One of the biggest announcements coming out of The Game Awards last week was
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. What was an even bigger shocker is that it's a Nintendo Switch exclusive.
The first new installment in the franchise in almost 10 years, this was a long time coming. But how did it wind up only on the Nintendo Switch?
IGN had a chance to speak with Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime about working with Koei Techmo, whose Team Ninja division is developing
Ultimate Alliance 3. As Fils-Aime explained, Nintendo's previous collaborations on Hyrule Warriors and Fire Emblem Warriors (also Nintendo exclusives) helped make it happen.
“It did. What happens in the world of development is you have companies who have positive experiences in working together, coupled with franchises being available, and the franchise owner wanting to do something with a particular franchise. And in this case, those three elements came together in order to create the opportunity for that game.
“And we love that. And we're constantly looking for those types of opportunities. It's the Team Ninja portion of Koei Tecmo that's working on this. They've got a lot of skills, and it really helped paint a picture of what that game is going to be. We're tremendously excited about it.”
While the response offers some insight into the partnership between Nintendo and Koei Tecmo, it doesn't really explain why Marvel was content with sticking solely with the Nintendo Switch - especially when Sony has sold over 86 million PlayStation 4 consoles. That's a big chunk of the gaming market to be skipping out on.
In the initial announcement, Marvel Games vice president and executive producer Mike Jones praised the Switch's ability to deliver cooperative gameplay and shared experiences. Featuring up to four player co-op via online, local wireless, or Joy-Con - with up to four on a single system - the Switch just seems like a natural fit for a game like
Ultimate Alliance.
As for whether the game will make it over to Xbox One or PS4, it's unlikely - especially since Nintendo is publishing it. Similarly, it's unclear if Nintendo fans will see if the original two
Ultimate Alliance games - developed under Activision - come to the Switch down the road.
“I really can't comment on that. That's not been an area of focus for us,” he said.
“What we want to do is we want to make this game a great experience, and certainly with all of the excitement around the overall Marvel universe, we think it's going to be a great opportunity.”
The MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE series returns for the first time in 10 years—with a new action RPG—exclusively on the Nintendo Switch system! Assemble your ultimate team of Marvel Super Heroes from a huge cast including the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the X-Men, and more! Team up with friends to prevent galactic devastation at the hands of the mad cosmic tyrant Thanos and his ruthless warmasters, The Black Order.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order will release exclusively for Nintendo Switch in 2019.