AlphaDream, developers of the Mario & Luigi RPG series, files for bankruptcy

[GeneralGuy]

https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20191...kokudb-ind
https://japanesenintendo.com/2019/10/02/...ankruptcy/

https://twitter.com/japaneseswitch/statu...4190962689
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/10...bankruptcy
https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/02/...bankruptcy
https://kotaku.com/mario-luigi-rpg-devel...1838692022

AlphaDream, the Japanese game development studio behind the Mario & Luigi RPG series and several other titles on Nintendo platforms, has filed for bankruptcy.

The news comes from Yahoo! Japan, which reports that the company's revenue has been disappointing as of late with development costs effectively putting it into something of a crisis. The report notes that as of March 2018, AlphaDream was 465 million yen in debt (which equates to roughly £3.5 million / $4.3 million USD).

A partnership with Nintendo saw AlphaDream release plenty of games across its systems, with the Mario & Luigi franchise being the most notable. Titles included Superstar Saga, Partners in Time, Dream Team, Paper Jam, and Bowser's Inside Story (and the recent 3DS re-release). It's currently unclear what will happen with the series going forward.

Speaking of that recent 3DS release, former senior editor at Game Informer, Imran Khan, says a source revealed that the game's sales were so poor that it actually had a knock-on effect for Nintendo's plans with the 3DS. Early sales of the game were indeed disappointing.

This is really sad news. I grew up with the Mario & Luigi games, starting with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on the GameBoy Advance back in 2003. I remember going to Toys R Us to pick it up, and spending hours traversing through the Beanbean Kingdom's rich and colorful world. The Mario & Luigi series have always played a massive and integral part of MFGG's identity, being incorporated into hundreds of it's fangames.

What do you think? Do you think Nintendo will buy out AlphaDream, or another company? Do you think the series will be developed by another studio, go on hiatus, or just completely die altogether?