Nintendo buys Xenosaga dev Monolith Soft
Japanese development studio Monolith Soft has been purchased by Nintendo from NamcoBandai, according to a press release (PDF file) from credible Japanese news source Nikkei translated by gaming site The Platformers.
Our team of translators have discerned from the release that Nintendo now owns 80% of the company's stock, while Namco Bandai still retain 16% of their original 96% holdings in the developer, whose total worth is approximately 75 million yen.
The studio, formed in 1999 by former Square employee Hirohide Sugiura, is responsible for the Xenosaga and Baten Kaitos series. The company is also reportedly developing Disaster: Day of Crisis, a Wii title that hasn't been seen since its appearance at E3 2006.
We've contacted Nintendo further details. For the console maker, this gives them an experienced second party RPG developer. We'll keep you updated as this story progresses.
[Thanks for the translation help, Patrick and Andrew]
