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In an interview with Fumihiko Yasuda, President of Team Ninja and Producer of Ninja Gaiden 4, he shared why PlatinumGames was chosen to work on this entry in what had been an otherwise dormant series. The interview also went into some detail about new characters that will appear in Ninja Gaiden 4 and some design decisions that have been made concerning it's combat. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

When asked why Team Ninja decided to collaborate with Platinum Games for Ninja Gaiden 4, Yasuda said this:

In recent years, we have produced some titles that were big challenges for us, namely Nioh 2 And Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. But over the years, we've also learned a lot by handling the IPs of other companies.. So the idea of developing Ninja Gaiden 4 with PlatinumGames, who has already produced excellent action games, was already quite attractive. That said, we are deeply involved in the development of the game. This includes Masakazu Hirayama, who was the Director of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.

Yasuda went on to mention that while Team Ninja has shifted to creating more "historical RPGs," (the Nioh series and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty) that Ninja Gaiden 4 will allow the team to focus on "pure action."

When asked about the popularity of parrying and other evasive actions in action games and if Ninja Gaiden 4 will follow this trend, Yuji Nakao of PlatinumGames mentioned that while he couldn't say much yet, that there are certain attacks that will let you turn the tables on your opponent. He went on to say that the team is proud in the the unique combat system they've managed to produce for the title.

Ninja Gaiden 4 will come to the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC in Fall 2025.

The post Why PlatinumGames Is Working on Ninja Gaiden 4 appeared first on Siliconera.

A limited-time Bayonetta pop up store will appear in Hong Kong to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the series. 30 merchandise goods exclusive to the store will be available between January 24 and February 16, 2025.

The store will be located in the Assemble Nintendo Switch Specialty Store in the Hopewell Cluster mall of Hong Kong. The venue will be decorated like Rodin’s bar “The Gates of Hell” from the Bayonetta game series. Manufacturer IIJAN announced that the merchandise goods will also be available for international fans, and pre-orders will open at a later date.

You can check out some of the announced Bayonetta goods that will be on sale below.

• Bayonetta Sitting Plush Big – 6,050 yen (~$38.77)
• Bayonetta Sitting Plush Mascot Size – 4,290 yen (~$27.49)
• Inferno Bandana – 3,080 yen (~$19.74)
• The Gates of Hell Cap – 4,950 yen (~$31.72)
• Result Medal-Style Pin Badges (8 available) – 660 yen each (~$4.23)

And here’s how the goods look:

Aside from this new collection, developer PlatinumGames recently announced the opening of a Bayonetta 15th anniversary site as the release of a music box.

The Bayonetta pop up store will appear between January 24 and February 16, 2025 in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong.

The post Rodin’s Bar Sells Merchandise at Bayonetta Pop up Store appeared first on Siliconera.

Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct 2025 on January 23, 2025 kicked off with Ninja Gaiden 4, a new game in the series being developed by PlatinumGames and Team Ninja. The initial trailer confirmed that while Ninja Gaiden icon Ryu Hayabusa will be present, the hero this time around will be a new character named Yakumo from the Raven clan who is pitted against Ryu. It'll be out in Fall 2025, and it will be a part of Xbox Game .

In Ninja Gaiden 4, the Dark Dragon alive is confirmed to be alive, causing rain to fall on Tokyo and fiends to appear. Yakumo heads out to save Tokyo to save the day. However, Ryu is there with his own agenda. The two will end up facing off against each other during the story, as we see in one of the early segments during the presentation, with us learning more about what’s happening in Tokyo and with both clans along the way. Both characters will be playable, and each will have their own fighting style and moveset.

Here’s the Xbox Developer Direct 2025 Showcase, which started with the new Ninja Gaiden game and featured commentary from PlatinumGames after.

Ninja Gaiden 4 will come to the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC in Fall 2025.

The post PlatinumGames Working on New Ninja Gaiden 4 Game appeared first on Siliconera.

PlatinumGames has opened a new webpage on its official site to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Bayonetta. The new page is available in both Japanese and English.

