In this post: SPD 1, and SPD 2 and some of its (third-party) partners
SPD 1
| Developer | Latest game | Release date | Other games and projects | Next game |
| SPD 1 | Game & Wario
Rhythm Heaven: The Best Plus |
June 2013
June 2015 (JP) |
Rhythm Heaven series
Tomodachi series WarioWare series Metroid 2D series |
(?) Rhythm Heaven: The Best Plus |
What are they working on?
SPD 1 usually co-develops (rhythm) games together with Intelligent Systems and TNX Music Recordings. With Intelligent Systems they work on the WarioWare series. With TNX Music Recording they work together on the Rhythm Heaven series. SPD 1 also develops games in the Tomodachi series. Because of the success of Tomodachi Life (the first entry in the series that was released overseas), SPD 1 is probably already working on a new entry in the Tomodachi series which will probably be released on the next handheld system (Fusion or not), but may still come to Nintendo 3DS as well.
A new WarioWare should also be in development. Since Game&Wario wasn’t really a success (I’m being nice) the next WarioWare game will probably be for a handheld device again, possibly still for the 3DS, but most likely for the next handheld system.Rhythm Heaven: The Best Plus just released in Japan last month. It may be localized for the Western market and if so, it could already release around Summer 2016.
SPD 1 also co-produced (i.e. not co-developed) Metroid Other M. This happened when Yoshio Sakomoto (co-creator of Metroid) was still one of the main producers at SPD 1. He has now been promoted to Deputy Manager of SPD in general. Metroid Other M was mainly developed by third party developer Team Ninja (of Koei Tecmo) and was not very well received by Metroid fans. Chances of Team Ninja working on another 2.5 D Metroid game are slim. Because of Sakomoto’s promotion it is unsure whether another 2D Metroid game would have to be produced by SPD 1. It may as well be produced by another SPD group. Chances that we could see another 2D Metroid game before the next Metroid Prime and after Federation Force are high though in my opinion, but that is mostly because the next Prime isn’t in active development yet.
What does this mean for WiiU?
SPD 1 does not regularly make or co-develop home console games. Game & Wario was somewhat of an exception, together with Metroid Other M. Because those game weren’t really successes, we will probably not see any more of SPD 1’s work on WiiU.
SPD 2
| Developer | Latest game | Release date | Other games and projects | Next game |
| SPD 2 | Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! | June 2007 | / | / |
What are they working on?
Nothing. SPD 2 hasn’t developed its own boxed game since the release of Brain Age 2 in the West. The Brain Age series is currently housed at Nintendo NST (and EAD4 possibly?). The other notable release of SPD 2 was Tetris DS. The Tetris license is now held by Ubisoft. Their last real feat was a DSiWare Majhong game in 2009, which was never released in the West.
Nowadays SPD 2 mostly co-produces games together with Japanese third party developers, notably: Arika, Creatures Inc., Game Freak, Ganbarion, Intelligent Systems, Mistwalker, Monolith Soft, Red Entertainment, Platinum Games, Syn Sophia, Tose, Treasure and Valhalla Game Studios. I will discuss these co-production relationships separately.
What does this mean for WiiU?
No SPD 2 developed games will release for WiiU. Some SPD 2 co-produced games will release for WiiU before Spring 2016. Some may release at a later date.
ARIKA
| Developer | Latest game | Release date | Other games and projects | Next game |
| Arika | Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure | June 2015 | Dr. Mario series
3D Classics series Endless Ocean series |
(?) Endless Ocean 3 |
What are they working on?
Arika is also known for the Street Fighter EX series (last game released in 2000). No game in the series has been released for a Nintendo system so far. It is known that they made a sample for a new fighting game on 3DS which featured characters from the Street Fighter EX series. That game demo never became a real game (unless it is still in development). They did make Tekken 3D Prime (released in 2012 for the 3DS) for Namco Bandai games. They could be working on a new fighting game, but chances are slim. On the other hand, with Street Fighter V being a PlayStation exclusive, why not release a new Street Fighter EX game on multiple platforms? I would be very interested in playing that game on WiiU.
