Bayonetta was a niche action game for core fans. It middled out at close to 2 million unit sales globally, but wasn't enough to warrant the continuation of the franchise. Well, Nintendo decided to pick up the publishing rights of the second game as a Wii U exclusive and fans went off the chain utilizing explosive rage to condemn both Nintendo and Platinum Games.
Go Nintendo has a long list of gamer-rage at its finest. They label it as “absolutely disgusting”, following the news that Bayonetta 2 would not be coming to the Xbox 360 or PS3. What's more is that Platinum Games' Hideki Kamiya, the lead designer behind some of gaming's best franchises at Capcom and Platinum Games, was pelted with all sorts of inflammatory remarks and even one person going as far as to say that “it better release on the Xbox or I'll kill you.”
That comment really sets gamers back several spots on the wheel of cultural respect. Heck, even OJ Simpson would have to shake his head in shame on that one.
The raging flames got so bad and so vile that Platinum Games' CEO and president, Tatsuya Minami, had to make a public statement to quell the vitriol. According to DarkZero Videogame Magazine, Minami stated that...
As with Bayonetta, Bayonetta 2 is under development and production here at PlatinumGames, and is a true sequel to the acclaimed first game in the series. Bayonetta is one of our most beloved titles, and it played a large part in establishing PlatinumGames as an emerging game studio in the minds of users worldwide. Bayonetta has fans the world over, and we would never dream of alienating them from participating in the future of PlatinumGames.That being said, the console games market is in a state of upheaval, so establishing a new game franchise requires a considerable amount of will, determination, and love. Bayonetta is a brand that we want to see become stronger, reaching the hands of more and more gamers, so we have continued to consult with SEGA, the previous game’s publisher, on how we can make sure this takes place.Our answer was a new partnership with Nintendo.
It's true, the games market is in upheaval and it's moving, shifting and shaping into a whole new beast. The reality is that many developers have to refocus how they tackle game design and many publishers have to look at how they fund said development.
In reality, Bayonetta 2 was never properly green-lit at Sega and was already rumored to be canceled before getting a proper announcement. Due to the shift in the market and moderate sales of the first game, Sega just wasn't keen on risking the investment into a sequel that may not have turned them a profit. Hence, Nintendo stepped in and Platinum Games gets to bring the doomed sequel to at least one console.
The real question will be if the small amount of core fans of Bayonetta 2 will be inclined enough to buy a Wii U for the game or will the Wii U's success warrant a large enough install base to justify ample enough sales of Bayonetta 2? Only time will tell.
In the meantime, if the Bayonetta 2 exclusivity has you super riled up, you can always boycott the new game sales by buying the game used, which is part of a new petition going around over at the Bayonetta 2 Boycott page, as reported by GenGame. The only downside to the boycott is that you'll have to buy a Wii U and then hope Bayonetta 2 sells enough new copies to warrant the mass availability of used copies. Oh well, no one said the plan was perfect.
