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Ladies and gentlemen, on September 13, 2012, PlatinumGames announced a sequel to the beloved action-packed-hack and slash-videogame Bayonetta!

Yes, I can see you are delighted! But I have more exciting news!

It's an exclusive!

To the Wii-U!

Yeah!

...Wait, what?!

Yes, fellow gamers, it seems that Bayonetta 2 would not be in existence if it hadn't been for Nintendo offering to publish the game, because SEGA (the publisher of the first game) was not interested in the sequel.

Given that Bayonetta sold over 1 million copies (Source) One has to wonder why SEGA was not interested in publishing the sequel. ( Is that figure just too little nowadays? Did they lose money with the first game? )

Although Bayonetta 2 is not being directed by the beloved creator of the franchise, Hideki Kamiya, he will be supervising the sequels's development quite heavily:

". . .While I am not the director of this game, I am still supervising the world, story, characters, etc. in close coordination with Hashimoto, and I have been from the very beginning. You have nothing to work about on that end. And of course, plenty of members from the first Bayonetta are on-board and working hard under the direction of Hashimoto, so I look forward to work every day, coming in and seeing all the progress they have made on the game. With new hardware, we look forward to expanding on the Climax Action of Bayonetta, so sit tight and get ready!"

- Hideki Kamiya (Source)

And if you're worried about a new director taking over Kamiya-san's work and butchering it to death until it's a former shell of it's self (Devil May Cry 2 anyone?), I don't think you have to worry about that. Think of Viewtiful Joe 2, where Kamiya-san was once again not directing a sequel to his game, but where he still had control over the storyline, (Plus, this is PlatinumGames--not Capcom--and they actually care about their staff!)

The only concern I have regarding this exclusive deal is how many Bayonetta fans are actually interested in purchasing a Wii U. I'm a bit worried that perhaps the sequel will have poor sales simply because not enough fans of the franchise will care enough to buy a Wii U. (I don't think there will be enough newcomers to the franchise to make the sequel profitable, instead, I believe the majority of sales will be from returning fans). But maybe because Kamiya-san is directing another Wii-U title, The Wonderful 101 (previously known as P-100), perhaps there will be enough fans of his interested in a Wii-U to give Bayonetta 2 decent sales?

What are your thoughts?

After playing Devil May Cry 4, I wasn't looking forward to hear about DMC5 being in the works.  I was hoping that eventually they would decide to leave the DMC franchise alone, because it was entirely clear that Capcom had no idea what direction to take it in. DMC4 was riddled with plot holes, and Capcom was doing their best to not even hint at tying the story to DMC2. The plot has never been a major focus in any DMC game, though, so my disappointment stemmed from the gameplay. Some of the abysmal level design choices (the "dice" mini-game), the very limited amount of weapons, and the small amount of move sets for the main character, Nero, overall contributed to a less-than-stellar experience.

"DmC" the new Devil May Cry  

The trailer for the new "DmC" introduces us to Dante, whom bears no resemblance to the protagonist of previous games. Aside from wielding pistols that look like Ebony & Ivory, there's nothing that indicates that this is the same character. So why call him Dante? Obviously, Devil May Cry is a franchise name that sells copies no matter what, even DMC2 went on to sell over one million copies, so keeping the franchise name only makes business sense in terms of marketing the game. However, I don't see the point in calling this new character Dante... Unless, they reveal that this actually is the same character with the story taking place back in his "younger days," and if that turns out to be the case, than many fans will be incredibly alienated at the direction the series has taken.

Now, it is definitely too early to make assumptions, after all this is the first trailer for the game, little information is given, and no gameplay has been shown yet. Although if the game plays out anything like the cutscenes, it looks like it will be much slower compared to the combat found in prior games.

That being said, I am highly skeptical. It will be a shock to me if this reboot is actually good. Honestly, I don't see how this won't just turn into another generic action game. I can't really give the developers behind this reboot, Ninja Theory, any benefit of the doubt considering their current track record.  

I also find it very disheartening that Capcom seemed to have no problem closing down Clover Studio, yet they are so pleased to have acquired Blue Castle. Clover Studio was filled with amazingly talented people, some of whom made the company who they are today. Why is Capcom so willing to give their key franchises to developers who have had mediocre success thus far? Is it only because Ninja Theory is a western developer?   

 All we can do is wait to see how this reboot turns out. Whether it turns out to be good or bad, it seems to be a radical departure from the franchise as we know it.    

• "Whatever." RT @ Solivagant @ PG_kamiya #DmC, by Ninja Theory? Do you think they will "evolve" the action game from your Bayonetta standard?

• "I've been sad since Dante left me." RT @nss_13_ @PG_kamiya It's sad to see what you started turn this way

• "I believe so." RT @fatimahelsayed @PG_kamiya Will there be a Bayonetta 2? ありがとう!

•  "I miss him, too..." RT @nss_13_ @PG_kamiya I miss the Dante you made 

• "I love you all." RT @brukaoru @PG_kamiya You are awesome! I love your work. <3

(Did you read that last one?! OMG! He totally replied to me! *squeal*) 

Why do we need a remake?

Many fans wish that Square-Enix would stop focusing on remakes and instead focus on new games. However, it's no surprise to anyone to hear that the popularity of Final Fantasy games has declined over the years. It's difficult to try to keep past fans interested in the franchise and yet garner new customers.

With less fans and the higher cost of producing games compared to ten years ago, it's no wonder that Square-Enix rather make remakes (or spin-offs) that are guaranteed to sell than risk producing new games.

 I've heard many people say they have given up on future games in the Final Fantasy franchise, not liking the direction the franchise has taken. Still, many have been begging for a remake of FFVII for a long time. 

How will it be made?

• Will the materia system still be in place?  
• W ill the amount of summons still remain or will there be more focus on making certain summons more powerful and discarding others?  
• Will character's be customized to suit whichever the need players want or will a job system dictate what area characters emphasis (such as medics)? 

2 videos in 1 blog, a double whammy, two birds with one stone --  Uh, I think you get the idea...

Note: I'm still trying to find the right percentage of volume to use with my voice over and the background music. I think the music is a little too low (or my voice-over too loud) in the VJ review. I tried to balance it more in the VJ2 review.  My apologies if it's too loud.      

    

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays everyone!

For my Psychology class, I had to write a research paper and give a five-minute presentation to the class highlighting some of my findings. My teacher did not require us to do a visual presentation, but I decided to do one because I think it's much easier to convey information that way... 

Gallery

•  Researchers find that people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crimes than the average person in the general population. 
• While it's true that young offenders who have committed school shootings in America have also been game players, young people in general are more likely to be gamers — 90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play. The overwhelming majority of kids who play do NOT commit antisocial acts. According to a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General's report, the strongest risk factors for school shootings centered on mental stability and the quality of home life, not media exposure.

    Video Review: