Studio Platinum games would like to independently engage in publishing a series of games Bayonettaif she had such an opportunity. However, now it’s just a desire, for which there are no concrete plans. The situation in an interview with the portal IGN Japan commented on the head of the team Atsushi Inaba.
The developer noted that franchise rights actually belong not only to one third-party company, but to two – Sega and Nintendo. The first sponsored the development of the original Bayonetta and is the hostess of IP, and the second paid for the creation of the second and third parts and owns the publishing rights to them.
If PlatinumGames had the opportunity to independently manage the series, she would need to collect and spend much more money on its development and release of games than in the case of the reprint The Wonderful 101.
PlatinumGames so far is taking only the first steps in publishing and does not plan to refuse to cooperate with third-party manufacturers in the future. According to Inaba, releasing games on their own is a risky process that can both elevate the studio and end in its collapse. Therefore, this way the team starts small.
Shortly after the studio opened in 2007, PlatinumGames executives signed a contract with Sega to produce several games, including the first Bayonetta. She debuted in 2009.
Later, Sega gave developers a green light on the production of the second part, but in the end refused to further finance it. As a result, the game was born only thanks to Nintendo.
“All rights to [Bayonetta 2] owned by Sega and Nintendo. The copyright holders decided that the game should be released on Wii U. I am very grateful to Nintendo for sponsoring the project and Sega for giving Nintendo the opportunity to work with the Bayonetta franchise.
As for Bayonetta 3, it was immediately decided to make a game for money Nintendo. Without them, we could not start development. Thus, the rights belong to Nintendo and Sega. The copyright owners decided that the game should be created for Switch, “- explained Hideki Kamiya after the announcement of Bayonetta 3, recalling that PlatinumGames simply fulfills sponsor orders.
Nintendo also sponsored earlier The Wonderful 101failed on Wii U. Seven years later, this game will receive a remaster for Switch, PS4 and PC – company allowed PlatinumGames release it on their own, and the studio turned to Kickstarter for funding. The developers call the case “unique to the industry” and believe that in relations with Nintendo this will be the only exception to the rule.
Nintendo also paid for the development of the game. Astral chain for Switch, which, unlike The Wonderful 101, was successful and exceeded sales expectations. PlatinumGames developers say that the future of this project will depend on Nintendo solutions.
As for Sega, after the release of the first Bayonetta, it licensed a Japanese studio Gonzo rights to create an animated film Bayonetta: Bloody Fate, and also reissued the first part of Bayonetta on a PC, and in February 2023 will release it on a PS4 with Xbox One complete with a remaster Vanquish – Another early PlatinumGames game.
Bayonetta 3 does not yet have a release date.
PlatinumGames would also like to complete the development of Scalebound, but cannot do anything without Microsoft, since intellectual property rights belong to the Americans.
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