Ben-DutkaIn a gaming world always inundated with sequels and follow-ups, it's nice to see one developer focusing on bringing new IPs to market.
That developer is Platinum Games, who just completed a four-game deal with Sega that consisted of Bayonetta , Madworld , Infinite Space , and the recently released Vanquish . Now, the studio's executive director, Atsushi Inaba, talks to Develop about their future with Sega and the importance of fresh ideas. As for their relationship with Sega, Inaba says they're not sure what will happen but for now, they appreciate what the publisher has done for them:
"When we created Platinum Games, we of course talked to a lot of publishers, and Sega offered us the most freedom to develop games. I think the partnership has been great, and I'm really grateful for their support."
Sega has to take "its stance" concerning the future but if they want Platinum to make another game, Inaba says they "might take the offer." And although he stresses that Platinum doesn't necessarily have anything against sequels, their goal is to create new IPs and retain ownership of said IPs. That's usually risky, too.
"So as a studio we would like to do both [new IP and sequels], but the whole point of Platinum Games is to create our own IP, that's what we do."
Obviously, sales is going to be a determining factor in this situation. The good news for Platinum is that the masterful Bayonetta (masterful on the Xbox 360, anyway) sold over one million copies, and the newly released Vanquish might perform equally well with the help of widespread critical acclaim. We gave it an 8.5 and a whole lot of people will see that 9 at GameSpot. But it's easy to forget that so few new IPs come out, right?
That's 2 AAA titles from them in a year.
With the mind of Hideki Kamiya and Mikami, they're ready to take the world by storm.
And know what's best about them?
They don't really care about what the west think.
Bloody violence and multiplayer which are what the west love are missing from Bayonetta and Vanquish. They may not have the best engine but their games are damn fun.
We should be glad they left Capcom.
some of my favorite games this gen have been new IP's so i am all for this. now the crappy porting and bad ps3 versions of games i am not for. if your gonna make a game make sure it runs right.
Last edited by frylock25 on 10/23/2010 11:13:10 AM
Yeah by now there shouldn't be any crap ports anymore. But if a dev makes a multiplat that isn't equal on both consoles then I won't reward them with my money, simple as that.
I didn't know they did Madworld and Inifinite Space.
Crazy. I think I read Madworld was supposed to be pretty good. BUt it's on Wii. eeeww
I have to say of all the consoles I've ever owned the Wii has been far and away the least played and loved by me. My wife sometimes plays it. But even then, Bejeweled 2 on the PS3 gets more play from her than Mario Kart. Anyway I'm going off topic.
I like Platinum Games. They know good games.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/23/2010 11:25:10 AM
I think sony should buy Platinum Games and make them a part of the sony family.
No doubt, a very talented group. I wonder. Was the Bayonetta port that horrendous that i should just wait to acquire another 360? Or is it still worth it to get it for my ps3 library?
It's bad, Master-Shams. I'm sorry to say, it's really not the same game on PS3. I tried downloading the PS3 demo again just to see if my memory served me well.
The frame-rate is so erratic. It's odd too in how it behaves. In many games the frame-rate dips when there's a lot of action and events that drag it down, but in Bayonetta, it judders all of the time. It fluctuates from like 20-45fps even just when running around empty areas. The game really wasn't fit for release and I really hope people don't use the PS3 version as any indicator of what the 360 game is actually like.
Even the visuals are watered down with blurrier textures and duller color and lesser effects.
It's too bad, actually, because I don't like tapping the 360 buttons in games like these. They're raised, big, and sit higher than they do on the DS3; it's more tiring and more work on the 360 controller because of this.
I was afraid of that Sensei Temjin. i like having one system. It just means fewer wires. Tidier space.
I hadn't played the 360 version, so because of that, i was impressed by the ps3 demo. More so from the artistic side than the technical, i enjoyed the aesthetic, albeit cheesy, veneer, that really puts you in another world. On a brighter note, Vanquish uses the same engine, however, porting was done in-house this time around and optimization was done to the point of cross-platform parity. It really is a pity, though, it hadn't been done earlier because from the general critical consensus, Bayonetta seems to be more of the elite title…though i know i'll be picking up Vanquish at some point, too.
