The REAL Reason AlphaDream Went Bankrupt...

AlphaDream. I've discussed them a LOT on this channel. But before I take a break from talking about them, let's discuss one major question I still have about the company and solve it. How did they get into so much debt, even before the Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey game completely flopped?
While it makes sense they would be in some debt since their prior games didn't sell as great as their predecessors, being in over 4 million USD worth of debt is absurd. But today I believe I figured out that question, and changed how I thought of AlphaDream as a company entirely.
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Music Used (In order of appearance):
Battle 2 - Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Remake
Rogueport Sewers - Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Bowser Jr's Theme - Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey
Mount Brr - Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam
Cavi Cape DX - Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Where's Toad? - Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam
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Additional Footage Credits:
Japancommercials4U2
TheRadicalGamePlaya
ZackScottGames
GhostRobo
BreadBear
Glevana
Hawlo
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Socials:
Twitter - / lizard_yyy
Discord Server - / discord
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#alphadream #marioandluigi #mariorpg

[@lizard.y]

thank you for watching! join the discord for more constant updates on videos (link in description)

[@Clownacy]

Shout-out to the homie that replaced your garbage video title

[@Tystlaten028]

MARIO & LUGUI ARE BACK, MARIO & LUIGUI ARE BACK!!!!

[@gameplanetanimations]

It's kinda sad that the company resorted to treating their employers horribly between the DS and 3DS. This is very much a lesson in treating your employees like people.

[@D4Nesquickster]

And sadly ended up having an awesome game series gone for possibly forever

[@nintavito546]

It makes some sense to me now why they took 4 years to release Dream Team

[@JacobNintendoNerd99]

​@@nintavito546to be fair it was 4 years between PiT and BiS too

[@nintavito546]

@@JacobNintendoNerd99 right, I forgot about that too

[@CFRRX]

@@D4Nesquickster WE BACK BABY

[@archerdamo9160]

Hey, GUESS WHAT SAGA JUST RETURNED

[@aqinq]

Lets gooo!!! 🗣📢🔥

[@Kirbo_The_God]

A superstar saga even...

[@omi5614]

@@Kirbo_The_Godone that includes partners in time…

[@pkbound648]

​​@@omi5614one that once spoke of Bowser's inside story...

[@tito_xd]

​@@pkbound648one that have a dream team

[@spaghetto181]

so... alphadream had a heavy crunch culture and mismanagement by mismanagement they started to fall very early on actually?... wait does that mean alphadream was fined heavily by the labour standars bureau and nobody outside of these structures noticed or cared?? do they have the power to do so?

[@lizard.y]

Stuff like this is seemingly dealt with privately, and while I searched for any records of anything extensively I couldn’t find much, so the only real source there was that review. It’s even possible Nintendo wasn’t even aware of what was going on

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

Nintendo _should_ have stepped in, they were basically throwing their last true rpg studio to the curb to cover their rear

[@Foun_D_OnePiece]

​@@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32 why? They don't own them they paid them to make games and seeing how bad the work culture was it made so much sense why they didn't bought the studios.

[@GiordanDiodato]

@@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32 last true RPG studio? are we gonna ignore Monolithsoft or something? (yes I know it's 50%, but still)

[@b3ans4eva]

@@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32 Nintendo had no investment in AlphaDream, so they would have no reason to intervene. They would have been aware as the publisher, but as long as the milestones were made and the game finished, they would just be cutting the cheques.

[@rubenoes]

lizard out here carrying the mario & luigi community, we appreaciate the closure so much!

[@lizard.y]

thank you!!

[@ExGanonMain]

He’s the Mario and Luigi community’s hero

[@LandonEmma]

Fr

[@but_iWantedTo_speakGerman]

What’s that in English instead of negronics?

[@Tystlaten028]

@@lizard.yPlease bro, please make more videos about Mario and Luigi series.

[@hyperlybola]

thank you for an actual proper analysis of Alpha Dream's bankruptcy. this is so much more insightful and better than another guys' video saying "rpgs just aren't that popular anymore, bla bla bla something battle royales" that guy honestly made me lose all hope for future rpgs and adventure games, but i'm glad that rpgs being less popular wasn't really the case.

Who said that?

[@GiordanDiodato]

tbf their last two games bombed

[@sspectre8217]

I agree and also funnily enough Battle Royales as a genre has been declining in popularity since last year at the very latest

[@pancakes8670]

​@@GiordanDiodatoBecause they were bad games, not because they were RPGS

[@pancakes8670]

A lot of KZbinrs like to turn their own personal opinions into a narrative. Reminds me of Minecraft KZbinrs who have personal issues with the game and then pretend like it's something the entire playerbase shares.

