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PlatinumGames' first original project looks like Ant-Man meets Godzilla
PlatinumGames is about to unleash its full freakish flamboyance on the world. Led by veteran director Hideki Kamiya, PlatinumGames has created stand-out titles on the behalf of major publishers for the past 14 years, churning out hits like Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2, The Wonderful 101, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Astral Chain and Nier: Automata. But now, following a cash infusion from Chinese tech giant Tencent, PlatinumGames is building its first original project, codenamed Project GG. "Unlike any of the games we've made so far, it's going to be a 100 percent PlatinumGames title," Kamiya said in a blog post. "For everything from its setting and characters, to its game design and story, to how it's promoted -- PlatinumGames is in full control."
'Okami' veterans want to make a sequel
After years of remasters and ports, Okami is finally getting a sequel... well, maybe. Two veterans from the game who now work at Platinum Games, director Hideki Kamiya and Ikumi Nakamura (the star of Bethesda's E3 presentation), have posted a video declaring that "Okami is going to be back" and that they "want to make" a sequel to it. This doesn't mean Platinum is definitively making a sequel, but its alumini are clearly trying to get Capcom's attention.
Platinum wanted Miis in Wonderful 101, could be featured in a sequel
Platinum Games originally wanted to include playable Mii characters in its Wii U superhero action game The Wonderful 101, but the feature didn't make the cut in the final version of the game, director Hideki Kamiya revealed this week via Twitter. Kamiya hopes to feature player-made Miis in a potential sequel, however. Though a follow-up project has not been announced, Kamiya assures fans that he will direct The Wonderful 102, if it ever comes to fruition. The Wonderful 101 was one of the first games announced for Nintendo's Wii U console, and our own Ludwig Kietzmann named it as one of his favorites from last year. Platinum's current project, Bayonetta 2, is set for a Wii U release later this year.
Metal Gear Rising PC owners report problems playing offline
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance made its Steam debut earlier today and players have already discovered a major flaw in the port, according to user reports on the Steam forums. "[W]henever I lauch [sic] the game while I'm connected to the internet, if my internet goes down (which is often because it's pretty bad) the game will just immediatly [sic] crash," writes Steam user "Howl," before asking other players to report any similar issues. The comments that follow are nearly unanimous: Losing your Internet connection while playing the PC version of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance causes the game come to an abrupt end. Following this discovery a fan asked Platinum Games producer JP Kellams about the issue. Kellams seemed taken by surprise. "No idea. I'll ask first thing," he replied. While this is currently the biggest flaw in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, it isn't the game's only problem. Earlier we reported on an apparent region-lock issue preventing players from gifting the game to others living in certain parts of the world. We've attempted to reach Konami for more information on what the publisher is doing to fix this oversight, though we have yet to receive a response.
Bayonetta creator: Building new game worlds is 'my purpose'
Hideki Kamiya is one of the most original, creative game directors in the industry today, yet fans are constantly infuriated by his general refusal to lead sequels to his earlier efforts. He realizes this of course, but as a new interview reveals, Kamiya feels his talents could be better used in building new worlds, rather than revisiting his old ones. "It's not that I don't want to make sequels - I really do! But considering the nature of my position, I don't really get a chance to," Kamiya told Famitsu (translated by Kotaku). "Somebody needs to offer new entertainment to gamers and do the work of sowing seeds that can later grow to be strong pillars. "It sounds a little overblown, but I've come to believe that is my purpose. If I had been involved with Devil May Cry 2, then Viewtiful Joe and Okami might never have been made. If I was directing Bayonetta 2, then I wouldn't have been able to make The Wonderful 101," he added. As Kamiya points out, he is currently working on a new project that has yet to be revealed to the public. If history is any indicator, expect it to be great fun, generate enough money to spawn a sequel, then be unceremoniously handed off to whichever development studio happens to be available.
Bayonetta anime shoots into Japanese theaters this November
Platinum Games' sultry witch Bayonetta will make her silver screen debut this November, at least in Japan. Famed production studio Gonzo has teamed with Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya and director Fuminori Kizaki (Afro Samurai) to create a feature-length anime film centering on the titular heroine. Plot details for Bayonetta: Bloody Fate are scant, but as you can see from the newly released trailer above, the anime will feature copious cleavage, near-blasphemous angel murder and a swirling mass of strategically placed strands of hair. So far, this all seems faithful to its source material. Though Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is slated to hit Japanese theaters on November 23, there's been no word on an English-language localization of the film.
