Tomonobu Itagaki is not a man you would ordinarily associate with humility. The developer of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive is known for being outspoken, flamboyant, and over the top. He also was extremely bullsih on Devil’s Third, his newest project, prior to its release, claiming that it would change multiplayer shooters forever.

That obviously did not happen- Devil’s Third was met by horrible scores, with reviewers noting its schizophrenic nature and poor campaign that tried a mish-mash of play styles, and did none of them well.

Speaking on his Facebook, Itagaki was uncharacteristically humble.

“Unfortunately the scores we’ve been receiving in Europe are pretty awful. Some of the criticism we’re getting is constructive and fair – I can accept that.” he said.

However, he did get a jab in at how the game was reviewed, noting that it was not conducive to how the game was designed to be played. “But in general, I’m going to guess that most of the people reviewing the game weren’t given a chance to evaluate it properly,” he said.

“Just as one example, we designed the online multiplayer mode to be enjoyed together with tons of people, but it seems dozens of reviewers were only allowed to try the game in a closed environment.

“That’s extremely unfortunate for everyone involved. As you can imagine, no one can effectively evaluate the playability of multiplayer games under these conditions.

“For me though, I value the feedback you guys can offer much more. Please enjoy the game for yourselves,” he said.

Devil’s Third launches exclusively on Wii U. A free to play variation of its multiplayer will also be launching on PC later. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information on the game.

Wii U exclusive Devil’s Third launches in Japan today, with a release in the west coming later this month. And while it may not be the greatest looking game on the planet right, it’s still a major release for Nintendo’s starved console. Promoting its launch, we got a brand new launch trailer for the game, which shows us its weird mix and blend of hack and slash, shooting, and melee combat.

Coming to us from the creator of the Xbox Ninja Gaiden reboots, the game is finally releasing after having spent nearly half a decade in development hell, having switched developers and publishers multiple times, before Nintendo finally rescued the game from limbo.

Devil’s Third is going to launch on Wii U exclusively on August 29; a free to play portion of its multiplayer will release on the PC later this year as well. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information.

Devil’s Third has had a troubled history, and the result of it does not necessarily seem to be pretty, as all early impressions indicate that the game, in fact, sucks. However, that won’t stop its creator, the outspoken Tomonobu Itagaki, from believing that the game will be something truly special.

Speaking to Famitsu (translated via Facebook), Itagaki reiterated his support for his vision, which is what has apparently caused him to stick to the game’s development all these years, in spite of all the hurdles and roadblocks that he faced.

“There wouldn’t be any opportunity for us to work in this industry anymore,” he said. “That’s just how it is. We developed Ninja Gaiden in 4 years, and that was with us developing multiple lines at the same time, so it’s not a particularly long time. Our desire was to complete the game by any means while establishing our company structure, developing the game itself, and keeping the company going all at the same time. We were finally able to make it through thanks to Nintendo who really made it all possible along with everyone in the industry, and also thanks to the expectations from all the fans and gamers that were waiting. With all that support, I couldn’t be someone who would drop it all and walk away.”

“That’s one part. And on top of all that, we had already made the decision to make the game. We brought in staff to execute that decision. Those staff, their families… I’m repeating myself, but all of our fans… I couldn’t just betray them. ‘So you did it just as some personal responsibility?’ No, it’s not like that either. You know, sometimes if I’m speaking with someone, they’ll tell me that I’ve changed. Establishing my own company, I’m pretty much free to do what I want, and I’m also solely responsible for what I do. It can be a pain sometimes, but at the same time it gets you in the mood to just get it done.”

Itagaki also discussed all the issues the game faced during development- including the insolvency of its former publisher, THQ, and its ultimate rescue at the hands of Nintendo.

“So as I said before, for all the support we’ve received in every form imaginable, and for letting me introduce Devil’s Third like this here today, I’m incredible grateful,” he continued. “Like I said in the beginning, it’s a culmination of everything so far—not just mine, but of everyone that works here. Please try it for yourself. I think it’s going to be a breakthrough for the industry. I believe it’s going to take shooters to the next level.

“We started the title with THQ, and Nintendo came in with development already underway; so it wasn’t really possible to make any sweeping, fundamental changes,” he said. “With that said though, Valhalla did have a lot of pretty heated back-and-forths with Nintendo like, ‘We think we should go with this,’ or, ‘Don’t you think it’d be better like this?’.”

