Nintendo Is Acquiring Super Mario And Zelda Programmer SRD
Today Nintendo announced ThisX acquisition of a longtime partner of SRD (Systems Research and Development), a company that helped in the programming of some of the company’s most iconic games, including Super Mario Bros. Nintendo purchased 100 percent of SRD’s outstanding shares for an undisclosed amount, making the studio a wholly-owned subsidiary.
“SRD is a software development company that has been actively developing software for Nintendo video games for nearly four decades,” Nintendo said in a statement. Founded in 1979, SRD began working with Nintendo on the Famicom, helping to program more than just the console version. Donkey Kong but also Super Mario Bros. The studio reportedly participated in almost all Zelda games and recently worked on Ring Fit Adventure as well as Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Until it’s public to know for sure how many games SRD worked on, you can see the list of titles here.
“The completion of the acquisition (excluding treasury shares) will strengthen SRD’s management base and ensure the availability of resources for Nintendo software development, and contribute to the expected improvement in software development efficiency,” Nintendo added.
Earlier this month, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about acquisitions after Microsoft as well as Sony’s last moves.
“Our brand was built on products created with dedication by our employees, and having a large number of people in our group who do not have Nintendo DNA would not be a plus.” – Furukawa answered at the right time. In light of these remarks, the purchase makes sense. SRD is not only a longtime partner of Nintendo but a big part of the history of Nintendo consoles.
The deal is expected to close on April 1, when the new fiscal year begins in Japan.
