I just got a chance to actually watch this morning's Nintendo Direct, and when unveiling SMT x Fire Emblem Iwata said something that struck me. To paraphrase, he said that modern games are too labor intensive for Nintendo to make a reasonable amount of them for its systems on its own, so it has taken to partnering with other developers to create its own games.
Now, this is not completely new news. Metroid: Other M was largely developed by Tecmo, as was Nintendo's three Fatal Frame games. The next Smash Bros. game is mostly a Namco title. And heavens knows how much work Tose's put into how many of Nintendo's own first-party games. I believe Iwata even mentioned increasing the number of partnerships Nintendo would seek with third parties in prior years, although my impression then was that they were going to create deals like the one they apparently have with Platinum Games. However, it appears now that what Nintendo seeks to do is to co-develop titles, using its own teams as only part of the development squad and relying upon others to handle the remaining half.
My question is this: do you think this wise? On the plus side, I can see this as being a quick way to gain knowledge from other studio's talent, while simultaneously increasing the number of exclusive Nintendo titles and denying resources to competing platforms. On the other hand, it also means you are relying upon the works of others, whereas I believe recent history shows Nintendo may be better served by being more self-reliant. There is also the "danger" of Nintendo's culture being influenced by cross-pollination from its partners, thus weakening the "Nintendo DNA" that makes the company unique. I raise the last point primarily because Iwata has used that excuse to explain why Nintendo has not spent money to acquire new studios.
Personally, I think the new strategy beats trying to force more out of its current workforce, and has the additional advantage of letting some fresh air penetrate what appears to be a very insular community. But I believe a better move, especially going forward, would have been to use some of the warchest to expand Nintendo's own teams. Third-parties haven't exactly embraced the company in the past, and there are reports that younger developers at Nintendo feel that advancing within the company is too difficult because the older folks never seem to leave; creating new teams, headed by the more talented members of the younger generation, seems to me to take care of two problems at once.
What say you?
