The Professor Layton for Smash Ultimate support thread! See OP for where to meet us next after the boards close. Thank you for all your support!

[Curious Villager]

So Pyra/Mythra are announced.

Looking at them and Min-Min, Steve and Sephiroth. Seems like this pass is mainly about catching up with what they couldn't include into the basegame for one reason or another.

Guess we probably won't be seeing Layton in this DLC batch then, that's unfortunate...

Oh well, there is always the next Smash I suppose,, assuming we won't be getting a third pass or anything...

 

[amageish]

So Pyra/Mythra are announced.

Looking at them and Min-Min, Steve and Sephiroth. Seems like this pass is mainly about catching up with what they couldn't include into the basegame for one reason or another.

Guess we probably won't be seeing Layton in this DLC batch then, that's unfortunate...

Oh well, there is always the next Smash I suppose,, assuming we won't be getting a third pass or anything...

The DLC "pattern" thus far does feel very expansion-focused rather then addition-focused, I suppose. I wouldn't give up entirely though.

Also, Nintendo is localizing Famicom Detective! Reminds me of the old interview about how localizing adventure games like that weren't usually profitable. How times have changed...

 

[fogbadge]

So Pyra/Mythra are announced.

Looking at them and Min-Min, Steve and Sephiroth. Seems like this pass is mainly about catching up with what they couldn't include into the basegame for one reason or another.

Guess we probably won't be seeing Layton in this DLC batch then, that's unfortunate...

Oh well, there is always the next Smash I suppose,, assuming we won't be getting a third pass or anything...

well i still think theres an off chance for layton not a great one but still one

 

[Curious Villager]

The DLC "pattern" thus far does feel very expansion-focused rather then addition-focused, I suppose. I wouldn't give up entirely though.

Also, Nintendo is localizing Famicom Detective! Reminds me of the old interview about how localizing adventure games like that weren't usually profitable. How times have changed...

I guess it remains to be seen what happens next. Though I'm kinda expecting Monster Hunter now and whatever other expansion over addition focused character may be left... Chun-Li perhaps, for more non Street Fighter II content? Or probably a Sword/Shield mon, I don't know...

Though seeing how the next character/s is from a JRPG, I guess there's a good chance that Lloyd's Mii costume will show up there, so I guess that might effect some speculation on Namco's front if that happens, guess we'll see..


Oh right, Famicom Detective Club is getting a localization as well, I'm very happy to see that! I hope it does well. Miyamoto did praise the Layton series (And Ace Attorney) for popularizing the adventure game genre, leading to FDC's return. Maybe if it does well, it might help lead to a renaissance for the adventure games of the DS era. Who knows, maybe it will help encourage Level-5 to give the Layton series another go too... (Bringing things full circle I suppose, heh. There should definitely be a Ayumi and Layton/Katrielle crossover game one day if that's the case..)

 

[fogbadge]

(Bringing things full circle I suppose, heh. There should definitely be a Ayumi and Layton/Katrielle crossover game one day if that's the case..)

plus ashley mizuki robbins

 

[Curious Villager]

So the Monster Hunter mii costumes returned. And here I was thinking that this pass was going to focus on whatever voids the basegame had to fill...
Guess there might just be hope left Laytonites, a small and feint one but... its there...

 

[fogbadge]

So the Monster Hunter mii costumes returned. And here I was thinking that this pass was going to focus on whatever voids the basegame had to fill...
Guess there might just be hope left Laytonites, a small and feint one but... its there...

my hopes died a while back

 

[amageish]

So the Monster Hunter mii costumes returned. And here I was thinking that this pass was going to focus on whatever voids the basegame had to fill...
Guess there might just be hope left Laytonites, a small and feint one but... its there...

Yeah, I'm not too worried about it being only expanding stuff in the base game + Steve at this stage, but obviously only two characters being left makes it so any character's odds feels... low.

The amount of Mii Costumes seems to be, uh, dropping as well... so... that sucks.

