Nintendo announced this week that it is in the process of acquiring Dynamo Pictures, a Japan-based animation studio that has done CG animation and motion capture work for multiple video games and anime. Its portfolio includes Death Stranding, Monster Hunter World, Nintendo’s own Metroid: Other M and the Pikmin Short Movies. Dynamo Pictures will be renamed Nintendo Pictures, and will exclusively work on Nintendo IPs.
The announcement explains that the goal of this move is to “strengthen the planning and production structure of visual content in the Nintendo Group.” By buying out 100% of Dynamo Picture’s outstanding shares, it will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo. Provided that all pending terms and conditions are agreed upon by both parties, the acquisition is expected to be complete on October 3rd this year.
The announcement of this acquisition has prompted speculation about the status of the Super Mario Bros. motion picture. Originally planning for a holiday release this year, it has recently been delayed to April 2023.
In a statement to Kotaku, Nintendo stated that it did not currently have anything to announce regarding which specific IPs Dynamo Pictures would be working with, so it’s unclear if Dynamo will be working on the delayed Mario film. But it certainly seems like we can expect more animated productions from Nintendo in the future.
About the Author
Edie W-K
she/her
If it isn't video games, Edie doesn't care about it. She's been playing games since the N64 era, and only spent enough time away from her 3DS to earn a Bachelor in Games Design from RMIT.
