Rumor: Kensuke Tanabe and Retro no longer on good terms, Sakamoto could be new NCL producer

Nintendo’s Kensuke Tanabe has long been associated with Retro Studios. While working with the company, Tanabe acted as producer (or co-producer) on all of its games – the Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country titles. Now, however, the two sides “are allegedly no longer on good terms,” according to a report from Liam Robertson.

Here’s one excerpt from Robertson’s report:

“Last year, I was investigating Tanabe with regards to this. This involved speaking to a number of developers who had worked alongside him. The way in which they all described Tanabe’s directorial style was fascinating. Their words built up a portrait in my mind of a Gordon Ramsey esque figure who strived for perfection and berated anything short of it. It’s difficult for me to fully convey my impressions of him without explicitly detailing the anecdotes shared with me in confidence, which could compromise those involved; but I will try my best to elaborate.

The majority of those I spoke to about their experiences with Tanabe told tales of how he would quite often explode with great passion on certain designers when one of them either made what he perceived to be a mistake, or boldly challenged a creative decision of his.

None of these employees spoke of the producer begrudgingly, however. On the contrary, they described him as a competent creative and leader; albeit a fiery personality. If that makes him sound a bit like J. K. Simmons’ character from Whiplash, that’s not completely off the mark; minus the hurling of furniture and general psychological torment.”

After working with Tanabe on Tropical Freeze, some employees at Retro were apparently unhappy. Retro management appealed to NCL about the situation, and also asked for more autonomy and freedom.

Nintendo did allegedly respond to some of Retro’s requests. Tanabe was removed… but a new staffer from NCL took over his role. This portion of Robertson’s report is less certain, though the producer in question might be Yoshio Sakamoto. Sakamoto obviously has had a huge role in the development of the Metroid series. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean Retro is creating a new Metroid entry. Sakamoto was also involved with Tomodachi Life and spoke in 2014 about interest in making “new experiences” as opposed to traditional games.

You can read Robertson’s full report here.