SEGA rips our hearts out: Bayonetta 2 is a Wii U exclusive

[nuckles87]

Ah, good, this was already posted here. Was reading through the first part. Need to read the others, but this quote, I think, answers some questions:

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.

Platinum Games wanted to make the game brand stronger. They talked to SEGA. Ended up with Nintendo.

[max_cady]

Oh, I see... Apparentely the original game which was released on both PS3 and Xbox 360 (a combined pool of 100+ million users), is not a healthy enviroment for a franchise such as this to grow on. This apparentely is not enough for Platinum Games, am I going crazy?

Funny thing is, Bayonetta was originally intended as an Xbox 360 exclusive, but mean old SEGA didn't want Playstation 3 owners to be left out, even if they ended up with a sloppy port that required a few extra updates to get it right.

So making it exclusive to ONE console that hasn't even been released is the right approach, again I feel like I'm descending into madness. Considering the Wii's track record and SEGA's history with hardcore Wii-titles, this is one heck of a gamble.

Nintendo's strategy for the Wii-U remains largely unchanged from the previous console, which should be a warning to anyone who wants to do business with 'em...

[Aki-at]

Yeah...except the sequel was never announced and he was recently let go.

It's pretty obvious that Sega of Japan didn't exactly see eye to eye with him on the future of the Bayonetta series...or, evidently, the results he's been getting as of late.

To people saying that Nintendo snatched the game away from the 360 and PS3...really? How much money would that have had to take, to convince Sega to not only surrender ownership to their game, but to remove 2 platforms from the equation?

More likely, Sega cancelled the game and auctioned it off. Nintendo was interested.

So what evidence do you have of this? Outside of SEGA's silence?

And why does Nintendo have to pay SEGA? One of their closest third party publisher. They do own a license SEGA has used heavily over the past few years.

It is not likely at all, SEGA are focusing on strong selling IPs, Bayonetta is strong selling. It sold 460k less than Sonic Colours on Wii and DS in the same period. It would not be cancelled because of their restructuring, because it IS one of their best selling IPs. It sold 340k less than Aliens vs Predator in the same period for goodness sake! How would it be unlikely that Bayonetta is not a strong selling IP?

Nintendo has money but they're not Microsoft...

Nintendo has over $10 billion in reserve funds. Their war chest is big enough to pay for more than a dozen exclusives.

And money is not always the case when it comes to SEGA and Nintendo.

I know these quotes are mainly focusing on Sega's Western operations but Sega of Japan is too slimming down their retail business, focusing mainly on handhelds and Free to Play games. Hell, they basically named Nagoshi's team "Yakuza Studios."

This means nothing. Consumer Team #2 does not sound as good as Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.

Sure, shame on Sega for not giving enough faith to Bayonetta to put out a sequel on current gen consoles, but nothing but praise to Nintendo for bringing it back to life. Better WiiU than nothing I say.

Presumptions.

Me and Pao are not angry (Unlike a few other former members here) about the grief SEGA is getting when we have little to no idea what the deal was with this game.

[Barry the Nomad]

This is a crock of crap.  The xbox was about as much as a jump from the DC as the wiiu is supposedly to the current systems.  You're just mad because you don't want to shell out for a wiiu.  When kids were complaining that Sonic 4-2 wasn't coming to wii even though the first installment was on the wii, almost every forum member here essentially told them to suck it.  Enjoy your karmic punishment!

Why are you being mean to me? I never bullied Wii fans when it came to Sonic 4 Ep 2. I might have noted that the WiiWare file size limit was too small for the sequel but I was never an asshole about it.

None of this console war nonsense please.

[Sharky]

Okay, first let me say I am completely torn by this... I can't afford to own multiple consoles, girlfriends in college and I have to fly back and forth to visit and it's all a lot of money. So we decided that we'd only be buying one console from now on each generation and to be fair we ruled out the Wii-U pretty early on.

So this is pretty upsetting, Bayonetta was one of my favorite games of this entire generation and it's probably my girlfriends favorite game of all time... Such an awesome game should not be exclusive to any console. Finding the widest audience is not going to happen on one console... I don't know what P* are even thinking.