Yeah, I understand the one-system advantages. I sold my 360 last year and while it was nice having all of my games in one place with PS3, my gaming interests have always been centered on playing the greatest games.
I stuck up and supported PSX back in the day of Nintendo's downfall, and I also supported the DC, and Xbox when they birthed.
I just get too excited about what's new and hot in gaming culture so I'm usually onboard with most new and hot gaming platforms. I see it also as a means of not putting all of my eggs in one basket. I've seen many fan-boys get burned by being hardcore loyalists who prioritize a business-consumer philosophical mindset that locks them out of enjoying great games that do and have invariably appeared on a variety of platforms outside of their own.
When I read MS-hate and all of that I think it's besides the point of what really matters to all of us gamers. We're privileged to live in economic times that allow us to have such creatively engaging experiences for our entertainment. And so when people get all angst over capitalistic business practices of marketing gaming systems etc (this is America and gaming entertainment is profitable) it's annoying to me because I think they're missing the big picture of what should be most important–the great games.
This resilient quality gaming standard of mine eventually led myself back to picking up the 360 again. While 360 has a lesser amount of interesting titles for my needs, it still has enough to justify spending money on reduced priced hardware and used games. Afterall, gaming is my favorite form of personal entertainment and there are a lot more expensive ways a person can burn their money for their time in other types of activities.
Anyhow, I can't recommend Bayonetta enough to die-hard action gamers. It will surprise you as to how insanely over the top it can be. It's unlike anything else out there in this regard.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/23/2010 1:33:43 PM
I'm with you, Sensei Temjin, of wanting to play everything that is the best of the best. And I especially appreciate the benefits of 360's larger and cheaper used retail library. I'm just wondering if there is enough on the 360 platform warranting a new purchase. A.Wake, Halo 3 and Reach seem cool. I played both Gears enough to know what to expect on Gears3. Better multiplatformers like Bayonetta are great, but have become a thing of the past, as studios like Platinum Games, Ubisoft Montreal, Mercury Steam, Lucas Arts are claiming and/or showing. Were it not for a couple favorite franchises of mine, the added benefits of free online play and bluray, i probably would've opted for a 360 at the beginning of this generation, too.
I should be all set for this year and the next, seeing as how inFamous 2, Killzone 3, Resistance 3, GT5, MotorStorm: Apocalypse, LBP2, Ratchet will be coming out.
But i might just take you up on the Bayonetta suggestion at some time. It seems to have grown on you recently, and seeing how our interests are very similar, i take it has a good indicator that i, too, will enjoy it. Anyhoo, looking forward to your user review as well.
Yeah, I'd imagine at this point MS's list of exclusive titles which grow a system's value in a multi-platform market has been dwindling down for sure.
It's pretty sad, actually.
Besides Gears 3, their exclusive content is all but wasting away to nearly nothing. While I won't be surprised if we don't see a new gaming generation within a few years. MS's lack of exclusive games has me wondering if they're working on yet-to-be-revealed stuff for a future gaming platform.
Who knows. But considering their position in the market, I would imagine they're doing better this gen than they probably originally expected. So I wouldn't see why they'd want to race away from 360's success so soon.
Anyhow, one can only guess.
Tis a good point, Sensei. If we consider that Move and Kinnect could very well be forward-compatible, it is quite likely that the next-gen consoles are already well into development.
I'm sure Sony and MS are going to wait for a year or so, to see how receptive the market is to the motion controls before releasing any other big news, but i wouldn't be surprised to hear leaked news of studios getting their hands on development kits for the next gen systems possibly late next year. Not so much from Sony studios, just because they'll be more likely obeying corporate privacy policies, but more likely from 3rd party studios working both with MS and Sony.
