Topic: Xenosaga to be a Nintendo exclusive?

[Spak-Spang]

Usually you do not buy a company for the talent...you try to lure the talent to work with you.

However, Monolith and Nintendo have worked together and their philosophy in games is similar...which means buying the company for the staff and talent is viable because most likely they won't leave the company for becoming a part of a larger company that you already have good relationship with, AND they will probably be happy to have the stronger funding.

[Arbok]

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Originally posted by: capamerica
Second, As I have stated over and over and OVER again, copyrights mean sh!t. Nintendo held most of Rare's copyrights and Nintendo didn't keep any of their series. And before you say "well Rare was a special case" show me 1, just 1 example of where a developer leaves its publisher and does NOT take their series with them.

One example? How about Naughty Dog then? Bought by Sony in 2001, they are the people who developed the Crash Bandicoot series. Universal, who published the titles and also owned them in the copyright that "means sh!t" ended up taking the franchise.

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Originally posted by: Smash_Brother
The bottom line:
Nintendo doesn't need to pay millions of dollars to Banco for something they could have gotten for free.

It has happend before in the industry (Retro with Nintendo, Naughty Dog with Sony), so I don't see why it's out the question to have happend again. As previously stated, maybe Disaster is turning out to be something really special and Nintendo just wants to make sure that a lot of the team behind it stays in their camp?

[Ceric]

Please read the Q&A with Iwata he explains the whole reasoning behind how Nintendo buys companies fairly plainly.

Edit: It seems I'm a little late on this one.

[capamerica]

Ah.. do you even know the history of Crash Bandicoot?

The first 4 Crash titles were published by Sony, Thous are also the only 4 games that Naughty Dog made. When Vivendi got involved Naughty Dog was no longer making Crash games. 3 games later (pretty much during the time the Crash series compleatly tanked. Sony and Naughty Dog reached an agreement to sell the license to Vivendi Games.

So ya, this is no where near the same thing as Monolith Soft.

[Adrock]

The way I see it, Nintendo probably could've lured Hirohide Sugiura and a bunch of designers away from Monolith Soft, but that would've basically screwed of Namco Bandai. Nintendo spent years patching up relationships with 3rd parties, their relationship with Namco Bandai being particularly strong today. And if Nintendo screwed one company, regardless of which one, how does that look to everyone else?

So really, if Nintendo basically just got a huge chunk of Monolith Soft, sans the franchises, to develop exclusively for Wii and DS, they did it the "right" way. Nintendo gets Monolith Soft, who in turn seems to really want to work with Nintendo and Namco Bandai is well-compensated. Everyone wins.

And even if the purchase didn't come with the franchises, I think Monolith Soft is more than capable of creating a brand new RPG series. There's really no reason to believe otherwise.  

[The Traveller]

They should of bought Camelot..They could make a really impressive rpg on the Wii.

[Kairon]

Maybe Camelot didn't want to be bought?

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: Adrock
And even if the purchase didn't come with the franchises, I think Monolith Soft is more than capable of creating a brand new RPG series. There's really no reason to believe otherwise.

That's probably the most compelling argument, but like I said, it all boils down to how much Nintendo spent on this transaction.

I could see them spending a certain amount of money if it was worth it under the ideas you said, but there's a limit.

[Adrock]

That's true to a certain extent. However, like I said, Nintendo got a competent develop while still preserving their relationship with Namco Bandai. That relationship may even be stronger now because Nintendo didn't just go behind their backs and take Hirohide Sugiura and Monolith Soft's best. I think that shows how far Nintendo has come in terms of 3rd party relations. Under Yamauchi, it would've been, "F*ck 'em" and if they wanted to extend Hirohide Sugiura an offer, they would have.

[KDR_11k]

A company is more than IP and personell. The team's cooperation isn't something you can retain when poaching devs and you won't get all of them by poaching anyway. The whole culture of the company is important as well since it has a strong influence on the result. Also buying the company is one time, offering devs higher pay to lure them away is a continuous cost.

[Smash_Brother]

I still don't think a buyout would happen without the franchises going with it.

We'll still wait and see, but I A) can't see Banco bothering with Xenosaga (they wanted to end the series anyway) and B) I don't see a need for Nintendo to buy the company if he was going to be entering into exclusive publishing deals anyway.