Even though Sega first released Bayonetta for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in Japan in late October 2009, PlatinumGames opted to start celebrating the game's 15th anniversary in January 2025 to coincide with its global releases. Sega subsequently released Bayonetta on the same platforms in North America on January 5, 2010, in Australia on January 7, 2010, and in Europe on January 8, 2010.

The company that developed the Bayonetta video game series will use the new webpage to share new smartphone wallpapers with an optional calendar every month. The January 2025 wallpaper features Bayonetta and Jeanne with Japanese attires to symbolize the New Year festival season.

On the same webpage, PlatinumGames also shared the new Bayonetta music box, which Wayo Records will release in Q1 2025 for €220.00. The latter will design the music box after Bayonetta's Super Mirror, and it will play Masami Ueda's "Theme of Bayonetta - Mysterious Destiny" for 30 seconds with 10 loops.

The first Bayonetta is available on not only the PS3, Xbox 360, and Switch, but also PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, and PC worldwide.

The post Bayonetta 15th Anniversary Site and Merchandise Shared appeared first on Siliconera.

In a Japanese interview between Hideki Kamiya and CLOVERS Inc CEO Kento Koyama and DenFamiNicoGamer, which the latter published shortly after the reveal of the Okami sequel, Kamiya discussed his departure from PlatinumGames. It also went over the new studio and Okami 2. [Thanks, DenFamiNicoGamer!]

Hideki Kamiya noted that he started having disagreements with PlatinumGames CEO Atsushi Inaba about the company's direction beginning around April 2023. The two continued arguing for about three months until July 2023, which is when they concluded that they could no longer reach an agreement. This immediately resulted in Kamiya's impending departure on October 12, 2023, even though the announcement would not go public until September 2023.

Even though Kento Koyama could leave PlatinumGames and establish CLOVERS Inc. in October 2023, Hideki Kamiya did not it right away, as he set up a YouTube channel in the same month. Koyama confirmed in the Japanese interview that Kamiya had a non-compete clause that required him to be unemployed for a year. That's why the CEO was only able to formally recruit Kamiya to the company's ranks on October 13, 2024, in order to respect the clause.

Kento Koyama also has a deep connection with Hideki Kamiya, as the former was the producer of the still-barely-revealed Project G.G. Neither Kamiya nor Koyama know about the project's ultimate fate following their departures. PlatinumGames still has yet to provide an update to the project as of the end of 2024 either.

Hideki Kamiya's journey has come full circle with all the recent announcements. Okami was the last title he directly worked on at Clover Studio before he left it in July 2006, ahead of Capcom's dissolution of the subsidiary at the end of the fiscal year. When Capcom confirmed the Okami sequel at The Game Awards 2024, it also revealed that Hideki Kamiya and CLOVERS would be part of the new game's development team.

However, Kamiya also noted in the interview that CLOVERS would not be a simple rehash of Clover Studio. During a discussion with Koyama, Kamiya noted that the name CLOVERS could be split to "C LOVERS." After brainstorming the meaning of C, which started with Kamiya's "Creative" input, the two came up with three more meanings: "Challenge," "Craftsmanship," and a fourth C that would be up to each individual.

Kamiya also added that he is more interested in working on AA and lower-scaled games than the massive AAA projects. Near the end of the interview, he announced that—despite having split away from PlatinumGames—he would be completely open to collaborating with his former company by having CLOVERS develop a new game based on an IP owned by PlatinumGames.

As of the end of 2024, Hideki Kamiya is leading CLOVERS' game studio in developing the sequel to Okami for Capcom. The companies have yet to announce the sequel's release window and platforms.

The post Hideki Kamiya Explained Why He Left PlatinumGames appeared first on Siliconera.

PlatinumGames announced the release of the same model of glasses that Bayonetta uses in Bayonetta 3. The pair of glasses costs 38,500 yen (or about $256.50) and are now available from the Rakuten 3glass online store. Rakuten only ships to Japan.

The left leg includes a golden moon symbol with a blue crystal at temple length, and the right leg has a golden sun symbol with a red crystal engraved. Both legs are decorated with golden star symbols, and the temple part is inspired by Bayonetta’s wicked weave and her magic hair attacks. Additionally, the glasses come with a special gray case, and the Bayonetta 3 logo is engraved on it.

