With the recent announcement that Bayonetta 2 will be a WiiU exclusive, many fans have lashed out at Platinum Games and Nintendo. Some have wrongfully criticized Platinum Games for alienating their fanbase, while others chastise Nintendo for trying to ‘lure’ gamers into buying the WiiU by snatching up exclusives. I am here to tell you why this situation is nothing to be mad about.

As it turns out, Bayonetta‘s original publisher, Sega, pulled the plug on Bayonetta 2 in order to focus on their core franchises. Thus, without Nintendo stepping in to publish the game, Bayonetta 2 would not even happen. With that knowledge, Platinum Games‘ decision to go ahead with Nintendo‘s publishing agreement seems to be more of a fan service then alienation to me. At least this way, fans do have the ability to play the game if they choose to. If anyone is to blame for the situation that drove Bayonetta 2 to WiiU exclusivity it would have to be Sega for backing out of production. Hell, even Microsoft or Sony for not jumping in to help Platinum Games finish the project(assuming they didn’t offer). I simply don’t see how Platinum Games or even Nintendo could be seen as the bad guys here.

In regards to the claim that Nintendo is trying to buy up exclusives and essentially force fans to buy their system in order to play Bayonetta 2… Well, that one’s right on the mark. That being said, what company doesn’t try to acquire more exclusives in order to make their console more lucrative? After all, the one complaint against Nintendo throughout the last 10 years is that their systems have lacked 3^rd party support(along with having poor online service). Hell, in just the last 10 weeks or so, gamers have looked down at the WiiU for not having enough exclusives worth buying the system for (A claim universal for all console launches). Bayonetta 2‘s exclusivity is Nintendo‘s first step towards fixing a decade’s worth of neglect when it comes to 3^rd parties.

But why all the hate on Nintendo? Considering they are essentially making Bayonetta 2 possible, it’s rather surprising. Fans feel like this is the first time a series they loved has moved onto a platform they may not own. Unfortunately for Nintendo, gamers aren’t particularly keen when it comes to memory. Do they not remember Resident Evil 4 being a Gamecube exclusive, yet Resident Evil 5 being found on no Nintendo console? How about Final Fantasy 6 being a Super Nintendo classic, yet the popular Final Fantasy 7 was saved for the Playstation. Hell, even the Metal Gear franchise on the MSX moved over to the NES before making its home with Sony. Exclusives have always been used as a means to bring fans to your console and Nintendo is doing just that.

Nintendo has made a great investment not only in Bayonetta 2, but in Platinum Games as a company. They have created, and will likely continue to create, a good relationship with the developer. Nintendo has done something it has failed to do in the past, created 3^rd party buzz about its console. With Platinum Games delivering not only Bayonetta 2, but also the Wonderful 101 as exclusives, perhaps Nintendo can start fresh with 3^rd parties in the next generation.

Perhaps fans should complain that Sony is forcing gamers to buy a PS3 to play Metal Gear Solid 4?

While many gamers point to disappointing Madworld sales on the Wii as reason to expect Bayonetta 2 will follow suit, there is a difference in situation that needs to be addressed. First and foremost, Madworld was a fairly shallow experience. As a game it had promise that simply never grew into anything. There were some fun gameplay mechanics that felt like they should be part of a bigger and better experience then Madworld turned out to be.  Regardless, the gap in quality and enjoyment is not the only difference between the two titles.

The biggest of which is that Madworld was a game released on a console that was well into its cycle. By this point, gamers had already categorized the Wii as a casual system and reserved their alternative(the PS3 or 360) as the platforms for their ‘core’ gaming. In this particular case, Nintendo has the ability to take back some of that hardcore market right from launch, with more mature 3^rd party titles like Mass Effect 3, Batman: Arkham City and Assassin’s Creed 3. Bayonetta 2 leads that movement by being exclusive to the WiiU, something none of the other games aimed at the core gaming demographic can say.

If nothing else, Nintendo has sent a clear message: that it aims to retake a portion of that demographic and learn from their mistakes. Considering Platinum Games faced the threat of cancellation, the real question to ask is whether Nintendo made the right move with publishing Bayonetta 2 as a WiiU exclusive. I do believe the game will find a rise in sales thanks to more publicity and less competition on the platform. Now it’s a matter of waiting to see whether Nintendo can capitalize and build upon its early 3^rd party success, considering so far, they’ve made all the right moves.

http://lazyassgamer.com/why-nintendo-and-platinum-games-are-doing-the-right-thing

Restoring OP...

great! I applaud this effort to show the OP of threads created by banned users.

Most 'real' gamers truly want to own all systems so they can gain access to all of the best available games, but most of us make choices due to limited time, money and space. While they may be critical of one or more of the console manufacturers it is mostly meant as constructive criticism. When a game these gamers enjoys moves away from a platform they own to one they don't own they feel a little disappointed and will consider buying the new platform (possibly down the road)

Blind fanboys don't really care about games as much as they care about their preferred system, and when they lose the opportunity to play one of their favourite series because it moved away from their favourite system they lash out in anger.

From day 1 Nintendo is trying to increase the number of quality "hardcore" gaming experiences on the Wii U so that they will have dozens of examples of games that were successful to point to when publishers say "those kinds of games don't sell well on Nintendo systems" ...

I'm not doing all of them. lilbroex makes quite a few threads, and the effort would completely swamp my forum buddy.

Just the ones that seem interesting to me... Others can do this too, it's just quoting the OP.

I'm not disputing Nintendo's desire to improve their hardcore userbase. Its commendable.

What I am upset with is that I spent money buying Bayonetta (day 1) as did 1 million+ Xbox and PS3 consumers. Without our support Bayonetta would have not been a success and Plantium Games would have not been able to commission a sequel. Its fine they want to put it on the Wii U, but its unfair to make it exclusive for that platform because its the PS3 and Xbox consumers who made that game successful.

I think I know whats really going on. Which is why I'm not that upset at the moment. And don't get me wrong I've seen the comments on Twitter to Platinum Games, and those users are disgraceful to the gaming community. I'm not condoning their behaviour, but I am dissapointed that Platinum Games decided to make the game exclusive.