What will the greatest witch in gaming do next?
[Art by jnkboy]
Bayonetta 2 won Destructoid’s overall best game of the year award, its community choice award, and multiple personal game of the year awards. While I’m sure Platinum appreciates the praise, chances are that the studio doesn’t need us to motivate it to move forward with the character. She’s clearly its favorite, as evidenced by her starring role in two games, her own animated movie, and guest appearances in other Platinum titles like The Wonderful 101 and Anarchy Reigns. Platinum has already teased more Bayonetta for 2015, and seeing as its the first day of that year, I suppose it’s possible that a new Bayonetta game could be announced any second now.
Sadly, those possibilities will inevitably be tempered by the reality that Bayonetta is not a proven money maker. Though the original game got plenty of press and sold well by some standards, it apparently didn’t do well enough to earn the confidence of most publishers. It’s well documented that if it weren’t for Nintendo swooping in to the rescue, Bayonetta 2 would never have happened. While the sequel clearly has its fans, we haven’t heard much regarding the game’s sales, making it easy to guess that Nintendo isn’t particularly proud of how it performed.
So where does that leave the future of Bayonetta? Do you think Microsoft or Sony will bankroll Bayonetta 3 after the second outing’s critical success? Maybe Platinum and Sega will pull back on the budget a bit and make a 2D action title for Bayo on the Vita or 3DS, perhaps in the style of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia or Viewtiful Joe?
Atlus’s Persona series has a similarly dedicated following as Bayonetta, and Atlus has used its clout to produce fighting game and rhythm game spin-offs. Should Bayonetta go the same route? People clearly love the character, but maybe she’d be better off trying a more accessible genre for a game or two? I don’t have much hope for a new Bayonetta title that’s even bigger and better than Bayonetta 2, but I’d love to be wrong about that. Either way, I’ll take whatever new Bayonetta I can get.
