Nintendo Taps Outside Developer for New Zelda Game

Carl Williams writes, "Nintendo has a track record of working with outside developers REALLY closely. Sure, they have their own in house development teams but that doesn’t mean that Nintendo is scared to share resources and the work load with trust 2nd party developers. They did this with Rare for instance and even bought that development house and, of course, eventually sold it to Microsoft. Anyhow, Monolith Soft have been revealed to be working on Zelda Breath of the Wild for the Nintendo Wii U and NX consoles."

[Fin_The_Human]

This can't be good...Hyrule Warriors was horrible.

I know its the only way we can get a steady stream of Zelda games instead of waiting for a long time but if it comes in the cost of quality then I don't want the games at all.

[The 10th Rider]

It can't be good? They've brought in outside help for Smash Bros and Mario Kart previously and it worked out perfectly fine. Monolithsoft is a great developer when it comes to open worlds, so it seems only natural. Some people were even clamoring for them to be given a shot and being handed the Zelda reigns, after Xenoblade Chronicles came out. Them coming in and helping is a good thing, in this case, as evidenced by the standout E3 showing.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed I'd say some of their best games have been done by outside teams

[Concertoine]

Monolithsoft has a solid track record and isn't even really an outside dev since Nintendo owns like 95% of them. They probably dont even have any creative influence - they're there since they have the most experience with large scale open worlds out of all Nintendo's studios.

[Fin_The_Human]

Totally misread the article...thought they meant that they working on Zelda spin offs.

[Zeldafan64]

I've put almost 170 hours into Hyrule Warriors.

[Fin_The_Human]

You must be a Dynasty Warrior fan.

I hate hack n slash games so that probably who I thought it was horrible.

[ShadowKnight]

130 hours :)

[ShadowKnight]

It will be the GOTY

[Zeldafan64]

Never played a Dynasty Warriors game before Hyrule Warriors and still haven't played one, a traditional one anyway.

[_-EDMIX-_]

? I mean you do know that Hyrule Warriors is very much a Dynasty Warriors game right? If you like that game you also like the Dynasty Warriors series kind of by default lol.

Try it out, please don't be a fanboy bud. That is like saying you absolutely love all the Dark Souls games but can't play Demon's Souls lol

[Zeldafan64]

Correction, I just checked my play log of Hyrule Warriors and it's actually almost 180 hours, 178:14 is the official time.

[Summons75]

Did we play the same game because Hyrule Warriors wasn't anywhere close to being horrible.

[Big_Game_Hunters]

Damn you are ignorant.

[Shubhendu_Singh]

But XenoBlade Chronicles X was beautiful. and huuge.

[Metallox]

Pssssstttt... Spoilers: MonolithSoft didn't develop Hyrule Warriors. Just saying so your comment doesn't sound too much misleading.

[Segata]

HW was great and Monolith is first party and has helped them on multiple games like Skyward Sword and Mario Kart.

[TheColbertinator]

Monolith delivers. Good choice

[Asuka]

Monolith did an amazing job with xenoblade x imo. The game world is massive and alive, and i still havent 100% it yet haha. Zelda's first venture into a truly open world is in good hands imo

[gedden7]

This is great news but it makes you wonder. What the Nintendo 1st party devs working on. I think the nx game library will be immense !!

[magiciandude]

It felt like more than a Nintendo game, and this explains it. Monolith is an amazing developer making some of the best RPGs ever.

[Kalebninja]

Monolith Soft isn't an outside developer, Nintendo's owned them for 9 years. How did this get approved? Am i missing something?

[_-EDMIX-_]

Nintendo legally does not own hundred percent of that team.

[C_Ali88]

You don't know what a majority owner is? Legally Nintendo controls monolith soft just look at rare, with 51% Microsoft bought the majority stake right from Nintendo, as Nintendo owned 49%.... Wasn't rare considered a Ninty exclusive studio until 2002? So legally Nintendo owns enough to make all of the studios decisions and in fact owns ALL of its shares. So they own the entire development team... Lol you think there are 10 people in which don't take orders from Ninty? You're arguing nothing, they control Monolith and ALL of its development teams.

Convey that!

