PlatinumGames has been celebrating its 10th Anniversary, and in this writer's opinion has deserved all of the plaudits that have come its way. Few studios can boast Platinum's mastery of the action genre, and it's also proven itself to be increasingly flexible in its projects.
In its early years the studio worked solely on its own entirely original games, but now the landscape is different. The company is still producing a steady flow of original titles such as Bayonetta 2, but it's also working on third-party projects. There are multiple examples on the go, though Nintendo fans will certainly know all about its next release rather soon - that's Star Fox Zero, of course.
In a Weekly Famitsu interview, PlatinumGames CEO Tatsuya Minami and Game Director Eiro Shirahama spoke about the gradual move into contract work and the freedom the studio is often given.
Minami: We used to have the idea that we wanted to be a studio that only made 100 percent original games. However, it turns out that only doing that is considerably difficult, and so now we take on various work.
Shirahama: The IP holders also are like 'Let Platinum Games do what they do for the action parts,' so we are given tremendous freedom with development.
The studio is fiercely ambitious, too, with its team tripling in size over the last decade - from 60 to 180. Minami-san talks of a target to be one of the top three development studios in the world.
If you don't have that kind of feeling, you can't keep on going. Ten, twenty years from now, I want to aim even higher.
We wouldn't bet against PlatinumGames; its ambition could certainly be rewarded in its second decade.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 48
Pretty much every game of theirs that I've played have been a lot of fun, even if some of them don't have much depth.
I don't always love their games, but the overall quality of their work is undeniable.
when i become a bajillionaire, i am buying capcom just to get the rights to vanessa schneider so i can hand her over to platinum.
When you look at masterpieces like Okami and Bayonetta it is hard to not feel optimistic about their future in the industry. Keep up the great work guys!
Despite the bad rap Star Fox Zero is getting, they have a solid track record (one of those "none of our games are below average or will always be at least a 6", akin to Grasshopper) and every game I've played of theirs (Bayo1+2, W101, MGR:R) I've enjoyed.
I have faith in them. Definitely a company I'd like to work for.
@Jamotello Make sure you give me some of that dough ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
It's a shame not many people buy their games.
@OorWullie That's true. Like me for instance.
Hopefully that Star Fox game is worth it being on the Wii U.
I wish the new Star Fox game was their project, not something they were handed mid-development. I know it would be amazing then.
Depending on how good scalebound will be, PlatinumGames will officially sell me on getting an xbox one.
We'll see...
@Jamotello I'll second that.
@Jamotello give them all the other awesome unused ips, I'm sure bayonetta and darkstalkers would mix well
@LexKitteh It could end up being amazing anyway. Even if the game doesn't end up being a graphics showcase, Platinum and Nintendo are two studios that can handle gameplay as well as anyone, if not better, so I have no doubt Star Fox will be awesome to play.
I just hope Nintendo maintain a close link with them and they don't sell out to Sony or Microsoft
Hoping that they will still continue to make original games though. How are they able to make that lovely anniversary artwork? Because they have so many awesome original characters!
The thing thst bugs me about platinum games is even though almost all of their games rate extremely well they struggle to sell well on any system. Hopefully the strange people who only play major ips wil be impressed and try to find out about platinum and play their original games.
@SetupDisk The problem is that to sell games like they put out requires an aggressive marketing strategy because they are not mainstream... So it takes more effort to convince people to buy them. Most people tend to be attracted to things that are familiar. Until they become too familiar, then they get tired of them.
So Nintendo, Naughty Dog and Platinum? Hmmmmm.
Original titles such as Bayonetta 2. It must be the 2 that is original.
I love their work and can´t wait for future titles.
Isn't Platinum Games already "One of the World's Top Studios"?
At the very least, they are unrivaled in their field of the action game genre. Every gamer knows that if you want an over the top action game, Platinum Games developed games is where to look.
Platinum Games are also the only developers I can think of that broke away from a major publisher to start their own company and was successful. Usually when you hear a developer do this they fade into obscurity.
Same vision they started with. Nice to see they are still aiming so high.
Platinum Games have always impressed me with their unique approach to gameplay whilst still managing to keeping things intuitive and fun. I haven't played all of their games but I've enjoyed those which I have!
I'd like a new Viewtiful Joe game please. I loved the first 2 on the Cube.
So Capcom how about you just get Platinum to make licensed games for you then? DMC reboot reboot?
Transformers Devastation had a so-so storyline but fighting as an 80's cartoon autobot was surreal! The action in that game was a lot of fun and the fighting style was the best part, really. Platinum Games are a AAA studio in my mind. Happy 10th year guys and gals! Keep up the good work.
Happy 10th to PG. I don't have any of their games I don't think.
Now only if Platinum's games sold well at full price...
(Bayonetta 1 on PS3 and 360 move the vast majority of the 1 million sales at sub $20, making it their best selling game of all time. They didn't make much money on it.)
They need to diversify the gameplay in their games if they want to make it big. As a big fan of theirs, it's hard to see their games constantly fail to get the attention they deserve, but combo-heavy actions games are just not going to be big like that, look at something like Assassin's Creed where everything is so streamlined it almost feels insulting to the players' interactivity that they can climb Big Ben by only pressing 'X' 7 or 8 times. It is great that Platinum's games are the opposite of this, but it isn't what mainstream audiences want. Hope they can break it big, but will Nier on PS4 or Scalebound on Xbox One be the games to do so? I doubt it personally.
@TheLastLugia
Would Assassin's Creed be as big as it is with Ubisoft's reputation and huge marketing budgets? I don't think so.