Devil’s Third launches in August exclusively on the Wii U, although the multiplayer mode of the game will also get a separate launch on the PC as a free to play game some time in September.

While the chips are down and the hand shown as far as Valhalla’s Devil’s Third is concerned, there are actually those who, in spite of the negative impressions and the very readily visible jank in all the media we have received for the game so far, are still excited for the title. Those people will be very happy with this new trailer for the game, which shows off… well, it shows off more Devil’s Third, basically.

Devil’s Third is director Itagaki’s first new game project since 2008. Previously, he was known for the excellent Ninja Gaiden revival, as well as the Dead or Alive series of fighting games, both made under Tecmo Koei. The game has been in development for a long time, but finally will be launching later this year, on Wii U exclusively; the game’s multiplayer will also launch on PC shortly afterwards.

Devil’s Third may be getting panned in the pre-release previews that have been coming out for it, but director Tomonobu Itagaki from Valhalla Games, it seems, is fully committed to standing by his product. Discussing the game, he pointed out that it will run in 30 FPS, a stark contrast from almost every other major Wii U title; nonetheless, he assured fans that the game will be perfectly enjoyable in 30 FPS.

Itagaki also confirmed that the game would not have any split screen multiplayer, stating that the extra resources they got this way had gone towards making the campaign be the best it could possibly be. Similarly, the game does not have voice chat- the extra bandwidth enables smooth 16 player gameplay.

Itagaki also shared his favorite way to play the game, saying that a USB keyboard, the Wii U Pro controller, and wired internet was the best way to do it. The Wii U Gamepad, he said, had the analog sticks too far apart, and buttons on the touschscreen too cramped, which could lead to a less than optimal experience. He also shared his hope that the multiplayer mode would have a population of tens of thousands of people.

Given the existing mismatch between the game’s target demographic, and that of the console that it is on, I am not necessarily sure how that will work out; given that the game is actually supposed to be pretty rubbish, I think these may just turn out to be empty boasts in the end.

We’ll find out soon. Devil’s Third launches exclusively on the Wii U.

Wii U exclusive Devil’s Third, being headed by Tomonobu Itagaki, of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive fame, has not had the smoothest development cycle- it was announced half a decade ago for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in conjunction with THQ, the publisher that went bankrupt shortly afterwards. It has since lurched through development hell, gone through multiple engines, and even had questions raised as to its final release by Nintendo, the publisher that ultimately saved it.

And as you can see in these gameplay videos, all of that strain shows. It very definitely shows. Devil’s Third looks exceptionally rough in these clips, to the point that one has to wonder just how or why Nintendo is willing to put the game out in this state- what happened to their famed insistence on polish?

I guess I can still see some sparks of good ideas in there, though. Pity what happened to this game- with a smoother development cycle, I am sure this might have been something special.

Oh well. Devil’s Third launches exclusively on Wii U.

Ever since it was announced at last E3 that Nintendo had rescued Devil’s Third, much like they had Bayonetta 2, and that the game would be coming exclusively to Wii U, there has been a lot of skepticism about the title. The re-reveal trailer looked absolutely janky, with none of the finesse or style that director Itagaki has come to be known for with his Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden games; it was going to be a multiplayer shooter on a system with a minuscule install base, and it just seemed wildly scattershot and schizophrenic.

Well, it seems like Nintendo of America, at least, agrees with all the criticism the game has been getting, because apparently, they will be foregoing the release of the game over in North America altogether. Unseen64 reports that Nintendo of America has decided to not release the troubled game in the region- this explains the game’s mysterious absence during E3, as well as from Nintendo’s website.

Early reports from those with access to press copies in Europe and Japan indicate the game isn’t fun and has frame rate issues, so it doesn’t sound like we are missing out on much, but I guess if this was something you were looking forward to, it’s going to be a bummer for you.

Tomonobu Itagaki’s Devil Third has just received a brand new trailer in Japan (which you can see above), as well as a release date for Japan. The game, which is the latest from the creator of the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden games, will be releasing in the Land of the Rising Sun on August 4. As far as the retail release goes, in Japan, it will be limited only to Amazon.

The game itself looks better than it did at E3 last year, but I am still not convinced. It still looks rough around the edges, and seems to be a disparate, disjointed mish-mash of too many ideas- I am not sure how it will work, how it will all come together. At the very least, the multiplayer looks cool.

