Nintendo Purchases Longtime Partner Studio SRD
Nintendo is getting into the “buying other studios” game! But don’t get too excited. The place they purchased isn’t Capcom or Sega…it’s SRD, an organization whose acronym stands for “Systems Research and Development.”
You have probably noticed lately that big studios getting bought by bigger studios is somewhat of a trend. It would be an awkward trend for Nintendo to get into, though, as they are rarely that aggressive. The company outright stated they weren’t interested in buying third parties during an investor conference earlier this month, with president Shuntaro Furukawa making this comment: “Our brand was built upon products crafted with dedication by our employees, and having a large number of people who don’t posses Nintendo DNA in our group would not be a plus to the company.”
We imagine the investors still must have pressed them, and the acquisition of SRD is more like a move to say “There, are you happy now?”
Unlike the megaton buyouts of recent months, this one changes very little. SRD has worked closely with Nintendo on projects going all the way back to the dawn of the NES…porting Donkey Kong to the Famicom was one of their first assignments. SRD isn’t a game developer in the traditional sense — they assist in the development of other people’s games.
While the acquisition will slightly increase the speed of Nintendo’s development schedule, it will accomplish little else.
Redlips
February 25, 2022 @ 11:27 am
Another story of Monopoly makes me sad. Many companies lose their identity the moment they are sold. Look What happened to Plants vs Zombies 2. That sequel lost its charm the moment EA purchased Popcap.