And on the subject, WHAT relationship with Banco? This is the same company which continues to provide ass for Wii support while announcing Time Crisis on the PS3.

I know Nintendo doesn't want that perception, but IMHO, f*ck Banco and their digimon games.

[NWR_pap64]

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Originally posted by: Smash_Brother
I still don't think a buyout would happen without the franchises going with it.

We'll still wait and see, but I A) can't see Banco bothering with Xenosaga (they wanted to end the series anyway) and B) I don't see a need for Nintendo to buy the company if he was going to be entering into exclusive publishing deals anyway.

And on the subject, WHAT relationship with Banco? This is the same company which continues to provide ass for Wii support while announcing Time Crisis on the PS3.

I know Nintendo doesn't want that perception, but IMHO, f*ck Banco and their digimon games.

And Gundam, don't forget Gundam!

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: pap64 And Gundam, don't forget Gundam!

Oh, indeed...

*ahem*

F*ck Gundam. Twice.

[Adrock]

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Smash_Brother wrote:
And on the subject, WHAT relationship with Banco? This is the same company which continues to provide ass for Wii support while announcing Time Crisis on the PS3.

While I agree that Namco Bandai is shafting Wii (like many publishers actually), there really is no denying that Nintendo's relationships with 3rd parties is the strongest it's been since probably ever. 3rd party support isn't anywhere near where it needs to be, but I have to give Nintendo for credit for rebuilding those bridges. They have to start somewhere and there's certainly nothing wrong with being on good terms.

[KDR_11k]

We'll still wait and see, but I A) can't see Banco bothering with Xenosaga (they wanted to end the series anyway)

Let's not forget the merchandising. He who owns Xenosaga gets the money from all the Kosmos hugging pillows they sell.

Also this talk about Wii and Gundam reminds me of the Gundam Wii screenshots still linked from the front page...

[Bill Aurion]

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Originally posted by: Adrock

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Smash_Brother wrote:
And on the subject, WHAT relationship with Banco? This is the same company which continues to provide ass for Wii support while announcing Time Crisis on the PS3.

While I agree that Namco Bandai is shafting Wii (like many publishers actually), there really is no denying that Nintendo's relationships with 3rd parties is the strongest it's been since probably ever. 3rd party support isn't anywhere near where it needs to be, but I have to give Nintendo for credit for rebuilding those bridges. They have to start somewhere and there's certainly nothing wrong with being on good terms.

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Because of sluggish sales, Namco Bandai plans to release only 23 titles for PS3 in the current fiscal year, compared to 24 games to be sold to Microsoft Corp's Xbox360 and 37 titles to be released for Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii console.

Source: NeoGAF

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Beneath all this I'm sure Namco will ignore my Tales Survey answers and continue to butcher/PS2-ify the series.

[Adrock]

Certainly, 37 is better then 23 and it's also better than the virtually nothing Namco released during the N64 years. Something is always better than nothing even if that something sucks because it fills out the library though, ideally, you want quality and quantity. We don't know what those 37 games are. If Namco Bandai releases more AAA titles on PS3 and 360 (such as Soul Calibur 4 for example), then suddenly, 37 doesn't look so impressive anymore, especially if the majority of that 37 are sh*tty Naruto titles.

I applaud Nintendo for mending many fractured relationships with 3rd parties. However, I won't break out the champagne until I know that Wii is getting more quality titles from big name publishers like Namco Bandai. From a Nintendo fan's perspective, it's nice to see a Nintendo console get support from 3rd parties, but it isn't enough to just get a lot of games. Maybe I'm asking too much, but who doesn't want quality and quantity, dammit!

[Bill Aurion]

IDEALLY, you want quality over quantity, but that obviously didn't affect the PS2's success in any way...The anime games in particular are INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT to have... =3

(And who's to say that a number of these games couldn't turn out great?  Don't be a Negative Nancy!)

[Adrock]

Hey, I never said those games couldn't turn out great. Rather, I want to know what kinds of games Wii is getting before I consider this a good thing because right now, all we have are a bunch of words without any real context. No video, no screenshots, no concrete info... nothing really. I don't think the "wait-and-see" approach is negative.

