Now that a Kickstarter campaign for a remastered version of The Wonderful 101 has been officially launched, there's talk about what other Platinum-developed Nintendo exclusives could potentially be released on other platforms. One game that many people would like to play (who don't seem to own a Switch, we might add) is Astral Chain.
As you might recall, not long after its release in August last year, the game was review-bombed by disgruntled gamers who seemingly weren't happy with the title being restricted to Nintendo's hybrid platform. It's obvious a lot of Platinum fans out there would like to see this title made available on other platforms, so what are the chances of it actually happening?
During an interview with VGC recently, PlatinumGames' head Atsushi Inaba said it was "too early to say" what could happen, but did clarify it was an IP half-owned by Platinum and half-owned by Nintendo.
In the case of Astral Chain, it’s an IP that’s owned half by Platinum and half by Nintendo. So right now it just came out and it’s too early to say.
When further pressed on the possibility of a multi-platform release, Inaba said it was ultimately Nintendo's decision, as it owns the publishing rights, and explained how PlatinumGames' acquisition of The Wonderful 101 rights was an "exclusive" case.
Ultimately it’s Nintendo’s call, not ours. They own the publishing rights to Astral Chain so really we have no say in that matter.
The good news for Nintendo fans is that Astral Chain appears to have been a lot more successful than The Wonderful 101, which was released during the troubled Wii U generation in 2013. Not long ago, PlatinumGames' director Takahisa Taura said the company's latest Nintendo exclusive "sold above expectations" and last week it was revealed the game had sold approximately 1.03 million copies to date.
In other words, we don't think Nintendo would be as willing to let go of this exclusive in the future. What do you make of Inaba's mixed messages, though? Leave a comment below.
[source videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 82
Part of me wants to share the love but I want Nintendo to have its exclusives
I'm a fan boy... No one deserves Nintendo IPs.
Tough to say, considering DxM is being let into the wild only 6 months after release. If they do let this one hit other platforms quickly, it might be a sign that Nintendo is showing interest in shifting their business to the publishing side of the industry, not sure how I would feel about that.
Nintendo isn't going to let a successful new IP go multiplat. Shame, but it's how it is I guess.
@Ratchet916 with DxM, it's not being published by Nintendo for PC. It's being published by xseed or something like that.
@Ratchet916 DxM is a different beast though, with Nintendo not really having much to do with that game outside of publishing it outside Japan. What I mean is, Nintendo didn't own the Daemon X Machina IP, they just had a timed exclusivity deal with Marvelous over the game.
While I will never champion exclusives per se, I believe the right holders will do best by their IPs.
Hopefully Nintendo won't let this one or Bayonetta resort to crowdfund.
Ooh, it would be nice to have on PC but I worry that the port might be a bit rubbish since most of Platinum’s PC ports are. Still, that might be down to the publishers rather than them.
Nintendo should trade exclusive of this to Microsoft in exchange for Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Switch.
Normally I wouldn’t care, but the sheer fact that the game was review bombed for this reason, would make it a real shame.
Please noooo
I feel like Nintendo neeeeeds to hold onto any sort of modern action ips it’s got (ie this one and like ... Bayonetta).
I know its bad to say that I don't want this game ported, but after what happened at launch those review bombers shouldn't be rewarded. Their logic was to have the game critically bomb on Switch, so it would be forced to be ported. I know a good chunk of people who would want the game ported didn't do such things, but an awful lot of people did. People need to learn that maybe anger and hate isn't the way to get change, but kindness and support
Octopath sold more than that (also “met expectations”) and SE pulled the plug and moved it to PC.
It would be more NIN blocking it to keep it in the stable than 1 million being enough for a top game these days.
Platinum probably sick of seeing games do 3-8 million in multiplat land. SE can Keep pimping Nier and let them move it to Switch.
noticed some of the pledge awards for 101 have get blocked on twitter by kamiya on and off
@Agramonte
Nintendo doens't own Octopath (and that game sold pretty badly on PC anyways, as will DxM). Nintendo owns half of the Astral Chain IP, which has been far more successful that TW101, so expect that to remain a Nintendo exclusive forever.
Even Platinum considers Nintendo's decision to be an overt kindness to them, so this is probably going to be an outlier as long as the title isn't too big of a game. It makes me wonder what the possibility of a sequel would be, and where the game would land. Would it be bad if it was a Switch exclusive after this? I know some people would be annoyed, but at the end of the day, Nintendo published the original Wii U game, and most games are lucky to get an initial shot at success, let alone a second chance like W101 is getting.