Arika has mostly been making smaller games for digital and smartphone platforms ever since the release of Endless Ocean 2. If they are making another big game for a Nintendo platform, it will most likely be Endless Ocean 3, which may still come to WiiU, but chances of that happening are very, very slim.
A Dr. Mario game they made just released for 3DS and Dr. Luigi was released on WiiU in 2013. We will not see any more Dr. Mario games for current gen Nintendo platforms. The next Nintendo system will, of course, get a new Dr. Mario game developed by Arika somewhere in its life span. Development of that new title will probably be underway.
Other than that, Arika hasn’t released a 3D Classics game since 2012. It’s safe to say they are not working on any games in that series anymore.
What does this mean for WiiU?
The only possible big name game that Arika may be working on for WiiU is Endless Ocean 3. Chances of that happening are very slim, but one can hope. They may still release a smaller match-three title (Puzzle Bobble? or something similar (they did Puzzle Bobble Universe 3D for Nintendo 3DS) for WiiU, but that’s not likely to happen.
CREATURES INC.
| Developer | Latest game | Release date | Other games and projects | Next game |
| Creatures Inc. | Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs | November 2010 | Pokémon trading cards and toys
Pokémon trading card series PokéPark series Pokémon Ranger series Earthbound (Mother) series |
(?) PokéPark 3 |
What are they working on?
Creatures Inc. are mostly known for making Pokémon trading cards and Pokémon toys nowadays. Currently they are also making smartphone games. They haven’t released a single game for Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo WiiU so far. Chances that they are still actively making big budget games are slim. A new game in the Earthbound series would probably be made by HAL Laboratory and 1-UP Studio (the former Brownie Brown), but since Itoi said he would not be involved in a new Earthbound game, and with the passing of Mr. Iwata, this is not likely to happen... ever. The Pokémon games would be handled by Game Freak.
I’m going to go on a limp here and say that they may still be working on PokéPark 3 for WiiU with a release window of Summer 2016. Not likely to happen, but let’s just hope these guys haven’t completely stopped developing actual videogames. The original Pokémon Trading Card game for the GameBoy was one of my favorite games as a kid. I would love to see another one of those (i.e. story driven) on 3DS or on the next Nintendo handheld.
What does this mean for WiiU?
PokéPark 3 for WiiU, Summer 2016, or bust. No, in reality chances are slim of seeing a Creatures Inc. game on WiiU.
GAME FREAK
| Developer | Latest game | Release date | Other games and projects | Next game |
| Game Freak | Pokémon Omega Ruby Pokémon Alpha Sapphire | November 2014 | Pokémon series
Drill Dozer HarmoKnight |
(?) Pokémon Z |
What are they working on?
Game Freak is currently working on Tembo the Badass Elephant which is being published by Sega for PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One in July 2015. This is probably a side project, just like HarmoKnight for 3DS and Drill Dozer for DS were.
Game Freak is most likely working on Pokémon Z, which should release for Nintendo 3DS November 2016. If not Pokémon Z, they are working on the next gen Pokémon game which may still release on 3DS, but may as well release on the next generation of Nintendo handhelds.
What does this mean for WiiU?
Game Freak is most likely not working on a WiiU game… unless Sega would still want them to port Tembo the Badass Elephant to WiiU after the game flops or becomes a huge success on the other current gen platforms.
GANBARION
| Developer | Latest game | Release date | Other games and projects | Next game |
| Ganbarion | One Piece: Unlimited World RED | July 2014 | Pandora’s Tower
One Piece Unlimited series One Piece Grand series |
(?) One Piece: Unlimited World BLUE |
What are they working on?
