Eagle-eyed fanswho’ve beaten the gameand watched the credits roll onDeath Stranding 2might just spot something that, at least at first, looks incredibly strange. Death Stranding 2 credits “Nintendo Pictures” with motion-capture work. You know, despite the game being totally exclusive toPlayStationconsoles. The first Death Stranding game isn’t on theNintendo Switcheither.
How exactly did Nintendo get involved with a game like this? Why would they even help out with a project that’s not gonna give them a game in return?
So, listen up, here’s a story. About a little studio with a dynamic name.
Today, Nintendo Pictures is a CG studio that works exclusively onNintendotitles. Their goal is to help people “know about Nintendo characters,” (thanks,Gamesradar), through their work in bringing Nintendo’s IP to life.
The studio has worked on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Pikmin 4, among several others. At least… that’s what they’ve been working on after 2022. Ever since Nintendo purchased them.
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Before 2022, the studio was called ‘Dynamo Pictures’, and their resume was a lot more diverse. They helped out with Monster Hunter: World, Nier: Replicant, and yes, even Death Stranding - the first one.
But that was six years ago. Death Stranding released in 2019, and people have long since moved on. Surely, Dynamo hasn’t fallen back in with the old crowd, right? What would big daddy Nintendo think??
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VGCspeculates that Nintendo Pictures contributed to the Death Stranding 2 project before its acquisition by Nintendo. Either their work was cut short, or perhaps Nintendo let them continue on any already-finalized projects.
It is also possible that there’s some recycling going on. Kojima Productions could have simply re-used some old motion-capture assets or files from the first game. And thus, they would need to credit people appropriately.
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Regardless of the studio’s name change, 14 people from ‘Nintendo Pictures’ are credited by name for contributing to the development of Death Stranding 2. Though they may all work for Nintendo, that hasn’t stopped their work from appearing in non-Nintendo products, even all these years later.
But in the present day, and for the forseeable future, Nintendo is their home. The studio aims “to make Nintendo characters known to customers around the world and create one-of-a-kind videos that will remain in their memories forever,” according totheir website.
Regardless of corporate masters, the soul remains. “Each and every one of our employees will work hard to create an organization that can continue to grow, by always considering what could be interesting to customers around the world, and engaging in production work that they enjoy themselves.”
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