Platinum Likes To Focus On New IPs
In 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?
Related Game(s): Vanquish, Bayonetta
Tags: platinum games, bayonetta, vanquish, shinji mikami
10/23/2010 10:54:26 AM Ben Dutka
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Comments (21 posts)
SixSpeedKing
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 12:34:20 PM
Temjin001
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 11:24:57 AM
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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
Deleted User
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 11:34:52 AM
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Temjin001
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 12:44:05 PM
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.
Shams
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 1:02:21 PM
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.
Temjin001
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 1:33:11 PM
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
Shams
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 3:45:05 PM
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.
Temjin001
Sunday, October 24, 2010 @ 1:39:53 AM
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.
Shams
Sunday, October 24, 2010 @ 6:45:48 PM
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.
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 2:00:41 PM
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Lawless SXE
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 5:43:12 PM
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Peace.
frylock25
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 10:30:53 PM
StubbornScorpio
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 11:11:42 PM
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*ahem* So yes, much appreciation Platinum.
Last edited by StubbornScorpio on 10/23/2010 11:12:02 PM
frylock25
Sunday, October 24, 2010 @ 12:00:23 AM
A2K78
Sunday, October 24, 2010 @ 1:04:00 AM
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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.
___________
Sunday, October 24, 2010 @ 1:43:43 AM
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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!

Vanquish









Snaaaake
Reply
Saturday, October 23, 2010 @ 11:09:57 AM
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.