Inspring brand loyalty by outsourcing?
Apparently it’s “hardly a secret”, but it’s news to me. Apparently the video game industry is not immune to the concept of outsourcing. Some of our favourite all-time games were not developed and produced by who we thought. Instead, some company called “Tose” is responsible for several classics (some of which are pictured above, if 1Up is to be believed), ghostwriting the code for these games for such prominent names as THQ, Electronic Arts, Sony, Namco, Sega, Square Enix, and — yes — even Nintendo. Tose develops these games from scratch right through to when it comes time to package them, and only then do these better-known names get in on the action.
Some of the greatest franchises of all time may not be completely immune to this phenomenon. I can’t say for sure, but can you imagine if a Final Fantasy was not done by Square Enix? Or if Street Fighter has nothing to do with Capcom other than their badging on the cover? With Mario Kart 64 destined for the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console this Monday, we’ve got to wonder if Shiggy had anything to do with that racer too.
Then again, should we care? So long as it still takes the company’s “image” and inspires us to play and enjoy these titles, right?
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