Ganbarion is mostly known for developing One Piece videogames for Namco Bandai. Ever since 2005, every One Piece game they have made has seen a release on at least one Nintendo platform (as well as on other platforms sometimes). They are probably working on a new One Piece game. Probably another game in the Unlimited series, which may still come to WiiU (and 3DS), and which I’m labeling One Piece: Unlimited World BLUE. Maybe the fans can correct me on the color? I haven’t seen an episode past season 1 to be honest, so I don’t know which ocean color would be more logical.
Ganbarion also made Pandora’s Tower for Nintendo. Although a pretty unique game, it’s not likely to see a follow-up anytime soon.
What does this mean for WiiU?
Ganbarion is probably working on the next One Piece: Unlimited game. This game may still come to WiiU after Spring 2016.
INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS
| Developer | Latest game | Release date | Other games and projects | Next game |
| Intelligent Systems | Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. | May 2015 | Fire Emblem series
WarioWare series Paper Mario series Advance Wars series Pushmo/ Fallblox series |
Fire Emblem Fates |
What are they working on?
Though not really a third party studio anymore (although they have done some work with Square-Enix for DSi and Wii somewhat recently), relations with Intelligent Systems are still being handled by SPD 2 (though some of their series are being handled by SPD 1 and SPD 3 as well).
Intelligent Systems should have finished working on Fire Emblem Fates by now because it was already released in Japan. This game reuses a lot of assets from Fire Emblem Awakening. Because of there being three different story versions of the game, it will still have taken a moderately sized team to produce. A small team may still be working on upcoming DLC for the game, but the main team will have started drawing the blueprints for the next Fire Emblem which will most likely not release on current gen systems anymore.
That we will not see another real Fire Emblem on current gen Nintendo systems, is also related to the fact that the we will still see Fire Emblem on WiiU in the form of Genei Ibun Roku X FE (Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem), which Intelligent Systems have been working on with Atlus. Development of that title is mostly taken care of by Atlus though.
Other notable projects of Intelligent Systems that have seen recent Western releases are Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. and Fullblox (Stretchmo), both released in May. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. was not a commercial success and we will most likely not see a second game set in that world anytime soon. The WiiU may still get a Fallblox/Fullblox (Pushmo/Stretchmo) game in 2016, since Intelligent Systems have annualized the series… sort of, with one game per year ever since 2011, apart from 2013, which saw no release in the series. Possible title candidate: Fullblox World for WiiU. I say it will be released on WiiU mostly because the 3DS already has three games in the series. Free to play? Maybe.
As has been said when discussing what SPD 1 is working on currently, a new WarioWare should also be in the works at Intelligent Systems. Since Game&Wario wasn’t really a success (I’m being nice) the next WarioWare game will probably be for a handheld device again, possibly still for the 3DS, but most likely for the next handheld system.
The team that did Codename S.T.E.A.M. will probably have begun working on a new Advance Wars game (Fusion Wars? I'm just being cheeky 
). That game will most likely be released on the next handheld system.
The Paper Mario series is also one of Intelligent Systems’ staple series. Unlike most of the franchises they work on, the Paper Mario series is not coordinated by SPD 2, but by SPD 3 (which normally coordinates working relations with Western third party studios). There’s usually three to five years between every Paper Mario iteration. That means we may still see a Paper Mario game on WiiU in 2016 (Sticker Star was released in 2013). On the other hand, in 2016 we will already be getting Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam on Nintendo 3DS, which is a crossover game between the Mario & Luigi series and the Paper Mario series. Most likely then, Paper Mario will skip WiiU, unless the console is still relevant in 2017.
What does this mean for WiiU?
Genei Ibun Roku X FE (Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem) will release in 2016. Chances are we will also see Fallblox World for WiiU in 2016. Paper Mario or Advance Wars? Don’t get your hopes up.
This is an update version of an article I wrote. Original article: https://makeaccountlater.wordpress.com/2015/07/07/the-future-of-nintendo-whats-to-come-after-spring-2016-2/
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