 

[fogbadge]

Yeah, I'm not too worried about it being only expanding stuff in the base game + Steve at this stage, but obviously only two characters being left makes it so any character's odds feels... low.

The amount of Mii Costumes seems to be, uh, dropping as well... so... that sucks.

We only got 4 with hero

 

[Curious Villager]

New interview from Level-5 in regards to the Layton series and their self publishing habits.

Level-5 CEO Reveals The Inspiration For Professor Layton And The Risks Of Self-Publishing

"There was a lot of risk involved with the project"

www.nintendolife.com

I always enjoyed the ‘Atama no Taisou’ and because those sorts of brain training exercises were popular at the time, I decided to make something that would incorporate similar puzzles. The series would be a trilogy called Layton that followed a story with characters like Sherlock Holmes and his buddy Watson. Those things were in my mind from early on.

It was standard to spend about 300 million yen on advertising at the time, but initially our budget for Layton was around 150 million yen. It was almost nothing by comparison. The game took off despite that thanks to our longer-term advertising investments. It cost us around 700 million yen in the end, but the thing I took away from it all was that the game would not sell unless it was known to the public. It was naïve of me to think that everyone would buy it solely because we made an interesting game.

It was naïve of me to think that everyone would buy it solely because we made an interesting game.

Is... is Hino learning....?

Unfortunately no word on what their doing next, but... its a step I guess..

Hopefully they'll just swallow their pride and come crawling back to Nintendo and Namco to publish their stuff again..

 

[amageish]

Is... is Hino learning....?

Unfortunately no word on what their doing next, but... its a step I guess..

Hopefully they'll just swallow their pride and come crawling back to Nintendo and Namco to publish their stuff again..

Well, that's interesting, though it is funny he uses Layton to talk about this lesson instead of Snack World, which is probably the obvious example of a game with internal over-confidence that I can think of...

We'll see what happens! And also see if Yokai Watch ever comes out in English...

 

[Curious Villager]

Well, that's interesting, though it is funny he uses Layton to talk about this lesson instead of Snack World, which is probably the obvious example of a game with internal over-confidence that I can think of...

We'll see what happens! And also see if Yokai Watch ever comes out in English...

I suppose he was more referring to the fact they under budgeted for the marketing of Curious Village initially back when it first came out and due to its surprising success as their first self published title (It did end up being the second best selling third party IP on the DS behind Dragon Quest after all), might have made them a bit cocky ever since with their future IP's.

The fact that Inazuma Eleven and Yo-Kai Watch also ended up being the company's success stories back to back (albeit to a slightly lesser extend of the Layton series) might have further pushed that mindset until Snack World finally gave them that reality check that they weren't invincible and that they had to properly market their games..


But yeah, if this means that they are going to take advertising their games more seriously over solely relying on word of mouth in the future, then hopefully that will mean good things for the company going forward..

 

[MattX20]

It's good to see that he's learning potentially

 

[fogbadge]

New interview from Level-5 in regards to the Layton series and their self publishing habits.

Level-5 CEO Reveals The Inspiration For Professor Layton And The Risks Of Self-Publishing

"There was a lot of risk involved with the project"

www.nintendolife.com

Is... is Hino learning....?

Unfortunately no word on what their doing next, but... its a step I guess..

Hopefully they'll just swallow their pride and come crawling back to Nintendo and Namco to publish their stuff again..

too bad he learned it the hard way

We'll see what happens! And also see if Yokai Watch ever comes out in English...

id hate to think itd been cancled

 

[Safyre_Rose]

I want Layton in Smash Ultimate so bad. I’ve wanted him since Smash 4. He would be my main so quickly.

 

[MattX20]

Well, Hayabusa's out apparently, so Layton might have a resurgence as far as chances go

 

[fogbadge]

my gut instinct is that the next character will be a 3rd party on the same level as layton. which brings up a curious topic i think, what level would you all say layton is on?

Well, Hayabusa's out apparently, so Layton might have a resurgence as far as chances go

did he have anything going for him beyond a rumour?