Apparently Famitsu just confirmed Soul Calibur Legends for Wii. First, that doesn't mean exclusive. And more importantly, that doesn't make it a good game. We know next to nothing about it except that Taki's boobs will probably jiggle a lot. I'm intrigued by what Namco Bandai has planned, but I'm also hesitant. I remember Sega announcing a Virtua Fighter based action/adventure game announced for Gamecube that eventually went multiplatform... then turned out to be Virtua Quest. Interesting idea, poor execution. So excuse my apprehension.

And yes, PS2 got ass games a-plenty, but it also got the vast majority of AAA games. Most publishers made PS2 their console of choice. PS2 had the most games (many, admittedly, quite terrible) though it had the most good games from those companies. Right now, there's no evidence that this is the case for Wii. We don't know what games they're planning, some or many could be ports of PS2/Xbox games, others could be Japanese only "games" where gameplay consists of, I don't know... buying cabbage at the local market and bringing it home to boil.

So essentially, if you didn't bother to read all that, while I'm glad Nintendo is getting 37 games from Namco Bandai, I simply want some info on those games.

[Kairon]

I've never bought a game with jiggle physics before...

Oh wait. I got Jet Force Gemini.

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Mikintosh]

Quote
Originally posted by: Adrock
Hey, I never said those games couldn't turn out great. Rather, I want to know what kinds of games Wii is getting before I consider this a good thing because right now, all we have are a bunch of words without any real context. No video, no screenshots, no concrete info... nothing really. I don't think the "wait-and-see" approach is negative.

Apparently Famitsu just confirmed Soul Calibur Legends for Wii. First, that doesn't mean exclusive. And more importantly, that doesn't make it a good game. We know next to nothing about it except that Taki's boobs will probably jiggle a lot. I'm intrigued by what Namco Bandai has planned, but I'm also hesitant. I remember Sega announcing a Virtua Fighter based action/adventure game announced for Gamecube that eventually went multiplatform... then turned out to be Virtua Quest. Interesting idea, poor execution. So excuse my apprehension.

And yes, PS2 got ass games a-plenty, but it also got the vast majority of AAA games. Most publishers made PS2 their console of choice. PS2 had the most games (many, admittedly, quite terrible) though it had the most good games from those companies. Right now, there's no evidence that this is the case for Wii. We don't know what games they're planning, some or many could be ports of PS2/Xbox games, others could be Japanese only "games" where gameplay consists of, I don't know... buying cabbage at the local market and bringing it home to boil.

So essentially, if you didn't bother to read all that, while I'm glad Nintendo is getting 37 games from Namco Bandai, I simply want some info on those games.

Oh bah to that. The PS2 got the high-profile GTA and Metal Gear Solid franchises, but those went into ports-a-plenty on the Xbox, Gamecube, and PC. It had Final Fantasy, but only 3 of them, and only one of them was one of the "regular" games. And Dragon Quest VIII, but they couldn't hold onto it for IX. Everything else was either niche genre games, fun platformers on par with Nintendo's lesser stuff, or multiplatform games. The PS2's library was bloated, and that's it.

The Wii's new control scheme isn't a guarantee of quality, but the fact that it's selling much better than the competition means Namco would look very stupid if it put it's name on a cabbage-buying game (I recognize your hyperbole) and putting its major franchises on systems which weren't selling nearly as well. I'm sure 60% of those games will be forgettable, but that's usually the case. But Namco clearly sees the opportunity, and I think the company's competent enough not to let that go to waste.

And If Soul Calibur Legends is anything like that one mode in III, I'm sold.

[Adrock]

Oh, come on. You're talking like a fanboy. PS2 got like every major RPG and fighting game. And when a high-profile game got ported, such as GTA or MGS2: Substance, PS2 almost always had them significantly before Xbox or Gamecube did.

I admit PS2 had a lot of crappy titles. However, I wouldn't downplay the big franchises PS2 had. The games did have some affect on its popularity.

[Deguello]

We probably should not make judgments of the 37 NamCamboDaiRai whatever games until they are revealed.

[Ceric]

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Because of sluggish sales, Namco Bandai plans to release only 23 titles for PS3 in the current fiscal year, compared to 24 games to be sold to Microsoft Corp's Xbox360 and 37 titles to be released for Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii console.

23 Multiplatform Releases
1 Xbox360 Exclusive
1 Wii Exclusive
13 Virtual Console Games

There you go.  Thats what I expect.