Monolith Soft
Monolith Software Inc.,[b] trading as Monolith Soft, is a Japanese video game development studio originally owned by Namco (later Bandai Namco) until being bought out by Nintendo in 2007. The company was founded in 1999 by Tetsuya Takahashi with the support and cooperation of Masaya Nakamura, the founder of Namco. Their first project was the Xenosaga series, a spiritual successor to the Square-developed Xenogears. Multiple Square staff would join Takahashi at Monolith Soft including Hirohide Sugiura and Yasuyuki Honne.
| Monolith Soft | |
Native name | 株式会社モノリスソフト |
Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Monorisu Sofuto |
| Type | |
| Industry | Video games |
| Genre | Video game developer |
| Founded | 1 October 1999 in Tokyo, Japan |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Meguro, Tokyo , Japan |
Number of locations | 4 studios[a] (2020) |
Key people |
|
| Products | Games |
| Brands |
|
| ¥491 million (2020) | |
Number of employees | 275 (2021) |
| Parent |
|
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [1][2] | |
In addition to the Xenosaga series, Monolith Soft worked on other projects including Baten Kaitos and Namco × Capcom, the precursor to their later Project X Zone series, along with assisting on projects from other developers. While several of its games have released on the PlayStation 2, the majority of its games have released on Nintendo platforms. As of 2019, Monolith Soft operates four studios. Its main studio is in Meguro, Tokyo that produces the company's original video game properties; the secondary Nakameguro GS and Osaki Studio similarly based in Tokyo, and a studio in Kyoto with mainly artists as its employees, which acts as an assisting developer for both Monolith Soft and for some Nintendo games.
The design approaches of Monolith Soft have shifted over its lifetime, with early games such as Xenosaga and Baten Kaitos being distinguished by a narrative-heavy approach, while later games have focused more on gameplay. The company's stated goals are to create projects with wide creative freedom and to allow younger developers to contribute to these projects. The company is also notable for its focus on promoting a comfortable working environment with little to no overtime in contrast to the majority of other Japanese game developers, alongside collaborating with other studios and companies.
History
Origins
Monolith Soft was founded by Tetsuya Takahashi, a developer who had previously worked at Nihon Falcom and later at Square, in which the latter was merged into Enix in 2003 to form Square Enix.[3][4] While at Square, he and his wife Kaori Tanaka (also known as Soraya Saga) would contribute to the development of multiple games including entries in the Final Fantasy series.[5][6] Following their work on Final Fantasy VI, Takahashi and Tanaka created a proposal for Final Fantasy VII; while deemed too dark for the Final Fantasy series, they were allowed to develop it as their own project titled Xenogears.[7] Takahashi's ambition and drive prompted Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, then Executive Vice President at Square, to appoint him as director.[5][8] Takahashi also wrote the script with Tanaka.[6][7] Following the release of Xenogears, Takahashi became dissatisfied with Square's business approach at the time, which prioritized their major intellectual properties including Final Fantasy. This left Takahashi with no funding or creative room to develop further independent projects or continue his planned Xenogears series.[9][10][11]
In 1999, Takahashi talked with Hirohide Sugiura, who had likewise worked at Square and was beginning to feel frustrated due to a lack of creative freedom. After discussing the matter, the two decided to create their own company and pursue projects they wanted to create. When planning their new company, Takahashi and Sugiura decided that they needed a publisher with substantial market presence to help them rather than being an independent studio. Takahashi and Sugiura approached multiple companies for support, but most of the companies they contacted outright rejected their offer as they believed that Monolith Soft should be an independent company. However, Namco were interested in investing into Monolith Soft as a dedicated subsidiary, whilst handling logistics and marketing so that the core staff could focus on game development.[9] An important supporter of Monolith Soft was Namco's founder Masaya Nakamura, who shared many of Takahashi and Sugiura's goals and ideals.[12] Monolith Soft is noted as being one of a group of video game companies—alongside Sacnoth, Love-de-Lic and Mistwalker—founded by Square staff who had worked on notable games produced during the 1990s.[13] The company was officially founded on 1 October 1999 by Takahashi, Sugiura, and Yasuyuki Honne, who had worked at Square on both the Chrono series and with Takahashi on Xenogears.[3][9][11] The company's offices were originally based in Yokohama.[14]
2000s
Namco era