Bayonetta director ponders 3DS spin-off
Hideki Kamiya directed both Bayonetta and Okami and given the opportunity, he'd like to bring both series to the Nintendo 3DS, though perhaps not quite the way you'd expect. "Given the chance, I'd like to make a game based on Jeanne from Bayonetta," Kamiya told Siliconera at PAX. "Something that's not as big in scale. Something that's portable, that you could play in quick sessions, where she's a history teacher and the kind of fun things that could come out of a scenario like that." Kamiya added, "If I could get away with it, I'd also like to come up with a spin-off of Okami, less focused on the grand idea of saving the world, but something focused on the smaller world of the fairy Issun." The director's latest game, The Wonderful 101, was recently released in Japan, Europe and Australia. It is slated to make its North American debut on September 15.
Bayonetta 2, Wonderful 101 on other platforms is up to Nintendo, says Platinum
Outspoken Platinum Games designer Hideki Kamiya made it clear Bayonetta 2 and The Wonderful 101 are staying Wii U-exclusive unless Nintendo says otherwise. Posting on Twitter, the Bayonetta director said that the games will be published on PS3 or Xbox 360 only if Nintendo says they will, and implored fans to stop asking Platinum Games about it."We are a developer. Nintendo are the ones kind enough to fund and publish our The Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta 2 projects," said Kayima, according to a translation he retweeted later. "So if Nintendo says, 'We are publishing Bayonetta 2 on PS3/360,' then it will happen. So please go ask them, not us."The news follows a week which saw the formerly Wii U-exclusive Rayman Legends delayed until September for a multiplatform release on PS3 and Xbox 360 as well, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge being ported back from Wii U to the two rival consoles. Still more surprising than either piece of news was the announcement last year that Bayonetta 2 is coming to Wii U, and not, like its predecessor, PS3 and Xbox 360.[Thanks, Michael]
Platinum's Kamiya hoping to announce his own game in 2012, Fumito Ueda loves Portal 2, and more
Since Bayonetta's late 2009/early 2010 debut, director Hideki Kamiya has gone relatively quiet. And while he remains that way for now, it seems we may see some movement from him this year, as he told 4Gamer in its big "looking back on 2011" Japanese developer feature (via Andriasang) that he "would like to announce a new game and make a comeback on the game scene and be known as more than just some guy who posts on Twitter," as his hope for 2012. Bizarrely, he didn't name a single favorite game from the last year, choosing instead to say "nothing in particular" struck his fancy, while Nintendo's eShop "3D Classics" were his favorite entertainment content last year. The feature also features a cadre of Square Enix devs, who hilariously all named Skryim their favorite game of the year (with the exception of a single producer), while the no longer Sony-affiliated Last Guardian creative lead Fumito Ueda put Portal 2 at the top of his list. He was also quick to point out that "The Last Guardian is in development, with the staff hoping to meet expectations even though with each game they taste the difficulties of creation." Okay then! Catherine and Dark Souls also got nods from a variety of devs, as did Super Mario 3D Land. And hey, you know where we stand.
Hideki Kamiya offers director commentary for Bayonetta
Look, you can interpret the "story" of Bayonetta however you wish, but there's only one definitive authority on the game: director Hideki Kamiya. Because people were uploading so many commentary and walkthrough videos, Kamiya thought he'd offer his own. So over the course of the next however long it takes, Kamiya will be replaying the entire game, offering his own insights and anecdotes from the game's developments on the Platinum Games blog. Honestly, we can't wait to hear what he has to say about that whole "masturbating angel" scene. You'll find the first two videos just past the jump.