[_-EDMIX-_]

"So legally Nintendo owns enough to "

So they own a degree of not it outright completely?...lol

Look at my original comment and read it slowly.

it's stating they don't own 100% of the team literally there's nothing more you could convey by what I'm trying to say other than they don't own a 100% of the team, I said nothing about majority or lesser or anything like that.

And no Nintendo did not own all of Rare and Rare was not considered a studio that they owned because Rare owned its own IPs it's why when Microsoft purchased Rare , Nintendo had no stake in any of the IPs that the company made while Nintendo published their games. So again they did not wholly owned Rare as to why MS was even able to buy them in the first place.

Sony sold SOE they also sold all the IPs along with it.

.... because they actually owned the team and owned the intellectual properties that they were the ones that sold it. to my understanding Nintendo did not get any money from any deal that Microsoft was making from an independent team.

[C_Ali88]

EDmix give it up you're wrong, when you own majority you own the company which is why I alluded to Microsoft usurping 51% thus handling what the studio develops.. Ninty could reap profits from owning 49% but did not have enough stake for EXECUTIVE decisions in the day to day operations of the studio. You're trying to argue the validity of your main point when it wasn't valid in the Video Game industry... A second party developer is one that has to work on games the majority stakeholder chooses. Why weren't rare games released on anything but Nintendo after they purchased 49% of the company? Because the budget/money came directly from Nintendo... After 2002 it became All of Microsofts money funding development thus becoming FIrst party for Microsoft...

Second-party developer is a colloquial term used by gaming enthusiasts and media often used to describe two different types of game development studios:

Independently owned studios who take development contracts from the platform holders and what they produce will usually be exclusive to that platform.

Studios that are partially or wholly owned by the platform holder (also known as a subsidiary) and what they produce will usually be exclusive to that platform.

In reality, the resulting game is first party (since it is funded by the platform holder who usually owns the resulting IP), but the term helps to distinguish independent studios from those directly owned by the platform holder. These studios may have exclusive publishing agreements (or other business relationships) with the platform holder, while maintaining independence. Examples are Insomniac Games (which previously developed games solely for Sony's PlayStation platforms as an independent studio), ADK for SNK consoles, Rareware for Nintendo and later Microsoft, and Game Freak (which primarily develops the Nintendo-exclusive Pokémon game series).

Also Nintendo sold its stake to Microsoft so it could be wholly owned or the company would've been a subsidiary of both Microsoft and Nintendo with Microsoft calling the shots due to majority ownership.

So being 100% owned is a moot point as 51% is all that's necessary to actually control a business or the TEAM... Lol

Also this: 2007, Nintendo bought all shares from Namco, making the company a subsidiary of Nintendo. In addition to assisting Nintendo on various projects, they continued the Xeno series with Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles X on Nintendo platforms. They're also responsible for the tactical RPG series Project X Zone.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@C_Ali- ". Ninty could reap profits from owning 49%"

Yes...not 100%.

I'm not sure what you are arguing about when you yourself are confirming Nintendo doesn't own 100% of the team....

didn't read the rest of your drivel. Stop spinning bud. They don't own 100% of that team, let it go. Unless you got a link showing they own 100% of it.

Let it be. Seems you keep trying to press it doesn't mean that much, but who stated it needed to? Just stating a fact bud.

http://playeressence.com/xe...

Soooo that isn't 100% bud.

http://www.ign.com/articles...

Not 100% bud.

I mean...maybe you actually need to learn some simple math lol

"They own 100% of monolith"

Link states 96%....I've found NO WHERE thats stated 100% ownership soooooooo no.

Got a link?

Where is you're proof of this?

[C_Ali88]

@edmix you said TEAM... And that's wrong... They own all developers in Monolith soft... So legally they own 100% of the TEAM... You know precisely what I'm arguing. Don't play ignorant because you can't form a reply.. Don't read it stay ignorant if you wish... They own 100% of monolith's teams anyway you slice it

Read the link... Proves my point not yours. Did you even read it?

First party developer says it all. Lol the article even says they could've purchased the remaining 4% of the companies stake they do not know for sure. Not the remaining 4% of the TEAM of the company those words aren't synonymous or interchangeable... So again they own 100% of the team even if they owned 51-100% of the company.... Get it now? Call it semantics but you're wrong what you said is in fact not a fact.