[@MonsterMan317]

Who's here after the Direct?

[@yaolofe3852]

Me

[@phantommyst1933]

Me

[@eclipse_978]

Heya 🤝

[@helpmefortheloveofshrek6623]

Hi

[@PrettyKoolCrocodile]

YOOOOO🗣

[@PoketronPokey404]

Fun or sad Fact: Originally you went back and forth between the paper and regular world in paper jam, but it got scrapped. The main theory is that the Paper Mario mandate also affected alphadream with paper jam

[@lizard.y]

While I would agree, there was a developer interview with AlphaDream stating to make the game more generic was a decision on their part, because they were over complicating things with the possibilities. Whether that was completely true or not is unknown tho

[@newtfigton8795]

@@lizard.y That always seemed like a poor excuse to me, it would not have been outside the norm of M&L possibilities. You had the bros. going back and forth between the real and dream worlds in the last game!

[@jwil4286]

@@newtfigton8795and between the real world and Bowser’s body before that (not to mention playing as Bowser)!

[@drakath5727]

@@jwil4286 And to a much smaller extent the past and the present in PiT.

[@goranisacson2502]

​​@@newtfigton8795 True, but one should also keep in mind that if they got fined after making Dream Team and told they couldn't do as heavy crunch and had to slow down and treat their employees better, all while they had a lot of issues planning the game properly, it may very well be that Dream Team only had the dream worlds BECAUSE they relied on crunching their workers. And once they had to cut down on that, they realized that they didn't have the capacity to make a game with Paper and "Regular" worlds if they couldn't crunch their workers- part of improving their planning procedures may have been that they realized they HAD to scale back ambition, or else they'd never get their games done without the same crunch that got them fined in the first place. Very sad if that's the case, but it could just be an unfortunate case of AlphaDreams reality back then.

[@NotAGoodUsername360]

Abusive work culture also explains the overreliance on remakes towards the end- that's usually a sign of weak managment that needs an existing project structure because they can't be bothered to outline a project and address scope. They were essentially busywork to keep the artists and programmers employed and hopefully make enough to keep the lights on.

[@Dzztzt]

"..at the end of the day, treat your employees fairly and good things will come to you..."

[@pangrey8931]

@kriswalsh9156 with how the franchise is theyll make big profits even if they make the worst game ever. and even with the quality of many pokemon games they sell very well so what can you do

[@cliffturbo2146]

"Like what, money??"

[@tolstartheking]

Alphadream may be dead, but Mario & Luigi lived!

[@Ph0mega]

Considering Japan already has a notorious work culture, the fact that they were reported to the labour standards bureau means it must've been REALLY bad over there. A fine contributing to the debt would also make sense on paper. Real shame as i miss the Mario and Luigi games :(

[@austinsisland4777]

I feel like the strict deadline of Dream Team also could have had contributed to the bad working conditions, as they had to make sure the game was gonna release in 2013

[@ejfiewfeuihefwiuwe]

Obviously because Nintendo is their publisher they have to listen to the release date set by Nintendo this isn't surprising at all same thing happened to fire emblem three houses intelligent systems was not given enough dev time either

[@Mimi.1001]

@@ejfiewfeuihefwiuwe It may be because they want to stretch the (remaining) Switch line-up until its successor (or to mitigate Covid-Delays in 2020/21), but Nintendo seems to be doing the opposite recently. Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door Remake was seemingly rated a year ago, Fire Emblem Engage and apparently Origami King too were finished for a while. Super Mario Bros. Wonder (In-house game but still) famously had no deadline, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom probably could've released a bit earlier as well I believe. But today is a vastly different situation than 2013 or even 2017/18, maybe 19. Everything on Switch is pretty much a guaranteed success for them, whereas in 2013 they were struggling hard with both Wii U & 3DS. They only began turning the latter around with an incredibly strong line-up, including Dream Team and potentially other games.

[@Magic_Ice]

I agree. However these are also products being sold. If the company over funded and over developed every game they wouldn’t get as much profit. Of course I wish they would but unfortunately that isn’t how these games are made.

[@yggdrasilsaltar]

i somewhat felt this might’ve been the case because gigantic rpgs that’re 40 hours + in length every 2 or so years felt really… off? but i never thought of that angle because it was too depressing. but thank you for posting this so this story can finally be put to bed. hopefully m&l return someday.

