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 should not be confused with an internal first-party studio. For example, Intelligent Systems, developers of the original ''Metroid'' 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 a second-party developer.
The term "second-party" however, is not an official business term like "first-party" and "third-party", but is used simply to distinguish between third-party developers who develop games for various video game consoles, and developers who while still a third-party, provide software only for a single video-game console.

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See also

See also

★ First-party developer

★ Third-party developer