Sega, PlatinumGames sign four-game deal

Former Capcom/Clover team announces Bayonetta, Infinite Line, and Madworld on a variety of platforms.

Now defunct Osaka-based Clover Studio was responsible for a range of successful titles over the years, including the PlayStation 2's Okami (which recently resurfaced on the Nintendo Wii), Viewtiful Joe, and God Hand.

Clover Studio boasted some of Capcom's best talent, including Atsushi Inaba (producer of Viewtiful Joe), Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil creator), and Hideki Kamiya (director of Devil May Cry and Okami). After the publisher closed the studio in 2006, several key members left to start their own studio, Seeds, which has since merged with a company known as ODD to become PlatinumGames.

Viewtiful Joe producer Atsushi Inaba.

At an event in London on Monday, Sega and PlatinumGames announced they had inked a deal for four new-IP games, which will be the studio's first. While brief details were given for three of the games, the fourth--directed by Shinji Mikami--remains under wraps for now.

Hideki Kamiya will direct Bayonetta, an action adventure game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that looks similar to Devil May Cry. The game follows the eponymous protagonist, a witch reborn in a modern-day setting, waging war against angels. Details were scant, but the core experience focuses unique "witch-like abilities" and her array of guns--which apparently protrude from both her hands and her feet.

Infinite Line, a sci-fi role-playing game, will be coming to Nintendo DS, and is being co-developed with Japan-based Nude Maker. It will be directed by Hifumi Kouno, who is president of Nude Maker and also helmed the Capcom mech sim Steel Battalion.

The game, inspired by the Arthur C. Clarke novel Childhood's End, sees players embark upon a journey to become captain of a spaceship. With over 200 ship designs and a wide variety of ship parts to choose from, players will need to apply some thought, both when building their vehicle and when choosing the appropriate crew to man it.

The final game announced at the event was Madworld, an ultraviolent action game coming to the Wii and directed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. The game has a stylised black-and-white palette, with bright red blood providing the only splash of colour onscreen. Madworld bears a striking resemblance to the Frank Miller comic series Sin City and the recent Gears of War 2 announcement trailer. Coincidentally, "Mad World" is also the title of a song that featured in an Xbox 360 Gears of War television advertisment.

The developers said they aren't setting out to make a depraved or perversely violent game with Madworld, but rather a game focused on "fun," comical violence.

PlatinumGames said they felt the Wii was missing "such a game [as] Madworld," with many games on the platform being too similar to one another. A brief gameplay segment was shown at the announcement press conference in which the game's lead character, Jack, used a chainsaw--controlled with a flick of the Wii Remote--to slice up foes, and was able to perform finishing moves such as impaling them on a nearby spiked wall.

The game also features Bloodbath Challenge minigames. One demonstrated was called Man Darts, where the object was to splatter enemies onto a giant oversized dartboard by swinging a baseball bat at the correct time.

Bayonetta, Infinite Line, Madworld, and the fourth, untitled game are currently in development and have not yet been dated. GameSpot will reveal more details as they emerge.

86 Comments

  • Pyben0

    Posted Jan 2, 2009 11:43 pm PT

    DEVIL MAY CRY ! Please more DEVIL MAY CRY !

  • BillyColeman

    Posted Dec 30, 2008 2:08 am PT

    maybe thay can help the world of psu as well

  • Megablueblastaa

    Posted Oct 10, 2008 2:39 am PT

    I beg of you please....PLEASE let the fourth game be God Hand 2! PLEASE!!

  • scorpider

    Posted Jul 27, 2008 3:44 pm PT

    Afterall, they need to make Devil May Cry as great as possible, we have been waiting for a very long time...

  • FF-Is-Awsome

    Posted Jun 30, 2008 12:39 am PT

    Devil may cry without a seccond analog stick i haven't played the first one so correct me if it would still work

  • Xeuton_Mojukai

    Posted Jun 28, 2008 10:34 pm PT

    The reason I see the creators at Platinum as great designers is simple: they do not try to milk their creations, and instead try to make them perfect the first time.

    In particular, none of Kamiya's games' sequels (if any, unless directed by him anyway) have been as good as their original. Devil May Cry is still a must-play classic for any PS2 owner, as are VJ and Okami. If he's going to be working on another Devil May Cry-type game, and it's a unique IP, then this is certainly looking like a good decision for Sega.

    Honestly I can imagine a lot of ways that Bayonetta can be fun to play. I'm sure a lot of you have seen the video, and if you haven't you should.

    ~ XM

  • Ruhdezee

    Posted Jun 20, 2008 9:29 pm PT

    i want madworld!!!!!!!!!

  • Kiriyama12

    Posted Jun 17, 2008 7:03 pm PT

    clover? the only great game i remember from them is GODHAND in PS2 or is it a different clover correct me if I'm wrong, it doesn't really matter who gets it right? as long as they get some opportunity. @ rynmis
    i agree, do consider the PSP

  • kratos_karmakar

    Posted May 28, 2008 10:19 am PT

    news flash. Sega ... i mean the real sega from the days of mega drive 2 is in the same league as capcom. recently i take a look at capcom and am truly disgusted . milking every single penny out of the already great and famous and popular franchises they have whilst not having the guts to do something new. infact the last thing they did that was new was LOST PLANET and it wasnt that gud of a game. the ressurection of Bionic Commando is proof of this. i think a classic is only a classic because of the timeline of its release. wy bring something like that back even if its gonna b a gr8 game.personally im not dying for the next gen remake. and i hate them for dissolving CLOVER. good luck making the next okami.if Hideki Kamiya isnt there the next okami ( if there is gonna b 1 ) wont b the okami i played on ma ps2. ill tell it first. the next title after bionic and commando and resi 5 thats gonna b announced is ONIMUSHA 5. not that im complaining. thats 1 title i really am waiting for. every 1 knows the saying u dont know wat u got before u loose it. well CAPCOM doest ..... but tCAPCOMS surely gonna know wat they had after BAYONETTA comes. mark ma words.

