As a long-time fan of both Nintendo and Sony, I can’t help but feel a mix of excitement and apprehension about the potential acquisition of Kadokawa Corporation by Sony. If this deal goes through, it could reshape the gaming landscape significantly, especially for franchises like Mario & Luigi and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.
On November 19th, Reuters announced that Sony was in negotiations to purchase Kadokawa Corporation, a significant Japanese media conglomerate. At that time, it was mentioned that the negotiations were still ongoing, and if everything proceeded smoothly, the deal could be finalized within the coming weeks. A day after, Kadokawa released a statement addressing the report. They confirmed receiving an acquisition offer from Sony, but stated no definitive decisions had been made as of yet. If there were any future updates on this potential buyout, they promised to make a public announcement promptly.
Kadokawa Corporation is a well-known entity in the anime, manga, and gaming sectors. It has a substantial influence in the video game market, with several notable developers under its belt such as Spike Chunsoft, Acquire Corp., Gotcha Gotcha Games, and FromSoftware. If Sony were to acquire Kadokawa, it could potentially reshape the gaming industry significantly, particularly if they choose to make future games exclusive to PlayStation consoles. This situation might pose a serious threat to Nintendo and its beloved franchises like Mario & Luigi and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.
Sony Acquiring Kadokawa May Impact the Mario & Luigi and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Series
The Latest Mario & Luigi Game Was Developed by Acquire, a Kadokawa Subsidiary
Originally, the Mario & Luigi series was born from AlphaDream, a company founded by ex-employees of Square who had previously worked on games such as Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy. Over time, AlphaDream created a total of 7 Mario & Luigi installments, two of which were exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS. However, following the disappointing sales of Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Insider Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey, AlphaDream faced financial difficulties and eventually closed its doors in 2019, temporarily pausing the Mario & Luigi franchise.
This month, Nintendo has long-awaitedly revived the Mario & Luigi series with the launch of “Mario & Luigi: Brothership”. It marks the first new game in the series (excluding remakes) in about 9 years and was developed not by AlphaDream, but by Acquire, known for their work on the “Octopath Traveler” games. Acquire is a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, which could one day be owned by Sony. If that happens, they might not be able to develop for consoles other than PlayStation, potentially leading to another hiatus for the Mario & Luigi franchise if Nintendo can’t find another studio to take its place.
Spike Chunsoft, the Creators of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Are Also Owned By Kadokawa
It’s possible that the long-running series, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, may encounter a similar predicament. This collection of roguelike RPGs, which combines elements from both the Pokemon and Mystery Dungeon franchises, has been active since 2005, debuting on Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. The latest addition to this franchise was released for the Switch in 2020. Notably, all games under the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon label have been developed by Spike Chunsoft, a studio known for hit visual novels such as Zero Escape, Danganronpa, and AI: The Somnium Files.
As previously stated, Spike Chunsoft is under Kadokawa Corporation’s ownership. This means that if Sony were to acquire Kadokawa or its subsidiaries in the future, there might be restrictions on Spike Chunsoft working with Nintendo. If this happens, the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series could potentially cease to exist. Unlike the Mario & Luigi series, Nintendo doesn’t hold complete control over the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon intellectual property. While they have rights to Pokemon, they don’t own the Mystery Dungeon part of it. If the Kadokawa buyout occurs, Mystery Dungeon would become a first-party franchise for Sony since Spike Chunsoft owns it, which could limit the production of future Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games.
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2024-11-21 21:35