• Akira Toriyama passed away

    Let's all commemorate together his legendary work and his impact here

Grasshopper Manufacture Thread (Update: First Look at New Game)

Reader mode
Ishaan

Ishaan

Member
Expert
Localization, Historian, Reporter
nE9PZiO.png

Using bullet points with links to make for easier reading/comprehension.

  • In August 2021, during a No More Heroes 3 stream, Grasshopper Manufacture chief Suda51 stated that the studio had "a lot of products that were in development" and that Suda intended to dedicate the next 10 years to cultivating three original IPs that the studio was working on.
  • At the same time, Suda also stated that he would like to work with Marvel on a game starring Deadpool or Shatterstar. (Both of which were characters spinning out of the X-Men spin-off book X-Force.)
  • Finally, Suda also stated at the time that one of the existing Grasshopper IPs he would like to nurture was Flower, Sun & Rain. Talks of a FSR remake have happened on and off.

  • In October 2021, Chinese giant NetEase acquired Grasshopper Manufacture. Prior to this, the studio was owned by GungHo Online Entertainment, which had owned GHM since 2013.
  • At the time, NetEase stated it hoped to "give the studio creative freedom and sufficient resource support in order to empower said studio to create even more sensational works for gamers worldwide."

  • Now, Grasshopper is hiring/expanding. The studio is seeking programmers, technical artists, motion designers, level designers, and a multitude of other positions.
  • The studio currently consists of about 30 employees and is looking to double that figure.
  • GHM is preparing to relocate to a larger studio space in Suidōbashi this March. The intent is for it to be a "staff-first" space and is two minutes away from Tokyo Dome.
  • In addition to the move, GHM will discourage staff from spending nights at the studio working. (Suda jokes about how, if there's no avoiding it, there are facilities such as the LaQua Spa with hot springs nearby to make the experience more comfortable)
  • Grasshopper is also open to hiring overseas candidates. While you would preferably be fluent in Japanese, they will consider candidates that are still learning the language and really, really want to work at GHM. (Provided they're talented enough, of course)
  • When asked about the benefits of being part of NetEase, they say the biggest benefit is the increased QA and art resources for development support.

  • Suda intends to continue directing Grasshopper's games himself until people think he isn't up to the task any more.
  • Suda also says they have engaged in discussions with Marvel about the possibility of working together on something at some point. (It appears this has gone from wishful thinking on his part to something they're actually discussing.)
  • Outside of that, he reiterates the plan for three new IPs, which he says they will "launch as their own IP," as opposed to working on IP that belongs to other publishers, even though GHM created those games. However, it's unclear whether these IPs will belong to GHM or NetEase.
  • At one point, Suda mentions Derek Jarman as a film director whose work he has enjoyed, because it felt like watching something completely different from what he had been exposed to.
 
Last edited:
Brandonleemoss said:
Great news! How did No More Heroes 3 do sale wise?
Click to expand...
We don't have any concrete numbers outside of one week's worth of Famitsu sales and the limited editions by PixNLove. We have a few relative rankings from the eShop, NPD and Media Create (for Korea). They also haven't commented on the sales.
VengefulMagus said:
I wonder if Marvel will want him to make a Deadpool game.
Click to expand...
In a separate interview Suda said he was actually approached about doing a Deadpool game by Activision.
 
Adrian Orbis said:
We don't talk about No More Heroes 3's sales... 💀
Click to expand...
I'm not convinced it was a total disaster. The series has never done well in Japan. The poor NPD showing was made worse by the fact that 1) it only accounted for two days' sales and 2) it was only physical data while the game had a strong performance on the eShop (cracking the top 10). I also think people are also overestimating how big the game was. Fewer people are credited as working on NMH3 than Travis Strikes Again and we know that was viewed as a success with worse sales metrics all around.

That said, the game wasn't great and GHM is desperately in need of more technical staff. It feels like they all stayed at Supertrick. As a fan of the studio, I'm a bit concerned about the direction they're heading. Unlike PlatinumGames, GHM at least has a few IPs of their own to draw from, but I feel like they might fall into the same trap of spreading themselves too thin.
 