[@alienxotic5028]

Their games were never 40 hours unless you 100% though. At least 20-25 hours typically

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@alienxotic5028 The first games were shorter. Superstar Saga is like 15 hours for the main game. I think they grew in length. Even so, a 40+ hour games 2 years with a decent team is very much doable. But it requires good planning and a vision. It was pretty common in the PS1 era. You can still make a game look good without pushing a system's limits and you can also make it look good without spending too much time handcrafting every asset pixel by pixel. You just need to be smart in how you go about it.

[@MasckedUp]

Guesd whaaaat

[@rafaelcarollo948]

3 weeks later there's a new game, no one expected it

[@cbggaming1463]

Crunch is unfortunately normal in most companies - not just Japan, but also the US. I seriously doubt the fines they got (if they evengot fines) were a reason for going bankrupt.

[@ExtremeWreck]

"but also the US." is 100% true. Even back then American publishers would force developers to rush out crappy licensed cash grabs.

[@tails230]

And somehow, companies like EA and Activision is getting away with it...

[@ExtremeWreck]

@@tails230 They probably get away with it because their games are too awful for anyone to bother.

[@KorbenTheFireX]

I like how you didn't mention the EU areas, as TT Games did with with Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (from what I read, but Idk that happened).

[@ExtremeWreck]

@@KorbenTheFireX The microcomputer era of Europe also had greedy publishers, with some profiting off of the works of teenage bedroom coders. SQIJ anyone?

[@jessielsanchez5079]

Why the hell did this appear on my feed after the new Mario and Luigi game? 💀

[@ShuyGuy397]

Same Bro

[@SuperWiiBros08]

oh my God, so it was AlphaDream was doomed for a long time

[@blazie42069]

Alphadream made a mistake by not treating employees well until after dream team, and it kind of seems like the damage was already done after that point Unfortunate really

[@artenitalewis1541]

Ok, say what you want about paper jam, BUT YOU CANNOT TELL ME THE MISSION MUSIC ISN'T A BANGER

[@lizard.y]

ITS SO HEATTT

[@artey6671]

The game is so boring that I didn't notice. I think Sonic 06 has a similar issue.

[@Kai-0-Kenfs]

IM TRYING TO REMEMBER THE NAMEEEEE PLS TELL ME IF YOU KNOW

[@lizard.y]

@@Kai-0-Kenfs track name is “Where’s Toad?”

[@Kai-0-Kenfs]

@@lizard.y ilysm dawg

[@turboDrowsy]

Dream Team is also pretty well known for the more complicated sprites that took way more time making due to the stereoscopic 3D technology that had to be compatible with the environment’s and sprites at the same time to look good. This explains why it took so much time and money to make any of their 3DS M&L, and why there was always corners cut. These games were usually very expensive to make, yet they weren’t making back as much money as BIS on OG DS. So they continued making games with newer sprites mixed with reused assets from dream team. Paper Jam, SSS 3DS, and BIS remake are all a result of them wanting to reuse assets while spending money on making newer models, environments, and sprites. And no, I don’t think the reason why some of the unique characters are gone are because of mandates. It’s because it’s cheaper to reuse assets instead of spending more money of new assets that take significant time and money to create. AlphaDream might’ve had the worst crunch with the 3DS because of the 3D technology and their need to tweak their assets to be just right for the hardware. But this would eventually lead to their downfall.

[@francisslider64]

As a huge fan of this series, it's just really sad to know more about the context of this studio bankruptcy. This is a great example of why companies should always treat their employees well to avoid any consequences which isn't the case with Alpha dream. I still do hope to see this series revive one day by another studio, I mean NDCube did replaced Hudson Soft for the Party games so I hope it will be the case here!

[@GlaceonFan1997]

2 weeks later, bro finally got his wish ✅

[@blitzeleven1979]

It’s still hurts me so much we never got a remake of partners in time

[@slobbyxd3885]

Me too, its the only one I haven’t actually played including the remakes, so it is kind of sad we never saw that opportunity, I feel lots of people haven’t played it, but seeing how badly the bowsers inside story remake flopped, maybe it was for the best

[@blitzeleven1979]

@@slobbyxd3885 poor management was one reason why the company went bankrupt like he says in the video and bowser inside story was their best selling game so that’s why they remake it and another reason why they went bankrupt in my opinion it’s that the remakes came out during the last years for the 3ds life cycle if they made them for the switch they would still be around, I love all the games equally but I like the 2nd a bit more cuz it’s the darkest Mario game and they aren’t even tame about it, it’s flat out in your face.

[@SuperLegendOf364]

Oh wow, I agree with the sentiment towards the end of the video. As a fan of their work, it gives me closure knowing context for their fall, but ultimately, I'm less sympathetic for AlphaDream going under now.