But I'm mostly angry at Sega about this... How could they possibly let this happen? They still own the IP I take it? So the ball is really in their park. To pass up publishing Bayonetta 2 is such a stupid mistake.

All in all, I'm really excited that Bayonetta 2 is happening... But I'm simply not buying a Wii-U until it is considerably cheaper. What a pain in the balls.

[Barry the Nomad]

Yeah, if I do get a Wii U, it'll be in a year and a half at the very least. I assume the game will just be releasing round then anyway. I'd be shocked if it came out mid 2013. However, like I noted before, I can't see myself getting a Wii U before a PS3. I still need to experience Yakuza, and I think the PS3 offers much more than a Wii U does. And if XBOX 720 or PS4 are announced before Bayo 2, I'll probably end up wanting one of those consoles.

But I feel your pain. One of my beefs with the Wii U is that it's basically a third HD console arriving to the party too late. The launch window library has shown that in terms of third party content, it'll have most of the same stuff the 360 and PS3 has. Sure it'll have exclusives, like this game and the usual stuff from Nintendo, but I just can't justify owning a 360, a Wii U AND a PS3 AND be looking forward to a next gen console. I know some people have the money, but I really don't. Sure I work and make a steady paycheck, but asking me to plunk down $350+ on a gaming purchase is not an easy decision, and when I do make that decision it comes very rarely. Last full priced console I bought was the 360 in 2009. Bought the Wii for $80 used in early 2011, and I bought a 3DS XL for $200 this year (had some trade in cash applied to that total).

Again, SEGA needs their own console so we don't have to juggle hardware!

[Pao]

Why don't you visit the front page?


Dude, I've got news for you; Sega's future retail plans were GUTTED. They have laid out their plans for their future retail games and they have clearly and succinctly stated that, going forward, they will be Sonic, Total War, Yakuza, Football Manager, and Aliens. That's it. The money that they would traditionally spend on a wide variety of retail software will be poured specifically into these IP. That's just the way it is, it's not even a rumor, it came right from Sega.

Bayonetta 2, needless to say, does not fit into those 5 categories.

Sega had shown no interest in continuing their partnership with Platinum Games, (and their partnership had ended even before the most recent re-structuring) so how would Sega be releasing Bayonetta 2, exactly, if it is not Sonic, Total War, Yakuza, Football Manager, and Aliens, and if they are no longer continuing their partnership with Platinum Games?

You seem to miss the keyword: "Focus on" meaning they will focus on those 5 specific franchises, but that does not mean they won't publish other IPs that they may deem successful, if SEGA claimed they will only publish those 5 franchises without exception, then you will have a point, fortunately, you don't.

Bayonetta was about just as successful as the last game in those 5 franchises, and Sega knows this, which makes cancellation of this game in mid-development highly unlikely... SEGA isn't short on money, they just want to be more profitable.

Can anyone name a time in history when a multiplatform release's other systems were cancelled in mid-development and made an exclusive? It doesn't happen very often, because such a move would be ridiculously expensive for any company.

You have no idea what kind of deal happened between SEGA and Nintendo, and how much Sega is getting from it, if it means Nintendo gets to do all the publishing, marketing, and maybe help funding it, it doesn't not seem far fetched for SEGA to cancel the other 2 platforms versions if they think this deal is more profitable and less risky.

[Ben]

It is not likely at all, SEGA are focusing on strong selling IPs, Bayonetta is strong selling.

But it's not a consistently bankable IP that can see a new installment every 1 or 2 years like the other ones listed. It's a niche action game that found some success but does not represent the future of where Sega intends to take their retail business. Unfortunately.

You have no idea what kind of deal happened between SEGA and Nintendo, and how much Sega is getting from it, if it means Nintendo gets to do all the publishing, marketing, and maybe help funding it, it doesn't not seem far fetched for SEGA to cancel the other 2 platforms versions if they think this deal is more profitable and less risky.

This is true, but if Sega felt so confident in this IP and this game, they wouldn't have given it up.


By the way, exclusives are nothing new for Sega. Nobody seemed to bat an eye when they had to buy a PS3 to play Yakuza games even though those could have been easily ported. In fact, many of you defended that decision with the argument that exclusives get more attention than multiplats.