This is how all four No More Heroes games charted on the U.S. eShop:

GAMES​
Weeks Charted​
Avg. Placement​
Weeks at #1​
Weeks in Top 5​
No More Heroes4703
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle41201
No More Heroes 331900
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes12400

(Keep in mind that they were all released at different times, during different circumstances, and at different prices, which factors into placement.)
 
Brandonleemoss said:
Great news! How did No More Heroes 3 do sale wise?
Click to expand...
In Japan, I guess "as expected" would work as an answer.

It didn't sell much, but they also didn't make much.
It never hit the "bomba bins" but it also didn't get any new stock.
Probably most stores that had it got 2 or 3 copies and sold 2 or 3 copies. I haven't seen it at any local stores since launch.

The limited edition box set (Killion Dollar Trilogy) is selling new for more now than when it came out and even used copies are nearly $100 (10,000yen).

That is not to say it did well. Retailers seemed to have very, very low expectations for the game and those low, low expectations were met. Wether that was worth the years making the game, only Grasshopper knows for sure.

[Full disclosure: 2 of the sales for the game were from me, I got it both alone and in the box set]
 
Vinnk said:
In Japan, I guess "as expected" would work as an answer.

It didn't sell much, but they also didn't make much.
It never hit the "bomba bins" but it also didn't get any new stock.
Probably most stores that had it got 2 or 3 copies and sold 2 or 3 copies. I haven't seen it at any local stores since launch.

The limited edition box set (Killion Dollar Trilogy) is selling new for more now than when it came out and even used copies are nearly $100 (10,000yen).

That is not to say it did well. Retailers seemed to have very, very low expectations for the game and those low, low expectations were met. Wether that was worth the years making the game, only Grasshopper knows for sure.

[Full disclosure: 2 of the sales for the game were from me, I got it both alone and in the box set]
Click to expand...
Thanks! Hopefully NMH4 has sales great...if they ever make it that is.
 
I think they're going to want to take a break from No More Heroes for a while. The IP belongs to Marvelous, and it seems they loaned it to Grasshopper for a period of five years, which is how GHM got to make NMH3 and Travis Strikes Again. That duration of that agreement is now up, and Suda clearly wants to nurture other IPs that he's more in control of, going forward. I expect it'll be a long while before another NMH.

 
Ishaan said:
I think they're going to want to take a break from No More Heroes for a while. The IP belongs to Marvelous, and it seems they loaned it to Grasshopper for a period of five years, which is how GHM got to make NMH3 and Travis Strikes Again. That duration of that agreement is now up, and Suda clearly wants to nurture other IPs that he's more in control of, going forward. I expect it'll be a long while before another NMH.
Click to expand...
Just to follow this up for the sake of completeness, Grasshopper Manufacture owns (to some degree) the following IPs:
- The Silver Case (and associated titles ie. Flower, Sun and Rain as well as The 25th Ward)
- Contact (shared with Marvelous)
- Shadows of the Damned (this has always been the case despite recent reports, EA only had publishing rights)
- Diabolical Pitch (but published by Microsoft Game Studios)
- Lollipop Chainsaw (shared with Kadokawa, think NMH with Marvelous)
- Killer is Dead (but published by Kadokawa, think SotD with EA)

Grasshopper Manufacture is currently working on five projects, three of which are new IPs as indicated in the OP (although they may feature characters we've already seen, such as Notorious from NMHIII) with the remaining two projects being based on established IPs. Suda has already spoken about remaking/remastering Flower, Sun and Rain with the assistance of another studio (Engine Software if I had to guess) and has joked about remastering SotD in addition to new content in Travis Strikes Again or more seriously a sort of reimagining or reboot of Killer is Dead.

Edit: It seems Lollipop Chainsaw and Shadows of the Damned are among the five projects according to this tweet endorsed by Tom Henderson.
 
