PlatinumGames talks about its future and self-publishing games
Given its history, moving towards self-publishing and more control is a no-brainer.
The story of PlatinumGames has been a consistent one for many years. Hired out as a developer for companies like SEGA, Konami, and Square Enix, the studio has created many beloved and noteworthy games over its 15 years of operations. But one thing the studio has always lacked is control over its IPs.
Its status as a third-party developer on work-for-hire projects meant that the studio never owned the rights to its titles. That’s true of both existing licenses the company has worked on like Metal Gear and Star Fox, but also its brand new IPs like Astral Chain and The Wonderful 101. Since PlatinumGames didn’t publish those games, they had no control over the titles’ futures.
That’s likely to change, however, thanks to some changeups at the company. Takao Yamane, previously a licensing GM and managing director of sales and planning at Nintendo, has joined PlatinumGames as vice president and CBO. With his new position, the company is heading in a more independent direction — giving them much more control over their IPs.
The future of PlatinumGames
The company has developed a reputation for its independent spirit, especially among its publishers. Speaking with Video Games Chronicle, Yamane highlighted the company’s “bad boy” image in the gaming industry. “PlatinumGames formed a partnership with Nintendo for Bayonetta and with Square Enix for Nier Automata. It’s known that PlatinumGames are a studio who doesn’t listen to what they’re told!”
Given this perspective, it’s no wonder the company wants to go off on its own. PlatinumGames CEO Atsushi Inaba also discussed the company’s new direction. “I think moving forward, what we want to look at is to how we can create games, communicate, sell, and publish those games to our user base. Rather than just being a developer that only creates games for clients.”
What do you think of PlatinumGames’ plans for the future? Let us know!