Monolith Soft's first project was Xenosaga Episode I, a role-playing game (RPG) for the PlayStation 2. Xenosaga was a spiritual successor to Xenogears; development began in 2000 when enough staff had been gathered, lasting approximately two years.[10][15][16] As with Xenogears, the game was scripted by Takahashi and Tanaka, who planned out the Xenosaga series as a hexalogy.[11][17] In 2001, Namco producer Shinji Noguchi and Monolith Soft's Tadashi Nomura conceived a new IP for the GameCube unconnected to Xenosaga. Titled Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, development began six months after the concept was formed, with Honne acting as director.[18][19][20] The game development staff of the company was now divided between the Xenosaga series and Baten Kaitos, the latter a project driven by the younger developers at Monolith Soft.[21] Baten Kaitos was co-developed with tri-Crescendo, which came about due to both submitting designs to Namco, which suggested they work together on the project.[20][22] In 2003, Honne was approached by then-CEO of Nintendo Satoru Iwata about developing a new entry in the Mother series for GameCube. Honne created a pitch themed around a "felt-style recreation of 80s America", but the idea was firmly rejected by series creator Shigesato Itoi.[23]
Following the release of the first Xenosaga game, Takahashi and Sugiura reassessed the internal structure of Monolith Soft, determining that the current lead developers were too old, clashing with their intended goals for the company to foster young talent. With this mindset, Takahashi stepped down from his lead role in the Xenosaga series. He continued to work for the company in a supervisory role by providing the series' scenario drafts, while younger staff continued the series development. This move also allowed Takahashi a greater degree of creative freedom in a number of projects as opposed to being tied to a single series.[24] In May 2002, Monolith Soft moved from Yokohama to their current offices in Meguro, Tokyo.[3][14][25] The next entry in the Xenosaga series, Xenosaga Episode II, began development under a new team following the release of Episode I. While developing Episode II, the staff shifted their focus from the main series to help tell the story through multiple media.[21][22] Among these additional projects was Xenosaga: Pied Piper, a spin-off title for mobile devices co-developed with Tom Create and Namco Mobile.[21][26][27] Pied Piper was Tanaka's last work on the Xenosaga series.[17] Beginning in 2003, Monolith Soft also developed Namco × Capcom, a PlayStation 2 crossover game featuring characters from various Namco and Capcom video games. The idea was proposed by Monolith Soft, with development lasting two years.[28][29]
In 2006, Monolith Soft was involved in four released games; Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Xenosaga I & II, Xenosaga Episode III and Baten Kaitos Origins.[30] Dirge of Cerberus, was primarily developed by SQUARE ENIX with Monolith Soft providing development support.[30][31] Xenosaga I & II was an expanded re-imagining of the first two games for the Nintendo DS, and is notable for being Monolith Soft's first title for handheld game consoles.[32][33] The game was co-developed by Tom Create in collaboration with multiple staff who had worked on the anime adaptation for the first Xenosaga.[27][32] Xenosaga Episode III began development in 2004. While Xenosaga was planned as a hexalogy, the new team decided to restructure the series as a trilogy. Episode III was the last planned entry in the series, with further games depending on its commercial success.[21][34] The mixed commercial and critical performance of the Xenosaga series left Monolith Soft's development staff in a state of low morale.[35] Baten Kaitos Origins, again co-developed with tri-Crescendo, was released late in the lifespan of the GameCube shortly before the release of Nintendo's new home console the Wii.[36] A Baten Kaitos game for the DS was also in development at Monolith Soft, but Namco, which by this point had merged with Bandai to become Namco Bandai, cancelled the project.[33][36] A third Baten Kaitos game was in early development for "a long time" according to Honne, but was cancelled due to unspecified circumstances. Future efforts with the series depended upon both fan demand and the cooperation of IP owners Namco.[37]
Nintendo era
According to Sugiura, Monolith Soft's relations with Namco had undergone a negative change after Nakamura retired as head of Namco in 2002, three years before the merger with Bandai.[12][38] The company underwent changes and Monolith Soft felt they were being given less creative freedom, and the newly-created Bandai Namco was less willing to take creative risks. The company then received consultation from Shinji Hatano, an executive director at Nintendo, who advised them to continue creating innovative projects. Spurred on by Hatano's supportive attitude, Monolith Soft decided to break away from Bandai Namco to become a Nintendo subsidiary; this provided Monolith Soft creative freedom in exchange for software development exclusivity for Nintendo platforms.[12] Nintendo's purchasing of the majority of Monolith Soft's shares from Bandai Namco Holdings was publicly announced in April 2007. Nintendo became the majority shareholder of Monolith Soft with 80% of shares, while Bandai Namco retained 16% and remained as a development partner. Namco Bandai stated that the exchange of Monolith Soft shares would strengthen their relationship with Nintendo.[39] The remaining shares were divided between Takahashi, Sugiura and Honne.[40] By the beginning of 2012, Namco Bandai had sold its remaining 400 shares in Monolith Soft to Nintendo.[40][41] Nintendo's acquisition of Monolith Soft contrasted against the company's previous publicized approach of not taking part in mergers and acquisitions of other studios and companies. In a statement on the matter, Iwata said that the deal was initiated due to the positive relations between Sugiura and Nintendo, and the two companies' parallel design and development philosophies.[42]
