The Nintendo development restructure ... and what it means for Wario!

[Glowsquid]

As some here may be aware, it was announced a while back that Nintendo's Kyoto teams would be reorganised and moved to a new office for moar efficiency. A NeoGaf user with some supposed uber leet ninja insider info has made a report on the progress of this initiative and, should it be accurate, there is some information that *may* be relevant to our interests! Selection mine;

- Intelligent Systems vacated from Kyoto Research Office into their new private building.
- EAD absorbed several SPD development personnel.
- Sakamoto and his personal development team re-emerging under new identity?
- Slight delay of Kyoto based development of games until 2015.

Sakamoto and his development unit vacated SPD Production Group No. 1. So the next Rhythm Heaven, Tomodachi Collection 3, WarioWare, Metroid Dread will be under some new mysterious group.

(As an aside, Yoshio Sakamoto apparently told the UK ONM that the "funny games" staff of SPD 1 was transferred to SPD 4, though I can't be arsed to seek out the NeoGaf post claiming this atm See below!)

What to take away from this:
-SPD 1, the core team behind WarioWare/Rhythm Heaven, no longer exist. Intelligent Systems no longer occupies the same building as them, either.
-The SPD staff is likely spread out among EAD.
-Any EAD/SPD-developed Wario game likely won't happen until mid/late 2015.

So yeah, waddya think? Do you fear the minds behind WarioWare and Rhythm Heaven will be wasted as cogs in the NSMB-shitting machine? Do you think, on the contrary, that the prospects of an EAD-branded Wario game could bring some much-needed publicity to the brand? Is there even anything to give a shit about????

 

[Boris Carloft's Car Loft]

I hope (and think) that this new team does and old-fashioned title like Mega Microgame$! with a few new gimmicks, like tilting the Gamepad from Twisted!, and maybe online leaderboards or the like. It sounds plausable!

...And then the series could take a Mario-Party-like twist and do stupid stuff that doesn't even make it feel like the same game. Basically, they could continue the Game & Wario formula and make it suck. I don't wanna play minigames, I wanna play microgames!

 

[Glowsquid]

(As an aside, Yoshio Sakamoto apparently told the UK ONM that the "funny games" staff of SPD 1 was transferred to SPD 4, though I can't be arsed to seek out the NeoGaf post claiming this atm)

Ah, there it is! Anyone with access to the relevant ONM issue can substantiate that?

 

[CM30]

I would check, but:

1. I've gotten rid of most of my magazine archive.

2. They don't mention the issue number.

 

[Glowsquid]

Yah, it's annoying. The interview in question was probably published around Tomodachi Life's launch.

 

[ShyGuyXXL]

Does this also mean no new Rhythm Heaven? But it's been so long! D:

 

[Glowsquid]

Even if the restructure didn't happen as it did, I feel we're not going to get a new Rhythm Heaven for a while as Tsunku is currently undergoing treatment for a (thankfully early) laryngeal cancer.

 

[Glowsquid]

After posting the NeoGaf thread, Shikimaru Ninja made a similar thread on Kyoto Report with the following additional detail:

EAD has not absorbed much of Sakamoto's development unit. Only one member (Yasutaka Takeuchi).

This confirms none of SPD 1's core staff has been abosrbed into EAD. It is also quite interesting, as Takeuchi primarily worked on WarioWare's and SPD's other "funny games", and not on Metroid (which is what I assumed Shikimaru Ninja meant when he said "Sakamoto's development team")... Just where the hell are they?

 

[CM30]

Well, maybe they've been split across other development teams.

Or worse still, fired. But hey, that's not like Iwata's style of management, thankfully.

 

[BooDestroyer]

This confirms none of SPD 1's core staff has been abosrbed into EAD. It is also quite interesting, as Takeuchi primarily worked on WarioWare's and SPD's other "funny games", and not on Metroid (which is what I assumed Shikimaru Ninja meant when he said "Sakamoto's development team")... Just where the hell are they?

So when will Nintendo ever shut up about EAD and start giving SPD more of the attention and respect that they also deserve?

 

[SurrealBrain]

I really hope this changes things for the better. If not, at least we still have the games that came before.

 

[Glowsquid]

So when will Nintendo ever shut up about EAD and start giving SPD more of the attention and respect that they also deserve?

They can't. SPD is ded : P.

Beside, giving proper lovin' to R&D1's legacy is our job~.

 

[Glowsquid]

so admist the annoucement of who Nintendo's new president is, someone noticed EAD and SPD have been merged into a single division:

Could this explain stuff like Ashley being in Mario Maker? Huh.

 

[Glowsquid]

Well, it's confirmed.

I noticed Yoshio Sakamoto (and the guy who replaced him as manager of SPD1, for that matter) are not in that list of management staff. It's truly the end of an era.

 

[BooDestroyer]

Cue Metroid fans: "HOLY SHIT THIS HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING FOR METROID YES YES YES"

 

[ShyGuyXXL]

Cue Metroid fans: "HOLY SHIT THIS HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING FOR METROID YES YES YES"

Federation Force gets more staff members.

 

[BooDestroyer]

But Federation Force is made by Next Level.

 

[ShyGuyXXL]

But Federation Force is made by Next Level.

I didn't know. That's how little I care.

 

[BooDestroyer]

It's more interesting than another Punch-Out, at least.

 

[ShyGuyXXL]

It's more interesting than another Punch-Out, at least.

But is it more desirable than a new Punch-Out?