I also know that Nintendo is actively meeting with independent developers to find new partners. Some of that is around publishing indie games, which Nintendo does from time-to-time, but it’s also seeking studios that could work on some of its IP. Nintendo regularly works with third-party teams, including Bandai Namco, Team Ninja, Platinum Games, MercurySteam, WayForward and Grezzo. But the company is looking to add to that roster, and I know of three studios that are deep in conversation around making games based on Nintendo brands.
Actual Source: Christopher Dring at Gameindustry.biz: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/how-can-nintendo-switch-2-surpass-its-predecessor-opinion
Typically quality goes down as more third party studios get involved. If they can keep their quality up somehow, this will be a good thing. But I don’t want annual shovelware Zelda games like COD or how Assassin’s Creed was in the 2010s.
Pokemon has been close to shovelware for a few generations now, though legends Arceus is a shining counterexample that I hope we get more of. It seems like gamefreak had time to make it after handing off the normal remakes of the Sinnoh region to another developer, so if that’s the direction they’re looking in I’m optimistic.
Nintendo has been using third party devs since at least the SNES.
Agreed, and yet GameFreaks quality would skyrocket if they outsourced their development (or got forced by Nintendo to do so). Depends on how the quality is in the first place I guess xD
Not sure what leverage Nintendo would have. Nintendo doesn’t own Pokemon. The Pokemon Company does.