Nintendo Announces Plans to Acquire ‘Luigi’s Mansion 3’ Developer
Nintendo has evolved in unique ways since it first established itself in the 90s. Through countless innovative consoles and games, the company has always surprised fans with what’s next. Now, a new acquisition of the developers of “Luigi’s Mansion 3” could be a hint at what’s to come for gamers.
Next Level Games has been a long-time collaborator with Nintendo, and on March 21, 2021, the two will grow even closer. On January 5, 2021, Nintendo announced that it will be acquiring 100% of Next Level Games’ shares. With this move, the companies look forward to more efficient collaboration and production.
Historically, Next Level Games has been consistently working with Nintendo to develop games. Since its establishment in 2002, these developers have brought gamers titles like “NHL Hitz Pro” to the GameCube in 2003 to “Punch-Out!!” for the Wii in 2009 to “Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon” for the 3DS in 2013.
Now, with this merger, Next Level Games will be developing games exclusively for Nintendo. In the announcement, representatives state that this acquisition will “facilitate an anticipated improvement in development speed and quality by enabling closer communication and exchange of staff with the Nintendo development team.”
With the versatility and practicality of the Switch, Nintendo is on top of the video game world. However, as platforms like Xbox and PlayStation make monumental steps in gaming history, this new merger will no doubt be a good move for Nintendo to remain a strong competitor that consumers stick with.
What the Acquisition Could Mean
This acquisition is actually a rare move for Nintendo. The last time the company purchased another developer was with Monolith Soft in 2007. Now, 14 years later, the new acquisition shows promising signs for gamers who are interested in Next Level Games’ work and unique production styles.
This closeness is sure to bring about more games, both in the “Luigi’s Mansion” storyline and new titles. “Luigi’s Mansion 3” was a hit with critics and audiences. With favorable reviews and sales of almost eight million units worldwide since September 2020, this installation of the saga has been a success. Not to mention it’s won a couple of awards, too!
It’s likely, then, that Nintendo will continue down this path and produce more successful titles with Next Level Games. Fans and critics are already familiar with Nintendo’s tendency to surprise audiences with groundbreaking innovations, like “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” back in March of 2017. Next Level Games is sure to add to the upcoming excitement.
2021 is already promising to be a big year for Nintendo, with this acquisition as the leadoff. Just as the company re-released several older titles for the Switch during Mario’s 35th-anniversary celebration, rumors are stirring about the same thing happening for Zelda’s 35th this year.
With this success and the new merger, Next Level Games are sure to have some tricks up its sleeve. Of course, fans won’t know until Nintendo surprises them at any point this year.
Plenty to Look Forward to
If this merger is an indication of anything, it’s that Nintendo is only going up from here. Coming off a year where staying inside has been a necessity — and still is in 2021 — the video game industry is more powerful than ever. With Nintendo, especially, fans and critics can be sure that they have an exciting year ahead.