go, Nintendo consoles' libraries would be severely damaged.

[@Random_dud31]

Also, square enix and Capcom are worth 6 billion and 5 billion respect. And Nintendo is worth 55 billion. So Nintendo will need to pay about 8 to 10 billion dollars to aquire each company. I don't think Nintendo wants to give up 20 of their company to just buy ips

[@edwardota1991]

Rare, The Pokemon Company, Hal Laboratories, and Retro Studios are fine examples of companies Nintendo trusts and collaborates with to bring their IPs to life.

[@offroadsnake]

Nintendo just need a adquisition or merge that begin with s that make his fans eternaly happy

[@Goku-Kid]

Here is the reason They can milk pokemon and mario a million times and people will still buy

[@AnquezLoic]

I cannot remember where the music at the start of the video is from... can anyone help me?

[@jovyrivera7055]

They buy when they want to help other devs, like the bayonetta devs and the Luigi's mansion devs

[@jarerarebear1765]

It's still kind of sad that Nintendo didn't acquire Rare back in the day. This video clarifies why they didn't, but it's still kind of sad that Rare had to be separated from Donkey Kong and therefore Banjo-Kazooie and Conker were also separated from the Donkey Kong series.

[@waluigiwaluigireal]

If nintendo WERE to buy a developer; It would probably be Rare or Brace Yourself Games.

[@Franklinplatt64]

They could buy me with a game pass level subscription.

[@LeleJackMusic]

I have so much respect for Nintendo's practice of developing solid relationships with third party developers while still allowing them the remain autonomous. Part of me does worry that Microsoft and Sony will buy everything up at tue rate they're going though. And I still think Nintendo should have bought Level 5. Love that studio and what they do, but they've been floundering lately and I think I could be mutually beneficial if Nintendo gave them support.

[@Josh-ut4wv]

Basically the only way that they would buy dev teams is to secure them. As Nintendo only owns 5 other studios 1Up, Monolith, ND cube, Retro, and Next Level and 3 of those were due to them being join venture and Nintendo bought the other shares due to different reasons. Monolith was that they felt in the Bandai Namco merger that they were being a bit waisted so they asked for Nintendo to buy them. Next level well that is more recent and i think was more on the stance of security because the other share holders were wanting to sell. So companies such as HAL, Gamefreak, Intelligent systems are all ones that work with Nintendo and i could see the company purchasing them to secure them and not let a Microsoft come in and buy them. As Nintendo sees those companies as Nintendo DNA so they would be compatible.

[@ModernDayGeeks]

Hopefully Nintendo continues to operate as they are now and won't make any drastic changes in the future.

[@senorsnipey1595]

Nintendo don't buy companies willie nilly. I think their approach is very healthy. Look at the relationship Nintendo has with Platinum. They gained their trust by helping them with Bayonetta 2 when no one else would

[@HibariKyoya007]

Nintendo should required Panic Button, they r really good developer that bring third party game to switch

[@HsienKoMeiLingFormerYANG]

Buyout Treasure, WayForward and MercuryStream can add value and benefit too.

[@Nintendofan64xp]

I'm So Excited for new Nintendo Games

[@tomw6658]

I feel like it was a missed opportunity calling this video 'Why Nintendo Rarely Buy Developers' and then not talk about the fact they didn't buy Rare haha. Rare is arguably one of the only times they should have bought a studio for its IP, and had the added benefit of being a partner that also developed Nintendo games.

Ah yes, *RARE* ly.

[@kirin1230]

One of the few times they really should have bought a company. At least the learnt their lesson and bought next level in time.

[@XavierXStar]

The only company nintendo SHOULD have bought was rare, losing them hurt nintendo and rare, and it didn't even really help microsoft. Other than that, Nintendo has made the right choice not buying companies left and right

[@G.L.999]

If Nintendo were to buy some companies, I picture them buying Treasure, Good-Feel, Chunsoft, Sunsoft, and Shin'en Multimedia.

[@Sainxtrich]

I think the real problem is. Will there be any studios available to work with Nintendo? Nintendo could lose its studies like it did with rare.

Sure there will be. Nintendo is looking to expand its own studio to develop more games without resorting to outsourcing, and they have deals with most of the companies that the people suggested to buy.

[@EmersonFlemingEmRock13]

I think Nintendo also understands their market. While both Xbox and Playstation have their exclusives, a lot of people get those systems to play multiplatform games like CoD or Destiny; thus, Microsoft and Sony feel the need to acquire those studios to better bolster their exclusive library. Nintendo knows that people that own their consoles are buying them for their Marios, Zeldas, Metroids, Kirbys, Smashes, etc. They don't need other studios because their branding as a company is very obvious. People will buy a Nintendo system just to play the newest Mario Kart, and don't necessarily need other games to justify their purchase. With other companies it's not really like that, it's more of a quantity thing for a lot of buyers.

[@Dirkschneider]

I'd like to see Nintendo keep working with Grasshopper Manufacture and Platinum Games. They should also get Tango involved and talk to Capcom about resurrecting killer7. It will be Capcom 5 all over again.

[@mackers_855]

Great vid and why I firmly believe the culture that runs through company like Nintendo is that much greater than the execs at Microsoft and Potentially PlayStation. I don’t just worry about the industry but the ethos these studios will end up having after years of restructuring and loosing their own shine on what made them great and coming under one business. Can ruin the magic of the games. I only hope I’m wrong

[@miker2000]

As usual Jon, this video has depth and fantastic analysis of the situation.

[@Yarnooee]

after i watch how walt disney became from one of beloved company of all time to one of greediest, evil company that everyone despise of, yeah, i can't happy enough with what nintendo is doing. the media company should be competitive with its own contents, not buying every potential competitors to eliminate potential threats.

[@giulytsme]

Interesting topic!

[@GreatGatzB]

Don’t know why one company having 25% of industry profits is so terrifying (other than everything in cinema being admittedly scary rn). The general rule is that the top dog has between 40-50ish% market share. Then second place gets 25-30ish% and third 7-12%. Smaller companies get the scraps or find a different niche. Think Chick fil a, KFC, and Popeyes (then Raising Caines gets the scraps).

[@wozthescott2804]

I thought Jon was leaving Nintendo Life Or was that just a rumor?

[@mikiekelly2113]

He is in mid February

[@James-gj8rn]

@@mikiekelly2113 aw sad news :(

[@majorwvufan]

I feel like nintendo still does things the right way.

[@paperluigi6132]

So, IS, HAL, Goodfeel, etc. can be considered second party Nintendo studios?

[@thegreygoblin5165]

I see where you're coming from but I feel like Nintendo will grab at least one new studio, that studio being Hal Laboratories. Hal as worked with Nintendo for years and it would make a lot of sense to bring them under the proverbial umbrella. Give them some more resources and let them continue to work on Nintendo

[@unicorntomboy9736]

What about Intelligent Systems

[@ThatsJustLikeYourOpinionMan]

I really liked this video. I always wondered about this. Thank you!

[@deepdivemusicreactions]

last video from Jon? why Jon, whyyy?