PlatinumGames, the development studio behind the Bayonetta series, has released a mysterious new website that immediately sparked a wave of speculation among fans. While the site initially only showed a giant number 4 and nothing else, Platinum started to lift the curtain on its marketing puzzle by revealing the first of four new announcements on the page.
The “4” website has now been updated with a link to a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund a remaster of The Wonderful 101, the company’s Wii U-exclusive game from 2013. Less than 30 minutes after Platinum tweeted out the announcement, the project more doubled its initial $50,000 goal to help bring the game to the Nintendo Switch. Platinum also plans to bring the game to Steam if it’s able to raise $250,000, and to the PlayStation 4 if it hits $500,000.
Platinum Games is working with The Yetee to create several unique backer rewards, though the most notable and unusual reward gets backers who give 11,000 yen (a little over $100 U.S.) or more blocked on Twitter by the game’s director Hideki Kamiya. The “reward” is optional.
The website features three more spaces for upcoming announcements (hence the “4” branding). According to the site’s metadata, it will reveal “a series of four new challenges for Platinum Games.” It’s unclear what those will be, but fans have ventured no shortage of guesses already.
The marketing stunt is reminiscent of the Capcom Five, an infamous campaign where Capcom announced five new titles for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002. That announcement led to Resident Evil 4, as well as cult hits Viewtiful Joe and Killer7. However, not all of Capcom’s projects were ultimately released, with P.N.03 and Dark Phoenix never seeing the light of day.
There’s been no shortage of good news for PlatinumGames in the past few months. Its most recent game, Astral Chain, sold above expectations, the game’s director said in a recent interview with Famitsu.
Platinum’s latest project comes hot off the heels of a new relationship with Tencent, a Chinese tech and gaming company that recently invested in the studio. Despite that investment, the Kickstarter’s FAQ page confirmed that the Tencent money will not be used for The Wonderful 101 project.
“Although PlatinumGames has recently received a capital investment from an outside firm, our plans for The Wonderful 101: Remastered precede that agreement, and capital received from the investment will not be used to fund the development costs associated with the project.”
Platinum hasn’t released any details regarding the timing for its next announcements, with the website simply saying “Coming Soon.” Could we finally see more details on Bayonetta 3? Or a sequel to 2017’s standout Nier: Automata? Fans might want to keep an eye on the site over the next few days.