[@Lonkshi21]

What do you mean you're less sympathetic

[@squiddu]

Why would you not be? If anything, this only puts MORE of the blame on higher-ups in the company. To not feel as bad about their closure like this feels a little insulting to the devs and employees who genuinely wanted to make great games but also were horribly mistreated.

[@abdieljove2011]

@@squidduWhat’s there to feel sorry for the employees for? At least as far as I know, most of the staff got hired by Nintendo. Which say Whst you want about some of their choices, is reportedly one of the best companies in the industry for the employees. So the employees got an upgrade. What’s the big tragedy here? Of course, if reports of Nintendo absorbing the staff aren’t true, that’s another matter.

[@Miriam_J_]

@@abdieljove2011 Nintendo also does crunch. Check out New Horizons development cycle for a recent example, and Smash Melee for an older one. There are more of course like Mario Sunshine and Xenoblade 2, but naming examples would get redundant. Point is, Nintendo treats their employees better no doubt, but there's no grantee they won't be forced to crunch again. Just wish this wouldn't be a problem at all, especially for Nintendo. They don't need to rush things out, yet they do regularly. Mario Wonder devs got as long as they needed, but that seems to be the exception and not the rule.

[@abdieljove2011]

@@Miriam_J_ Oh, I’m sure they do. They rank amongst the best in employee care amongst Japanese companies, but frankly all big corporations do crunch. Especially in things like gaming. And ESPECIALLY in Japan which has a huge overwork culture. It’s slowly getting better, but I mean SLOWLY. This is the national where desth from overwork isn’t that odd. Nir that crunch isn’t a problem worldwide. My point was the employees are better in Nintendo than in Alohadream. But at the end of the day, the AAA game industry isn’t a great work environment for a lot of the rank and file employees.

[@martinduran4829]

Getting this recommended the day after Mario and Luigi: Brothership is announced is the most ironic thing ever to me

[@MrKitrid]

No reason to feel weird about investigating companies. They need to be more transparent about their work environment and held accountable for any wrongdoing. Gamers should strive to learn how the sausage is made.

[@francescovalente100]

Really appreciate the ttyd remake chapter 2 battle theme at the start, it's a banger

[@lizard.y]

I knew I had to include it when I heard it for the first time

[@IamCanadian3333]

It was also stated that with Dream Team, they had to restart development numerous times. That certainly wouldn't have helped them financial-wise.

[@the3dluxe53]

I really hope with the recent remakes of iconic Mario RPGs they take another stab at Mario and Luigi with a new dev team.

[@jwil4286]

To be fair, Nintendo let Mercury Steam make Metroid Dread after they did so well with remaking Metroid II

[@yggdrasilsaltar]

i think goodfeel (the team behind the giant battles in dream team and makers of most mario spinoffs) could be a really good successor!

[@commandertaco1762]

I amd begging for a PiT remake

[@ThatGuy-ky2yf]

​​@@commandertaco1762 Partners in time with the combat of BiS/Dream Team with extra side content on the Switch or Switch 2 would be a Great comeback and the Switch first party games still sell extremely well so I'd say Nintendo would actually make a decent profit

[@loregasmic]

@@commandertaco1762 None of those games needed to be remade. Remastered for Switch sure but everything from scratch? Not necessary. What we need is a REAL sequel to Bowser’s Inside Story. Dream Team and everything after it doesn’t count.

[@orebb2204]

Damn 3 weeks later and there's a new one. Talk about timing😂

[@ztarburst]

We appreciate you! The mario & luigi community appreciates you! Also, GeorgeMarioNerd got a new ttyd survey that mentions M&L.

[@lizard.y]

Thank you, and I did see that!

[@meta527II]

2:33 A mesage apears on screen for a split second

[@GIGACAT573]

"Explore the Real and Dream Worlds." It's because he is not showing gameplay footage of Mario and Luigi Dream Team, he is showing the release trailer of the said game. So no hidden message, man.

[@AzumarillConGafasBv]

So they got in debt due to crunch.... It's so sad how a studio falls that hard due to a mistake, but at least they kept doing the games and put effort and love on them

[@Sebberboi]

I think the stuff you've been doing is quite cool. Getting to know the deep lore behind what actually went down at Alphadream. And it's the reason why I found your channel and subscribed to it in the first place. But it's cool of you that you want to branch into other topics rathef than just talking about Alphadream and it's history. I'm looking forward to what you're cooking up regardless, since any Mario & Luigi content is a godsend and yours is one of the best on the site.

