If you are a fan of PlatinumGames’ work on the Bayonetta games, you must surely have been excited to learn that Bayonetta 3 was in the works. What has not been pleasant news for some fans of other platforms is that the game will be an exclusive for the Nintendo Switch. Now, Hideki Kamiya from PlatinumGames who is directing Bayonetta 3 discussed on Twitter why the game is going to be a Switch exclusive.
Kamiya-san explains the situation of PlatinumGames as a company which enters into contracts with other companies such as Sega and Nintendo in order to receive funding to make a game. He goes on to explain that those who hold the rights over the game have decided that the game should release on the Switch, and his job is to ensure that he puts in his best effort in delivering a great game.
You can read the the entire statement from Kamiya below. It certainly makes sense why the game is going to be a Switch exclusive and it’s great that Switch owners will be able to play Bayonetta 3 soon enough.
I've got something I want to tell you all. It's about Bayonetta 3. (1/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
We are a developer that creates games by signing contracts with publishers and receiving funds from them in order to cover development costs. (2/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
For Bayonetta 1, we signed a contract with Sega and received funds from them, then we proposed a design for the game and entered production. All of the rights belong to Sega. (3/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
At the time, our company had only just been established, and we weren't properly equipped for multiplatform development, so after discussing with Sega, we decided to develop the game exclusively for Xbox 360. (4/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
However, after that, one of Sega's trading partners ended up making a port for PS3, at Sega's behest. More recently, they also decided that a Steam version should be developed, which was released last year. Sega owns the rights to all of these versions. (5/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
When we started making Bayonetta 2, we initially received funds from Sega to develop the game for multiple platforms, but the project was halted due to circumstances at Sega. Nintendo then stepped in to continue funding the game, allowing us to finish it. (6/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
As such, the rights belong to Sega and Nintendo. The rights owners decided the game should be made for Wii U. (7/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
Nintendo was also kind enough to fund a port of Bayo 1 for Wii U, and they even allowed us to use the Japanese voice track we created for the Wii U version in the PC version of Bayo 1 as well. (8/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
I am extremely thankful to Nintendo for funding the game, and to Sega for allowing them to use the Bayonetta IP. (9/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
As for Bayonetta 3, it was decided from the start that the game was going to be developed using Nintendo's funding. Without their help, we would not have been able to kick off this project. (10/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
All of the rights still belong to Sega and Nintendo. The rights owners decided that the game should be made for Switch. (11/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
Game development is a business. Each company has its own circumstances and strategies. Sometimes this means games get made, sometimes it means they get cancelled. (12/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
But I believe that every single person involved is dedicated to delivering the best possible experience. I know that, to me at least, that's one of the biggest goals when I set to work. (13/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
I cannot express how happy I am that we get to make Bayonetta 3, and we intend to do everything within our power to make it as good as it can be. That's all we can do, and we consider it our greatest mission. (14/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
It took a while for production of Bayonetta 3 to be okayed, but now that it has kicked off, I hope it will turn into a wonderful encounter for all of you. (15/15)
— 無職 神谷英樹 Unemployed Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) February 13, 2018
