Gaming Bayonetta 2 announced as Wii-U exclusive

[Gahars]

It's better than nothing. I mean, there's no real reason to complain since the game would be non-existent if it weren't coming to the Wii U. The result must surely be less disappointing than not seeing a sequel at all.

You can be happy the game is coming out and disappointed that you can't play it. They're not mutually exclusive feelings.

I mean, I wouldn't take fault with SNES/N64-owning Final Fantasy fans who were disappointed when the series jumped ship to the Playstation. It's no different here.

Having to pay "$299+" (not going to split hairs here), well, that's the point of exclusives, isn't it? The companies try and entice you into a purchase by offering you something another platform can't. Arguably, if Nintendo had secured more exclusives then fewer people would be complaining about this one. And it's not going to be $299 forever (or probably even that much longer). The Wii U will end up as the budget platform of this generation just like the Wii was. In a few years, the cost will be $100 for a used console and Bayonetta 2 will be in a bargain bin for $10-15, and by then we might be lucky enough that there are more good games on the Wii U to make the purchase a better investment.

Even then, to use your numbers, $115 is a lot of money for just one game, not to mention the extra wait time that brings. If Nintendo had made the Wii U into a vibrant, healthy platform in the first place, this wouldn't be as much of a concern.

Just to give my own two cents here, I think Bayonetta 2 is a terrible investment for Nintendo. This isn't a long running franchise with a devoted following. The first game only managed to sell a million or so copies, and its fanbase is pretty niche. How many people were they really expecting to win over with this?

It's nice that they're supporting Platinum Gmaes and all, but from a business perspective, I don't think it's a smart move.

I never played Bayonetta, and I'm too darn lazy to look for reviews and gameplay videos. Can someone sum up the game for me?

All the "cuhrazy" action of Devil May Cry with more emphasis on butts, basically.

Do you think there are people who are buying the Xbone just to play Call of Duty? It was, after all, one of the three selling points at their E3 conference.

Call of Duty has a sizable fanbase on the 360 and a lot of people purchase consoles to play with their friends, so I don't doubt it. If I love playing CoD with all my buddies and they're getting the next one on the Xbone, I'll probably follow suit.

It might not be all that significant, but I'm sure it's there at least somewhat.

 

[McHaggis]

You can be happy the game is coming out and disappointed that you can't play it. They're not mutually exclusive feelings.

I mean, I wouldn't take fault with SNES/N64-owning Final Fantasy fans who were disappointed when the series jumped ship to the Playstation. It's no different here.

Right, I'm merely reiterating the silver lining. Something is better than nothing. Chin up, and whatnot.

Even then, to use your numbers, $115 is a lot of money for just one game, not to mention the extra wait time that brings. If Nintendo had made the Wii U into a vibrant, healthy platform in the first place, this wouldn't be as much of a concern.

Sure, $115 is a lot of money for just one game. But I think at that point the Wii U will―if it doesn't already―likely cater at least a few games to the average player's tastes.

Just to give my own two cents here, I think Bayonetta 2 is a terrible investment for Nintendo. This isn't a long running franchise with a devoted following. The first game only managed to sell a million or so copies, and its fanbase is pretty niche. How many people were they really expecting to win over with this?

It's nice that they're supporting Platinum Gmaes and all, but from a business perspective, I don't think it's a smart move.

I wholeheartedly agree, I'd much rather have seen them put their money into securing a more high profile exclusive (though maybe they tried). At this point, I think it's pretty much guaranteed Nintendo will lose money on it. I wasn't all that impressed by the demo for The Wonderful 101, either. I think that Platinum were an easy target for Nintendo to approach. Japanese, relatively small and, dare I say cheap?

A pretty smooth example of the "send in the crazy hardnut to slice through an army", in this case the army are quite literal medieval style angels of the batshit insane (and arguably more accurate than the white dude with wings approach popularised ever since) art style.