Monolith Soft's first releases following its acquisition by Nintendo were Soma Bringer and Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier for the Nintendo DS and Disaster: Day of Crisis for the Wii, all released in 2008.[30] Soma Bringer was the company's first portable title to be developed entirely in-house, it was designed as an experience driven by gameplay rather than narrative. Multiple returning staff from the Xenosaga series including Takahashi and Tanaka contributed to the game.[6][43] Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier, a crossover RPG, was co-developed with Banpresto and featured cameo appearances from Monolith Soft's Xenosaga series.[44][45] Disaster: Day of Crisis, Monolith Soft's first and to-date only non-RPG game, was intended as a showcase for the capabilities of the Wii. Due to quality concerns and Monolith Soft's unfamiliarity with the Wii hardware, it was delayed from its planned 2006 release by two years.[30][46][47] Monolith Soft was also chosen to develop Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans due to their pedigree at developing RPGs.[48] During this period they assisted in the development of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[30]
From mid 2006, Takahashi was working on a separate project; struck by an idea of rival civilizations emerging on the frozen bodies of two warring gods, he and Honne constructed a model of the two gods to better visualize the idea. After bringing their idea to Nintendo producer Hitoshi Yamagami, the team began development in 2007. Takahashi later stated that the game's development acted as a means of boosting company morale after the failure of the Xenosaga series. The director, Koh Kojima, started his directorial debut with this game, having previously written the scenario for Baten Kaitos Origins. This game also saw a shift away from the narrative-heavy approach of Monolith Soft''s earlier work, which Takahashi stated had been called out as old-fashioned.[25][35] In contrast to many earlier Monolith Soft projects, the game was designed with an international release in mind.[49] The intended scale of the game caused problems, and Takahashi reluctantly went to Yamagami with a list of proposals to cut down the game to a suitable size as he was accustomed to doing for previous projects. Yamagami rejected all of Takahashi's suggestions, instead persuading Nintendo to keep supporting the project and allow the team to complete their work as envisioned.[5] Originally titled Monado: Beginning of the World, Iwata had the title changed to honor Takahashi's previous work on Xenogears and the Xenosaga franchise. The new title was Xenoblade Chronicles.[50]
2010s
Xenoblade Chronicles released in 2010 in Japan, and after multiple delays, also released worldwide to unexpected critical and commercial success.[49] Also released that year was Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier Exceed, a sequel to the original game co-developed with Banpresto that expanded upon the mechanics of the original and featured further Xenosaga cameos.[51][52][53] In 2011, Monolith Soft founded a new studio in Kyoto, closer to Nintendo's home base so the two companies could better interact with each other. Despite some initial reservations, the staff quickly settled into their new offices and the studio became a lauded place of work.[54][55] Rather than original projects, the Kyoto branch acts as a supplementary studio, providing support for Monolith Soft and on Nintendo's in-house projects. The Kyoto branch has provided support for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011), Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012), Pikmin 3 (2013), The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (2013), Splatoon, (2015), Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (2015), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), Splatoon 2 (2017), and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020).[30][55][56][57][58][59]
The next game released from Monolith Soft, again in collaboration with Banpresto, was Project X Zone for the Nintendo 3DS. A successor to Namco × Capcom, the game received development support from and featured characters from franchises owned by Namco Bandai, Capcom and Sega.[60][61][62] Following the release of Xenoblade Chronicles, Monolith Soft was also working on a follow-up titled Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii U. A spiritual successor to the first game, and the company's first high-definition video game title, Xenoblade Chronicles X shifted from a story-driven to an open world gameplay-driven structure.[57][63] The incorporation of an extensive multiplayer element resulted in its release being delayed and the narrative being substantially altered.[64][65] Monolith Soft also developed a sequel to Project X Zone, Project X Zone 2. In addition to changing the character roster selected from Sega, Capcom and Bandai Namco, the game introduced characters from the Nintendo franchise Fire Emblem in addition to characters from Xenoblade Chronicles.[66][67][68]
