- Second-party developer
In the
video game industry , a second-party developer is a developer who, while being a separate entity from any console manufacturer, is tied to a specific one usually through contract or partial ownership and makes games specifically for that console manufacturer.The defining characteristic is that a second-party developer is a company completely separate from the manufacturer, while first-party developers are considered to be a "division" of the console maker itself.
A second-party developer can be an internal studio. For example,
Intelligent Systems , developers of the original "Metroid" games (as well as the "Fire Emblem, " Paper Mario, and "Advance Wars" games), is an internal Nintendo studio and therefore not second-party.Camelot Software Planning , developer of the "Golden Sun ", "Mario Golf " and "Mario Tennis " games, is an example of another second-party developer.When Monolith Soft created andBaten Kaitos Origins for the Game Cube, they were considered third party, but Nintendo has bought them since, making them a second-party.The term "second-party" is an official business term like "first-party" and "third-party", and is used simply to distinguish between third-party developers who develop games for various video game consoles.
See also
*
First-party developer
*Third-party developer
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