You can take a better look at the new Bayonetta 3 glasses here:

The Bayonetta glasses are available only in black, but Rakuten offers the option to change the color for an extra 5,500 yen (~$36.60). Different options for the lenses are available as well. The option to add non-prescription standard lenses costs 5,500 yen (~$36.60,) standard prescription lenses cost an additional 11,000 yen (~$73.30,) thin prescription lenses cost 22,000 yen (~$146.60,) and super thin prescription lenses require an extra 33,000 yen (~$220).

In other Bayonetta 3 news, Movic and Animate announced in August 2023 that a Bayonetta 3 clock would release in Japan on March 2024.

The Bayonetta 3 glasses cost 38,500 yen (~$256.50) and are now available for purchase in Japan from the Rakuten 3glass online store. Bayonetta 3 is immediately available for the Nintendo Switch.

The post You Can Now Own the Official Bayonetta 3 Glasses appeared first on Siliconera.

Now that NieR Automata is seven years old, artists from developer PlatinumGames shared an array of art of 2B and 9S for every fan to enjoy. There are seven pieces in total. 

The selection consists of both people who worked on the original game and others from the studio. NieR Automata Cutscene Illustration Artist Tomoko Nishii submitted a 2B piece, for example. Artists who worked on other games include Mai Ishimaru, who was a Bayonetta 3 concept artist, and other concept artists with the company like Yukiya Sasaya. 

Here is the full gallery of all seven pieces of 2B and 9S art for the NieR Automata anniversary celebration for every fan to peruse:

We also learned another interesting tidbit as the game turned seven years old. There have been eight million copies sold worldwide. People could celebrate that announcement with the new 2B and 9S wines that were aged while songs from the game’s soundtrack played.

NieR Automata is available on the PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and Windows PC. There is also an anime adaptation that is available to stream via Crunchyroll.

The post PlatinumGames Shares NieR Automata Anniversary Art of 2B and 9S appeared first on Siliconera.

Nintendo published a new Bayonetta 3 blog post detailing some of the game's hidden trivia, such as rare combat techniques. One of the segments in this post focused on easter eggs from Astral Chain, which just like Bayonetta 3, was developed by PlatinumGames.

The newer game's Shibuya stage features an indestructible statue of Lappy, the mascot dog of Astral Chain's police force, which can drop Halos when attacked. However, the stage also has more easter eggs from the same title other than just that.

One of the ments that appear in the Shibuya 101 building features the fictional jewelry brand Ilyndho. The same brand and items also appeared in Astral Chain, as shown on the right side screenshot.

The Bayonetta 3 Shibuya stage also features a branch of the Larger Burger restaurant chain, although it is closed and inaccessible.

Nintendo also shared footage from the office battle cutscene. It briefly shows the vending machine's smiley face on a monitor blown away by the enemy attack.

At the end of the segment, Nintendo's blog writer reminded readers that Bayonetta 3 features a Multiverse where multiple worlds run in the same time axis. They even wondered whether the Astral Chain world could also be part of the Multiverse.

Astral Chain and Bayonetta 3 share a good number of similarities. PlatinumGames developed both games, and Nintendo published them exclusively on the Switch. Astral Chain came out first in August 2019. Bayonetta 3 followed suit later in October 2022.

Bayonetta 3 and Astral Chain are both available worldwide on Nintendo Switch.

The post Astral Chain Easter Eggs in Bayonetta 3 Explained appeared first on Siliconera.

During a at G-STAR 2023 in South Korea, Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito, the producer and director of NieR: Automata, delved into the production and development process of the game. To conclude the presentation, Saito revealed that he and Taro are currently working together on a new game project separate from the NieR series. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

When asked if Yoko Taro believed the success he achieved from NieR: Automata could ever happen again, he fervently denied the notion that such an outcome was possible. Given the popularity of NieR: Automata, the high sales figures would be a difficult record to break. “It’s completely impossible,” Yoko Taro claimed.

Yosuke Saito attributed the success of the game to the well-balanced team that came together to work on it. The composer (Keiichi Okabe), game designer (Takahisa Taura), and character designer (Akihiko Yoshida) were all praised for their talents, but both Saito and Yoko Taro agreed that it was not their combined skill alone that made their team work. It was the team’s close relationship and balance between what the producer and director prioritized that carried the project to success. They were able to share a common vision for what they wanted the game to become.