[@lizard.y]

Thank you so much 🙏

[@ENNEN420]

>contract workers until they finish one game >even then you might not get a job >huge crunch time and over time (probably unpaid) >outdated systems >labor bureau fined them >god knows if Nintendo forced them to make a 3DS game in current year + 4 All is normal for the standards of a Japanese company

[@lizard.y]

the fact that they likely got fined by the labor bureau really says a lot about how bad it was compared to other japanese game dev companies 💀

[@Hetsu..]

@@lizard.y Wouldnt say that, theres a very good chance they just got unlucky with that fine, lots of japanese companies have workers literally killing themselves from stress, I doubt they were that bad.

[@Minecraftbrock27]

WE ARE SO BACK!!!!!!!!

[@TheSufferG]

I miss read the title and was very confused as to when and why Alpharad went bankrupt. Great vid by the way.

[@keatodiet]

WE’RE SO BACK

[@GargingoMan]

HELL YEAH

[@David_The_Mario]

Oh subtitles now? cool

[@lizard.y]

yee, got a lot easier to add them in recently

[@DarkJ1425]

funny I watched this video last weekend then "WE'RE BACK"

[@MinitendoFS]

Whos here after they announced the new Mario and Luigi xD?

[@oofer__]

yo completely unrelated to the vid i have that exact same blue toad plushie. related to this video i have been a fan of this series since i was younger and im glad someone is still talking about this series. thanks! even though alphadream is bankrupt, im still hoping someone else picks up the game for some reason

[@mintiini]

we are so back

[@ExGanonMain]

AlphaDream did not deserve a fate like this

[@GalaxiaShadow]

Also doesn't help the fact that at the end of the 3DS' lifespan, they just didn't wanted to put their games onto the Switch

[@hadi48930]

Yes, They're Only for Two Screens for Nintendo DS and 3DS

[@GeorgeMarionerd]

Will be forever sad that Nintendo didn't bail out or buy Alphadream, but hey, there's always a chance they'll resurrect M&L on their own or with another company, and they may even get the old devs in to work on it.

[@PotionMaster21]

it might seem crazy what I'm about to say...

[@GeorgeMarionerd]

@@PotionMaster21 Glad to see my comment aged well lol

[@abram-green]

Something tells me this is why the BiS remake wasn't on switch. The swap from DS to 3DS nearly ruined them, and so they figured the swap from 3DS to Switch would have done the same.

[@JagGentlemann]

If a CEO isn't aware of the problem in their company, it is their fault.

[@LegoWhisbecauseyes]

"I always come back." -Alphadream after reveal of M&L Brothership probably

[@hossammoah]

They're still bankrupt. Alphadream is not developing brothership.

[@MGharriy]

Fym Alphadream is bankrupt

[@AKAJJ]

Alphadream is long gone 😂

[@ShadowEclipse777]

7:16 bro really save scumming the level up bonus

[@Blueberry-748]

I think the next Mario and Luigi game (if one happens) should be called Mario and Luigi In Between Dimensions. the game would have you go through the Mario universe and collect scattered artifacts from that dimension, after they are all put back in their original spots you'll fight a boss from that dimension and then you'll take along those dimensions Mario and Luigi (for instance the paper dimension you would take paper Mario and paper Luigi) now obviously you wouldn't be able to take 30 different versions of Mario and Luigi at the same time so you would be able to pick the people you want in your squad at any time (besides in battle). This is just a concept of course but I think it would be an interesting game. (yes I liked my own comment)

[@Justminish]

WE ARE BACK

[@SportsGaming-ll3ru]

Putting the games on the 3ds was the biggest killer when the switch was out, and putting out the BiS remake just in hopes of making money truly killed them

[@thetadpoleprince2250]

One thing im curious about is why there was a big gap between PiT and BiS. Its a bit strange because SS and PiT were only 2 years apart, while PiT and BiS were 4 years apart. Did they just have a much more flexable schedule, or were they working on a projects that got canceled?

[@venousextraordinaire6386]

We’re back. We’re so fucking back.

[@superjumpbros64]

Boys, we are back

[@cataclyx]

thank you for making this video. arguably one of the worst case scenarios i could have hoped for personally but i appreciate knowing nonetheless, it does in fact bring closure. the story you pieced together is all too familiar in this day and age, though i would like to mention that clarifications on the deductive and indeterminate nature of the situation are always appreciated, EVEN when they may "retract" from the persuasiveness of a particular argument. thanks for respecting the viewers in that way

[@bloemkoolendestreetgang450]

I love your videos as my source of well informed mario & luigi copium Could you do a video (or several) on your thoughts on the games individually? I would be very interested in seeing that

[@lizard.y]

I plan on it hopefully in the future 🙏

[@iliyas6805]

guys mario rpgs vs mainline mario who wins?

