Seems like it is done to improve relations. So, not worried about it all. It isn't a bad sign at all. It is a very good sign. Is the game great? Maybe not. Is the game super high quality? Clearly not. But does this improve relations? Likely so. Win/win.

Wheeling and dealing more than likely. First is probably the Team ninja thing someone mentioned, and second is probably for the sake of making deals for future support. Probably a good business move.

It's not a bad sign at all, they'll just helping out. There is nothing wrong in what they're doing.

I'm thinking more about the mindset of the developer.  It's not like koei is the kind of company that needs other companys to publish for them.  which makes me think they don't think this will sell.  Which makes me think it may be effected their development decisions. 

Like Dragon Quest IX?

Seriously guys, take off the tinfoil hats and realize this is a simple business deal taking place.

1. So it's ok for MS and Sony to moneyhat 3rd party games and pay for exclusives, but it's not okay for Nintendo to publish 3rd party games (?)

2. As to the decision to publish it after the game has already come out in Japan - Sony have said they regretted not publishing Demon's Souls in the West and giving it to Atlus. Would anyone have batted an eyelid had Sony decided to publish Demon's Souls in the West after it has come out in Japan? I don't think so, they would have just hailed it as a wise decision.

3. It could very well be a not so good game, I don't know. Famistu did give it some pretty good scores though, I think it was something like 9/9/8/8 . And while not as much as some of its predecessors, it did sell over 250k in Japan, which is a lot more than many other Wii games did in Japan. So what do those people who say here it's a meh game base what they're saying on?

1) I woud question of those companies if they published a big companies game.

2) Demon souls actually makes MY point. Why did atlus publish it? Sony didn't think it'd sell. Likely koei thinks the same about SW3

3) It sold well comparitivly to the drop in DW games as well. People call them "meh" games because while really popular a lot of people aren't fans of them. It focuses on 1 vs hundreds crowd control type play. I own a number of DW games... I just think it's a bad sign nintendo had to pick this up, and may indicate it wouldn't of made it over otherwise.

Irregardless of the politics going on behind the scenes - whether the Team Ninja/Other M colabo has anything to do with it, or Nintendo doing this to appease Koei who was upset about Japanese sales - we still get the game in the US.

Now I'd actually be excited about Nintendo publishing it if it were a game I was interested in... but still.

I for one think its a good sign. I don't think ninty would publish something that sucks just to improve relations. This news just put samurai warriors on my radar.