Hideki Kamiya, known for his superb work on Bayonetta, Ōkami, Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry and Resident Evil 2, has spoken about the ongoing development of Bayonetta 3 for the Switch.
Bayonetta 3 For Switch: I’m Not Much For The Talkative Types
Somewhat ‘infamous’ for his tough stance on internet trolls and gaming immaturity, Kamiya responded with simple logic to why Bayonetta 3 is a Switch exclusive with the following tweets:
I’ve got something I want to tell you all. It’s about Bayonetta 3. (1/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
We are a developer that creates games by signing contracts with publishers and receiving funds from them in order to cover development costs. (2/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
For Bayonetta 1, we signed a contract with Sega and received funds from them, then we proposed a design for the game and entered production. All of the rights belong to Sega. (3/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
At the time, our company had only just been established, and we weren’t properly equipped for multiplatform development, so after discussing with Sega, we decided to develop the game exclusively for Xbox 360. (4/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
However, after that, one of Sega’s trading partners ended up making a port for PS3, at Sega’s behest. More recently, they also decided that a Steam version should be developed, which was released last year. Sega owns the rights to all of these versions. (5/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
When we started making Bayonetta 2, we initially received funds from Sega to develop the game for multiple platforms, but the project was halted due to circumstances at Sega. Nintendo then stepped in to continue funding the game, allowing us to finish it. (6/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
As such, the rights belong to Sega and Nintendo. The rights owners decided the game should be made for Wii U. (7/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
Nintendo was also kind enough to fund a port of Bayo 1 for Wii U, and they even allowed us to use the Japanese voice track we created for the Wii U version in the PC version of Bayo 1 as well. (8/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
I am extremely thankful to Nintendo for funding the game, and to Sega for allowing them to use the Bayonetta IP. (9/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
As for Bayonetta 3, it was decided from the start that the game was going to be developed using Nintendo’s funding. Without their help, we would not have been able to kick off this project. (10/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
All of the rights still belong to Sega and Nintendo. The rights owners decided that the game should be made for Switch. (11/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
Game development is a business. Each company has its own circumstances and strategies. Sometimes this means games get made, sometimes it means they get cancelled. (12/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
But I believe that every single person involved is dedicated to delivering the best possible experience. I know that, to me at least, that’s one of the biggest goals when I set to work. (13/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
I cannot express how happy I am that we get to make Bayonetta 3, and we intend to do everything within our power to make it as good as it can be. That’s all we can do, and we consider it our greatest mission. (14/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
It took a while for production of Bayonetta 3 to be okayed, but now that it has kicked off, I hope it will turn into a wonderful encounter for all of you. (15/15)
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) February 13, 2018
Kamiya makes some great points about the difficulties of game development and implies, as most with any realistic view or sense of maturity about them would assume, that companies such as SEGA and Nintendo have an amicable business relationship. That is, after all, what the game industry is: a business. And all businesses need money to survive.
As for those ‘upset’ about Bayonetta 3 being an exclusive, it’s clear without both Nintendo and SEGA that Bayonetta 3 wouldn’t exist in the first place. Probably something to think about before the next rant on Twitter.