During the last development stages of Xenoblade Chronicles X, Monolith Soft began work on a new Xenoblade title for the Nintendo Switch. Titled Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the game returned to the story-driven structure of Xenoblade Chronicles while building upon the gameplay and technology of Xenoblade Chronicles X.[65][69][70] One of the game's story prototypes was later turned into an expansion titled Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country, released in 2018.[71] In addition to this, Monolith Soft also began development of a fantasy action game, hiring new staff for the project.[72] The company opened new studios in Nakameguro and Iidabashi during 2017 and 2018.[73][74] The 1st Production team, known for their work on the Xenoblade Chronicles series, started hiring staff for development of a new RPG project in October 2018.[75][76] In March 2019, the 2nd Production team started hiring staff for a new project in The Legend of Zelda franchise.[77][78] Between 2018 and 2019, the Iidabashi studio closed.[73][79] In April 2019, in the wake of high revenue during the 2018–2019 fiscal period, the company opened a new studio in Ōsaki, Tokyo.[80]
Games
Lead development
This list is for games to which Monolith Soft contributed substantially, being either a major co-developer or the main developer.
Support development
This list is for titles where a studio of Monolith Soft acted in a lesser supporting role to the main developer. Monolith Soft Tokyo, the development branch who lead development on their Xenoblade franchise and other of their franchises, is one of the companies responsible for support in game design for Breath of the Wild titles in The Legend of Zelda franchise, while the other games have Monolith Soft Kyoto, which is only a support studio, acting as one of the support studios for art and graphics.
Philosophy
From the company's inception, Takahashi and Sugiura wanted to give creative freedom to pursue projects outside genre standards, in addition to hiring young staff.[9][21] An early aim was to encourage younger developers to make their mark in the industry, which at the time was dominated by people in the late 30s and up. This outlook was the reason why younger staff were given charge of the Xenosaga series.[24] Kojima stated that younger developers were preferred as they could bring interesting ideas to a project.[84] According to Sugiura, a major element during the period in which Monolith Soft was under Namco was the focus on creativity. They wanted to balance this with the financial logistics of game design rather than having budgetary concerns stifle the creative flare of the staff.[21] When talking about their Wii U projects in 2012, Monolith Soft staff member Michihiko Inaba stated that the company wanted to show that Japan could keep up with the Western market in terms of ambitious games that pushed the industry forward, comparing Monolith Soft to Bethesda Softworks in this desire.[85]
Speaking about the move from Namco Bandai to Nintendo, Sugiura commented that it was a challenge to only be developing games for a single group of consoles. Nintendo endorsed the challenge to Monolith Soft with incentives such as making a particular game within given hardware specifications, providing the company time and resources to accomplish that. Another factor that changed within Monolith Soft's development process was Nintendo's increased quality control, which would moot any project that did not have the desired quality for their systems.[12] This sense of challenge was also echoed by Takahashi, who described both Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles X as being defined by self-imposed challenges to the development team when creating the environments on limited gaming hardware.[5] Monolith Soft's scope and goals are often attributed to Takahashi's drive and ambition.[5][35] While commonly associated with Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs), Monolith Soft focuses more on making role-playing games for a worldwide audience.[86]
Rather than a fixed development structure, Monolith Soft chooses to freely assign staff based on the direction a project takes, in addition to believing in collaborations with other companies on projects rather than developing entirely in-house.[3] According to a 2012 interview with Takahashi, a prerequisite for working at Monolith Soft is a deep passion for games in addition to general knowledge outside the field.[84] As opposed to many other Japanese and Western studios which have come under criticism for excessive overtime and poor working conditions, Monolith Soft strives for a friendly working environment and reasonable hours for its staff. Overtime is also negotiated with the management and receives payment, a rarity in Japanese business. Speaking in relation to this approach, Honne recited the company's motto; "Zero overtime and creative work allowed".[87] Despite the gaming industry's workforce being dominated by men, Monolith Soft has a notably high proportion of female developers working at the company, with around a quarter of its workforce in total.[3][87]
Notes
- ^ a b Co-developed with tri-Crescendo.