Last edited:
So Grasshopper has launched a revamped version of their website and the new company fact sheet has a few changes, most notably 1) they are now at 40 employees (up from 20) and 2) their major clients are listed as Active Gaming Media Inc. / Marvelous Inc. / Nintendo Co., Ltd. dropping both GungHo and Kadokawa from the previous iteration.

Also, looking around, it seems like the legal line on all of the recent No More Heroes releases have changed from © Marvelous Inc. / Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. to © Marvelous Inc. Developed by Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. I wonder if they gave up their stake after NMH3 released and they were bought by NetEase or if it's just a marketing thing. Prior to the launch of NMH3, all the promotional materials only had © Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. outside of Japan.
 
Tungsten said:
So Grasshopper has launched a revamped version of their website and the new company fact sheet has a few changes, most notably 1) they are now at 40 employees (up from 20) and 2) their major clients are listed as Active Gaming Media Inc. / Marvelous Inc. / Nintendo Co., Ltd. dropping both GungHo and Kadokawa from the previous iteration.

Also, looking around, it seems like the legal line on all of the recent No More Heroes releases have changed from © Marvelous Inc. / Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. to © Marvelous Inc. Developed by Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. I wonder if they gave up their stake after NMH3 released and they were bought by NetEase or if it's just a marketing thing. Prior to the launch of NMH3, all the promotional materials only had © Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. outside of Japan.
Click to expand...

Good catch! Suda did mention that Marvelous effectively "gave" the IP to them for a few years. I wonder if that included changing the legalese as well.
 
Putting Nintendo in their list of biggest clients is a good sign that they will continue supporting them with everything they can. Not that I expected otherwise, but still.
 
Ishaan said:
Good catch! Suda did mention that Marvelous effectively "gave" the IP to them for a few years. I wonder if that included changing the legalese as well.
Click to expand...
I always interpreted that as Grasshopper just having creative control and no real changes to the actual ownership. Prior to the launch of TSA, Suda had mentioned the IP was split 90/10 in favor of Marvelous and it seems like it stayed that way.

The other thing I noticed is that Flower, Sun and Rain is listed as © Marvelous Inc. / Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. as well despite Suda recently stating Grasshopper owned it. It had mentioned that in the previous version of the website, but I had chalked it up as an error since they also erroneously listed a Gamecube version, but the legal line hasn't changed in the update.
 
Last edited:
Tungsten said:
I always interpreted that as Grasshopper just having creative control and no real changes to the actual ownership. Prior to the launch of TSA, Suda had mentioned the IP was split 90/10 in favor of Marvelous and it seems like it stayed that way.

The other thing I noticed is that Flower, Sun and Rain is listed as © Marvelous Inc. / Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. as well despite Suda recently stating Grasshopper owned it. It had mentioned that in the previous version of the website, but I had chalked it up as an error since they also erroneously listed a Gamecube version, but the legal line hasn't changed in the update.
Click to expand...

Another good catch. I'd imagine that means Marvelous gets first right of refusal to their FSR remake, whenever that ends up happening. But are they the ones funding it, or is NetEase going to be footing the bill now? (Not certain who exactly was footing it prior to the acquisition...)
 
Ishaan said:
Another good catch. I'd imagine that means Marvelous gets first right of refusal to their FSR remake, whenever that ends up happening. But are they the ones funding it, or is NetEase going to be footing the bill now? (Not certain who exactly was footing it prior to the acquisition...)
Click to expand...
If I had to guess, I think Marvelous would. The original PS2 release had the ownership split with the original publisher Victor Interactive, but it looks like Marvelous managed to get some rights by being the publisher for the DS release after the former went defunct.
 
Tungsten said:
If I had to guess, I think Marvelous would. The original PS2 release had the ownership split with the original publisher Victor Interactive, but it looks like Marvelous managed to get some rights by being the publisher for the DS release after the former went defunct.
Click to expand...

I'm inclined to agree. I doubt GhM was going to try and raise the funds by itself, which means that Marvelous would have been the only viable alternative, since NetEase wasn't even in the picture at the time. I hope it turns out well. I adored the game on DS.
 
Reader mode
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom