Devil's Third

Let's look a a brief history of the development for Devil's Third, the upcoming Wii U title. Tomonobu Itagaki - of Ninja Gaiden fame - left Tecmo Studios in 2008 to form Valhalla Game Studios with fellow ex-members of Team Ninja. They began working on Devil's Third, a unique hack'n'slash/shooter mashup, and THQ picked up the publishing rights. While it was originally planned for a release on PS3 and Xbox 360, its release status was thrown into jeopardy when THQ went under in 2013. Thought to be cancelled, it was revealed at E3 last year that Nintendo had picked up the publishing rights and that it was to be a Wii U exclusive, due out some time in 2015.

There's still a lot we don't know about Devil's Third, beyond promises of a huge amount of content and a broad, quirky variety of online modes. Nevertheless Itagaki-san has put out a brief update on Facebook to thank fans for their patience regarding the upcoming release. Itagaki-san has said that it's more than just simple shooter and that it “contains a lot of elements well over the volume to be provided by two regular games". He then goes on to say it's the biggest project he's ever tackled, taking six years to develop; two for conception, and four for development. Here's the full post, as it was written:

Hey gamers gathering here.

I know you guys are craving for the latest information on Devil's Third. Devil's Third isn't a simple shooter, but an unprecedented massive shooter to be played by tons of players. So there's many things to set before we release it. The game contains a lot of elements well over the volume to be provided by two regular games.

This game will be the biggest game of life for me and my colleagues, including you guys, not to mention.

It took two years for the concept working and four years for the development. It's not surprising at all. Such amount of time is needed to create a totally new game from scratch. I'm sure you'll dig what I mean if I say we spent four years to develop Ninja Gaiden.

But, I know your mind. Such development matters have nothing to do with gamers. So I and all the members of Valhalla really appreciate that you guys have waited for Devil's Third for a long time.

What Devil's Third is?

Such announcement will be made over time. Thanks for your patiense[sic]. Devil's Third will meet you guys' expectation for sure!

Thanks again from the bottom of my heart.

Doubtless we'll be hearing much more about this in the next few months, as it's a key title in diversifying the Wii U library. Is Devil's Third on your wishlist for this year?

[source facebook.com]