Retro explains how they became a Nintendo-backed studio

"It's patience, mentorship -- a lot of mentorship, a lot of help from our friends at Nintendo. It's investing in the right people. It takes time... You have to hire people that are motivated by making quality product, not by how many units they sell. There's not a book that I could say, 'Read this and you'll know how to make Nintendo games.' You learn how to do it by experience -- experience and mentorship -- That's really the only way you do it. So it's really as simple as that, but it's not simple at all. It takes a lot of work. Ten, years, well 12 years, and we've made a lot of progress, but we don't have it down yet. We still have a lot to learn, you know. It changes." - Retro Studios president Michael Kelbaugh

We all know how passionate Nintendo is when it comes to making games. It's no secret that their philosophy when it comes to game making is one of a kind. So naturally it makes sense that Nintendo doesn't just pick any company to work closely with. Retro has worked along side Nintendo for many years, and slowly but surely have come to understand just what makes a Nintendo game unlike any other.

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