 

[Curious Villager]

I want Layton in Smash Ultimate so bad. I’ve wanted him since Smash 4. He would be my main so quickly.

Hey welcome to Smashboards Safyre_Rose!
I've added you to the support list, welcome on board!

Well, Hayabusa's out apparently, so Layton might have a resurgence as far as chances go

Hm, I suppose Koei Tecmo still has Dynasty Warriors to fall back on but if the Spirit Events (and Byleth or their reveal trailer? Maybe, maybe not?) was all they seemingly negotiated for if Vergeben is anything to go by then I suppose the last two spots could be anyone's game I suppose..

I guess that gives Level-5 a bit more leeway, the worst that happened was the shut down of the Western branch and Level-5 sticking to Japan for now but since that all happened a whole year after the second fighters pass was already finalized, I'd imagine that shouldn't be quite detrimental to their chances for this current fighters pass (Unless Nintendo somehow had major inside info on that far in advance which I kinda doubt)

my gut instinct is that the next character will be a 3rd party on the same level as layton. which brings up a curious topic i think, what level would you all say layton is on?



did he have anything going for him beyond a rumour?

About the same as Terry I'd say, So yeah, unless they've got some bombshell or something saved for E3, the remaining potential third parties will probably be a bit more on the low key side while they have put down all their big cards at the start or middle as they usually tend to do.

As for Ryu, he mainly got his surge of demand thanks to the rumours that circulated around him, as usually tends to happen with most characters if they don't have a recent game to put them onto people's radars. That and Koei Tecmo being really buddy buddy with Nintendo since the Wii U (Not that that helped Ubisoft much, mind you..) and them being viewed as "the last major Japanese third party that hasn't gotten a character in yet" or Ryu being "the last NES icon" and whatnot.

But yeah, it was mainly the rumours that kicked things into overdrive, at least for Ryu Hayabusa in particular..

 

[amageish]

With Ryu and Doomguy being the two biggest/most-explicitly-phrased interview deconfirms... That 5chan post did not age well.

my gut instinct is that the next character will be a 3rd party on the same level as layton. which brings up a curious topic i think, what level would you all say layton is on?

Layton does a bit better sales-wise then one may expect, but he's definitely still a nicher figure - at least relative to the second pass thus far... I also generally expect they would frontload the pass with bigger characters for advertising reasons and we'll be going nicher now, but also they spent 6 months advertising this pass with ARMS when they had the best-selling game of all time in the pipeline, so... I'm willing to be proven wrong lol.

As for Layton himself... the downsides and upsides haven't really changed. Hopefully Level-5 gets more on its feet, but I guess they were potentially in a better place when DLC was planned...

 

[fogbadge]

Hey welcome to Smashboards Safyre_Rose!
I've added you to the support list, welcome on board!


Hm, I suppose Koei Tecmo still has Dynasty Warriors to fall back on but if the Spirit Events (and Byleth or their reveal trailer? Maybe, maybe not?) was all they seemingly negotiated for if Vergeben is anything to go by then I suppose the last two spots could be anyone's game I suppose..

I guess that gives Level-5 a bit more leeway, the worst that happened was the shut down of the Western branch and Level-5 sticking to Japan for now but since that all happened a whole year after the second fighters pass was already finalized, I'd imagine that shouldn't be quite detrimental to their chances for this current fighters pass (Unless Nintendo somehow had major inside info on that far in advance which I kinda doubt)



About the same as Terry I'd say, So yeah, unless they've got some bombshell or something saved for E3, the remaining potential third parties will probably be a bit more on the low key side while they have put down all their big cards at the start or middle as they usually tend to do.

As for Ryu, he mainly got his surge of demand thanks to the rumours that circulated around him, as usually tends to happen with most characters if they don't have a recent game to put them onto people's radars. That and Koei Tecmo being really buddy buddy with Nintendo since the Wii U (Not that that helped Ubisoft much, mind you..) and them being viewed as "the last major Japanese third party that hasn't gotten a character in yet" or Ryu being "the last NES icon" and whatnot.

But yeah, it was mainly the rumours that kicked things into overdrive, at least for Ryu Hayabusa in particular..

typical. theres plenty of companies whove been buddy buddy with nintendo who dont have stuff in smash but i guess people just forget that

Layton does a bit better sales-wise then one may expect, but he's definitely still a nicher figure - at least relative to the second pass thus far... I also generally expect they would frontload the pass with bigger characters for advertising reasons and we'll be going nicher now, but also they spent 6 months advertising this pass with ARMS when they had the best-selling game of all time in the pipeline, so... I'm willing to be proven wrong lol.

As for Layton himself... the downsides and upsides haven't really changed. Hopefully Level-5 gets more on its feet, but I guess they were potentially in a better place when DLC was planned...

thats true. but like i said just a gut feeling

 

[Curious Villager]

typical. theres plenty of companies whove been buddy buddy with nintendo who dont have stuff in smash but i guess people just forget that



thats true. but like i said just a gut feeling

Remember the good o'll day's when Nintendo was the one being buddy buddy with Level-5 during the DS and 3DS era?

Spoiler

Those where the days...

 

[fogbadge]

Remember the good o'll day's when Nintendo was the one being buddy buddy with Level-5 during the DS and 3DS era?



Those where the days...

they were indeed

though that one of regi and the dancing trio is new to me

 

[Curious Villager]

they were indeed

though that one of regi and the dancing trio is new to me

Wasn't that a commercial with one of the Yo-Kai Watch games? Probably the first one...


Also just found out about this...

Inazuma Eleven: Great Road of Heroes delayed to 2023 in Japan, development update video

Level-5 has released an Inazuma Eleven: Great Road of Heroes development update video featuring company CEO Level-5, who shows off the latest footage of the game running on Switch.

www.gematsu.com

Inazuma Eleven delayed yet again to 2023.... And to think this game was revealed at the same time as Layton's Mystery Journey back in like, 2016 I think...?

Hino please, just, cancel the thing if its giving your company so much troubles, at this rate its pretty much going the way of Mighty Number 9 (Which is ironic considering who they bought a while back...)

And here I am worried if they will even last to see 2022...

 

[amageish]

Yeah, Level-5's chuminess with Nintendo is theoretically one of its best assets, though at this point a lot of people are just hoping they become one of Nintendo's assets.

Wasn't that a commercial with one of the Yo-Kai Watch games? Probably the first one...

I believe there was a trilogy of commericials for the first game with Reggie and Bill being possessed... Honestly, you can't say they didn't try hard in pushing that IP in the west.

Also just found out about this...

Inazuma Eleven: Great Road of Heroes delayed to 2023 in Japan, development update video

Level-5 has released an Inazuma Eleven: Great Road of Heroes development update video featuring company CEO Level-5, who shows off the latest footage of the game running on Switch.

www.gematsu.com

Inazuma Eleven delayed yet again to 2023.... And to think this game was revealed at the same time as Layton's Mystery Journey back in like, 2016 I think...?

Hino please, just, cancel the thing if its giving your company so much troubles, at this rate its pretty much going the way of Mighty Number 9 (Which is ironic considering who they bought a while back...)

And here I am worried if they will even last to see 2022...

Welp.

I guess I can say my pessimistic comment about it being delayed to 2022 wasn't true, as it was instead delayed to 2023.

I just... don't know what's going on with this company at this point, honestly. Much oof.

 

[Curious Villager]

Yeah, Level-5's chuminess with Nintendo is theoretically one of its best assets, though at this point a lot of people are just hoping they become one of Nintendo's assets.



I believe there was a trilogy of commericials for the first game with Reggie and Bill being possessed... Honestly, you can't say they didn't try hard in pushing that IP in the west.



Welp.

I guess I can say my pessimistic comment about it being delayed to 2022 wasn't true, as it was instead delayed to 2023.