[@lizard.y]

Mario RPGs 100% 🔥

[@migatte2172]

Rpgs big time

[@alexanderthegreat-mx5zu]

At world building, dialogue and shit that's generally expected from rpgs, then the Mario Rpgs, butt gameplay wise, it's up to preference although i would say the mainline wins because let's be real,Mario and Luigi games are gud butt so freaking repetitive,you keep fighting the same two enemy types for half an hour until something actually intersting happens.

[@migatte2172]

@@alexanderthegreat-mx5zu i mean thats understandable but you cant forget that while you fight the enemies you also get to explore the location as well as doing some Puzzles that furthers your progress

[@Bengt2509]

Power wise:rpgs Story wise:rpgs Gameplay:mainline

[@PianistTanooki]

6:16 I would argue that Paper Jam’s sales were NOT “decent.” Barely hitting 1 million is pretty damn low. They'd previously implied that Partners in Time’s sales were "disappointing” in one of the Iwata Asks interviews, either for Bowser’s Inside Story or Dream Team. Paper Jam sold worse than Partners in Time… and it’s a 3DS game with a much higher development cost. Here's my theory: Bowser's Inside Story was immensely successful for them, selling over 4 million copies. AlphaDream probably figured that the series had a lot of room for growth after this and thought they could invest a ton of money in game development for the future 3DS games. They probably figured, "we'll make that money back if this game sells as well as Bowser's Inside Story." This, however, did not happen. Dream Team, in spite of the fact that it sold more than Superstar Saga, probably disappointed sales-wise, given the fact that it cost a lot more to develop. Yes, it sold more than Superstar Saga… but Superstar Saga was a much simpler GBA game. Dream Team was a 3DS game. This is like the equivalent of a SNES game selling 2 million, then a GameCube game from the same franchise selling 2.2 million. 2.2 million is more… but definitely isn't bringing in the same kind of profit. Then they develop and release Paper Jam, and this one FURTHER disappointed, as I said above. I'm sure the studio was fined as well, like you said. So, AlphaDream got desperate and thought re-releasing lower cost remakes of Superstar Saga and Bowser's Inside Story would recoup the costs… but they didn't. Superstar Saga DX sold half a million, and Bowser's Inside Story DX has the distinction of being the worst selling Mario-related game ever. There are other things as well. In the Iwata Asks interview for Dream Team, the director Hiroyuki Kubota mentioned how he felt drained and his mind was a completely blank slate after finishing Bowser's Inside Story, but he "knew he had to get on with the next one." I'm likely butchering the wording, but this remark stood out to me. It sounded like the devs just got really tired after Bowser's Inside Story, and the series went on a steady decline after that. Dream Team and Paper Jam felt bloated, and I had to slog my way to finishing these. Almost like these games were just made out of obligation, because they "had" to make these games. Not because they wanted to.

[@buzzytrombone4353]

Hearing stories like this and knowing that they went bankrupt kind of hurts my experiences replaying some of the games in the series. All seven of them are fun in their own ways even if some decisions held one of them back from feeling fantastic, but that stamina that I got from playing these games was shot in the face and it still hurts to think about whenever I play one of these games.

[@blueotter5954]

I came for Mario and Luigi, I stayed for Alpha Team news.

[@silvncr]

7:15 rewinding for the spinner 😭

[@crashban4t.f.s.b783]

This is really disappointing. It’s horrible. I hope the employees find great jobs at places that do respect them. Respect is the most important thing at any place.

[@supspaz]

lmao they dropped a new Mario and Luigi game

[@ahmedhasan4966]

Yes, but It's made by a different developer.

[@ItsTforTea]

WE ARE SO BACK

[@NomuNarukami753]

It sucks that the employees got overworked. Good work on the videos Lizardy. Can’t wait to see what’s next! Also how is the TTYD Remake?

[@TeamPurpleMagicPower]

I would really want to see a new official (or fan-made) Mario & Luigi game for the Nintendo Switch ever since AlphaDream had gone bankrupt. PLEASE HELP SAVE MARIO & LUIGI! #MarioAndLuigi #AlphaDream #SaveMarioAndLuigi

[@NoxideActive]

I wouldn't go so far as to assume the company treated their employees horribly, it's clear that there is a big difference between old school workers and newer ones. What was normal for the longest time in AlphaDream was too hard for the rest of the changing world. It is still AlphaDreams responsibility to adjust to the new working climate somewhat however I do find it ironic that the employees reporting the company to the Labor Standard Bureau ended up losing their jobs because all the government did was fine the company, leading it to bankruptcy... if this is true.

