Skip to main content

PlatinumGames will crowdfund The Wonderful 101 remaster via mysterious website

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.

Editors' Recommendations

Giovanni Colantonio
Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…
V Rising – Legacy of Castlevania crossover will let you fight Simon Belmont
Castlevania's Simon Belmont in V Rising.

Stunlock Studios and Konami have revealed that the survival crafting game V Rising will feature Castlevania crossover content when it leaves early access this May.

V Rising is a survival game where players control a vampire, and this crossover adds Simon Belmont as a hunter who's constantly trying to track down and kill players. If Simon Belmont is defeated, players will be able to equip and use his whip as a weapon. While that content is being added to V Rising free of charge as soon as it hits 1.0, a paid Legacy of Castlevania Premium Pack DLC will also be released. Purchasing it will net players Castlevania-themed decorations and music for their lair. These are all fitting crossover spots for a game that already heavily features vampires and pumps some life back into an unfortunately dormant game series.

Read more
What is dragonsplague in Dragon’s Dogma 2 and how is it cured?
A dragon roars in Dragon's Dogma 2.

Dragon's Dogma 2 likes to keep many of its mechanics and systems a secret until you discover them. You will learn quickly that you can't fast travel around the map freely, but there's one mechanic that is far more detrimental to your game. This is called dragonsplague and it is a disease that can't be cured with a simple tonic. In fact, you may not even realize if you have it in your game because it isn't something that affects your character at all; instead, it affects your Pawns. Failing to recognize you have dragonsplague and deal with it in a timely manner can ruin your entire playthrough if you're not careful. To avoid such a catastrophe, here are all the details about this cruel disease.
What is dragonsplague?

Dragonsplague is a special kind of disease that Pawns can contract seemingly by interacting with either Drakes or Dragons. That part isn't fully clear yet, however, we do know that Pawns with dragonsplague can spread the disease to other Pawns. Since Pawns are able to pass between worlds to join other players, you are never fully safe from being infected if you're playing online. Unlike a real sickness, though, dragonsplague actually transfers between Pawns rather than spreads, meaning it won't fully run rampant through the game.

Read more
Stellar Blade feels more like a Soulslike than a fast-paced action RPG
Stellar Blade STALKER fight.

 

Korean developer Shift Up first made a name for itself with mobile games like 2016’s Destiny Child, a turn-based RPG, and 2022’s Goddess of Victory: Nikke, an on-rails third-person shooter. Now, Shift Up is throwing its hat into the ring of AAA game development with Stellar Blade, an action game starring a young woman named Eve who is trying to reclaim Earth from an invading alien species. The developer’s first attempt at crafting a premium console experience is already much stronger than I expected.

Read more