As of right now, no release for the west has been announced, though we know it is coming later this year. Maybe we can expect more details at E3 next week, assuming they are not leaked before then. Stay tuned.

In 2014, Nintendo managed to even reverse the Wii U’s sales momentum a little– sales are up this year, compared to last year- and they managed to reverse the Wii U’s perception, at least among enthusiast gamers, from a standing joke to a highly desirable platform with the best library of exclusives on the market.

Their lineup for this year had a lot to do with all of this, sure, but a lot of it also had to do with their stellar E3 showing back in June, where they demonstrated that, unlike some other companies, just because their system was underperforming, they would not abandon it. Instead, they doubled down and showed off a slate of great upcoming games on the platform, that somehow looks even better than everything we already have.

In this list, we look at those upcoming games- there’s an amazing lineup of new Wii U games announced for 2015, and here, we will look at just which of these are the ones you should be looking forward to the most in the coming year.

Ready? Okay, here we go.

Project Guard/Project Giant Robot

Exactly what these games are, we’re not quite sure yet, which is a bit surprising, given that Nintendo is so insistent that they are coming next year. We actually don’t even know if they are two separate games yet- but given that Nintendo has always shown them off and referred to them together, we’re going to go ahead and assume that they’re both part of the same package.

Undoubtedly, these were the weakest part of Nintendo’s otherwise stellar E3 showing. We had been hearing a lot about the new mysterious project Miyamoto had been working on, and how it would utilize the Wii U Gamepad in innovative ways, but their E3 debut, at least, left a lot to be desired, and the games just ended up coming off looking rough and unpolished, and also unconvincing proof of concepts. The Treehouse stream, which you can see above, was a little better, as they started to look like some interesting and innovative takes on existing genres. Although right now, it may be easy to just dismiss them as unpolished tech demos, it would probably be unwise- from these rough tech demos, Miyamoto has wrought masterpieces before such as Pikmin, or crowd pleasers such as Wii Sports.

Whether or not Project Giant Robot/Project Guard end up in that same list of successes for him remains to be seen, but the man has earned our benefit of the doubt- if anyone can innovatively make a compelling case for the Wii U Gamepad, Miyamoto is it, so we’re going to watch just how this pet project of his turns out.

Itagaki, the creator of the Dead or Alive and modern Ninja Gaiden series at Tecmo, has a bit of a legacy- Ninja Gaiden Black is considered to be one of the finest action games of all time, and when he announced he would be following that up with something even more ambitious in Devil’s Third, people sat up and took notice. Then his publisher, THQ, dissolved, and the project was seemingly stuck in limbo, until along came Nintendo and rescued it, much like they did with Bayonetta 2, making it a Wii U exclusive.

That said, the game’s E3 re-debut was sort of botched. It looked rough around the edges and did not necessarily inspire confidence. Since then, the game has been on radio silence, though apparently the development is coming along well. Very well, in fact. According to the latest update made by Itagaki on his Facebook page about the game (translated by Gematsu), the new game will smash all previous standards of console multiplayer.

Here’s what he had to say:

I’d like to speak about development status of Devil’s Third in my own words, to the extent that I am allowed.

• Devil’s Third is a strong fusion between action games and shooters.
• Devil’s Third development is going smoothly. In other words, we finished editing the closing movie the other day.
• Devil’s Third will be released next year. Nintendo has already announced this in their press release.
• The scale of Devil’s Third‘s story mode is greater than that of Ninja Gaiden.
• Devil’s Third demolishes the standard of past console games in online multiplayer.
• Almost all specifications I wanted to do were implemented. I got an up-close look at the great forerunners Call of Duty, Battlefield, Gears of War, and my beloved Halo. On that basis, we added completely new level of playability that only we can create.
• Anyone can enjoy this game; from casual gamers to hard-core gamers. Let me put it this way. You guys can throw a fun party, or can kill each other in realistic war. You can play your heart out.
• This is all I can disclose to you today. I can’t tell you when the war will begin. It’s the way the world goes. I really want to tell you more, my fans waiting with crushing frustration.

Do you have faith that Devil’s Third will ultimately turn out okay? Whatever its ultimate fate may be, Nintendo deserves credit for funding games like it, The Wonderful 101, and Fatal Frame V.