Yoko Taro also claimed that originally, he only prioritized appealing to the taste of Japanese players, since that was all he understood. Additionally, he didn’t mind the idea of being ed by a niche market outside of Japan. That’s how he settled on the main character being a “gothic lolita girl wielding a Japanese sword.” From there, he aimed to create a game that was difficult to be compared to existing works.

Finally, Yosuke Saito ended the presentation by commenting that he would continue to work as a producer for the NieR series so long as Yoko Taro is alive. Additionally, he hinted that he would like to reveal his new project with Taro sometime in 2024.

The post NieR Automata’s Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito Working on New Game appeared first on Siliconera.

In late December 2023, NieR Automata game streaming audio mixers from Yamaha will appear. Two game streaming audio mixers in colors inspired by 2B and 9S will be produced, and they will cost $329.95 each. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The NieR Automata gaming audio mixers will allow the to adjust the volume of each input sound source they use while streaming. (For example, game audio and voice chat are two of the options.) It can be connected to PCs, consoles, and smart devices, and it offers Discord and OBS/Streamlabs . It will also allow the to adjust the microphone with compression, limiter, reverb, pitch, radio voice, echo, and other voice effects. All of these settings can be fine-tuned from the ZG controller app, where you can save and customize presets.

The model based off of 2B’s color scheme will be called “ZG01 042,” and the 9S model will be “ZG01 153.” These numbers are in reference to the main characters’ respective pods. ZG01 042 is white, and ZG01 153 is black in color.

View the teaser trailer for the NieR Automata audio mixers from Yamaha Global below:

NieR Automata is available to play on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PCs via Steam. The Nier: Automata Ver1.1a anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

The post NieR Automata Game Streaming Audio Mixers Release in December appeared first on Siliconera.

PlatinumGames team and artists released Bayonetta 3 first anniversary art, and one of the most notable pieces is a family portrait of characters with spoilers. There are five pieces total, with the one having a spoiler-free version of it.

First, here are the pieces of Bayonetta 3 art that don’t involve spoilers for the game. Series character Mari Shimazaki designer created one of Bayonetta and Viola. PlatinumGames’ Makoto Hoshina drew Gomorrah. Daible, another PlatinumGames artist, drew Bayonetta as well. Finally, the last image that isn’t a major spoiler is from PlatinumGames’ Masami Ichikawa, who worked on PR and merchandise for the title. That image shows Bayonetta as she appeared in all three entries.

Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for Bayonetta 3 below. 2f5t23

As for the Bayonetta 3 characters appearing in the first anniversary family photo, that art was drawn by PlatinumGames’ Curie Baek. It features Bayonetta with Luka, and it has Viola as a toddler and his shoulders. The version with the spoilers hidden looks as though Viola drew Cheshire on top of the picture.

Bayonetta 3 is available for the Nintendo Switch.

The post Bayonetta 3 First Anniversary Art Includes a Family Portrait of Characters appeared first on Siliconera.

Game designer Hideki Kamiya followed the trend started by Masahiro Sakurai and created his own YouTube channel. On his first video, the creative briefly talked about his decision to leave PlatinumGames, as well as his future plans. Kamiya also reiterated that he is not retiring from the industry and he plans to continue making games in the future.

Kamiya revealed that he made the decision to leave PlatinumGames about 3 months ago, around July 2023. He also said that he feels very refreshed after leaving, and he’s been enjoying his paid vacations while watching TV.

When asked about his reason for leaving PlatinumGames, Kamiya said the following:

How can I put it… There’s no way I can put it. You guys understand, right? I’d say, I left the company because I wanted to follow my beliefs as a game creator. And to choose the path I think is right and move on.

Additionally, Kamiya shared that he will be unable to work on the same industry for a year, following his departure from PlatinumGames. While the creative gave no details, the reason for this is possibly due to a non-compete agreement, or another type of legally binding clause that impedes him from engaging in the trade for a period of time.

You can watch the first YouTube video that Hideki Kamiya ed below. The video is in Japanese, but it includes English subtitles via YouTube’s closed captions.