They let the 101 go to platinum cause it didn’t do great and they have a good relationship with Nintendo. Astral chain is not going the same route. It is going good on both fronts. And it gives hope for a sequel. The first game still had a few unanswered questions.
Well, Astral Chains sales were above the original sales expectations so I can imagine that Nintendo is ok with keeping AC a Nintendo exclusive series.
Let them have it. Everyone deserves to have fun. I mean, Nintendo is getting some good third party stuff this generation, after all.
I don’t mind sharing, but when the other team at pushsquare mocks Nintendo, then I don’t feel like sharing.
When the other team is nice, I am all about sharing, just like Microsoft demonstrated.
As a PS4/Switch owner, each console has its niche, but double standards really annoy the hell out of me.
This article and comments is an example of when I rather wall off: http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/01/zelda-inspired_ps4_game_that_made_nintendo_fans_irate_is_coming_to_switch#comments
This article is when I like sharing:
http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/01/sony_exploring_ps4_remote_play_on_nintendo_switch_portable_dualshock_controller
Short version: trash talkers make me not want to share, nice people make me love sharing.
@westman98 That's unfortunate for Octopath, do you have a source about how it did on PC? Or at least know where I could find it?
I think it should be a trade off. Whilst I hate MS with a passion it would be good to see some of RARES old IP's back on a Nintendo console. Rare replay anyone?
Get a Astral Chain fighter in Smash and I bet many people will buy that game!
it's a double edge sword. I want it to say with Nintendo, but going to other platforms opens up more opportunities for this game.
But I hope that Nintendo somehow makes Platinum a 2nd party team because their games need more love. Especially Nier Automata!
Nintendo is probably going to keep it on nintendo systems.
@westman98 I said SE pulled the plug. Showing that for a regular publisher selling 1.1 million isn’t always enough to stick around as an exclusive.
Nintendo makes money regardless, they were going to keep Astral Chains on lockdown regardless of how much it sold. If up to Platinum they would try and get more sales elsewhere for sure.
Sony and MS don’t have Nintendo’s survival code as a dedicated game company. Nintendo is likely to keep its published games on it’s systems
@AnnoyingFrenzy
https://steamspy.com/app/921570
Octopath is on the low end of the range.
@Agramonte
What did Square Enix pull the plug on?
@westman98 Ah cool, thanks.
There’s no way Nintendo will let Astral Chain go to other platforms. Unlike TW101, Astral Chain sold very well and has the potential to bring more people to the Switch.
If it's half own by Nintendo then that's an automatic never going to happen situation. Games like Bayonetta 1, Baten Kaitos, Geist, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Octopath Traveler, Pandora's Tower, The Last Story, Daemon x Machina, Little Town Hero, and Ever Oasis are likely to go to Steam though as Nintendo doesn't hold full control on those games or IP nor own them even though they published/market those in the past. Astral Chain is different and had Nintendo fully involve in the game in partnership with Platinum Games, it'll stay not only a Switch exclusive but also a Nintendo exclusive.
@Agramonte
If SE "pulled the plug" on future timed exclusives for Switch, why are they developing another one currently (Bravely Default II)?
@Toy_Link
Because his statement is BS and Square Enix didn't pull the plug on anything...
@Toy_Link Where did I say anything about future time exclusive? clearly taking about octopath as an exclusive. You just made up a comment to reply to it 🙃
well, the strong exclusives should remain on the Switch, but the old games deserve to be released on various platforms!
Its a shame... I really want Wonder Red in Smash
If Nintendo owns the publishing rights for this title, and half of the general IP, then there isn't a whole lot to be unsure about for now. ^^
@retro_player_22 Ever Oasis and Disaster: Day of Crisis aren't going anywhere either, at least not anytime soon. Nintendo owns Grezzo and Monolith Soft.
@Agramonte
If it was so clear why did someone else in this comment section ask the meaning of pulling the plug?
And why is SE making another Switch exclusive turn based RPG if Octopath's sales caused them to re evaluate Switch exclusivity?
@Toy_Link You need to figure that out on your own. What I wrote is clear as day.
Again, you made that statement up. Read my actual comment.
Funny, I never see these interviews and "gamers" ask about Persona 5 for Switch or Shenmue Collection or Shenmue 3 or Resident Evil 7 or GTA 5 or Nier Automata or Seikiro or...
Nintendo better keep the rights in an iron grip. This IP has major potential, and should remain exclusive.
Be surprised if Nintendo let this go. 1 million for a new IP is pretty good and it’s quite different to what they offer themselves. A sequel could do quite well.
I seriously love the picture here. I need to actually get to this game.
#backlog
@JSDude1 What so it can run at a shoddy framerate?