[@HorizonIncarnate]

BIS and DT are my childhood. I'm sad on how ALPHADREAM went out but god am I happy we're getting Brothership.

[@B-ot2xx]

Dropping lore bombs on dead studios is crazy 😭

[@Lonkshi21]

Those employees deserved better

[@poleythepolarbear9706]

After hearing this. I don't feel bad about them being shutdown.

[@Zolerian]

Oh my goddess I didn't knew anything about this. I always assumed they got bankrupt solely because the games sold badly, but to be fair looking back that seemed extremely weird because they did sold something, and comparing them to other studios that make Mario games like Intelligent Systems, Retro Studios and Next Level Games, it doesn't really make sense that these ones got down just because, even more after their games are seen so highly by the general public. Now thus explains why, they wete into legal trouble. I don't know what else to comment about this, but that of course us all can take this as an example to just treat your developers right and not force them to extreme stuff even if you are in a weird place like transitioning from one system to another. It seems pretty weird to me that Nintendo didn't put a hand in there, trying to put control or update their enviroment or something, even more after hearing that they put control un Retro Studios when there was crunch at the time of Metroid Prime's development. Maybe Nintendo wasn't aware of the crunch at AlphaDream?

[@expanddong6156]

I can’t beleive alpharad would do something as heinous as this, wait nvm false alarm, I misread alphadream for alpharad

[@FanOfMario]

Thumbnail looks like Mario himself is a criminal 😭😭

[@lizard.y]

he is

[@FanOfMario]

@@lizard.y 😦

[@MGharriy]

​​@@FanOfMario He is charged for killing 600+ Goombas, 345 Koopas, and 30% of Bowser's stronger minions

[@scrimblocoded]

This honestly makes a lot of sense, I really did not think a slight decline in sales would tank them that hard especially with all the clever asset reuse and everything, but also I have no clue what the budget of these games are so I'm just talking. People won't wanna hear this, but if the work culture was cruel to employees maybe its for the best they got their comeuppance, a bit. I sympathize for any employees who would've lost their jobs in this situation, but its a cautionary tale that should be heeded.

[@zariaalhajmoustafa2573]

The question is why only develop Mario and Luigi game because Reliant one franchise as a sense of income destroy you if this game is starting to to fail you don't have a backup

[@Mahdi12]

They were my childhood, I never expected them to be in debt.

[@ShuyGuy397]

Hehehe sooo

[@M64bros]

Let's pray and hope the franchise along with the original employees return to The switch version since Nintendo did give us questions and hope that the franchise will return

[@SoraFan23]

So basically poor working conditions is what made the company go bankrupt.

[@ghb323]

japan is facing sweatshop working conditions just as bad as what’s happening in the U.S by greedy corps. Hearing about the Amagasaki derailment is disheartening, impossible demands is not something an employee should ever experience. On top that is Karoshi, tells me it’s also hell to live in japan.

[@shadeblackwolf1508]

I heard that they had a ton of talented people and when the studio fell Nintendo poached most of them. Given the timeline, alphadream's developers get closure when we get an all new mario rpg

[@lizard.y]

Only 3ish employees went to Nintendo (specifically the Zelda team) , atleast to our knowledge

[@matthewkrenzler1171]

I had suspected that they went bankrupt because of horrible sales numbers for this game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate went full ghostbusters within and after Christmas with more Nintendo Switch units being sold separately at the same time. Nintendo had already fast-tracked their support course for 3DS to shut down much later in March or July. Bowser Jr.’s Journey never premiered in other regions until Australia Day.

[@MegamanNG]

It still stings that Alphadream was gone and yes, I knew how they got into this predicament. Funny enough, Nintendo sent me a copy of Superstar Saga 3DS. I bought BiS 3DS to at least show my love for this series. The good closure isn't what you would expect but it's better than nothing. And yeah, it's blamed more on a mobile game that Alphadream worked on flopped.

