Taking aim

Bayonetta was a cult smash when it first released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so much so that Nintendo felt compelled to dig deep and fund development of a sequel exclusively for the Wii U. Since then, fans of the series have been waiting keenly for news of a third outing, and it seems that PlatinumGames is equally as keen to give them one - in the fullness of time, of course.

Last year, Hideki Kamiya admitted that he spends a lot of time thinking about Bayonetta 3, and now PlatinumGames producer Atsushi Inaba has revealed that conversations regarding a possible third outing are still taking place within the walls of the studio on a regular basis.

Speaking to Source Gaming, Inaba said:

Maybe there would be a male Bayonetta! (laughs). I would like to make Bayonetta 3. We’re talking within the company even now about what to do. But because we’re constantly talking about it, that actually makes it really hard to say. If we weren’t talking about it, we could just say something random or offhand, you know, but because we’re actually talking about it…Of course, that’s just something that you talk about when you’re making a series – do you want to keep the same protagonist? There’s plenty of precedent for changing protagonists, and so that is something we discuss – do we want to keep the same one, have a different one, add new ones – but that’s certainly not anything I can say for sure at this point

Inaba was also asked which feature of the Nintendo Switch he found the most appealing, and what he thought of the console as a development platform:

The fact that you can use the hardware both inside and outside, that intrinsic feature of the console itself. I think that’s what really propels the popularity of the Switch. 

It’s kind of hard to say, as you don’t want to make the game fit the hardware, you want to make the hardware fit the game – you don’t want to add a gimmick to your game just because the hardware supports it – but with the Switch, now we’re in this time where you can play Zelda on the plane, whenever you want, because you can keep it with you or bring it outside, and that’s something we couldn’t have imagined before. So perhaps the thing to do now is to make a game that draws people in and that people want to keep playing, and they can because they don’t have to wait until they’re at home. That’s one thing that would be great to get out of the Switch.

Another question related to Kamiya's past comments about which Nintendo series he'd like to work on - Inaba added his own thoughts on this topic:

Nintendo franchises are really beloved franchises, and we love them as well. So if we had the chance, of course, we’d like to take a shot at it. But we’ve never gone to another company and said: “please let us make this game.” It’s always someone reaching out to us asking, “Would you like to try making this?”, be it NieR or StarFox or Metal Gear Rising. If we can keep making new, fun games like that, of course, we’d like people to keep asking us to make those games. We don’t, or at least I personally, don’t have a specific game or franchise that I’d like to make. 

Actually, I wanted to make a Zelda game, but after seeing Breath of the Wild I’m not sure I can top that, I don’t think there’s anything I can contribute!

It's always encouraging to hear developers talk so warmly about Nintendo hardware. What are the odds on PlatinumGames revealing a Switch project at this year's E3? Do you think it's likely, and what could the game be? Share your thoughts by posting a comment.

[source sourcegaming.info]