In a recent interview ꦗwith Famitsu (via ), PlatinumGames CEO Atsushi Inaba provided a glimpse at the studio’s future, and how it hopes to c෴reate games that “can be enjoyed and loved for a longer period of time" instead of being completed and put aside like Bayonetta or NieR Automata.
In slightly prettier language the company is basically saying it will lean into experiences with live-service elements that focus on user retention and increased economic viability. We are seeing the beginning of this with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Babylon’s Fall, a title published by Squa🥂re Enix that la♋unches next month, and I’ve heard almost nobody talk about it. What a bummer.
I’d recommend giving the full translated interview a look for yourself, since I don’t believe it to be a formal resignation of single-player effไorts from PlatinumGames. Inaba makes a point to mention that games such as Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101 that are designed to be completed in a single setting will continue to ♌emerge from the studio, but in the future it wishes to be riskier and more ambitious with titles that can be played for a much longer period of time.
It is adapting to current trends and seeking to ensure its continued relevance, but I can’t help but feel that Platinum♛ is only relevant because it can create games like nobody else can. It is the undisputed king of character action, and would be foolish to throw such a moniker away to focus on live-service multiplayer outings. The reaction to this news amidst gaming circles has been universally negative, fearing what the company might become with th👍e creation of games like Babylon’s Fall and Project G.G.
These games could be great, and I’m absolutely not discounting their potential quality, but I am here to question the ignorance Platinum is showing towards the games that helped put it on the map. Some of its titles have flopped, while a few licensed outings produced merely to keep the lights on have faded into obscurity - except Transformer Devastation, that one remains a certified banger. We all remember these games for the right reasons, with the majority of Platinum fans having a firm favouri💙te long committed to memory.
NieR Automata is an undeniable classic, and while it hinges on the creative vision of Yoko Taro, Platinum was there to turn the underwhelming combat and exploration of the original into some of the genre’s very best. It plays like a dream, gameplay blending with narrative into a seamless whole that enraptured millions. NieR wouldn’t work as a live service, its core philosophy would arguably seek to critique the capitalist ideas that underpin such products instead of willingly becoming a part of it. Bayonetta, Vanquish, Madworld, Astral Chain, and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance are all equally beloved. They are all rather short, but to say they can’t be enjoyed once you’ve reached the end credits is ridiculous, if anything thꦅe complete opposite is true given how they’ve been received in the years since.
A character action game like Bayonetta✃ or Vanquish could work in a live service model with a focus on multiplayer and loot, but the brilliant personalities and wondrous set pieces cemented by an unparalleled sense of Platinum style would inevitably be lost in content that is designed to keep us coming back again and again. We’ve seen this indifference surface with Babylon’s Fall already, a game with a visual style and combat system that has proven increasingly divisive. It isn’t what people want from Platinum, and perhaps these expectations are a problem in themselves, but when so many iconic creators are operating within a single studio then sucꦕh things are inevitable. Hideki Kamiya is a legend, and to see him veering towards a live service title breaks my heart in a weird, selfish way. I am probably waving goodbye much too early, given this interview only suggests what the future might entail and things could change massively with the coming launch of Bayonetta 3.
Perhaps I’m just too cynical, but given this medium’s trajectory in recent years can you really blame me? Live services are commonplace, NFTꦯs are the hot new trend, and I still receive a regular stream of death threats for being who I am. For years PlatinumGames have been one of the strongest Japanese development hous💙es thanks to how unapologetically unique each one of their games manages to be. I’d hate to see that identity fade into something lesser in pursuit of profit, especially before they’ve had a chance to revive Scalebound. Come on, Microsoft. Pick up the phone and get the ball rolling.