[@DreamDevilsMultiverseOfMadness]

GUESS WHO'S BACK? BROTHERSHIP IS COMING SOON

[@Azzie_S]

Nice video. IMO I think the crunch is the symptom not the cause. I don't believe they could be fined into bankruptcy. Alphadream stated that the reason they filed for bankruptcy was profit margins not keeping up with rising development costs. I think the stratospheric rise in production values increase is what did them in rather than crunch. In the Iwata Asks about Dream Team Iwata is staggered by the work load they had. By making it so big they needed overtime to meet their deadlines, to give overtime they'd have to go over budget and to afford that they'd have to take out loans. It's notable that on 3DS Sticker Star sold about the same as Dream Team and was considered a success. Likely due to much lower budget and recycling of assets from TTYD. Square Enix had the same problem with FF16 and FFVIIRebirth this year. The development costs grew so high that even 2-3 millions sales couldn't break even. Overambitous scope lead to success becoming impossible even with sales that would traditionally be considered a big success. It makes sense that with Paper Jam they cut back and used Sticker Star Models to reign in the costs.

[@kindaepicngl1671]

holy shit that makes way too much sense now. the more generic selection for enemies and recycled, plain NPC's in paper jam were highly likely because of these budget cuts

[@smallbag123]

Mario & Luigi is back bois!!

[@Redpoppy80]

Even with a fine AlphaDream should not have had that kind of debt unless there were preexisting conditions leading to the debt. Remember that AD didn't hire workers but contractors? If an outside agency such as the Labor Standards or some judge concluded that they were in fact workers, then they would have had to pay damages for miscataloging them and what if the conditions were so bad because of the chronic shortage of workers so they had to double their staff and what if the board were taking a little too much in compensation? Now that would explain the debt.

[@crashban4t.f.s.b783]

I really hope they bring the employees who worked on it on board for a Mario and Luigi RPG on switch.

[@Mike14264]

So basically, their work environment was so bad and outdated with the time crunches, overwork and whatnot, they were fined by the LSB and forced to follow guidelines for a better work environment. Being so outdated on their work practices, they probably weren't able to fully keep up with the guidelines. That, alongside their less well performing games, probably also due to the overall less amount of work they were allowed to put in, was probably what resulted in an increase of the debt and eventually, their bankruptcy.

[@NoxideActive]

Kind of a self defeating solution. >Work is too hard >Get government to fine company >Company needs to make money >Workers do less work now >Company goes bankrupt >Workers are unemployed.

[@Mike14264]

@@NoxideActive literally, and I wouldn't be surprised if other Japanese companies are still also doing the same, simply because they wouldn't be able to adapt to the new guidelines because they're too stuck in the old ways. It ain't gonna work for them, just like how it didn't work for AlphaDream.

[@thenonexistinghero]

So basically poor management and failing to get with the times resulted in major problems that eventually caused the company to close. I feel like it's the same for many Japanese developers. For some reason it's just far too common for them to stick with old and inefficiënt methods to develop games. This inflates the cost, work and development time while at the same time likely puts so much pressure on the employees that it basically destroys them as a person (since they have to reach impossible and near-impossible deadlines).

[@Astral76]

As long as this franchise returns, it can only go up.

[@PixelMiiGamer]

7:07 I like this mindset for companies.

[@HarambaeXelonmuskfans]

Oh hell nah, the company on twitter liked my reply! The entire company! I love them!

[@goranisacson2502]

I saw this randomly in my feed, and I am glad I clicked on it. While it may not be the word of someone fluent in Japanese who can give ultraaccurate translations, it's a far sight more than what a lot of other channels have done, I knew nothing of this before I saw this video. This does, I feel, add a lot of context to why Nintendo didn't bail them out. They probably saw that AlphaDreams issues were so big that if they bought them out they'd be taking over a poorly managed company that would keep giving them trouble, for unsatisfying returns. We fans may weep over losing our favorite series, I won't say that's wrong, but Nintendo have to see whether it'd be worth it to bail then out, spend money on investigating what went wrong at the company, firing people they deem poor managers (if they even CAN, what with how strong employment laws in Japan can be) and hiring new ones, and then by the time they'll do that AlphaDream would have to hire new people AND develop new tech in order to make games for Switch. It's a sad and messy story all over, I'm afraid.

[@Zer0ducksgiven]

It's such a shame as these games really were the last bastion of hope for the Mario RPG genre. I'm hoping the TTYD remake means good things for the future of Mario RPG's without Mario and Luigi, but who really knows. I am still going to miss these games, Bowsers Inside Story is still a masterpiece and the remake didn't deserve to sell so poorly.

[@----x-----]

I thought it was the huge cost of attempting to import their pixel graphic style to literally 3D and how challenging that was

[@billyscribbles5154]

Not so related but, it's funny how the USA Partners in Time instruction blooket is the ONLY with NO scans online

[@Notretrobread]

R.I.P. alphadream 😔

[@ng65gaming]

What timing…