Bayonetta 2 studio Platinum Games wants to work on Nintendo 3DS, PC next

Platinum Games' Atsushi Inaba discussed his studio's future after Bayonetta 2 in a new interview, citing Steam and 3DS as his destinations.

Platinum Games hasn’t had an easy year. While its first for-hire work on another company’s property, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, has gotten a steady stream of good press since its playable debut at E3 2012, Platinum’s only original title got bounced from a summer release and its future in the world market is in doubt. Japan got Anarchy Reigns, but Sega has yet to firm up details for the US and Europe. With a new partnership with Nintendo in place, though, Platinum’s future is looking bright, and the studio is discussing future opportunities.

What comes after Platinum’s debut work on Wii U? Maybe new games for Nintendo 3DS and Valve’s Steam.

Speaking with Polygon at the Tokyo Game Show, Platinum’s Atsushi Inaba talked about his company’s future beyond home consoles. He believes that many publishers, like his old Japanese employer Capcom, have been myopic about PC releases. For independent studios like Platinum though, PC represents an easy way to develop games without worrying about astronomically high budgets.

 “Many publishers don’t view PC as an important platform,” said Inaba, “Console game development budgets are really big so we need publishing partners to create those games. I was thinking—with our own money—about creating a PC title for Steam. It would give the possibility to become a publisher, which is very attractive to me. I view the PC as an area with huge potential. It would be great if we could do a Kickstarter and gather enough money for a game to be released on Steam.”

Self-publishing would also protect Platinum’s intellectual property as well. When the studio opened for business in 2008, its five game publishing deal with Sega came with the caveat that the publisher would own all of Platinum’s IP. That agreement put Bayonetta 2 at risk earlier this year. Sega reportedly cancelled the project, but Nintendo stepped in to save it as a Wii U exclusive.

Even as Platinum considers its independent future on PC, it’s also discussing strengthening its ties with Nintendo. Nintendo is publishing both Bayonetta 2 and Platinum’s latest original The Wonderful 101 on Wii U. Platinum wants to give Nintendo’s handheld some love going forward.

“We are very interested in the Nintendo 3DS as a platform,” said Inaba, “I view 3DS as a proper, straightforward evolution from a platform that has had huge success. Being able to view stereoscopic 3D with the naked eye is a great innovation, but very straightforward, so I’m very interested in it. Currently we have a lot of titles in development, and we cant fund a 3DS game ourselves, so there’s nothing in the works. But I’m very positive on it.”