A well-known leaker of Sega information with a proven track record has revealed more details about a Nintendo game in development, allegedly codenamed Banquet. According to the newest released information, the development behind this project for Nintendo is a collaborative effort between development studios NDCube and SmileBoom.

NDCube is a Japan-based subsidiary of Nintendo that has been in operation since 2000. The studio has been a driving force behind 20 games spanning the timeline from the Game Boy Advance through the Switch, including entries in popular franchises like Animal Crossing and F-Zero. It has also been the developer behind every Mario Party game since the release of Mario Party 9 in 2012, a total of seven games in the series. SmileBoom is also a Japan-based software developer that released its first game in 2006 and is best known for its game creation and programming tools.

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The rumor that these two companies are working together on the unannounced Nintendo project comes from Twitter-based leaker Midori, the same person who leaked the existence of Banquet on May 6. Midori has a strong track record of releasing leaks for Persona and other Sega games, such as sharing information about Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5 Tactica ahead of any official statements from the publisher or developer. The leaker's message on May 15 was brief, only sharing the names of the two developers reportedly working on the new game.

Nintendo Fans are Expecting a New Mario Party

Based on NDCube's development history, a lot of people responding to the leak seem to be anticipating the announcement of the next entry in the Mario Party series. The last game released in the series was Mario Party Superstars in 2021, which brought back several classic Mario Party mini-games and introduced new ones. There was a three-year gap between the release of that game and the previous installment, Super Mario Party, but prior to that, the series saw the release of one new Mario Party game every year from 2015 to 2018, all developed by NDCube.

Still, there are other possibilities. NDCube's most recent game, party game Everybody 1-2-Switch, failed to capture players' hearts in the same way as Mario Party, earning it middling reviews from professional critics and fans alike, and it didn't stand among other great Nintendo games from 2023. Even if the upcoming title is another Mario Party game, some fans in the comment section seem to have soured on recent entries in the franchise, and they're hoping that the next entry in the series is a good one.

Nintendo

Nintendo is a Japanese video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. While producing highly popular hardware consoles like the Switch, the company is known for its many first party video game franchises like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem, Pokemon, and many more.

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