A dataminer believes they have proof of who made the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, Princess Peach Showtime.
LuigiBlood, posting on Twitter, has shared this information:
“Princess Peach Showtime’s codename is PJ037. Proves that it is actually made by Good-Feel. (All their other games have codenames like this.)
If the codenames makes it suggest… it seems the game was development between Yoshi’s Crafted World (PJ033, 2019) and Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn (PJ040, also 2019).”
So there you have it. Good-Feel, a well tenured second party developer for Nintendo. And when you consider the overall game idea and the particulars on its design and presentation, it only makes sense that they were the developer. It even makes more sense that it was Good-Feel than if it was made by Nintendo EPD.
Let us explain. Good-Feel, founded in 2005, approached Nintendo about making a Wario game for them shortly after they got started. Even though the company was new, Nintendo accepted the offer because its founder, Etsunobu Ebisu, was a former Konami employee who was well regarded within Nintendo.
Good-Feel’s titles with Nintendo include the likes of Wario Land: Shake It, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Yoshi’s Wooly World, Yoshi’s Crafted World, and the 3DS Streetpass Games. So, Good-Feel’s pedigree has always been about making family friendly, easy games, that nonetheless feature a highly refined level of game design.
In this day and age where gamers raise Souls-like games to high heavens, it would sound strange that a company known for making easy games would be so well regarded, but that really is what Good-Feel is like to their colleagues in the Japanese game industry.
While Good-Feel makes these games with Nintendo, they have clearly demonstrated an affinity for knowing what kinds of experiences all-ages gamers will enjoy. It’s not that these games are devoid of challenge; rather they demonstrate that good game design isn’t just about balancing out a skill curve. The way they make these games is even different from how Nintendo does it.
So Princess Peach Showtime may seem to have come out of nowhere, but their studio has been making very successful and well regarded Mario spinoff games for a long time. They are the ideal studio for the job.
With all of this taken into account, this does not rule out that other studios could have also worked on or assisted Good-Feel and Nintendo in making this game. We really won’t know for sure until gamers get to play it and see the credit roll, especially since it appears Nintendo isn’t interested in telling us this early. But, we hope, the gamers who come in to find out will be satisfied with the journey to get there.