Masamichi Abe, the veteran game designer best known for his work on Pikmin 1 and 2 as well as Tekken 2, is currently developing a new IP for Nintendo.
The news was revealed by current Tekken lead at Namco Bandai, Katsuhiro Harada, on his Twitter account. Asked what has become of Abe, Harada commented:
"He is in Nintendo Kyoto now. Working on some Nintendo original title."
Abe had previously left Japan and spent some years in Seattle where he helped develop Metroid Prime: Hunters and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again on Nintendo DS.
It's currently unknown whether Abe's game is being developed for Wii U or 3DS or even what type of game it might be.
Nintendo has struggled to sell the Wii U and analysts believe the console will have GameCube-like sales of under 25 million across its lifespan. It's good therefore to see that the company continues to invest in new franchises.