I just... don't know what's going on with this company at this point, honestly. Much oof.

People are speculating that they probably will be trying to get bought out by a different company if things continue as they are, which may be for the best over them filing for bankruptcy and losing all their IP's, especially Layton, Yo-Kai Watch, Inazuma Eleven, Fantasy Life and Ni-No Kuni as they've developed large cult followings over the years.

Nintendo or Namco would probably be the most suitable as they've already had a good relationship going with each other, but then again, Microsoft's the one that has been going on a shopping spree lately...

Not sure how I'd feel about Layton having to compete with Banjo, Steve, Master Chief, Doom Guy, Dragonborn etc etc for future Smash games though....
Jibanyan's more than enough thank you very much...

 

[amageish]

People are speculating that they probably will be trying to get bought out by a different company if things continue as they are, which may be for the best over them filing for bankruptcy and losing all their IP's, especially Layton, Yo-Kai Watch, Inazuma Eleven, Fantasy Life and Ni-No Kuni as they've developed large cult followings over the years.

Nintendo or Namco would probably be the most suitable as they've already had a good relationship going with each other, but then again, Microsoft's the one that has been going on a shopping spree lately...

Not sure how I'd feel about Layton having to compete with Banjo, Steve, Master Chief, Doom Guy, Dragonborn etc etc for future Smash games though....
Jibanyan's more than enough thank you very much...

Yeah, I know the internet loves to speculate about buy-outs lately most of which amount to nothing, but Level-5 seems to... actually be doing poorly, as opposed to the "a couple games under-performed" definition of "failure" the internet often uses...

I am amazed how well Fantasy Life has remained in the minds of people. I posted on r/storyofseasons asking about dream potential SoS crossovers and Fantasy Life was one of the most common responses, in spite of the IP having only one game in English... They have a lot of IPs people love (and then they also have Snack World).

Microsoft seems a bit unlikely to me as I just can't imagine that the Xbox install base would be the target audience for Level-5 IPs, but I guess it would help fill holes in their first-party collection of genres... Definitely wouldn't be great for Smash, but, hey, Layton would probably get a MineCraft skin! That's... something.

 

[fogbadge]

Wasn't that a commercial with one of the Yo-Kai Watch games? Probably the first one...

I wouldn’t know I never saw any of the American adds

 

[Curious Villager]

Yeah, I know the internet loves to speculate about buy-outs lately most of which amount to nothing, but Level-5 seems to... actually be doing poorly, as opposed to the "a couple games under-performed" definition of "failure" the internet often uses...

I am amazed how well Fantasy Life has remained in the minds of people. I posted on r/storyofseasons asking about dream potential SoS crossovers and Fantasy Life was one of the most common responses, in spite of the IP having only one game in English... They have a lot of IPs people love (and then they also have Snack World).

Microsoft seems a bit unlikely to me as I just can't imagine that the Xbox install base would be the target audience for Level-5 IPs, but I guess it would help fill holes in their first-party collection of genres... Definitely wouldn't be great for Smash, but, hey, Layton would probably get a MineCraft skin! That's... something.

Yeah the game has a bit of a cult following, nice to see that its still thriving as well, would be great to see Level-5 expand on it further in the future if they ever get around to it.

Yeah I can't really imagine Microsoft buying out Level-5 myself, correct me if I'm wrong but they never really released a game on their platform before did they? Seems a bit odd to be bough out by them as you said, I highly doubt the XBOX audience would be all that interested in any of Level-5's IP's unless they really want to have more JRPG's out there to entice more Japanese audiences for the XBOX...

But yeah, either Nintendo or Namco would probably be the best option for Level-5 if they ever get to the point where they need to be bought out. (Maybe Square as well? Who knows..)
The funny thing with Nintendo buying out Level-5 is that that would also mean that they essentially become the new owners of Mighty Number 9 too, which is quite funny to think about..

 

[fogbadge]

Yeah the game has a bit of a cult following, nice to see that its still thriving as well, would be great to see Level-5 expand on it further in the future if they ever get around to it.