Kamiya half-jokingly stated that he plans to videos that will be “completely useless” in regards to the process of making games, as well as be “completely education free.” As an example, the creative included pictures, and documented the process of one of his first homemade recipes after his newfound unemployment.

The post Hideki Kamiya Starts YouTube Channel, Talks About Leaving Platinum appeared first on Siliconera.

PlatinumGames and Hideki Kamiya announced that the developer will be parting ways with the studio on October 12, 2023. Both the company and the developer shared messages on their social media platforms. Kamiya has served as vice-president for the company since 2017. Some of Kamiya’s most notable titles during his time with PlatinumGames include the Bayonetta series, The Wonderful 101, Astral Chain, and most recently 2022’s Sol Cresta.

Here is PlatinumGames’ message on the departure of Hideki Kamiya from the company:

However, the departure of Kamiya from PlatinumGames on October 12, 2023 doesn’t mark the end of his career. The company wished him the best on his new trajectory, and Kamiya himself reassured fans that he will “continue to create in (his) Hideki Kamiya way”.

Here are Kamiya’s own words about the recent news:

Hideki Kamiya, alongside Shinji Mikami and Atsuhi Inaba, founded Seeds Inc. in 2006 after the closure of Capcom’s Clover Studios. The company would later merge with Tatsuya Minami’s Odd Inc. in October 2007 to create what we know as PlatinumGames today.

In early 2020, PlatinumGames announced that the company would take a new trajectory, with a new studio focused on developing games as a service. One of such titles was Babylon’s Fall which released March 3, 2022 and shut down on February 27, 2023, short of a year after its release.

The post Hideki Kamiya Is Parting Ways With PlatinumGames appeared first on Siliconera.

Bandai’s Tamashii Nations is producing a new posable 9S action figure from Nier:Automata. It is a part of the SH Figuarts line and has a planned release window of February 2024. It will cost 8,000 yen ($54.34) before tax. Pre-orders will be open in Japan starting on September 1, 2023 at AmiAmi and the Tamashii Nations Amazon store page.

The figure is made of ABS and PVC materials. It stands at about 145 millimeters tall, or about 5.7 inches. Some parts of the figure, such as the clothing, are made up of soft plastic to allow for ease of mobility when putting the figure in different poses. He can also be posed alongside the SH Figuarts figure of his partner from the game, 2B. An additional face plate features him without his mask.

The optional parts the 9S figure includes are the following:

• Cruel Oath sword
• Eight hand parts (five left, three right)
• Five hand parts
• Four face parts
• Pod 153
• Posing stand
• Swappable hair part

Get a closer look at the figure in the gallery below:

[gallery ids="980900,980901,980902,980903" link="file"]

The 9S SH Figuarts NieR:Automata figure is planned to release February 2024. NieR:Automata is available to play on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Its anime adaptation is streaming on Crunchyroll, and there is a second cour currently in development.

The post SH Figuarts NieR: Automata Figure of 9S Arrives After 2B appeared first on Siliconera.

NieR series Producer Yosuke Saito teased on his Twitter that a new event to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the release of NieR Automata is currently being planned. The event is aimed to appear on Fall 2023 in Japan. The announcement included a picture specifying that the event was still under consideration, and it could be a public live broadcast with spectators. More information will appear in the future.

You can check out the original announcement by Yosuke Saito here:

https://twitter.com/SaitoYosuke_Z/status/1683091442552705025

The picture attached to the tweet included the NieR Automata logo, and it translates to:

“A live broadcast to commemorate the 6th anniversary [of the game] will be held.

A public broadcast (with spectators) is currently under consideration.

Please wait for further announcement.”

Additionally, Yosuke Saito said that he briefly mentioned the new NieR Automata event in the past, and that it will receive a proper announcement somewhere else in the future. The producer also mentioned that if the event goes through, it will probably be held in Fall 2023.

Since the event has not been formally announced, the details regarding it might differ once more information comes in the future.

As a reminder, the Nier Automata Ver1.1a anime adaptation received episodes 9 through 12 on July 23, 2023, and the anime will have a second cour.

NieR Automata is available for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

The post Yosuke Saito Teases Nier Automata 6th Anniversary Event appeared first on Siliconera.