[GameSpot] - Platinum Games Want To Be Known For More Than Just Action

[343iBot]

Platinum Games earned a reputation for enjoyable single-player action games throughout the late 2000s and 2010s, but recently, the studio has started focusing on producing games beyond the linear appeal of titles such as Bayonetta or Vanquish. Platinum Games vice president Hideki Kamiya recently revealed in an interview that Platinum wants to be seen as more than just an action games studio.

"I think in terms of the expectations of fans in relation to linear action games like NieR and Bayonetta, we understand that we do get some respect for the action games that we've created, and we're always happy to hear that," Kamiya said to VGC. "But we don’t want to be labeled as 'the action game company', we want to be labeled as a company that is interested in original, fun gameplay. I hope that with the things that we do in the future that philosophy will become more apparent to our fans."

Platinum Games president Atsushi Inaba added that while the studio isn't abandoning linear action games entirely, it is more focused on exploring ideas that are fun and interesting.

"If we have an interesting idea, I don't think that there’s any reason that we would say, 'no, we don’t do that anymore, we're done with that'. So, we're interested in both ways," Inaba said.

One of Platinum's next games is Babylon's Fall, a live-service hack-and-slash RPG that launches March 3. Ahead of its official release, a demo containing the opening section of the game will be open to all PlayStation 4 and 5 owners. Sol Cresta, a successor to the '80s shoot-'em-ups Moon Cresta and Terra Cresta, is also out on February 22. Beyond those two games, Kamiya has expressed interest in resurrecting Scalebound, a fantasy adventure that had online elements and cooperative gameplay when it was first announced.

Scalebound was canceled in 2017, but Kamiya is serious about bringing it back from the dead and says that the ball is in Microsoft's court when it comes to revival talks.

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