Nintendo’s Commitment to Robust Credit Recognition for Developers of Donkey Kong Country Returns
Nintendo excluded the original development team from the credit list for the new HD Switch version of the 2010 Wii game Donkey Kong Country Returns, yet it insists that this oversight doesn’t reflect its true values.
“We are committed to giving proper recognition to everyone involved in creating or contributing to a game’s development,” Nintendo stated to Eurogamer, “and we value the efforts that every member of the team brings during the creation process.”
Despite this claimed principle, the credits for the Switch version of Donkey Kong Country Returns vaguely attribute “the work of the original development team” rather than recognizing the studio itself, Retro Studios, which was similarly omitted from the credited team for 2023’s Metroid Prime Remastered. Instead, Nintendo provided Retro with vague acknowledgment, ambiguously claiming that the game was “based on the efforts of the Metroid Prime (original Nintendo GameCube and Wii versions) development team.”
“While numerous studios contributed significantly to the remaster,” former Retro developer Zoid Kirsch expressed at the time, “I’m disappointed that Metroid Prime’s Remaster fails to list the complete original game credits. I collaborated with so many incredible people on the game, and everyone’s name deserves to be included in the remaster.”
Although Nintendo is well-known for vigorously seeking its own credits – similarly to its ongoing lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair – the company is notoriously reticent regarding the other studios it collaborates with. Prior to the launch of Princess Peach Showtime in 2024, for instance, Nintendo dismissed fan speculation regarding the development team by stating tersely that “the development team will be recognized in the game credits.”
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