So this is another case of that. I'm sorry that Sega didn't take your own (not directed at anyone here in particular, just making a point) personal system preferences into account when making Bayonetta 2.

But congratulations, now you know how I feel as a Sega fan who doesn't own a PS3.

[max_cady]

@-nSega54-

That would be the most probable scenario: Bayonetta 2 was most likely pitched to all the major contenders and only Nintendo decided to go with it. I do believe Nagoshi once stated that Yakuza's exclusivity had more to do with Microsoft's non-chalant atitude for anything that isn't their own ever-shrinking Microsoft Studios IPs. So I do concede that that might've been what happened behind closed doors.

Which is why I think there is a positive aspect to this and I'll try to get to the bottom of this before I blow another fuse... Maybe this should be taken by Sony and Microsoft as a wake-up call, especially Microsoft who thinks that three months of limited exclusivity is enough to justify buying an Xbox 360.

If Nintendo can persuade SEGA to have Bayonetta 2 exclusively on the Wii-U, what other major IPs (Rayman, for example) can they bring to the table.

Here's hoping for the best, hopefully SEGA can still have the option to port that game to the PS3 and Xbox 360 in the likely chance the game not meet sales expectations (like I said before "pull a Resident Evil 4" on Nintendo).

[CosmicCastaway]

What happened to Kamiya saying that he wanted to do another Viewtiful Joe before another Bayonetta? Or is he not working on this game?

[max_cady]

If the press releases are anything to go by, Kamiya is acting as producer for Bayonetta 2, not game director.

[Barry the Nomad]

I hope this game is awesome, but like I've said, what if it ends up being a step down from the first? Sometimes sequels improve on the original, other times... not so much.

Interested to see if they shoehorn in the gamepad for gameplay? I could see guiding bullets to their target a la the end of the first game.

Also, Enzo better fucking return!

[Randroid]

If they secure Vanquish as part of this new publishing deal, then boom, they win the next gen console wars for me.

If you consider games that:
Made it to the West
Aren't Multiplat
Never made it to PC

Then Bayonetta and Vanquish are the two best sega games hands down (you can argue Valkyria Chronicles).

Plus Colors was AWESOME. Best original Sonic game in a while by far.

PC trumps all consoles in graphics so if those two go exclusive to WiiU, then count me in.

I have no system loyalty anymore.

[Randroid]

I hope this game is awesome, but like I've said, what if it ends up being a step down from the first? Sometimes sequels improve on the original, other times... not so much.

True. Wouldn't be surprised. Bayonetta set the bar. I can't play action, beat'm ups anymore because none have the controls that Bayonetta has.

I have trouble imagining improvements and the villains might not be as compelling as the first.

(I fell so in love with this game)

[CrazyT]

Okay, first let me say I am completely torn by this... I can't afford to own multiple consoles, girlfriends in college and I have to fly back and forth to visit and it's all a lot of money. So we decided that we'd only be buying one console from now on each generation and to be fair we ruled out the Wii-U pretty early on.

So this is pretty upsetting, Bayonetta was one of my favorite games of this entire generation and it's probably my girlfriends favorite game of all time... Such an awesome game should not be exclusive to any console. Finding the widest audience is not going to happen on one console... I don't know what P* are even thinking.

But I'm mostly angry at Sega about this... How could they possibly let this happen? They still own the IP I take it? So the ball is really in their park. To pass up publishing Bayonetta 2 is such a stupid mistake.

All in all, I'm really excited that Bayonetta 2 is happening... But I'm simply not buying a Wii-U until it is considerably cheaper. What a pain in the balls.

I think you have to consider that bayonetta is an incredible system seller now. The WII U will be a fresh console with early games selling good numbers. Bayonetta is a big franchise with very loyal fans and it goes without saying that bayonetta, especially after seeing the reactions even here(and other places too), is going to be an incredible system seller. It won't make the same impact as a multiplatform, but since nintendo decided to publish it, it is defenitly going to benefit them as a console seller. I agree it sucks, but even at my house we are now actually considering to get a wii U after this news. Add everything else and i gotta give them credit for this, they are doing the best launch i've seen for a console in a long time.