But funding alone doesn't make any sense. If we use contract law, and copyright law we may find a better answer. The IP owner has a right under copyrights to distribute the game. So unless Nintendo bought the IP rights to Bayonetta they can't have absolute control of future publishing and distribution. Under contract law, Nintendo can enter into a contract with the IP holder to secure exclusivity for a limited period of time. Most contracts have an end date so I assume this is what happened with Mass Effect exclusivity. Theoretically, the game should never have braced PS3 but it did because the contract expired or was re-negotiated (bought out by EA).  

So in conclusion, unless Nintendo bought the rights to the intellectual property it's more likely a timed exclusive. Whether Bayonetta 2 ends up on PS4/XB1 probably comes down to funding. Who will want to fork up money to re-distribute it or re-negotiate the contract? 

That's my take on the issue. 

Even if we assume that's the case, and Nintendo does not simply renew the exclusivity agreement upon its expiration to keep its exclusive secure, (when was the last time Nintendo let a game they funded and published go?) Microsoft and Sony already passed on the game when it was new, why would they fork out money for it once it's 5 years late? (to use Mass Effect 1's example)

Nintendo's not stupid enough to invest significant funds into the production of a game and then let it fall into the hands of its competitors. They would not have made such a financial commitment if they could not ensure exclusivity.

But funding alone doesn't make any sense. If we use contract law, and copyright law we may find a better answer. The IP owner has a right under copyrights to distribute the game. So unless Nintendo bought the IP rights to Bayonetta they can't have absolute control of future publishing and distribution. Under contract law, Nintendo can enter into a contract with the IP holder to secure exclusivity for a limited period of time. Most contracts have an end date so I assume this is what happened with Mass Effect exclusivity. Theoretically, the game should never have braced PS3 but it did because the contract expired or was re-negotiated (bought out by EA).  

So in conclusion, unless Nintendo bought the rights to the intellectual property it's more likely a timed exclusive. Whether Bayonetta 2 ends up on PS4/XB1 probably comes down to funding. Who will want to fork up money to re-distribute it or re-negotiate the contract? 

That's my take on the issue. 

Even if we assume that's the case, and Nintendo does not simply renew the exclusivity agreement upon its expiration to keep its exclusive secure, (when was the last time Nintendo let a game they funded and published go?) Microsoft and Sony already passed on the game when it was new, why would they fork out money for it once it's 5 years late? (to use Mass Effect 1's example)

Nintendo's not stupid enough to invest significant funds into the production of a game and then let it fall into the hands of its competitors. They would not have made such a financial commitment if they could not ensure exclusivity.

Just wanna clarify that though I think that what you say does make sense, my argument was against using the word fact in t-bone's repsonse. Neither is a fact. The only fact here is that Ninty funded Bayonetta 2. Whether it will at some point be released on a future console is something we can't be 100% sure about, hence it cannot be reffered to as a fact, but instead as a strong possibility (that it will be wiiu or ninty exclusive forever).

Also, @bolded like I said, they might have been able to make a sequel if they used kickstarter without sony or ms. They might still do so if their contract allows them to in a few years. 

Fair enough, but for me it's too much of a stretch to believe that Nintendo would invest heavily in a game's development without securing exclusivity. They're not that stupid.

Hence that making it a strong possibility/ highly likely to be that case, yet not  a fact.

Almost nothing is an absolute fact. It's not an absolute fact that the sun will come up tomorrow. It's not an absolute fact that PS4's Destiny and Xbox One's Titanfall won't come to Wii U in the future, or that a meteorite won't fall on my head before I can post this message.