It was undoubtedly a great example of the gameplay style, though such a style had a reasonable selection at the time and it was not exactly head and shoulders above those which has since rendered it as a good example of the gameplay style and not a lot more. If you like the gameplay style then you could do worse, depending upon your preferences within it you could do better (being made by the Devil May Cry dude it is pretty much that, the style has diverged a lot though) and there may even be broadly better games.

Well, I enjoyed the first two Devil May Cry games, so maybe I'll look into it. Cheers.

 

[Bimmel]

I wholeheartedly agree, I'd much rather have seen them put their money into securing a more high profile exclusive (though maybe they tried). At this point, I think it's pretty much guaranteed Nintendo will lose money on it. I wasn't all that impressed by the demo for The Wonderful 101, either. I think that Platinum were an easy target for Nintendo to approach. Japanese, relatively small and, dare I say cheap?

I second this - Nintendo is loosing money for sure. Not that it would hurt them.

Hm.. how big is Platinum Games anyway McHaggis? Never thought about that to be honest.

 

[tbgtbg]

There was a Final Fantasy game released for the GameCube and the GameBoy.

No, there was a completely different game with the Final Fantasy name tacked onto it released for the GameCube. And unless you mean ports of the NES/SNES games, the same goes for anything called Final Fantasy on any version of the Gameboy

But it didn't sell well for the same reasons that Mario wouldn't sell on the Playstation.

You straight trippin, homie. Mario (a real one anyway, lest you bring up Hotel Mario on the CDI) would sell no matter the system.

 

[TripleSMoon]

I never played Bayonetta, and I'm too darn lazy to look for reviews and gameplay videos. Can someone sum up the game for me?

My girlfriend and I just beat the game last month, so I'll sum it up in three descriptions, for you.

• Japanese Fanservice: The Game
• More than meets the eye
• Accessible, yet hardcore

Keep in mind I've never really played a beat'em'up/hack'n'slash/spectacle fighter that I cared enough to finish before, so I can't compare Bayonetta much to others in its genre except that... well, it's the only one so far that's held my interest enough to finish. It's the first new IP in quite a few years that I seriously loved, and I consider it to be one of the best games I've ever played. Gameplaywise, it's deceptively complex, despite being easy enough for newbs to the genre (like myself) to play. Story, character, and theming-wise, it comes to be a bit deeper and more masterfully written than you mightexpect from a game that has fanservice, sexuality, and campiness as its most apparent qualities. Iit's not a perfect game, but it comes pretty damn close.

(Insert obligatory disclaimer saying this is only my opinion, blah blah blah.) Anyway, make of that what you will.

 

[Wisenheimer]

I second this - Nintendo is loosing money for sure. Not that it would hurt them.

Hm.. how big is Platinum Games anyway McHaggis? Never thought about that to be honest.

I doubt they would have financed the game if they thought they were going to lose money. I would suspect that they could break even with as little as 500K sales and almost certainly turn a profit with 1 million sales.

Does it have more risk than Mario 3D World? Absolutely, but I trust that one of Japan's largest businesses that has been publishing video games since the 1970's knows a thing or two about how to turn a profit on a video game.

 

[Bimmel]

I doubt they would have financed the game if they thought they were going to lose money. I would suspect that they could break even with as little as 500K sales and almost certainly turn a profit with 1 million sales.

Does it have more risk than Mario 3D World? Absolutely, but I trust that one of Japan's largest businesses that has been publishing video games since the 1970's knows a thing or two about how to turn a profit on a video game.

Got a point there.. they sure know how to run business.

Give me a hand here with the numbers. We are 7 Billion people on earth - how many can actually buy Bayonetta? What's the price for a brand new videogame in the US? 60 Dollar? Would be interesting if we could do a little math here - even if we dont know how much Yen / Dollar / Whatever Nintendo gave in this project.

 

[Wisenheimer]

Just do an order of magnitude estimate. Assume that a video game like this cost $10 million to develop and that Nintendo makes $10 in net profit on each sale.

