sethnintendo on 22 January 2017
You stated in op that Nintendo treated Splatoon like they do with Mario and Zelda production wise. I don't that is the case. Didn't they have a b team full of newbs make the game with possibly a little help from the vets? I don't think they spent that much money developing it at first considering it was bare bones and they added more to the game later once it took off.