Ninty runs the company therefor they 100% own all monolith's teams... Bud.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@C- "So legally they own 100% of the TEAM"

no...no they don't bud.

"Nintendo Owns 96%"

http://playeressence.com/xe...

You got a link that shows Nintendo owns 100% of that team?

Why lie on something that has been factually established and can be looked up?

Do you not understand what 100% actually means?

"90-100% is moot"

Nope.

Its the fact of the matter we are talking about. Nintendo only owns 96% of them, not 100%. Why are you fighting over a fact just because you don't like it?

Mind you, you still don't have a link that shows Nintendo owns 100% of them. Sorry but, Nintendo owns 96% of them, not 100%. As to why you are spinning it or even stating other usless crap is beyond me. The statement was merely just that, a objective, factual statement regarding the teams ownership and for a fact, Nintendo doesn't not actually 100% own the team.

Something you've yet to show any link showing they purchased the remaining %.

"Nintendo legally does not own hundred percent of that team."

THAT is what I stated, as to why you are in tears about this is beyond me. No link to them buying the rest bud.

Give it a rest. If they owned 100% of that team, pretty sure you'd have a link by now with proof.

[C_Ali88]

Apparently you need to look up team... And stop thinking it means the company itself. Again try again. You want a link how about what is a first party developer is or what control of a company means? In this instance teams are the developers not the company itself. So for probably the last time they own the team! 100%

In the video game industry, a first-party developer is part of a company which manufactures a video game console and develops exclusively for it. First-party developers may use the name of the company itself (such as Nintendo), have a specific division name (such as Sony's Polyphony Digital) or have been an independent studio before being acquired by the console manufacturer (such as Rare or Naughty Dog).[6]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/... or just google who owns Monolith 90-100% is moot. Who owns it? Nintendo!

[triverse]

If you read the article closely, I mention that Monolith is a "2nd party" developer.
1st party would be an "internal" development team like what Miyamoto leads.
A 2nd party developer is an external development team that the console maker, Nintendo here, owns a stake in (usually majority) like they did with Rare.
3rd party is just a developer/publisher working on the console and has no ties to the main company other than a license to work on, and release, games on a particular console.

I stand by my statement that Monolith is a 2nd party, external, developer.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Hno. Monolith Soft is first party. They have two location. In Kyoto and Tokyo. One is in-housr development along with Nintendo EAD and other.

They are only second party when they are working on a game with Namco that will only be on Nintendo System.

[Zeldafan64]

Doesn't change the fact that Monolith has to make the games that Nintendo wants them to make. Not that that's a bad thing, both Xenoblade games are phenomenal.

[Metallox]

It passes. For the most part, Nintendo's teams are the only ones who participate in the development of Zelda games.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Monolith Soft asisted Skyward Sword

[Metallox]

Forget it.

[_-EDMIX-_]

? I see...

How old are you?

Capcom created some of the Zelda games.

http://kotaku.com/a-brief-h...

Maybe you guys seriously need to start looking up junk before wildly posting on things you know not of.

[KentBenMei]

Well, Minish Cap is my favorite 2D Zelda game and it was done by Capcom, not Nintendo, so I feel like it doesn't matter what company makes Zelda, as long as they're a Japanese one since it is an integral part of the feeling of the series.

[hahaha]

Wii brought Ubisoft to create Wii U.

[C_Ali88]

Called this almost two years ago.....

http://n4g.com/news/1635953...

[Segata]

MONOLITH IS FIRST PARTY. THEY HAVE A KYOTO AND TOKYO STUDIO! 9 years and people still can't get this right in "journalism". It's like saying Naughty Dog is second party. How does this garbage get approved?

[triverse]

Enough people voted to approve it. That is how.

[Segata]

And you're ok spreading misinformation as long as you think you will get hits on your shit website.

[triverse]

No, I am not spreading misinformation "to get hits on [my] shit website." The information stands as the interpretation of the status of Monolithsoft is about 50/50 even here on N4G. Get over yourself. You are not the
"final" say on what is right and what is wrong in gaming.

[addictedtochaos]

Monolith Soft is owned by Nintendo.

[_-EDMIX-_]

They own part of Monolith. They do not 100% own the team.

http://playeressence.com/xe...

[addictedtochaos]

Yes, I know. They are majority owner though.