That means that they turn a profit somewhere in the 500,000-1.5 million sales territory. I don't think it is unreasonable that Nintendo can expect sales of the product to be in that range.

Plus, you also have to figure that some people are going to buy a Wii U just to play it. Just come up with an estimate 1% sales of the software will move a new Wii U and that the Wii U will have an average attach rate of 10 software units and an average profit of $10 on each software sale.

That is a million dollars right there, which is a significant portion of the development costs of the game.

 

[Bladexdsl]

Lots of ifs and maybes. How do you feel about this? The more gamers voice their opinions, the more accurate results we can get on whether or not this is actually good.

Do you think there are people who are buying the Xbone just to play Call of Duty? It was, after all, one of the three selling points at their E3 conference.


There was a Final Fantasy game released for the GameCube and the GameBoy.

you mean crystal chronicles? they are not FF games they are a big spinoff joke. and the one they released on the wii is even worse.

 

[trumpet-205]

I doubt they would have financed the game if they thought they were going to lose money. I would suspect that they could break even with as little as 500K sales and almost certainly turn a profit with 1 million sales.

Does it have more risk than Mario 3D World? Absolutely, but I trust that one of Japan's largest businesses that has been publishing video games since the 1970's knows a thing or two about how to turn a profit on a video game.

Nintendo has yet to make profit from Wonderful 101. Nintendo funded the entire development cost, after Sega backed out of its partnership with Platinum Game. When Nintendo funded Platinum Game, it was under the assumption that Wii U was doing well.

 

[calmwaters]

you mean crystal chronicles? they are not FF games they are a big spinoff joke. and the one they released on the wii is even worse.

Well that's probably why I liked it (not the GameBoy version and I never heard of the Wii one; must've been like Destroy All Humans 3...) I would like FF 3 or 4, but the rest are just lame. *shields himself from the flames of wrath*

 

[Wisenheimer]

Nintendo has yet to make profit from Wonderful 101. Nintendo funded the entire development cost, after Sega backed out of its partnership with Platinum Game. When Nintendo funded Platinum Game, it was under the assumption that Wii U was doing well.

No doubt, not every product will be a success, although that particular game has only been out a few months. It probably is a good indicator on why so many companies are unwilling to back something new but rather mostly fund sequels, just like Hollywood these days.

 

[McHaggis]

Does it have more risk than Mario 3D World? Absolutely, but I trust that one of Japan's largest businesses that has been publishing video games since the 1970's knows a thing or two about how to turn a profit on a video game.

They're may turn a profit (eventually), but that doesn't make it a wise investment or a great business decision.

[...]Assume that a video game like this cost $10 million to develop[...]

The question is, could that money have been better spent elsewhere? The answer is probably "yes".

 

[Wisenheimer]

They're may turn a profit (eventually), but that doesn't make it a wise investment or a great business decision.


The question is, could that money have been better spent elsewhere? The answer is probably "yes".

Even the wisest people cannot always make the best decision, but I have quite a bit of faith that one of Japan's largest companies, a company that has been in the game publishing business since the 1970's, is capable of deciding which games will be financially successful for their company. The empirical evidence shows this to be true.

I am not a market analyst, and I doubt anyone here is. I am just someone who enjoys the end product.

 

[Ulieq]

Who dug this guy out of the time capsule?

 

[Bimmel]

Who dug this guy out of the time capsule?

Me! Witch-Time makes everything possible! ; P

 

[goku2057]

In Nintendo's history, they have had 2 years in the red since the 80s. I'm sure they'll pull out of it.

 

[Bimmel]

Somebody get the lyrics of the new theme song in the trailer?

 

[FAST6191]

In Nintendo's history, they have had 2 years in the red since the 80s. I'm sure they'll pull out of it.

When I get to use the words "second consecutive annual loss", trends have generally been downward for years, such trends were largely masked by handheld dominance that Android and co have finally cracked (and not a moment too soon) or the Wii (which also dropped off years before its successor) and general trends seem to be away from what Nintendo is doing then you might be accused of optimism.