Nintendo is stubborn, so it's unlikely that they will say yes the next years. They will probably wait until the game is old.
That means no.
How about we have a trade between Sony and Nintendo they trade Astral Chain for Persona 5
I believe Inaba said that he thinks TW101 is an exception to Nintendo's rule of maintaining an iron grip on its IP. That's a paraphrase, of course, but in the interview he expressed that he assumed other projects with Nintendo would remain exclusive to Nintendo consoles.
I can not see Nintendo to allow Astral Chain to slip through their fingers and be on PS4/PC, Astral Chain sold over 1 million copies in 4 months that is a success they do not want Astral Chain going multiplatform to happen
It's nice to share at times. Microsoft with Cuphead and Minecraft. Nintendo giving away W101 to P-star. But I still think they need to hold on to this one. They can't afford losing hack n' slash action games since other platforms already has a plethora of them (eg. DMC5, Sekiro, etc.). 'Warriors' games don't count.
The Switch only has Bayonetta and Astral Chain under their belt and both from the same company.
@AnnoyingFrenzy Plus added to that fact, I don't think Daemon X Machina sold as much as Astral Chain either. They probably don't consider it too valuable.
@Gwynbleidd With that type of logic. It's no different than when PlayStation fans tell Switch fans to buy a PS4 if they want to play Persona 5.
Personally, I can see a few games that may have been PS exclusive hit Switch. The Switch has already surpassed expectations and some. It would be foolish at this point for anyone to ignore Switch.
But a Switch if you want to play it I say lol, kinda the whole point of exclusive software.
Simple... if a gamer wants an exclusive game, they need to buy the system its exclusive to. Complaining about an exclusive game on a system they don't own is ridiculous. Back in the day the consoles had games called 'killer apps'. You had to buy the system to play the game. Like I said... Simple. Buy a friggin' Switch or just shut yer face🥴
@Rafie I think this is slightly different. P5/P5R is an Atlus/Sega owned IP and is only on PS4/PS3 for... Reasons. Sony didn't fund the game or own the IP it is purely tradition at this point. And SMT fans are on Nintendo consoles so the lack of P5 is weird.
Astral Chains is co-owned by Nintendo and P* and Nintendo allowed them to have W101 as part of keeping good relations. They are very close and for a while Nintendo funding P* as a second party was on the table. This is Nintendo allowing P* to have their baby and it shows huge respect between the two studios.
That’s the power of exclusives people! Since Astral Chain was very successful, Nintendo will never let it go
I think Nintendo holds on to the rights of Astral Chain, it's a "grown up" IP, Nintendo can offer to have a catalogue that will appeal to all ages. While Mario & Zelda are more transcendent in terms of age, Astral Chain, much like Metroid Prime feel a bit more mature and can cater to an audience that is - for the lack of a better word - a bit more edgier (and while this word has some negative conotation, I mean it in a more neutral way, think more The Conduit and Red Steel offerings for Wii).
Nintendo needs to keep exclusives, also need to make astral chain sequels. They also need to make smaller Bayonetta spin offs as it had so much potential.
@N8tiveT3ch and that's why we do t deserve persona, kingdom hearts or halo
@Ventilator so Nintendo are just like Sony and MS then right.
@YANDMAN if Halo TMCC can run on X360, then why not Switch?
Plus if they want they could include 1-3 and ODST on a Cart, then Reach and 4 as D/L in which they could fix those issues.
@OscarHTX
Seems you missed the point—trash talk and bad behavior does not inspire people to share, especially when they trash talk us about their exclusives, mock us for port begging, then review bomb us for our exclusives.
If you can’t understand that, then there is nothing needed for me to further explain what I’ve simplified a lot already.
@OscarHTX
Seems more like a difference in values and understanding—and as a person who supports the franchise and company by voting for their actions through consumerism, I do participate as a stakeholder rather than a stockholder. But, as already explained—values dissonance. Doesn’t mean I missed the point because it doesn’t fit into your framework, but you are, however, throwing away my point by overriding my values and framework to suit yours.
To each their own, chum!
@retro_player_22
i don't know where you go your information from but a lot of it is wrong. Bayonetta 1 is not owned by Nintendo at all, who had no involvement in its creation, but by Sega, and has already been released to PC; the only thing Nintendo owns in regards to that game is the Japanese translation. Nintendo has exclusive publishing rights to Bayonetta 2 and 3 because they funded and are publishing those games. Baten Kaitos is owned by Bandai Namco, and Nintendo only published the second game. Octopath Traveler is a Square Enix game produced without Nintendo's involvement at all that has already been published on PC. Daemon x Machina only received international distribution and publishing by Nintendo; Marvelous own the IP and that is why it is coming to Steam. Little Town Hero is a Game Freak game, being done without Nintendo's involvement at all as well, but chances of it coming to Steam are limited because Game Freak doesn't release games on Steam. So at least three of the games you brought up had no Nintendo involvement at all, one was only distributed by them internationally, and one saw one game published by Nintendo, but the IP is owned by someone else.
