Why Developers Left Retro Studios

[@TheRedcipe]

I'm so thankful for the contributions from anyone who worked on these amazing games. 100 hour work weeks is insane and I 100% understand not sticking around when the Wii wasn't powerful enough to satisfy your imagination.

[@ADreamingTraveler]

You can feel the passion and care these devs put into those games.

[@KoolSavis]

I get that point, it seems that many western partners where dissapointed by the Wii hardware, on the other site as a tech person, i can imagine to challenge myself and get the most out of the console. Look at Shinen for example, they did some nice things and if Disnutz wouldn´t cancel the finished Rogue Squadron Wii game, Factor 5 had his showcase of tech for Wii. In hindsight, of course Wii wasn´t on Xbox360 Power levels, but you could do nice things with it in SD.

[@lucasLSD]

2:23 A hundred hours week for months, I can't even fathom that, it's a wonder how game devs are even alive.

[@protocetid]

the upper class doesn’t see those below them as people

[@av3nger3]

@@protocetid yup

[@isaiahdrye8085]

@@protocetid true

[@Leee275]

@@protocetid Prime 1 was the only one to have heavy crunch during its development, Prime 2 hardly counts since it was at the end and mostly just cutscenes. Their following games didn't have any afaik, or at least they don't seem to be near as talked about like that. Prime 1 was 21 years ago, the crunch hours started because of the whole mess with Jeff Spangenberg, hence as to why they bought Retro from him. Nintendo isn't known for having crunch on their games.

[@protocetid]

@@Leee275 Lol, as if crunch didn’t plague the industry for decades and is only being phased out due to consumer and developer backlash. And I’m only talking about the the west and assuming there aren’t companies that are coercing developers to crunch and stay quiet about it. Japan is infamous for its ridiculous work culture that doesn’t give people enough time to start a family, they sleep at work.

[@robertkenny1201]

Well I hope this doesn't affect how Metroid Prime 4 turns out, I ain't expecting any Metroid news until E3 2023.

[@KIWITALKZ]

agreed, Metroid Prime 4 info aint coming anytime soon. Though I would love to be wrong

[@johnnydarling8021]

I concur. Nintendo didn’t even announce plans to reform Retro until 2019. That undoubtedly took at least SOME time to do, and then once you have the team together, then they gotta start working on the engine that they’re going to use. It can’t be compared to the development timeline of Prime 2 & 3, where everyone was already in place and using the same engine and basically the same assets from Prime 1. Retro is starting essentially from scratch, and technology and techniques have changed a lot over the last two decades. Some things are undoubtedly easier, but to make a modern AAA quality game that looks good and plays well, requires many more complicated systems that take time to master. And that’s all before you even START making the game. And then you have new challenges; questions of how to make this feel new and innovative, AND still feel like the Metroid games fans know and love. There are high expectations for Metroid Prime 4, and I’m sure Retro knows that perfectly well. The last studio that was working on it got canned precisely because Nintendo saw it was living up to that standard. As the old saying goes, “do you want it done fast, or do you want it done right?” I believe Retro is going to do it right, and they’re going to take the time needed to do that. There is a very good reason Nintendo hasn’t been sharing anything about it, and that’s because it’s simply not there yet.

[@robertkenny1201]

@@johnnydarling8021 Well I hope it live up to the hype and actually sells well for a change unlike previous games in the franchise.

[@johnnydarling8021]

@@robertkenny1201 Metroid Dread sold very well. Other M? Federation Force? Never heard of them.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@robertkenny1201 I recommend Blaster Master Zero 3 and Cave Story as Metroid alternatives.

[@creativecatproductions]

You do great work dude 😎

[@freezeframeplease]

your channel is horribly underrated! amazing pieces of information cheers!

[@KIWITALKZ]

Thanks! It is growing just really sloooooow

[@av3nger3]

Mm. I remember requesting an interview from Derek Bonikowski, lead animator at Retro Studios, in 2011/2012 and he said his HR person or agent would not allow that. This video and his email add up

[@gg1648]

How they felt was completely valid, and if they wanted to move on with their lives they were more than entitled to do so especially after they contributed so much and their efforts lead to such great games.

[@CptJistuce]

They are so glad you gave them permission to quit.

