What are Nintendo's (affiliated) studios and partners up to? What can we expect for WiiU?

[MakeAccountLater]

In this post: the Japanese (third party) studios in charge of Nintendo franchises that are coordinated by SPD 4:

 

ALPHADREAM

Developer	Latest game	Release date	Other games and projects	Next game
AlphaDream	Mario & Luigi: Dream Team	July 2013	Mario & Luigi series   Hamtaro series	Mario & Luigi: Paper jam

What are they working on?

AlphaDream are currently working on Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam for Nintendo 3DS. It is probably the only game they are developing at the moment. Paper Jam has been in development since the release of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team on Nintendo 3DS and reuses assets from that game. The game is a crossover game with the Paper Mario series. As such it also reuses assets from Paper Mario: Sticker Star for Nintendo 3DS.

No Hamtaro games have been released since the anime’s twelfth and final season aired in 2006. Chances of AlphaDream working on a new game in the series are therefore very slim.

 

What does this mean for WiiU?

AlphaDream has only developed games for Nintendo handhelds. It is unlikely that they are developing a game for Nintendo WiiU.

 

CAMELOT

Developer	Latest game	Release date	Other games and projects	Next game
Camelot	Mario Golf: World Tour	May 2014	Mario Tennis series   Mario Golf series Golden Sun series	Mario Tennis: Ultimate Smash

What are they working on?

Camelot is currently working on Mario Tennis: Ultimate Smash for Nintendo WiiU. It should release before the end of this year.

Because Camelot isn’t the largest studio (there were 42 people working there in 2010) it may well be that this is the only title they are currently working on. A new Mario Golf game for WiiU may still happen, but it is not likely to release before 2017. Also because in 2016 we will already get another Mario sports game from Sega (and maybe one from Next Level Games?). As such it will most likely be an NX game.

The Golden Sun series, which for now has only seen releases on Nintendo handhelds, seems to be dormant. I would expect to see a new game in the series after the new Mario Golf game... at the earliest.

 

What does this mean for WiiU?

Mario Tennis: Ultimate Smash will release before the end of the year. It is unlikely that we’ll be seeing another Camelot game on WiiU after that. A new Mario Golf game may still come to the system, but for that to happen, WiiU should still be relevant in 2017.

 

EIGHTING

Developer	Latest game	Release date	Other games and projects	Next game
Eighting	Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate	March 2013	Kururin series   Dragon Quest spin-offs Castlevania Judgment Kamen Rider series	(?) Monster Hunter X Ultimate

What are they working on?

Eighting is mostly known for developing fighting games (Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Castlevania Judgment). They have also developed the Kururin games for Nintendo and have worked for Capcom on Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for Nintendo 3DS and WiiU and on Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for Nintendo 3DS. They work on the Kamen Rider series for Bandai Namco, which mostly remain exclusive for the Japanese market. A few games in the series have been released for Nintendo Wii, and the latest game was released on WiiU (as well as on Playstation 3).

Eighting is currently working on four (or more) smartphone games. One game is a cross between Tertris and a monster RPG. One game is based on the Kamen Rider franchise and one on the Assassination Classroom manga. The last one may be Monster Hunter related, but I'm not sure - Google Translate doesn't work all that well from Japanese . These games will probably not make it to Nintendo platforms, nor will they likely be released in the West.

The last Kururin game was released exclusively in Japan for Nintendo Gamecube (2004). The series has been dormant ever since, and will probably remain so for a while longer.

Eighting may be working on new games in the Monster Hunter and Kamen Rider series. These games could (as they often do) come to Nintendo platforms. Whether they will come to the West as well is another thing entirely.

 

What does this mean for WiiU?

A new Kamen Rider game may be in the works for Nintendo WiiU, but that game will not likely be published outside of Japan. Other than that, I do not see any WiiU game from Eighting on the horizon. Unless that HD release of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on WiiU is still incoming.

INIS

Developer	Latest game	Release date	Other games and projects	Next game
iNiS	Elite Beat Agents	July 2007	Elite Beat series	(?) Elite Beat Agents 2

What are they working on?

iNiS has developed three games for Nintendo DS in the Elite Beat series. Only one of those games (Elite Beat Agents) has made it to the West. If we will ever see another of their games come West it would be something like Elite Beat Agents 2, and it would still have to be released on Nintendo 3DS (or on a future touchscreen handheld Nintendo console).

iNiS is currently focused on developing games for smartphones. In the past they have also worked on the Gitaroo Man games (for PlayStation) and the Lips series for (Xbox).

What does this mean for WiiU?

No iNiS games will be released for the WiiU, unless Elite Beat Agents comes to the Virtual Console.

 

ND CUBE

Developer	Latest game	Release date	Other games and projects	Next game
Nd Cube	Mario Party 10	March 2015	Mario Party series   Wii Party series F-Zero: Maximum Velocity	(?) Mario Party 11

What are they working on?

Nd Cube took over the Mario Party series after Hudson Soft became part of Konami. They also develop the Wii Party series.

Having already developed two party games (Wii Party U and Mario Party 10) for WiiU, it is unlikely that we will see another party game from Nd Cube on the system. Mario Party 11 will probably be released on Nintendo NX, but given the series track record,  it may still appear on WiiU.

What does this mean for WiiU?

Nd Cube is probably working on Mario Party 11 at the moment. It may not come to WiiU anymore... but it may as well.

 

PAON

Developer	Latest game	Release date	Other games and projects	Next game
Paon	AquaSpace	July 2010	DK series   Donkey Kong Jet Race Klonoa: Door to Phantomile	Nothing

 

What are they working on?

Although Paon was given the Donkey Kong franchise to work with during the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS era, they have not made any games for Nintendo systems during the current generation. Their last effort for Nintendo systems were three English course games for Nintendo DS which were released in 2012. Their last boxed release game was a Japan exclusive pachinko simulator game for PayStation 3 in 2013.

Paon currently focusses on developing mobile games and pachinko slot machines.

What does this mean for WiiU?

Paon will not release a game on Nintendo WiiU.

 

This is an updated version of an article I wrote for my blog. Original article @ https://makeaccountlater.wordpress.com/2015/07/15/the-future-of-nintendo-whats-to-come-after-spring-2016-5/