Many know that Monolith Soft, the studio behind the Xenoblade Chronicles series, was acquired by Nintendo back in 2007. However, few know that the story behind Nintendo’s purchase of the studio was really wholesome.
In 2007, Nintendo is riding the wave of the height of its success. The Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS released to become two of the best-selling consoles of all time, with Nintendo enjoying even more time in the sun than usual. Meanwhile, Monolith Soft was working under Bandai Namco. In 2002, president of Bandai Namco Masaya Nakamura retired, which Monolith Soft co-founder Hirohide Sugiura cited as the source of a rift between the goals of Monolith Soft and Bandai.
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Until Nakamura’s retirement, Sugiura said that the company worked closely with him. Monolith Soft worked with Bandai for a long time before the acquisition, mostly through Nakamura. On Nakamura, Sugiura said, “he treated us well and talked to us about all kinds of things. After his retirement, there was a new atmosphere.”
Since the moment of Nakamura’s retirement, Sugiura stated the company struggled with feeling unable to be creative under Bandai’s name. That is when Nintendo’s Shinji Hatano, mastermind of several Nintendo partnerships, met with Monolith Soft. Hatano told Sugiura and his team to “just go out there and make something that can’t be found elsewhere in the industry.” At its time of need, Nintendo took the studio under its wing and told it to be creative. After talks with Nintendo, Bandai gave up their 80% majority share in Monolith Soft to maintain its positive relationship with Nintendo. It was Nintendo’s support which ultimately led to the company releasing the creative endeavour it had longed to work on for years, Xenoblade Chronicles.
As many would know, Xenoblade Chronicles went on to receive almost universal critical acclaim and become one of the highest rated Nintendo Wii games of all time. The change in management is not without challenge, though, as Sugiura revealed that Nintendo would not greenlight everything. Monolith felt the pressure to work hard and release games worthy of the Nintendo name. After all, it is rare that Nintendo would acquire a third-party studio, making its show of faith in Monolith Soft a strong indicator of the big N's great expectations for the studio.
It is a sweet story that implies Nintendo has always been doing the best it can to care for its employees and the game industry at large. Though the studio has faced criticism over the past decade for its software hardly ever going on sale, high digital game prices, and hardware issues, this information preserves faith that Nintendo still holds creativity above all else.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is now available for the Nintendo Switch.
MORE: 5 Studios Nintendo Should Acquire NextSource: Siliconera