Yeah I can't really imagine Microsoft buying out Level-5 myself, correct me if I'm wrong but they never really released a game on their platform before did they? Seems a bit odd to be bough out by them as you said, I highly doubt the XBOX audience would be all that interested in any of Level-5's IP's unless they really want to have more JRPG's out there to entice more Japanese audiences for the XBOX...

But yeah, either Nintendo or Namco would probably be the best option for Level-5 if they ever get to the point where they need to be bought out. (Maybe Square as well? Who knows..)
The funny thing with Nintendo buying out Level-5 is that that would also mean that they essentially become the new owners of Mighty Number 9 too, which is quite funny to think about..

hmm now I can’t help but wonder if Nintendo would get part of the rights to the ips if they bought the company. The other times they’ve bought companies I’m not sure there was anything similar

 

[amageish]

Yeah the game has a bit of a cult following, nice to see that its still thriving as well, would be great to see Level-5 expand on it further in the future if they ever get around to it.

Yeah I can't really imagine Microsoft buying out Level-5 myself, correct me if I'm wrong but they never really released a game on their platform before did they? Seems a bit odd to be bough out by them as you said, I highly doubt the XBOX audience would be all that interested in any of Level-5's IP's unless they really want to have more JRPG's out there to entice more Japanese audiences for the XBOX...

But yeah, either Nintendo or Namco would probably be the best option for Level-5 if they ever get to the point where they need to be bought out. (Maybe Square as well? Who knows..)
The funny thing with Nintendo buying out Level-5 is that that would also mean that they essentially become the new owners of Mighty Number 9 too, which is quite funny to think about..

Yeah, that'd be nice... You know, beyond the sequel they announced and turned out to be a mobile game.

Apparently they had plans for a Xbox Live exclusive that was cancelled after some development hell. So, no, they haven't released an Xbox game and their only relationship with Microsoft was a failed collaboration... probably not the best position to be in lol.

Namco or Nintendo seem like the most logical ones to me too...

I can't wait for the exciting concept crossover Mario Number 9!

hmm now I can’t help but wonder if Nintendo would get part of the rights to the ips if they bought the company. The other times they’ve bought companies I’m not sure there was anything similar

Generally they would, yes, assuming they were fully acquiring the company. Would not be good for the future of Dark Cloud...

 

[fogbadge]

Generally they would, yes, assuming they were fully acquiring the company. Would not be good for the future of Dark Cloud...

guess that funny looking next level games mascot is a nintendo character then

 

[Curious Villager]

Yeah, that'd be nice... You know, beyond the sequel they announced and turned out to be a mobile game.

Apparently they had plans for a Xbox Live exclusive that was cancelled after some development hell. So, no, they haven't released an Xbox game and their only relationship with Microsoft was a failed collaboration... probably not the best position to be in lol.

Namco or Nintendo seem like the most logical ones to me too...

I can't wait for the exciting concept crossover Mario Number 9!



Generally they would, yes, assuming they were fully acquiring the company. Would not be good for the future of Dark Cloud...

Yikes, I can see now why they never really released much on Microsoft's platforms ever since... Yeah I don't really see them meeting each other much eye to eye due to that failed collaboration...
Oh well, I don't think them being bought out by them would happen anyway, isn't there some kind of law or something in Japan where they can't be bought out by a western company or something?

So yeah, Nintendo or Namco it is then, Nintendo is always quite unpredictable with this sort of thing so it remains to be seen with them but them and Namco are probably the best fit for them, anyway.

As for Dark Cloud, It's always been in a weird limbo that Level-5 couldn't do much with since day one due to its ownership with Sony, not that that stops its fans and their continued frustrations with the limbo its subjugated with or anything. I don't think its protag was even featured in that mural drawing Level-5 did featuring all their main characters late last year (As well as with Mighty Number 9 for obvious reasons...)

