Marigul Management
| Company type | Joint venture |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Nintendo, Recruit |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Japan |
| Products | Video game development funding and management |
| Owner | Nintendo (40%), Recruit (60%) |
Marigul Management Inc. was a Japanese enterprise jointly owned by the video game corporation Nintendo (holding 40%) and the media conglomerate Recruit (with 60%). The company's name is a fusion of Nintendo's mascot Mario and Recruit's mascot Seegul.
Established to counteract the shortage of third-party developers for the Nintendo 64, Marigul provided financial backing to game development studios. This support enabled developers to concentrate on game creation, contingent upon the completion of a title within a five-year timeframe.
Studios
Among the studios supported by Marigul were Ambrella, Clever Trick, Noise, Param, and Saru Brunei. Although Marigul was dissolved in May 2003, Noise persisted in game development, as did Ambrella until its closure in 2020. Numerous games financed by Marigul never saw localization or release in the North American market.
Saru Brunei
Saru Brunei, an art studio based in Tokyo and directed by artist Gento Matsumoto, collaborated with Nintendo between 1996 and 2003 through Marigul Management.
This studio was responsible for developing the cancelled Nintendo 64 title Doubutsu Banchou (translated as Animal Leader), which was programmed by Intelligent Systems and later adapted for the GameCube as Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest in 2002. Published in Japan by Nintendo and in North America by Atlus, Saru Brunei also produced Pop-up Computer and Jungle Park across multiple platforms.
Clever Trick
Clever Trick operated as a video game development firm in partnership with Nintendo under the Marigul Management umbrella.
Cancelled games
Catroots, which made an unanticipated appearance at E3 2000 within Nintendo's exhibition area, had no prior public announcement. Even personnel from Nintendo of America were only informed to display the title without further details. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, it was an N64 project developed under Marigul Management featuring gameplay centered on a cat-and-mouse chase. The game was ultimately cancelled and never released.
DT Bloodmasters, a digital trading card game designed for the 64DD, allowed card data transfer between the 64DD and a Game Boy using the 64 GB Cable. This setup enabled players to engage on their television screens while keeping their cards hidden on the Game Boy display. The project was terminated following the commercial failure of the 64DD; however, its Game Boy Color variant, DT: Lords of Genomes, was released in 2001.
Echo Delta, a real-time strategy title presented at Nintendo Space World 2000, involved commanding submarines to recover sunken vessels within set time constraints. Despite reports indicating it was approximately 90% finished, it was cancelled prior to official distribution. A leaked build surfaced on eBay in 2006.
VRS Racer, announced in 1999, was a racing game intended to utilize the Nintendo 64 microphone accessory from Hey You Pikachu for voice command functionality but never reached market release.