Japanese devs sound off about 3DS
Famitsu recently rounded up some high-profile Japanese developers to gauge their reactions to Nintendo's 3DS hardware. According to a translation by Andriasang, the responses ran from business-minded declarations of intent to somewhat philosophical thinking-out-loud. Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono seemed to be most able to keep his excitement in check. He was collected and business-minded when he said, "We'd like to put in some ideas that make effective use of the portability." Hideo Kojima was happy that he wouldn't have to change glasses to use 3DS and mused about the implementation of CO-OPs, the multiuplayer mode featured in Peace Walker, "and other things -- elements fitting of a 3D and portable game machine." Super Monkey Ball (and Yakuza) creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, already working on a 3DS Monkey Ball game, said that he would "like to make a variety of proposals" for games that use the Wi-Fi and 3D aspects of the system. Shinji Mikami and Tomonobu Itagaki were on their way to a meeting in which they planned to talk about the system (and eat yakiniku). Others developers got more ... philosophical. Suda 51, for example, wants to make "The Next Game," in the same sense that he sees 3DS as "The Next Hardware." Bayonetta producer Hideki Kamiya hopes to make "a 3D game where you can enjoy the feeling of existence given by portable 3D." Kamiya's Platinum Games partner Atsushi Inaba, "experienced a strong jolt of the feeling 'I want to make something.'" He added, "Since the start of the game industry, there's never been a system that better fit the words 'dream' and 'next generation.'"
Platinum's Kamiya wants to make a new Star Fox at gunpoint
Hideki Kamiya is both thrilled about the Star Fox series and confused about how gunpoint demands work. In response to a statement from Shigeru Miyamoto indicating interest in a Wii Star Fox game, Kamiya expressed his own interest in a rather extreme manner. "I want Nintendo's staff to come to Platinum, stick guns at us and tell us 'You guys make a new Star Fox,'" he said on Twitter. Why would Nintendo need to point guns at him? He wants to make the game! Of course, why would we expect logic from the mind behind Bayonetta? Kamiya said that he submitted an idea for a 3D shooter upon entry to Capcom, but scrapped it when Star Fox 64 came out. That's how highly he thinks of Star Fox 64.
Swag Sunday: Bayonetta (360) [update]
Update: The comments have been closed and a winner has been chosen! Check your commenter email inbox, folks -- it could be you (it could also be that dude right next to you, though). Look, alright, we'll level with you -- we've got a short supply of schweet schwag hanging around Joystiq Prizeland as of late. That should at least partially help to explain last week's absence of a contest. We also kind of felt like you might've been overloaded with games during our holiday giveaways at the end of 2009. What's that? No, you say? Well we suppose that the first few months of 2010 are unusually flush with quality content, so giving away a bit couldn't hurt, right? We certainly hope a nine foot tall bullet witch will do it for you, because that's what we've got. One lucky winner (chosen at random) takes home Bayonetta on Xbox 360, chosen from the comments below (please leave one and only one) that are left in the next 24 hours. You tell us what you think is the most annoying song you've ever heard used in marketing a game and you may very well win yourself a vidjagame. How about that?! Leave a comment telling us what you think is the most annoying song you've ever heard used in marketing a game. You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, due in part to our aversion to snowy owls). Limit 1 entry per person per day. This entry period ends at 11:31AM ET on Monday, February 8. At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive one copy of Bayonetta for Xbox 360 ($59.99 ARV). For a list of complete rules, click here. %Gallery-22955% What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here.
Kamiya keen on returning to Bayonetta, considering spin-off
Speaking to Game Informer, Platinum Games' Hideki Kamiya discussed the possibility of a sequel to Bayonetta. Kamiya noted that the Bayonetta team has "love" for the game, saying, "I don't see anything wrong with Bayonetta 2." (If you're reading this, Mr. Kamiya, neither do we.) He elaborated that he'd like to approach a sequel "from a different angle, in the form of a spin-off." Game Informer goes on to speculate that a sequel could star Bayonetta's rival, Jeanne. Honestly, we don't care who stars in the sequel. As long as the action is just as solid as it is in the first game, it really doesn't matter. As long as someone is kicking ass in a stylish, intuitive way, we're sold.