- ^ Co-developed with Namco Mobile.
- ^ a b Co-developed with Tom Create.
- ^ a b c Co-developed with Banpresto.
- ^ Development cooperation for Square Enix.
- ^ Development cooperation for Nintendo's ad-hoc development team for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
- ^ a b c d e f Development cooperation for Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development.
- ^ a b c d e Development cooperation for Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development.
References
- ^ "株式会社モノリスソフト". 株式会社モノリスソフト (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ モノリスソフト、20年3月期の最終利益は78.8％増の4.91億円…『ゼノブレイド ディフィニティブ・エディション』を開発. GameBiz.jp (in Japanese). 9 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Company" モノリスソフトとは / 株式会社モノリスソフト (in Japanese). Monolith Soft. from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ "Game software firms Enix, Square to merge on April 1". The Japan Times. 27 November 2002. from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Parkin, Simon (29 November 2015). "Takahashi's castle: An RPG master's journey from Final Fantasy to Xenoblade". Eurogamer. from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- ^ a b c Yip, Spencer (4 June 2010). "Reflections With Soraya Saga Part 1". Siliconera. from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ^ a b Yip, Spencer (11 June 2010). "Soraya Saga On Xenogears And Xenosaga". Siliconera. from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ^ . Square USA. Archived from the original on 11 May 2000. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c d (in Japanese). Monolith Soft. 20 December 1999. Archived from the original on 21 April 2001. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ^ a b Sato, Ike (8 November 2001). "Xenosaga Interview". GameSpot. from the original on 5 December 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2008.
- ^ a b c Johansson, Martin (2002). "Xenosaga - The Power of Will". SUPER Play (in Swedish) (April 2002).
- ^ a b c d Sato (21 August 2017). "Monolith Soft Executive Producer On Going From Namco To Nintendo". Siliconera. from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ Ciolke, Todd (6 February 2013). "The X Button - Squared Circle". Anime News Network. from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ a b (in Japanese). Monolith Soft. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ (in Japanese). Sony. 2002. Archived from the original on 5 February 2005. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- ^ インタビュー『ゼノサーガ』 - 電撃オンライン (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. 2002. from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ a b . GameSpot. 19 January 2005. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ "Baten Kaitos Interview". IGN. 3 May 2004. from the original on 7 May 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- ^ "Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean Interview (GC)". IGN. 21 October 2004. from the original on 13 December 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- ^ a b c バテン・カイトス 終わらない翼と失われた海 公式設定資料集 [Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean Setting Data Collection]. Ohzora Publishing. 1 October 2004. ISBN 4-7767-9056-4.
- ^ a b c d e f 週刊ゼノサーガ. Weekly Xenosaga Episode II (in Japanese). SoftBank Creative (3): 6–12. 2004.
- ^ a b モノリスの新作3タイトル発表！『ゼノサーガエピソードII』では『I』の謎が明らかに！ (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. 21 July 2003. from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- ^ Wong, Alistair (11 July 2019). "Baten Kaitos Director Shows Off A Gamecube Mother Game That Never Was". Siliconera. from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ a b Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 6 June 2003. Enterbrain. 23 May 2003. pp. 34–35.
{{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b "Iwata Asks: Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii - Vol 3: The Development Process". Nintendo UK. 2011. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ a b ゼノサーガ エピソード2 [善悪の彼岸] 公式コンプリートガイド [Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse Official Complete Guide]. Namco. 27 July 2004. pp. 358–363. ISBN 4-9023-7203-7.