 

[amageish]

Yikes, I can see now why they never really released much on Microsoft's platforms ever since... Yeah I don't really see them meeting each other much eye to eye due to that failed collaboration...
Oh well, I don't think them being bought out by them would happen anyway, isn't there some kind of law or something in Japan where they can't be bought out by a western company or something?

So yeah, Nintendo or Namco it is then, Nintendo is always quite unpredictable with this sort of thing so it remains to be seen with them but them and Namco are probably the best fit for them, anyway.

As for Dark Cloud, It's always been in a weird limbo that Level-5 couldn't do much with since day one due to its ownership with Sony, not that that stops its fans and their continued frustrations with the limbo its subjugated with or anything. I don't think its protag was even featured in that mural drawing Level-5 did featuring all their main characters late last year (As well as with Mighty Number 9 for obvious reasons...)

Yeah, uh, that sounds like a bad way to set up a long-term relationship...

I do not know about the nuances of an international buyout like that, but I imagine they'd have some sort of protections of the industry to prevent a majority of it just being taken over...

Agreed... Namco would be interesting because multiplatform and Nintendo would be interesting because... Nintendo. I mean, Nintendo hasn't bought out companies with already-famous IPs they actually own themselves in a while, just a lot of developers.

Yeah, I'm just thinking that, if Nintendo bought them out, then it would be an IP trapped with co-ownership of Nintendo and Sony. And that sounds like a bad position to be in.

 

[fogbadge]

its a funny thought level-5 being owned by nintendo. layton and jibanyan would probably get in. id be lamenting that no one ever visits my whisper support thread and we'd all be talking about the layton series in CV's flora support thread

 

[Curious Villager]

Yeah, uh, that sounds like a bad way to set up a long-term relationship...

I do not know about the nuances of an international buyout like that, but I imagine they'd have some sort of protections of the industry to prevent a majority of it just being taken over...

Agreed... Namco would be interesting because multiplatform and Nintendo would be interesting because... Nintendo. I mean, Nintendo hasn't bought out companies with already-famous IPs they actually own themselves in a while, just a lot of developers.

Yeah, I'm just thinking that, if Nintendo bought them out, then it would be an IP trapped with co-ownership of Nintendo and Sony. And that sounds like a bad position to be in.

Nintendo tends to prefer to commission companies to do things for them over outright buying them, which is why companies like Alphadream where at the state that they where, I guess after that fiasco they decided to secure Next Level Games so something similar wouldn't happen to them. I don't know if Hal Laboratories is owned by them as well, but they seem to be doing about fine on their own with the Kirby series and the little side projects they do along the side too.

But yeah it would come with certain caveats if Nintendo where to buy them, they may not be able to release their games on other consoles anymore (Besides mobile, probably) which would kinda suck for Ni No Kuni and especially Dark Cloud fans. So Namco might be the better choice if they still want to have that added freedom available.

its a funny thought level-5 being owned by nintendo. layton and jibanyan would probably get in. id be lamenting that no one ever visits my whisper support thread and we'd all be talking about the layton series in CV's flora support thread

If Level-5 did get bought by Nintendo, I'd imagine we'd probably be seeing both Layton and Jibanyan in the base game of the next Smash at the same time (With a Yo-Kai Watch item that works like the Pokeball and Assist Trophy, maybe..), maybe even Oliver from Ni No Kuni too (Jury's out for Inazuma Eleven if the series near non existence in the US bothers Sakurai too much, but we'd probably still see Mark Evans as an Assist Trophy at least..)

But yeah we'd probably have an easier time justifying multiple reps for the series too in that case, which would be quite fun to imagine..

 

[amageish]

Nintendo tends to prefer to commission companies to do things for them over outright buying them, which is why companies like Alphadream where at the state that they where, I guess after that fiasco they decided to secure Next Level Games so something similar wouldn't happen to them. I don't know if Hal Laboratories is owned by them as well, but they seem to be doing about fine on their own with the Kirby series and the little side projects they do along the side too.

