Large companies like SquareEnix aren't just made up of people (the talent), there are processes and cultures at work within the company as well. Nintendo's success stems not only from its talent, but also from its culture. Its culture is the reason why the Wii got off the ground, the reason games are sent back to the drawing board if they don't meet standards, the reason why games like Mario are still made and continue to improve even when the genres they represent (e.g. platformers) are largely dead elsewhere.

If Nintendo were to buy SquareEnix they'd not only get the talent, but the culture as well. SquareEnix has a particular way of doing things and it does them very, very well but it is not Nintendo's way. Any attempt to change the culture of SquareEnix would not only be time consuming and expensive, it might cause the talent to flee and could end up eviscerating the company.

On the other hand, Nintendo has purchased smaller companies. These are ideal for Nintendo. Not only are they still "hungry" for success and eager to prove themselves, their cultures often match Nintendo's more closely. Even more importantly, Nintendo can give them something that they need: money, time, and resources to develop something great. These are things that large companies by SquareEnix already have, but which smaller companies like Retro did not have.

If you ask me, Nintendo may well purchase some gaming companies, but these are likely to be small companies who have in the past made quality products given their limited resources. These are the companies that Nintendo can most easily incorporate into its structure and which can most benefit from Nintendo's resources.

 Listen to this man. He knows of what he speaks. Besides, third-parties are supposed to be led by adults. If they choose to miss the Wii gravy train, then the market will step in and act accordingly. No skin off our backs.

They don't usually aggressively buy out other companies.
Look at how much animosity EA gets for that shit.

They should buy Ubi, give em a bitch slap and sell em again :P

I thought Nintendo created Retro Studio?


Retro Studios is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas, USA. It was founded in 1998 by Jeff Spangenberg as a second-party developer to Japan-based video game company Nintendo. It is currently wholly owned by Nintendo (thus a first-party developer), with about 60 employees.

If you buy a large (well known) established developer you're probably going to pay a premium for it based on the talent in the company, the value of the IPs they have already produced, and the expectations of IPs yet to come; you don't really buy any of these things when you actually buy the company. What this means is that (from an investment perspective) your potential return on investment is very small. In contrast when you buy a smaller company you're buying a large unknown; you don't know whether they will be able to deliver a high quality product that will resonate with consumers.

Now there are reasons why you would choose to buy a large well know developer, or to buy a smaller developer, but there is no better or worse choice ...

I dont care what Nintendo chooses because Nintendo and 3rd party games are good. SSBB is developed by 3rd party (Sora) and MKWii is developed by Nintendo. Both are fun games and made huge sales so it doesnt matter.

Unless if Nintendo gets fed up of developing games, thats another story.

I do not think Nintendo should buy 3rd party support. It will show how desperate they will be if they did. Nintendo can make there own game and it is much better then anything that has been out now! So yeah same there money and use it some elsewhere!

If Nintendo buys thirdy parties there will be even less third parties to release games on their platforms. Thus people will complain even more loudly about the lack of third party support.

Purchasing exclusive rights to 3rd party games are just a way to help bump up console sales, which then should help sell your other games as well. So far, Wii sales are doing well enough without needing a bump.

Purchasing the studio is to gain the IP rights and good talent. Unfortunately, the talent had better be a good fit for your company culture, or else, they leave. If you have your own talent, it might not matter as much, since they can develope the IP into the next series of that game.

Nintendo's culture is both a mixture of conservative and willing to take risks. Thus, producing a DS and a Wii, yet being cautious about how many that they produce. In a similar way, they buy the small newer companies to develope, but very unlikely to get a big existing developer, IMO.