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Odds of Nintendo acquiring Platinum Games?

Mr Hyde

Member
Yesterday I watched the classic Bayonetta 3-reveal at Game Awards from 2017 and I wondered to myself. What are the odds of Nintendo acquiring Platinum Games?

PG has always been an independent developer, a sort of "guns for hire"- studio that does whatever the publisher they working with wants them to do. They frequently collaborate with the big three, producing all sorts of games for their systems. But recently I get the feeling that PG has a very fond relationship with Nintendo. Hideki Kamiya, famous for not only banning people on Twitter but also creating legendary games, has often expressed his admiration for Nintendo. It´s no secret that Okami was his take on The Legend of Zelda, and he has said several times that he wants to continue his partnership with Nintendo.

Nintendo revived Bayonetta when they stepped in and funded the sequel when Sega didn´t, and it seems as Nintendo is treating this franchise as one of their own, lining her up alongside heavy hitters such as Mario and Link. Bayonetta is now part of the first party family, getting a large development budget and a hefty marketing, much to Kamiyas delight I´m sure. Kamiya also did The Wonderful 101 for Wii U, and rumors has it that Platinum has three unannounced games coming to Nintendo Switch.

Before Platinum made Nier Automata they were in dire financial strait, which was due to Scalebound being cancelled and Platinum making duds like The Legend of Korra and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Their licensing endeavour also put the studio under negative spotlight and it wasn´t until Yoko Taro came on board that Platinum rose from the ashes. Kamiya himself said that "Nier Automata saved Platinum Games".

Where am I going with all of this? Well, Nier may have been a bonafide hit and let some steam off from PG but video game business is brutal in this day and age. We have seen countless studios fold like paper planes and it doesn´t take much more than one failure to end up in the cemetery. A financial securing from one of the big three would probably be a good decision should it be presented. And Nintendo seems to have a lot of love for PG with them almost treating the studio like second party. I wouldn´t be surprised if Nintendo shelled out the dough for PG and put them under their umbrella.

What do you guys think? Is Nintendo acquring Platinum Games a realistic scenario?
 
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Kdad

Member
Nintendo makes money and sells hardware based on their tried and true IP mostly .... I don't see the upside for Nintendo...I think their ROI would be better using the money to pump out more games using established IP.
 
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DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Nintendo doesn't seem to be in a studio-acquisition mode. From their perspective, developers of both console games and handheld games are flocking to their system.

And since Star Fox Wii-U and Bayonetta series are a real thing, I don't see why Nintendo needs to acquire them in order for Platinum to churn out "1st party" exclusives.

That said, I'd love it if Nintendo bought them and had them churn out 3-4 more Switch games over the course of the generation. The studio's quality seems highly dependent on which publisher they've partnered with.

Wonderful 101 port or a Wonderful 102 would be a dream come true.
 
Nintendo's modus operandi was to build up studios and invest in them while they were smaller. Even then they haven't really done that in a while, but Nintendo was pretty much always the antithesis of Microsoft when it comes to studio acquisition. They don't believe in buying well established, larger name studios. Nintendo is incredibly shrewd when it comes to business decisions like this, they don't just throw money around everywhere like MS.
 

ROMhack

Member
Hopefully low because I'd much rather Platinum stay as guns-for-hire working on new and exciting projects. Whether it's a viable financial model is another story.

I feel like they at least need to work with a company who are competent at Marketing. That's one area Square Enix excel in and likely why Nier was the massive hit it was.
 
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deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
I guess that if they wanted, they have bought before. It could be nice, thou. Nintendo can really use some of Kamiya crazy shit
 

nicktwilight

Neo Member
As a Nintendo fan I would love something like this to happen.They are pretty much the action-hack and slash top tier developers.Their games are also full of personality and quality.But I don't believe thats a good business decision for platinum for various reasons.One of them being that this move will surely anger their fanbase and limit their potential audience to only the nintendo ecosystem.
 

LoveCake

Member
Platinum Games would just lose their independence and would the people there really want to be given a Nintendo IP game to make instead of something of there own creation.

If they were in financial trouble then maybe to save themselves, but I think ultimately it would be the last resort.
 

Hudo

Member
I think both Platinum and Nintendo are quite happy with their partnership at the moment. It seems to work for both and Nintendo don't have to pay monthly upkeep for the whole studio. They also have a strong first-party anyway. Microsoft were in need of a first-party pipeline and also needed to show commitment to their brand since there were rumours of Microsoft possibly getting out of the game.

Microsoft bought studios that showed promise but had an unstable financial future. So both parties profited. Platinum Games seem to have a stable future (now), Nier Automata did wonders for them, according to Kamiya.
 
Odds are probably low because I don’t see the huge benefit for platinum games if Nintendo acquired them. It would seem more advantageous for PG if they stayed multiplatform I would imagine.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
When was the last time Nintendo bought a developer? Especially one that is known among gamers?

Unless Platinum Games is broke and needs support from a big company, I don't see them selling out.
 
i think next to zero. nobody will acquire a big developer that makes third party games. because what happens is that the amount of money that dev makes will go down once you acquire it. thats not good business

you generally either acquire financially struggling devs, small devs or devs already make exclusives for you for the most part.
 

Jubenhimer

Member
Less than 0. Nintendo almost never acquires outside studios unless there's a damn good reason to like with Retro or MonolithSoft. It's much easier and cheaper to collaborate with them on passion projects. Nintendo helps them make a potentially awesome game, the studio keeps its independence. It's a win-win for both.
 

Porcile

Member
What would you be buying if you bought Platinum? They don't own many (any?) of their IPs and if you're buying for the talent, those people could walk out the door anytime. Doesn't make any sense.
 

egocrata

Banned
If they buy them, they will have them doing Donkey Kong Country sequels in no time.

I mean, it will free Retro to do other stuff, but still.
 

Virex

Banned
It would counter why Hideki Kamiya started Platinum Games. Independence and not having to answer to anyone. So it’s never going to happen
 

Closer

Member
If Nintendo buys Platinum, I need them to buy Grasshopper, because I need my Kamiya / Suda51 game.

OT, I think the odds are low, given Nintendo's modus operandi.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Hopefully low because I'd much rather Platinum stay as guns-for-hire working on new and exciting projects. Whether it's a viable financial model is another story.

I feel like they at least need to work with a company who are competent at Marketing. That's one area Square Enix excel in and likely why Nier was the massive hit it was.
I could be wrong but I don’t remember SE did any marketing for NieR Automata. I feel the demo and word of mouth did most of the work.
 

blu

Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
That said, I'd love it if Nintendo bought them and had them churn out 3-4 more Switch games over the course of the generation. The studio's quality seems highly dependent on which publisher they've partnered with.

Wonderful 101 port or a Wonderful 102 would be a dream come true.
Aye.
I just don't think nintendo needs to buy them for this to happen.
 
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ROMhack

Member
I could be wrong but I don’t remember SE did any marketing for NieR Automata. I feel the demo and word of mouth did most of the work.

Well maybe but I meant getting review copies into journalists hands and writing press releases ahead of time. It's something I think Square Enix do really well.
 
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