- ^ a b c d (in Japanese). Tom Create. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
- ^ Winkler, Chris (25 January 2005). "Namco x Capcom Press Conference Report". RPGFan. from the original on 6 February 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ "Namco and Capcom announce crossover RPG". GameSpot. 28 January 2005. from the original on 1 December 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f 開発実績 / 株式会社モノリスソフト (in Japanese). Monolith Soft. from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ Massimilla, Bethany (19 May 2005). "Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII E3 2005 Interview". GameSpot. from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- ^ a b ゼノサーガ エピソードI・II / 製品概要 / バンダイナムコゲームス公式サイト (in Japanese). Xenosaga I & II Website. from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ a b Winkler, Chris (1 December 2004). "Xenosaga, Baten Kaitos DS-Bound". RPGFan. from the original on 5 May 2005. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "Reader Q&A: Xenosaga Episode III". IGN. 10 August 2006. from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ a b c "Iwata Asks: Xenoblade Chronicles 3D for New Nintendo 3DS". Nintendo UK. 2015. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ a b c Riley, Adam (8 March 2006). "C3 Exclusive Interview / Monolith Soft on Nintendo Wii Support, Baten Kaitos II & More". Cubed3. from the original on 6 September 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ Ike, Sato (24 September 2018). "Baten Kaitos 3 Was Canceled But Monolith Soft Art Director Wants It Back For A New Development". Siliconera. from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ Sobel, Jonathan (30 January 2017). "Masaya Nakamura, Whose Company Created Pac-Man, Dies at 91". New York Times. from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- ^ Sinclair, Brandon (27 April 2007). "Nintendo buys Monolith Soft". GameSpot. from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ . Nintendo. March 2007. Archived from the original on 29 February 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ (in Japanese). Nintendo. 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ^ (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Entertainment. 14 March 2008. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ a b バンプレストとモノリスソフトが生み出す新たなRPG！『無限のフロンティア スーパーロボット大戦OGサーガ』【映像インタビューつき】 (in Japanese). Famitsu. 11 January 2008. from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ N.O.M 2008年10月号 No.123：『DISASTER DAY OF CRISIS』開発スタッフインタビュー (in Japanese). Nintendo Official Magazine. 2008. from the original on 2 October 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ "Interview / Monolith & Nintendo Talk Disaster: Day of Crisis Wii". Cubed3. 27 November 2008. from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ DBが最新デジタル技術で復活！DS『ドラゴンボール改 サイヤ人来襲』プレイレポート (in Japanese). Inside Games. 13 May 2009. from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ a b Haywald, Justin (10 April 2015). "Xenoblade Chronicles X Will Have "Different Play Feel" Compared to First Xenoblade". GameSpot. from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
- ^ Kohler, Chris (29 January 2010). "Nintendo To Publish The Last Story, Mistwalker RPG". Wired. from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ 戦闘シーンの動画つきロングインタビュー『無限のフロンティアEXCEED スーパーロボット大戦OGサーガ』 (in Japanese). Famitsu. 9 October 2009. from the original on 10 October 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ 【動画つき】新キャラクター＆序盤シナリオ紹介！『無限のフロンティアEXCEED スーパーロボット大戦OGサーガ』 (in Japanese). Famitsu. 10 February 2010. from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ ゼノサーガシリーズからM.O.M.O.が参戦！ 「無限のフロンティアEXCEED」最新情報 (in Japanese). 4Gamer.net. 22 January 2010. from the original on 5 October 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ Romano, Sal (11 July 2011). "Monolith Soft forms Kyoto studio". Gematsu. from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ a b Sato, Ike (8 February 2013). "Monolith Soft Discuss Their Closer Relationship With Nintendo". Siliconera. from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ Barnett, Patrick (22 May 2012). "Monolith Soft's Involvement in Skyward Sword Detailed". Nintendo World Report. from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ^ a b Hanson, Ben (24 June 2015). "Xenoblade's Director Talks Witcher 3, Zelda Wii U, And His Favorite RPGs". Game Informer. from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- ^ Frank, Allegra (20 June 2016). "Nintendo's getting help from Monolith on Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild". Polygon. from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ a b Doolan, Liam (4 April 2020). "Xenoblade Studio Monolith Soft Actually Helped Out With Animal Crossing: New Horizons". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "Ein Interview und viele Screenhots zu Project X Zone" (in German). JPGames.de. 13 April 2012. from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ a b Schreier, Jason (21 January 2013). "That Crazy Sega/Namco/Capcom Crossover RPG Project X Zone Is Coming To America". Kotaku. from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ 社長が訊く『ニンテンドー3DS』ソフトメーカークリエーター 篇 - 第21回：『PROJECT X ZONE』 (in Japanese). Nintendo. 2012. from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ 社長が訊く『XenobladeX（ゼノブレイドクロス）』 (in Japanese). Nintendo. 28 April 2015. from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016. Official translation
- ^ ゼノブレイドクロス ザ・シークレットファイル アート・オブ・ミラ [Xenoblade Cross: The Secret File - Art of Mira] (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. 25 December 2015. ISBN 978-4-0486-5556-9.