EA, Ubisoft, WBi, Bethesda, Activision, Microsoft and Sony spend close to $100 million to market each "major" title in the West.
They also heavily run their game designs through focus testing, market research, and committees to ensure the game is fits what the "hardcore" market wants.
This takes the creativity and originality out of games.
They also have the market on lockdown via exclusive deals and deals with the Microsoft and Sony.
They literally have sued any company that enters their turf, bankrupting quite a few.
Platinum isn't that big and doesn't have the resources to make it big.
I see Platinum forming a deal with Nintendo to become a full second party studio to stay a float.
I'd rather Platinum do what they want than go under trying to compete with the established Big 6 3rd parties.
@TheLastLugia Nailed it.
I just hope a couple of titles do better than expected and elavate their mainstream status a little more.
Gaming needs this sort of studio to do well. There's been far too much OTT AAA catering to too few genres and sur-par indie shovelware stuff (that's not a jab at the indie scene on the whole, just a device to make the wider point) with everything inbetween getting closed down.
Go Platinum!
@CTMike yeah I mean it's great as a proud English dude to be able to explore this beautiful rendition of London, and some of the stealth sections and platforming is fun, but compared to Platinum's Bayonetta or even Clover Studios before them with Okami and Viewtiful Joe, it's hard to take that this is as complex as a game is allowed to be by these big budget companies, an attack button, a counter button and a 'break blocking' button and that's it for not only AC but a few other AAA 'action adventure' games too. In an ideal world consumers would have better taste and demand more from these companies, but with the way it is the pressure is on Platinum to attract newcomers, and the market shows the best way to do so is to cut down on gameplay and focus on graphics, which is very concerning.
They're games are usually really fun to play. On another note, why isn't the new tent game coming to Wii U but is coming to every other platform, even last gen, huh Platinum?!?
@hYdeks
Because TMNT game is owned and published by Activision (or is it someone else).
Platinum has no say on how the game is released.
@Xenocity yeah don't get me wrong I absolutely do not want Platinum to go the way of EA or Ubisoft, but at the same time it's undoubtably a problem that even when backed by Activision and using a very well known franchise AND selling it for £10 below the usual going rate on all systems, Platinum could only get into the top 30 I think on the week of release for Transformers Devastation in the UK. Sure Activision barley marketed it and even Platinum didn't dedicate their best people to make it, but even for a company of their size things like this are worrying. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Nier and Scalebound get nowhere near 1 million sales, despite the install bases of those systems, with ironically one of Platinum's best selling exclusives being Bayonetta 2. The mainstream audience just ain't interested, and that's a shame, because they're the ones missing out.
@TheLastLugia
As long as Platinum makes money they will be around.
There is nothing wrong with being a small company dedicated to a specialized market.
It just means you won't see huge sales.
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Nintendo should put Okami on the Wii U virtual console!
By the way everybody should go play Wonderful 101 it's amazing!
@leo13
They have to convince Capcom to do it and I don't think Capcom is interested in it.
@Xenocity you don't think Capcom is interested in free money? That doesn't make a lot of sense.
Nintendo goes to Capcom and say, "we want to put Okami on the Wii U eShop and sell it for $20. We'll keep a chunk of that money and we'll give you a chunk of that money."
Capcom says, "No thanks we'd rather not make money on old games that are already finished."
@leo13
It's not free money.
Capcom is required to get Okami rerated in every territory to release on the Wii U eShop due to ESA requirements (Same goes for PS4 and Xbox One digital releases).
Capcom then has to add in the Wii U wrappers to the code to make it work on Wii U.
Then they have to test the newly coded Wii U version to make sure it works right.
Then they have to release it.
Capcom is looking at minimum $30,000 just to get it rated in all the major markets
Add in the coding and debugging to get it to work on properly on Wii U you are looking at ~$50,000 in costs.
If Capcom decides to market it, then you are looking at $100k minimum.
Why should Capcom bother, when they know you can get the compatible Wii version used for $15 or less?
If they release it for $20 on the eShop, they get $14 on each unit sold.
This means they have to sell 2,143 copies to cover the cost of rating the game for the eShop.
To cover all the costs to get it on the eShop, they have to sell 3,572!
If they market it, they have to sell 7,143 to cover the costs
It's not cheap to have games rated/rerated and ported/modified for digital release.
FYI: PSN, XBL, eShop, Steam, Apple, Google, etc... all take a 30% cut on digital releases.
P.S. I'd rather have Viewtiful Joe 1&2 than Okami.
@Xenocity Yea, I looked it up, ActiVision has the video game rights. The game would make sense to come to Wii U, so naturally it's not, stupid ActiVision -_-
@Dezzy Naughty Dog??? Hahaha no way sir. Retro Studios is in the top 3.
@DarkKirby Monolith Soft....they were formally Square Enix....
@Xenocity Platinum doesn't let money effect them. Their games don't sell well they accept that they just make what they want cause is their studio and they can do whatever the bayonetta they want. Also Kamiya....lol we all know how much of a beloved umbra witch he is lol
@Nin-Stream
True, but they need make some money to pay the bills.
If only Nintendo would stop force feeding them Gamepad implementation and let them make a quality Star Fox game on their own
@Jamotello Man, a P.N.03 sequal would be so amazing. That has to be one of the most under rated games of all time - but I guess the fact Capcom only half finished the game is a pretty big negative mark against it.
@OorWullie
"Platinum Games: making the best games nobody plays" I always say. Next to Nintendo they are my favorite devs, I simply adore their style and craftmanship.
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