Hack and Slash games are a niche genre?

It's because they try to make original concepts, characters and gameplay. In today's market, you're not rewarded with huge numbers for doing that.

I would say the third option + they are japanese and no big western company supports them. Maybe microsoft will? I dunno.

Their games are hardcore games, so yes, its too niche for the casuals who recognise their inability to play these games well.

1. Beyonetta sold quite well. It was a new franchise and so its openning wasn't huge but had impressive legs. 2m is good for an AA title.

2. Yup! Its hard for single player, linear games to sell in huge quantities. Only  the massive AAA titles seem to escape this.

3. The niche quality comes over not just in genre but in visual style which I think effects peoples buying choices quite a bit. 

The only thing I think they should change/explore is graphical stye and approach to story telling (their games have a tacky/B-film aspect to them). Otherwise I think they're destined to remain niche without selling out to the mainstream. I don't think theres anything wrong with that, they just gotta keep an eye on budget and be very selective with marketing (i.e no tv ads which cost millions)

On consoles (unless you play Sony Santa Monica's God of War)...yes. A lot of the genres which were widely popular in the 90's are now niche genres as trends have changed. If arcades were still huge, Bayonetta would be huge by association. Internet is huge now, so by virtue of that Hack N Slash have taken a step down.

Pretty much. How many huge franchises or games do you know from the genre in the last decade? God of War... Thats about all that comes to mind. Devil may cry done well but it never had amazing sales. Infact Beyonetta 1 matched DMC2.

Their games are good but they're also pretty f**king weird too, lol, I don't think the average "dudebros" Call of Duty/Madden player in the West "gets it" when it comes to their style which is over-the-top and very Japanese.

They are true "hardcore" games.

I voted no.  Your third point has merit, but I don't think the first two are very relevant.  Here is why:

1. Platinum's first major HD game suffered huge technical problems on its biggest platform

I think you are forgetting that Platinum Games was basically Clover Studio first.  They made Viewtiful Joe, Okami, and God Hand.  None of these games were big sellers either.  Which is why they were dropped by Capcom.  Madworld and Infinite Space also predated Bayonetta.  As far as I can tell, Bayonetta is Platinum/Clover's best selling game to date.  So I don't think you can blame their best selling game for pulling them down when they have a history of low sales.

2.  Platinum's games are short

Depends.  I don't remember Viewtiful Joe being particularly short even though I got stuck on Leo.  Okami is not short.  Not at all.  Never played God Hand so I don't know about that one.  Infinite Space is an RPG.  It is not short either.

Is Madworld short?  Yes.  It took me only about 10 hours to beat.  Like some other Platinum games, it is not really meant as a game to be played for one playthrough and then you are done with it.  There is a hard mode after that.  But at heart, this game is all about high scores, and improving your runs.  That could have been a lot better with the addition of online leadboards, but unfortunately that was not included.

From what I know of Vanquish, it is in the same vein as Madworld.  A short game, but one that you are supposed to play again and again to improve your scores.  In fact, this same sort of element is seen in a lot of Platinum games.  It is there in Viewtiful Joe, God Hand, Madworld, Vanquish, Bayonetta, and The Wonderful 101.  I don't know jack about Anarchy Reigns, but I would bet it is setup the same way.

This is a classic arcade style gameplay element.  Platinum's biggest problem is not that the games are short.  It is that arcade style re-playability does not seem to be valued by gamers like it used to.

(As an aside, I think Bayonetta is about 10-12 hours the first time through? I would have called that short maybe 10 or 15 years ago.  Now?  Probably not.  Seems to me single player campaigns are getting shorter and shorter, so the norm is shifting.)

3. Platinum's games are of niche genres

Well, I can't argue with that.  A lot of their games are in the hack-and-slash or beat-em-up category, which haven't really been so big since...probably the days of the SNES.  Viewtiful Joe, Okami, and Madworld are all cell shaded.  I think they look good, but this turns off a lot of people for looking cartoony.  Speaking of cartoony, you have The Wonderful 101.  Vanquish looks great, and is in a popular genre, but I don't think Sega did a lot to really push this game.  I think a lot of their games put a lot of emphasis on being a good player too.  They have tough learning curves, and you only get the most out of the game when you get good at them.

All in all, I see Platinum as a gamer's game developer.  They are about as core as you can get.  They get a lot of praise from critics, but their work does not have a very broad appeal.  That's fine with me, as long as they keep making good games.

#4 the main platinum guy abuses people on twitter (rightfully so lol), but precious people get offended.


well it's mainly #3 lol


Buggy games sell good so that point is moot. Look at AC Unity as an example.

And a lot of their games suck. Let's not beat around the bush.