PlatinumGames, known for its work on the likes of Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101, and Astral Chain, has hired Nintendo veteran Takao Yamane in a move that is said to bring "significant change" to the company going forwards. Yamane will join PlatinumGames as its Vice President and Chief Business Officer.
The news comes via Famitsu (thanks, SiliconEra), confirming that more information will be shared in an upcoming interview. Prior to joining PlatinumGames, Takao Yamane enjoyed a 27-year career at Nintendo, during which he held numerous high-level positions, including Vice President of Nintendo France and Managing Director of Sales at Nintendo of Europe.
As teased by Famitsu, PlatinumGames is hoping that Yaname will assist current President Atsushi Inaba and Vice President Hideki Kamiya in helping the company achieve its lofty ambitions. Indeed, although it boasts a number of critically acclaimed games, it has also put out commercial and critical disappointments like Babylon's Fall and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan.
Just recently, PlatinumGames and Nintendo confirmed the release date of Bayonetta 3, with the game launching exclusively on Switch on October 28th. In addition, the game will feature a "Naive Angel Mode" to block out the more "raunchy" aspects of the visuals, presumably to reduce embarrassment in a family setting and make streaming online an easier endeavour.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
What do you make of this announcement from PlatinumGames? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
[source famitsu.com, via siliconera.com]
Comments 33
They need to get bought out by Nintendo already...
I see a Nintendo buyout in the works.
A lot of people on social media seemingly think this is leading to Nintendo buying Platinum Games. I don’t think that’s likely the case. I don’t think people from Nintendo move to the company they are to buy prior to the acquisition.
Yaname probably sees this as nothing than going up the ladder, something maybe he couldn’t do while at Nintendo.
Not sure there will be a buyout but I can see more alignment. I'd argue that Nintendo aligns well with Platinum in terms of fanbase and the style of a lot of their games.
@FragRed Actually this is a common JP business practice.
@Rika_Yoshitake
Agreed, especially considering Sega still refuses to fund Bayonetta games.
I don't think this means a Nintendo acquisition is happening. Frankly, I hope they stay independent.
@IronMan30 they will independent...
although if everyone remembers... Nintendo acquired the license/ publishing rights to Astral Chain in 2020,2021, Nintendo own that IP.
Maybe this guy will focus on Astral Chain 2, this game of course will come, it was a decent success.
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/platinum-says-astral-chain-is-nintendos-ip-after-fans-notice-copyright-change/
@FragRed nah, they bought the Astral Chain IP though...
@alecseus Really? I know Microsoft acquisitions were rumoured before they were announced because the same thing happened but didn’t know it happened in Japan. Still, would Nintendo use someone who’s position was Managing Director of Sales for Europe to be the person you would send. Also the way it’s worded sounds like he was head hunted.
@FragRed I don’t think it signals a buyout yet but this move most likely signals a tighter bond between Nintendo and Platinum. Japanese companies tend to work like that.
Like Iwata was from Hal. The current CEO was from the Pokémon company.
@roboshort After the huge disaster of a live service game, maybe working closer with Nintendo isn’t such a bad thing.
Didn’t Tencent put a significant investment in the company? Like buying a big stake in Platinum?
I’m not getting the buy out vibe some others are getting.
Why would Nintendo want to? They’re able to work closely with Platinum right now without a buy out.
As soon as they buy out I’m sure s lot of the talent would flake and then what?
They own a partial stake in Bayonetta? Doesn’t Sega share it?
@Rika_Yoshitake
I don't like to advocate this kind of stuff, but with MS and Sony (as well as companies like Tencent) having made, and still making, big acquisitions, Nintendo should lock up some close partners if it can. Next Level was an under-the-radar, good purchase. Platinum and, if possible, Mercury Steam, should be next.
Great, I hope he will bring Platinum Games everything they hope he will. I'm sceptical about a buyout, however. People are quick to shout things like that nowadays. Let rumours be rumours and don't start any yourself, is what my momma always taught me.
Not that this means there will be a buyout, but if any company should, it's Nintendo.