Geist, Disaster: Day of Crisis , Pandora's Tower, The Last Story, and Ever Oasis are all Nintendo owned and published IP. All of them are fully owned and controlled by Nintendo and are never going to PC.
Back on topic, this was a one off situation. Nintendo didn't sell the IP or trademark, it only allowed Platinum to publish the games themselves, probably because the game sold so poorly and they are really close to Platinum, so nobody should expect a repeat of this, especially for games that were actually successful.
@Wexter I understand the dynamics of how the ownership of games and exclusive titles go in this case. I know P5 isn't exclusive to Sony, but for some reason it's staying exclusive. Which is why I brought up the notion about that type of logic used when someone wants a game for their platform of choice. I always found it weird Nintendo never got any Persona games. I thought it made more sense for Nintendo than Xbox (referring to Arena games). SMT fans are also on PlayStation, yet I wouldn't be mad if SMT V stayed exclusive to Nintendo. Then folks would have to buy a Switch for it.
I'm not going to lie though. I don't like port begging of any sorts, but I understand why gamers do it. The Persona 5 issue will always touch a nerve with Nintendo fans because of the whole Joker thing. Although a mainline Persona game has never been anywhere but PlayStation. Personally, I would hope both Persona and the Yakuza series hit Switch. It's going to Xbox, why not the Switch. Kingdom Hearts as well. Especially seeing as the fanbase was more pronounced with Nintendo than Xbox.
If Nintendo actually has a say in it, it won't happen.
This would really, really benefit from more powerful hardware. Playing it at 720/30 on the Switch wasn't really good enough, especially for Platinum. At 4k/60, it would really shine.
@kobashi100 Mostly like Sony as Cuphead, and more weren't old when MS ported them to Switch.
@JSDude1 so they should trade a successful, profitable new IP, an exclusive, for old multiplatform games where the best of them are far past their prime and the newer ones are garbage?
Regardless, exclusives are good for both the industry and consumers. A unique library is imperative to competition, not apps, not graphics, not crossplay... Exclusives. A company that gives up their exclusives (like MS) is in trouble.
I'm somewhat ok with some Nintendo IPs going to Microsoft. Sony hasn't done anything to warrant Nintendo's generosity. Green light Kratos for Smash and it would be a different story.
Maybe when it's had it's time and sales slow to a crawl. They could sell the publishing rights in the distant future, because it would be weird to see a ps5 game with "Nintendo" written on the case. Then again, that would stop them being able to do a port if we see a Switch 2 or whatever, so I doubt it anyway.
Put W101 in other plataforms was nintendo choice. Even being a good game, It dont had strengh like exclusive. Dont will happen with sucessful ips.
It’s a no from me. Nintendo should keep Astral Chain and Bayonetta to themselves. That being said, can we see Vanquish, Mad World, Transformers: Devastation and Anarchy Reigns on Switch please.
@Nintyfan that’s your opinion, I disagree. Halo (most of them) are revered classics and would be a welcome fit on Switch, which lacks that type of game (compared to what we have now). It could be goodwill to share with MS, maybe after that they’d share Rare Replay and a new Banjo too?..
@Ratchet916
I would LOVE it but the 10 year old in me would hate it...
I really think N at least needs to release on PC. Maybe not give Sony anything but the PC ecosystem/users are so far off from the console folks that I don't feel there's too much overlap.
@ramu-chan
I've never played the game but 4k/60 is in the realm of the highest end PC (unless the graphics are trash that is).
You ain't getting that on a ps5 anytime soon (maybe some tile-based shenanigans and some 2d side scrollers/flat ps2 type 3d games.).
@sword_9mm Forza Motorsport 7 is 4K/60 on an Xbox One X.
@ramu-chan
Driving/sports games are very simple compared to a lot of games.
Let's see xbx work something actually complicated at a full 4k/60. Red Dead 2 or something like that. Hint; nope.
Also remember details. Red Dead 2 is 4k/30 on the xbx around medium detail.
@sword_9mm Have you worked on any AAA driving games? I have. They aren't simple.
Many people were being toxic and they are primarily ps4 owners and review bombed the game on metacritic.
This game deserves to be ONLY on Nintendo platforms
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