Metareview: Bayonetta
We may still have a few more weeks before the hair-based weapon wielding Bayonetta arrives on US shores, but that doesn't mean that reviewers haven't gotten their hands on the region-free, fully translated PlayStation 3 Japanese release (and the lucky folks at Official Xbox Magazine seem to have secured an extra early Xbox 360 review copy). Regardless of the downright silly nature of the game's story and characters, Bayonetta has thus far received universal acclaim from the critics. Here's what some had to say. Edge (100/100): "A beautiful and graceful fighting game that lets imagination loose, and winks before slapping Dante, Kratos and every other hero back to the drawing board." Eurogamer (9/10): "It's in combat that Bayonetta's splendour is fully revealed ... a blast of creative brilliance, both technically accomplished, strategically deep and infused with rare imagination, Bayonetta represents the pinnacle of its chosen niche." Official Xbox Magazine (90/100): "Every one of these dazzling battles is thrilling without overstaying its welcome - and also challenges you without being cheap" Play.tm (95%): "Bayonetta could - and should - breathe fresh life into the ailing Japanese action genre ... an unrivalled showcase of imagination and creativity." Source 1 - Metacritic PS3 Source 2 - Metacritic Xbox 360 %Gallery-22955%
Viewtiful Joe's Kamiya would 'like to finish' series, won't henshin-a-go-go back to Okami
Hideki Kamiya, creator of the forthcoming Bayonetta, would be up for making a sequel to his stylish side-scroller Viewtiful Joe if given the opportunity, according to a report by Game Informer. Not so much for Okami, though, which he'd wanted to revisit until he learned Capcom was making Okamiden for DS. "I heard the announcement that someone else would be making a sequel," he told the magazine. "Now I'm just not interested in it anymore." Kamiya, who left Capcom along with Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and other key staffers to form the now-defunct Clover Studio, doesn't retain the rights to any of the IPs he created at either company -- but nevertheless feels that the story of Viewtiful Joe "is incomplete," adding "I'd like to finish it someday." While that's probably a long shot, Kamiya has already proven he's a man full of amazing ideas, which we'll hopefully see many more of after Bayonetta -- a game he could very well make a sequel to -- is released in the US on January 5.
Bayonetta demo available in North America and Europe Dec. 3
Finally, a chance to play Bayonetta for those of us who never got around to setting up Japanese PSN accounts or Sega Passes. Sega announced that the demo for Platinum Games' torturiffic action game will be available on Xbox Live and PSN, in North America and Europe, on December 3. With this demo, you'll be able to gauge the limits of your Bayonetta fandom. Maybe you'll like it enough to buy it. Maybe you'll like it enough to buy the PAL limited edition. Or enough to import the PAL limited edition (for North American gamers). Or maybe you'll freak out about Bayonetta and feel compelled to import the Australian limited edition. This is why demos are so important: you can make sure you actually like the game before you bring yet another fancy plastic foot-pistol into your home. %Gallery-22955%
Bayonetta's magical torture fetish explained
Bayonetta has the magical ability -- and macabre desire -- to conjure torture devices for use against her enemies. But why does the hair-clothed, gun-toed heroine of Platinum Games' action game do this? Is she just a horrible person? In a new developer diary (after the break), Director Hideki "Viewtiful" Kamiya explains that Bayonetta and her fellow witches have suffered through torture themselves, and so she fights not only for survival, but for revenge. Her sadism is a direct result of her own experience previous to the game's events. Plus, as Kamiya says, "It is important players enjoy seeing enemies sadistically destroyed." Do try to enjoy the torture. Otherwise you'll be doing the cruelest attack of all: hurting Kamiya's feelings. Congratulations to Jonathan on being the first to comment. You've been emailed a free Battlefield: Bad Company 2 beta code. Click here, for more information on this giveaway. Official rules apply.
Bayonetta might need a backpack for all those guns
Knowing now that we won't be able to get our hands on a retail copy of Bayonetta on this side of the Pacific until January 5, it's hard not to be frustrated when the game's publisher releases more footage reminding us how much fun the combat is. It might be incredibly silly that she has guns on her feet, sure, but they're guns on her feet. It makes the thought of kicking an enemy all the more enticing! It's also just plain nice to see a trailer for this game that focuses on how the gameplay works, rather than on its hyper-sexualized main character. Also: she fires a bazooka at a demon wearing a tuba. If that's your kind of thing.%Gallery-22955%
Bayonetta's first dev diary explains protagonist's origins
Platinum Games' Hideki Kamiya and Yusuke Hashimoto may not be taking the story super seriously in upcoming third-person action game Bayonetta, but that doesn't mean no effort was exerted in creating the title character's backstory. As it turns out, she came from the future to kill someone's mother so that ... okay, yeah, we're just making that up. Everyone knows that you couldn't bring back all those fancy guns through time! Duh! It's really that her family was attacked when she was a baby and even though the attacker came after her, she lived and ... alright, it's not that either. Rather than trust ourselves to relay it, we'll just let the developers explain Bayonetta themselves in the video after the break. %Gallery-22955%