[@ADreamingTraveler]

This was really cool to hear from them. I'm glad I even found this lol

[@ItApproaches]

So ultimately the only main reasons why anyone left Retro, was they got tired of Metroid which of course after 3 games is to be expected, but that's a non-issue as DK was after. The other reason was the Wii not being HD, ehh okay I guess I can understand that. Or the last reason was Nintendo not giving them as much creative freedom as they needed. I understand that. But in the end nobody left Retro on bad terms and many say they still keep in touch and wouldn't say no to returning. Which is a good thing.

[@sleepdeep305]

Well, you can’t really have too much creative freedom when you’re one of the hundreds of contributors to the project, it’s just the reality of the industry. Otherwise the product is chaotic, disjointed and unfocused

[@ItApproaches]

@@sleepdeep305 I don't think Retro's team was hundreds back then. Maybe 100 in total. But your point is valid.

[@KIWITALKZ]

Full Interviews Here Eric Kozlowsky - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZmugaRvg5VpjdE Ted Anderson - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmrXc6FqqJekhtE Zoid - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIS1dnmfbqaopdU Jack Mathews - kzbin.info/www/bejne/lafOlK2ped6NppY Carlos Mendieta - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGObaJWAi7msgLc

[@nasrimarc7050]

guys im fan of metroid developed by retro studios, i have all the ops ans any time when i take a look of my metroid prime in my collection im always always suprised by the aswome job retro studios developers did, as a developers i recognize your ingenuity and your creativity, your jobs is MASTERPIECE and model of video game quality

[@Geryf]

Man New Orleans is pretty dope though good city

[@googletarded8300]

It's starting to make sense why Nintendo's directs are refraining from mentioning Metroid Prime.

[@ItApproaches]

Not really, Retro has always been secretive and doesn't show off till they're ready.

[@AICW]

Should have included that money quote from Mike Wikan about "the nine month death march at the end of Metroid Prime 1."

[@KIWITALKZ]

That is not the reason he left though.

[@Austinator0630]

Retro Studios isn't all that different from the third parties companies Nintendo farm out there IPs too.

[@johnleonard9102]

It's interesting how Nintendo would be on Retro's back all the time, yet they just let Sakamoto do his thing when making Other M with Team Ninja.

[@Mr_Flopp-c8j]

Well... actually, there is a reason why Nintendo is always keeping a close eye on Retro Studios. It's because of Jeff Spangenberg, Retro's Founder and former CEO. I recommend reading about him on wikitroid, wikipedia, etc... or watch a documentary of Retro Studios inception and problems. To summarize, he founded Retro Studios with Nintendo's funding and has done some nasty things while he was there. While Sakamoto did F up on Other M's story, he didn't do anything illegal. This might be the reason why nintendo didn't let many ocidental studios doing games with their IPs for years, it must've been a scarring lesson for them.

[@TheLastDrPhil]

I can imagine Prime 3 could have been an amazing game if it had the technology of the PS3 and the Xbox 360. This is kind of the reason why I'm a bit worried about Prime 4 Beyond. The idea is there but the technology is not good enough.

[@ElAssoWipe-o]

Yeah but it did a real number on the industry and now AAA gaming is on the verge of collapse. Nintendo made the smart move by staying away from high end/expensive graphics.

[@JeremyThanaparamy]

This feel like the full making Control it feels like it's developers by Bandai Namco Games Last Game Retro Studios #MetroidPrime4 #BandaiNamco #RetroStudios

[@firedupplayers]

The Retro Studios logo looks identical to the Sonic The Hedgehog logo

[@thekiss2083]

Careful about gathering too much anti-Nintendo stuff in one place. Wouldn't want you or any of these guys to get lawyered

[@KIWITALKZ]

I don't see how this is anti-Nintendo? People leave game studios all the time, These guys all have very different reasons for leaving Retro and the game industry is known for developers moving on to greener pastures. The last guy Carlos Mendieta summed it up nicely at the end.

[@thekiss2083]

I understand, but creating a compilation along the lines of "Here's what all these people didn't like about working for Retro/Nintendo" could certainly be construed as negative by an image-savvy corporation

[@orangeslash1667]

@@thekiss2083 If anything this video forces Metroid fans to be patient for Prime 4.

[@ItApproaches]

@@thekiss2083 This wasn't them not liking anything, it was sharing their personal feelings, like I wanted the Wii to be stronger, or I wanted to move to New Orleans lol.