As Nintendo’s press release explains, the objective of this acquisition, which looks like a mere formality, is to permanently secure the good and loyal services of this studio in addition to facilitating development efficiency, knowing that the studio had 139 employees in the spring of 2021. In fact, SRD could already be considered a Nintendo studio, as evidenced by the catalog of games in which it participated, or the fact that its Kyoto studio had already been located within Nintendo HQ since 1987. .
Founded on July 22, 1979 in Osaka, Toshihiko Nakago’s studio has collaborated on a slew of Nintendo games since 1983’s Donkey Kong, from franchises like Mario and Zelda. Recently, SRD has worked on titles like The Video Game Workshop, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Ring Fit Adventure, and Super Mario Maker 2.
Unsurprisingly, Nintendo notes that this operation will only have a minor impact on its next results. This acquisition follows that of the Canadian studio Next Level Games, also close to Nintendo and which the Japanese giant had decided to offer itself in January 2021 to prevent the team responsible for games like Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Mario Strikers: Battle League Football won’t be bought by someone else. In the case of Next Level Games like that of SRD, the amount of the acquisition was not disclosed.
In presenting Nintendo’s recent financial results, CEO Shuntaro Furuaka dismissed the idea of Nintendo making major acquisitions targeting companies too far removed from Nintendo’s habits. “Our brand has been built on products made with dedication by our employees, and having a large number of people who do not have Nintendo DNA in our group would not be a benefit to the company.“, he had commented in response to the great maneuvers of the competition.