But yeah it would come with certain caveats if Nintendo where to buy them, they may not be able to release their games on other consoles anymore (Besides mobile, probably) which would kinda suck for Ni No Kuni and especially Dark Cloud fans. So Namco might be the better choice if they still want to have that added freedom available.

Yeah, definitely. Nintendo seems very comfortable having regular collobrators who they can trust to do work with them without having to actually full-on incorporate them into Nintendo's corporate structure. I wonder why they did decide to buy out Next Level; I guess Alphadream may have made them nervous...

I assume that Level-5 would be a first-party Nintendo company, plus mobile games... I'm unsure if Sony would care to do Dark Cloud even with Level-5 not owned by Nintendo, but it'd be a certifiable death of the IP if it ends up owned by two halves of the console wars...

If Level-5 did get bought by Nintendo, I'd imagine we'd probably be seeing both Layton and Jibanyan in the base game of the next Smash at the same time (With a Yo-Kai Watch item that works like the Pokeball and Assist Trophy, maybe..), maybe even Oliver from Ni No Kuni too (Jury's out for Inazuma Eleven if the series near non existence in the US bothers Sakurai too much, but we'd probably still see Mark Evans as an Assist Trophy at least..)

But yeah we'd probably have an easier time justifying multiple reps for the series too in that case, which would be quite fun to imagine..

I imagine Ni No Kuni would remain partly owned by Studio Ghibli, which would make for an amazing copyright thing at the bottom of the screen at the end of all Smash ads... I imagine Layton and Yokai Watch would instantly get some content, at least, yeah. It's a bit of an unprecedented concept to think about though...

 

[fogbadge]

Nintendo tends to prefer to commission companies to do things for them over outright buying them, which is why companies like Alphadream where at the state that they where, I guess after that fiasco they decided to secure Next Level Games so something similar wouldn't happen to them. I don't know if Hal Laboratories is owned by them as well, but they seem to be doing about fine on their own with the Kirby series and the little side projects they do along the side too.

But yeah it would come with certain caveats if Nintendo where to buy them, they may not be able to release their games on other consoles anymore (Besides mobile, probably) which would kinda suck for Ni No Kuni and especially Dark Cloud fans. So Namco might be the better choice if they still want to have that added freedom available.


If Level-5 did get bought by Nintendo, I'd imagine we'd probably be seeing both Layton and Jibanyan in the base game of the next Smash at the same time (With a Yo-Kai Watch item that works like the Pokeball and Assist Trophy, maybe..), maybe even Oliver from Ni No Kuni too (Jury's out for Inazuma Eleven if the series near non existence in the US bothers Sakurai too much, but we'd probably still see Mark Evans as an Assist Trophy at least..)

But yeah we'd probably have an easier time justifying multiple reps for the series too in that case, which would be quite fun to imagine..

it is

I imagine Ni No Kuni would remain partly owned by Studio Ghibli, which would make for an amazing copyright thing at the bottom of the screen at the end of all Smash ads... I imagine Layton and Yokai Watch would instantly get some content, at least, yeah. It's a bit of an unprecedented concept to think about though...

i dont think studio ghibli doesnt own any of ni no kuni. only level-5 are credited for the copyright

 

[GoodGrief741]

Oh well, I don't think them being bought out by them would happen anyway, isn't there some kind of law or something in Japan where they can't be bought out by a western company or something?

From what I've heard Japan has special laws in place that require government approval for any foreign buyout of a local company. It might not actually stop the purchase after review but it could give Microsoft pause. Then again if they're specifically looking to buy a Japanese developer that probably wouldn't stop them from trying...

 

[fogbadge]

From what I've heard Japan has special laws in place that require government approval for any foreign buyout of a local company. It might not actually stop the purchase after review but it could give Microsoft pause. Then again if they're specifically looking to buy a Japanese developer that probably wouldn't stop them from trying...

last thing we need is microsoft killing all of level-5's franchises

 

[Curious Villager]

Oof, Level-5, pls...

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