When it comes to acquisitions, Nintendo is generally a lot more conservative than other companies in their industry. Oh sure, they bought Next-Level Games in 2021, and both SRD and Dynamo Pictures (aka Nintendo Pictures) in 2022…
But that’s about it for recent purchases from the company. They tend to work with third party partners rather than buying them, and only usually acquire whole companies once there’s no other option.
Which is why yesterday’s news is such a surprise to all of us. Why? Because as the title suggests, they’ve announced plans to acquire Shiver Entertainment from the Embracer Group almost completely out of the blue.
Here’s the announcement about it from their official site:
Notice of the Acquisition of Shiver Entertainment, Inc. (PDF file)
As well as the post about it on Twitter:
The Notice of the Acquisition of Shiver Entertainment, Inc. can now be found on our IR information website.https://t.co/8BnqxlSPi5
— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) May 20, 2024
As you can see, it’s an interesting one for sure. For one thing, they all but imply the company will still work on games for other platforms, not just the Switch itself:
Shiver’s focus will remain the same, continuing commissions that port and develop software for multiple platforms including Nintendo Switch
Which is pretty unusual for a Nintendo subsidiary. Huh, maybe they’ve got a few outstanding development contracts left to fulfil there?
Either way, the oddities don’t end there. No, the company also has a very… limited lineup of games too. Indeed, based on a quick check online, here are all the games developed by Shiver so far:
- Scribblenauts Showdown
- Scribblenauts Mega Pack
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Mortal Kombat 1
With their main role on most of them being to port said games to the Switch. So, there’s no original IP at stake here, or wholly unique games under their belt.
So why did Nintendo buy them?
Well, it seems like the answer is threefold; their experience in porting games to Switch, their value due to the Embracer Group collapse, and the industry experience present at the studio.
With the former likely being the most important of the three. Nintendo needs big third party games on Switch, and Shiver has provided some of the most impressive ports around. Hence it’s probable the company sees their work here, and realises that it’d be nice to bring it in house for the Switch’s successor.
But the low price and uncertainty due to the Embracer Group’s collapse likely didn’t hurt either. The latter has been closing and selling off studios left and right due to their deteriorating financial situation, and probably didn’t ask a whole lot from Nintendo as far as the price was concerned. Hence it was probably a much cheaper acquisition than you’d expect in this industry, and one that Nintendo isn’t losing any money on.
Finally, as Nintendo Life explains in their analysis here, they’ve got a lot of longtime industry talent on board too. Industry talent that Nintendo likely wants to work with, and sees as a safe bet as a result of that.
Either way, Nintendo’s latest acquisition will be Shiver Entertainment, and they’ll become a subsidiary going forward. So what do you think about this? Are you excited to see what else they’ll work on? Why do you think Nintendo bought the company?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or on our Discord server today!
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