I may not be their biggest fan but I do give them credit for popping off new IPs. There is a serious lack of taking that risk this generation and I that's good on them. I think I could enjoy a game by them if they just put a little extra thought into it next time instead of just putting an existing genre "on crack"
Platinum certainly knows how to do big action, and I'm glad to see that they're trying to continue to create engaging, new IPs rather than follow the easy route and churn out sequels incessantly. I feel that it's a shame that their deal with Sega is up, as they really did help to strengthen Sega's lineup. I hope they resign there rather than going to Capcom, or some other such hateable company.
Peace.
I think SEGA is gonna bring out a new console…
Dreamcast 2 baby.
yeah they are takin all that money they are makin from those killer ports and building a system that will blow away the ps3… ok maybe not
Sequels have been the dominant force in gaming these past couple of years; while I do love me some Uncharted 2 and Assassin's Creed II, fresh new faces in the world of gaming are most definitely welcome. It would be great for developers to put more focus on the PS3 since the ports coming to this console are fairly lackluster. I think I read on the PlayStation Blog or somewhere, but apparently the PS3 was the lead console for Vanquish. If so, I have a few words for Platinum: KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING!
*ahem* So yes, much appreciation Platinum.
Last edited by StubbornScorpio on 10/23/2010 11:12:02 PM
the only thing that doesn make sense to me about your post is that you used two new IP's as examples. both games may be sequels but they were new IP's this gen. they were both just so good they got sequals. they were fresh faces not that long ago. i totally get the point of your post though.
"I think SEGA is gonna bring out a new console."
Given the fact that Satomi have the ultimate say in what SEGA ultimately does, its ain't going happen. In fact its not hard to see this giving the fact Satomi is keeping with his plan of keeping SEGA a fully arcade-centric company as oppose to a console focused one; the fact SEGA seem to be investing more money towards the development of arcade system boards(e.g. RingWide, RingEdge,Lindbergh, and Europa-R) and arcade games demostrate this.
i hope they stick to new IPs, just finished vanquish so i doubt they will but…….
really disappointed with vanquish, was exactly what i was expecting.
a corridor shooter which requires no tactics, no thought what so ever.
too much like KZ2, just take cover kill all enemies rinse and repeat.
its far too linear, allot of the times i found myself wanting to move around enemies, try get above them or get into a better vantage point but the game would not let me because of invisible walls.
this gives a whole new extreme to the term corridor shooter.
most games give you a little freedom, this is just a complete corridor!
1 hallway, many doors but you cant enter them you have to take out your enemies from the front, or boost behind them and risk getting ambushed.
why cant i enter a side room, and get behind them that way?
not to mention the enemies are so unbalanced and cheap!
those little guys with shotguns, they shoot you twice with a shotty your dead but you shoot them 3 times with a freaking rocket launcher and there fine!
WTF?????????
how can 2 shotgun blasts take off more health than 3 freaking missiles?????????
than theres the bosses, all which can easily kill you in one hit.
but again, they hit you once your dead but again i shoot them in the face three times with a freaking rocket launcher and they dont even loose half there health!
WTF?
i hate it when games put you up against a boss and he has 100 billion hit points, does 1000 damage per hit and you only have 2000 hit points and your attacks only do a max of 500.
boss battles are suppose to be hard, not tedious!
cant say that im surprised, it was exactly what i expected but there was still a little glimmer of hope it would be different.
GI was spot on with the length too, only took me 4 hours and 28 minutes, and i did not get any time bonuses on any of the levels, and i died quite a bit on medium and i left the game a few times un paused to go toilet or dinner.
if i played it again and did not waste time i reckon i could finish it in 3 hours!
come on PD, 110 bucks for a 4 hour game that completely sucks and has no MP or replay value?
im done wasting my time with there crap, wasted 7 or so hours with bayonetta and another 4 with this.
wont be playing any more PG games any more thats for sure!
oh sega how you have fallen from grace!
you use to be one of the best publishers, among with capcom and $E they use to be the cream of the crop.
now there the bottom rung, the owners of the bargain bin!
still waiting for sega to release a good game!