The developers behind Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns explain how they've come to work on Nintendo's big franchises.

Retro Studios is one of the most successful Nintendo second party developers and in the span of one decade they have created the Metroid Prime Triology and developed Donkey Kong Country Returns. Gamasutra has spoken to producer Kensuke Tanabe and CEO Michael Kelbaugh about how they came to handle some of Nintendo's biggest franchises.

Mr. Kelbaugh described the process of becoming a Nintendo studio as one that requires "patience, mentorship -- a lot of mentorship, a lot of help from our friends at Nintendo." He also notes the importance of having the right staff members who are driven by quality, not sales.

"It takes a lot of time and a lot of investment and, again, it's getting the right people. You have to hire people that are motivated by making quality product, not by how many units they sell. 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. As the industry evolves, so do the demands of the developer, so it's not easy, and there are not a lot of developers that really get it."

During the interview he also discusses how at Retro Studios they want to make games that don't insult younger audiences, but at the same time they didn't want to exclude them outright. The team wanted to recreate the difficulty of Donkey Kong Country but not isolate young audiences so they took, as Michael Kelbaugh describes it, a "two-pronged approach".

The result was the Super Guide that shows you how to progress if you repeatedly die. However, this is not the only change they made to allow younger gamers to enjoy the title. Donkey Kong Country Returns also features a multiplayer mode and novice gamers can rely upon more experienced games during difficult periods, so an elderly sibling or parent can help a child if it all gets a bit too tough.

The rest of the interview discusses Retro Studio's history with Nintendo, Metroid Prime and some of their most memorable moments.