Mad world, Wonderful 101, Bayonetta 2 and Astral chain, they always do thier best work when they partner up
@ViewtifulCool yeah, I hope they do make an Astral Chain 2. The first game is excellent.
Cool I hope the position works out.
Lol, people thinking Nintendo will buy them out...you guys are forgetting that pretty recently Tencent stepped into the fray? Its more likely that Tencent buys them out entirely, instead of Nintendo.
Besides Nintendo would totally destroy a franchise like Bayonetta if they would buy Platinum. You can be sure they would throw out the difficulty, the violence, the sexiness. Bayo 2 was already a bit easier (just a tiny bit though). But so far Bayo is mostly still Bayo, wich is a wonder with Nintendo involved.
I am not saying that Tencent is any good, its terrible. We have yet to see in Bayo 3 what damage they have done.
@ViewtifulCool - Not bought, created.
Platinum made Astral Chain on Nintendo's behalf, with Nintendo funding. And the agreement is Ninte do owns the rights to.
@Henmii
Not sure that's fair. I remember reports where Platinum had self censored the redesign for Bayo in 2 and Nintendo pushed back on it for being too neutered. Similarly they told Platinum to remove the undershirt of the Link outfit as they didn't feel it made sense for the character.
Difficulty is more questionable, they might push them to include more accessibility features but I can't see them having an issue with higher difficulties. I believe they continue to fund this series and other Platinum projects because they recognise they offer things Nintendo doesn't have in house.
@Henmii Nintendo sugested Platinum Games to make Bayonetta more sexy they previously planned, Nintendo is not Sony that censor everything.
I'd love to see a port of Mad World on Switch. Never had a Wii so I've always wanted to try it out.
I don't get the impression at all that this is a sign for a buy out, and personally I hope Platinum stays as independent as they can.
In anycase, it will be good if Yamane can really help with pointing Platinum at the right direction as far as bussiness goes. I respect that company but, at the risk of sounding mean here, they always struck me as having almost no major knowledge on the bussiness side of things. Hopefully that will change for the better with Yamane around.
Congrats… soooo while we’re on the subject of old friends in new positions of power…
Hey Platinum/Capcom/Nintendo… kindly play nice with thee requisite parties to make and release on Switch new entries in these cherished IPs:
Please & thanks.
... Wun can only hope.
@Rika_Yoshitake I'd rather they didn't. It would hamper them from releasing the kinds of games that Nintendo doesn't put their weight behind. Like Vanquish or MGRR.
I’m a grumpy pants, as all of their games appeal to me until I play them, then I find myself bored in no time at all.
I don’t know what it is about their games which makes me want to like them, but I never do.
@Henmii
What makes you think that Nintendo has removed or censored the violence or sexiness from Bayonetta 3? Did we watch the same Bayo 3 trailer?
(Sure, there's that "Naïve Angel" mode but that's entirely optional.)
@AJWolfTill and @Giancarlothomaz
Ok, that might be true.
@westman98
Not judged from the trailer, but we can't know for sure untill we have played it. As for Tencent: Maybe the game is full with microtransactions and nft's. Please no, but we don't know for sure untill the game gets reviewed.
@Henmii
The trailer obviously won't spoil everything about the game but it certainly shows that Bayo 3 will be just like its predecessors in terms of violence and sexiness. The "Nintendo is gunho about censoring everything" stereotype stopped being true decades ago - the only big publisher nowadays who is censoring content beyond the current game rating boards (ESRB, PEGI, CERO, etc) is Sony Interactive Entertainment.
(Also, I couldn't care less about what Platinum Games is doing with Tencent.)
@Henmii
https://nintendoeverything.com/bayonetta-creator-says-nintendo-never-asked-to-make-the-series-less-risque/
Quote from Kamiya, translated by NintendoEverything:
There you go, confirmation from Kamiya himself that Nintendo didn't censor Bayonetta 2 or 3.
@westman98
Yes, I have read it. You wonder though where that "naive" mode comes from. Maybe Platinum just wanted to appease to the Woke community? Anyway, its just a option.
Tap here to load 33 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...