- ^ a b Peckham, Matt (7 July 2017). "Why 'Xenoblade Chronicles 2' Has a Character Designed by Tetsuya Nomura". Time. from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- ^ 『PROJECT X ZONE 2：BRAVE NEW WORLD（プロジェクト クロスゾーン2：ブレイブニューワールド）』開発者インタビュー (in Japanese). Famitsu. 20 April 2014. from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ Whitehead, Thomas (12 February 2016). "Interview: Learning More About The 'Ultimate Crossover' RPG, Project X Zone 2, From Its Creators". Nintendo Life. from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ Romano, Sal (9 September 2015). "Project X Zone 2 adds Fire Emblem, Xenosaga, and Xenoblade characters". Gematsu. from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
- ^ Takahashi, Tetsuya (2017). ゼノブレイド2 Message - 高橋 哲哉. Xenoblade 2 Website. from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ Skrebels, Joe (14 June 2017). "E3 2017: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Is More Than A Simple Sequel". IGN. from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ a b Takahashi, Tetsuya (21 June 2018). "Torna - The Golden Country Expansion Pass Content Detailed by Executive Director Takahashi". Nintendo. from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ Romano, Sal (20 August 2017). "Monolith Soft hiring for 'ambitious new project' different from its brand image". Gematsu. from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ a b Honne, Yasuyuki (6 June 2018). "今月から、弊社 飯田橋スタジオ 稼働開始しました( ^ω^ ) #モノリスソフト". Twitter. from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ^ (in Japanese). Monolith Soft. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ Romano, Sal (4 October 2018). "Monolith Soft recruiting 1st Production development staff for new RPG project". Gematsu. from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ "新規RPGプロジェクト始動｜株式会社モノリスソフト". Monolith Soft. 4 October 2018. from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ Handrahan, Matthew (28 March 2019). "Monolith Soft is staffing for a new Legend of Zelda project". Gamesindustry.biz. from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ "ゼルダの伝説」シリーズ開発スタッフ大募集！｜採用情報｜株式会社モノリスソフト". Monolith Soft. 28 March 2019. from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ "モノリスソフトとは / 株式会社モノリスソフト (2019)". Monolith Soft. from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ Handrahan, Matthew (10 July 2019). "Monolith Soft opens new studio as profits boom". GameIndustry.biz. from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ a b c "株式会社モノリスソフト". 株式会社モノリスソフト (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ "PS2/ゼノサーガ フリークス | バンダイナムコゲームス公式サイト". www.bandainamcoent.co.jp. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ "Monolith Soft's Involvement in Skyward Sword Detailed - News". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ a b Sato, Ike (21 December 2012). "What Does It Take To Be Part Of Xenoblade Developer Monolith Soft?". Siliconera. from the original on 3 June 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ Sato, Ike (14 December 2012). "Xenoblade Developer, Monolith Soft, Want To Be Like Bethesda Softworks". Siliconera. from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ Brown, Peter (24 June 2015). "Xenoblade Chronicles X Developers Weigh in on the Term "JRPG"". GameSpot. from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- ^ a b Sato, Ike (5 July 2013). "Monolith Soft's New Kyoto Studio Sounds Like A Great Place To Work". Siliconera. from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)