Update: Since the release of the previous article, former PlatinumGames employee JP Kellams, who worked on games such as Bayonetta and Vanquish, tweeted that the original translation "didn't quite capture the nuance" of what Platinum CEO, Atsushi Inaba, was trying to say regarding Bayonetta 3.
This is the actual quote in Japanese. The translation in the tweet below is not really capturing the nuance of what Inaba-San is trying to say. https://t.co/yGUsL5SOzP pic.twitter.com/MmsXv3AzpgFebruary 7, 2022
"Of course there are games which are important to us, and that we think we want to make more of: games like Sol Cresta, small games with unique concepts, or games like Bayonetta, made up of a collection of well designed one-off stages you enjoy progressing through until you finish it as a whole. However, when we think of the shape our future titles are going to take, I think we will be making something quite different. When we think of the how the gaming market may transition over the next 5 years, I think change is imperative. "
Original Story: Bayonetta 3 studio head says he wants the developer to create bigger and riskier games.
Atsushi Inaba, who only just took the helm as PlatinumGames CEO last month, recently spoke to Japanese publication Famitsu. As translated by VGC, the new CEO said he wants the developer to put out games that "can be enjoyed and loved for a longer period of time," potentially signalling a move away from smaller titles.
Pointing particularly to the forthcoming arcade shooter Sol Cresta as a "small but brilliantly conceived" game, Inaba said that "the projects that we are trying to create for the future will be different in terms of their structure." Inaba highlighted "changes in the market over the next five years or so" as being the driving force behind these upcoming changes.
It's difficult to interpret these comments from Inaba for the future of the beloved developer. PlatinumGames made its name on tightly-focused action games like Vanquish, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Bayonetta, and Nier Automata, and a switch to bigger titles like MMO Babylon's Fall might not go down so well with more hardcore fans of Platinum's work.
However, that's not to say Inaba is ruling out still developing these smaller games in the future. Bayonetta 3, for example, is due to launch later this year, resurrecting the Umbral Witch for another slick action-packed adventure, and there's still a lot that isn't known about the Hideki Kamiya-led Project G.G.. That being said, Inaba did accidentally cite Project G.G. as a title geared towards its new vision in the new Famitsu interview, so perhaps this Kamiya-led game is the first step in a new direction.
Check out our best single player games guide to see if any Platinum-led games made it into our best of list.