  • AgileNate

    Posted May 20, 2008 3:12 pm PT

    Go SEGA!! I will be there to see the rise!!! They need good advertising for Clover Studio's type of games. People look at them and dont know anything about them and wont take the chance on a $60 game they dont know about. If these games get to the people Sega can come become just as good as Capcom.

  • peterlala2002

    Posted May 20, 2008 5:54 am PT

    SEGA!~ w00000t! back to the glory day's, love you sega! finally we will PWN!

    btw, EA sucks! ... forget about them! SEGA

    and lets buy these former clover studio members! expand the 4 game contract to ... FOREVER!

  • rynmls

    Posted May 19, 2008 4:50 pm PT

    DS again?what about the psp?

  • Lucid1314

    Posted May 19, 2008 12:13 pm PT

    so this mean there's going to be no Devil May Cry for the PSP then? D:

  • MatthewNintendo

    Posted May 19, 2008 7:17 am PT

    Sega made a good move there. Bet Capcom will be kicking themselves for shutting down clover studios now.

  • Jono0

    Posted May 19, 2008 7:10 am PT

    Woha. Madworld sounds damn awesome. I cant wait! I hope it will be finished soon. The wii could use some violent games.

  • ryaz_weaponx

    Posted May 19, 2008 12:42 am PT

    mad world looks awesome.

  • BatrozX

    Posted May 18, 2008 7:37 am PT

    woah woah woah, all of this games are from ex-employees of Capcom who now work for SEGA??!! They all moved to SEGA??!!!!! OMG!!!! O_O This is some good news for me and for all SEGA fans out there, SEGA is really going to bring a smackdown soon, and one that will mark all gaming companies!!!

  • DSJAM

    Posted May 18, 2008 7:29 am PT

    Mad World looks insane! And being a sci-fi geek,I'm too excited for Infinte Line. Can't wait to get my hands on this stuff!

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted May 17, 2008 9:06 pm PT

    SEGA got some good developers.

  • johnwillfindit

    Posted May 17, 2008 11:17 am PT

    I am interested in mad world, No More Heroes has got me in the mood for another over the top fighting game and if there is one genre that sega knows how to do its a button masher, not to mention the fact that clover is working on this

  • markimsoad

    Posted May 17, 2008 7:37 am PT

    amazing...

  • Bigbudd0045

    Posted May 17, 2008 6:12 am PT

    they should have called their studio Odd SEED much better then Platinum

  • supersonic125

    Posted May 16, 2008 4:04 pm PT

    Sega is bringing it this year , can EA do the same , dont think so

  • Trajectorize

    Posted May 16, 2008 2:48 pm PT

    Quite a coop for Sega if we eventually see games of the caliber of Okami and VJ. Here's hoping PlatinumGames helps bring Sega back to its former heights, rather than Sega drag PG down to its recent disappointing levels.

    Go Sega!!!

  • The_Owner

    Posted May 16, 2008 2:37 pm PT

    Except for Condemned, Sega hasn't really impressed me lately. Hopefully this will mark the beginning of some improvements in their games.

  • Zar_InHELL

    Posted May 16, 2008 2:30 pm PT

    I want GodHand 2....
    ppl please give it a try ^ - ^``

  • Petri87

    Posted May 16, 2008 12:59 pm PT

    @Mattyrock - Sega is just publishing the games and PG is making them. And theres nothing wrong whit Sega. They have published one of my favorite games this gen. Condemned.

  • speedracerUNT

    Posted May 16, 2008 12:40 pm PT

    "Barely making new stuff???? Lost Planet, Dead Rising, Zack & Wiki, Street Fighter 4, Bionic Commando, Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil 5, Dark Void, Monster Hunter Freedom, Ace Attorney, Perfect Prosecutor, We Love Golf, plus tons of stuff on XBL and PSN. Seriously, name a publisher out there who has released more new stuff than Capcom this generation." -kpsikill-

    Word. As sad as it was that Clover Studios got canned, I gotta say Capcom is still defining the world of gaming (Dead Rising anyone?). Plus, Street Fighter 4 looks like a refreshing twist on the 2D fighting genre.

  • kpsikill

    Posted May 15, 2008 11:16 pm PT

    "I can't wait to see what they come up with. They were the brains behind Capcom's success. Now Capcom is without them and now look where they've been, barely making new stuff except re-releasing old stuff." --lamprey263

    Barely making new stuff???? Lost Planet, Dead Rising, Zack & Wiki, Street Fighter 4, Bionic Commando, Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil 5, Dark Void, Monster Hunter Freedom, Ace Attorney, Perfect Prosecutor, We Love Golf, plus tons of stuff on XBL and PSN. Seriously, name a publisher out there who has released more new stuff than Capcom this generation.

  • King-gamer

    Posted May 15, 2008 10:42 pm PT

    good thing they are making MadWorld it for wii. Wii needs more games.

  • Devil_Huntress

    Posted May 15, 2008 8:57 pm PT

    The game Bayonetta sounds interesting to me.

  • futs22

    Posted May 15, 2008 6:03 pm PT

    Madworld has piqued my interest. Too bad it's just for the Wii...for now.

  • Freakgamer_M

    Posted May 15, 2008 5:10 pm PT

    hmm very interesting...

  • crow_barman

    Posted May 15, 2008 4:53 pm PT

    sounds good

  • Dragoon_Of_Dark

    Posted May 15, 2008 4:36 pm PT

    Cool I think i'll buy Bayonetta when it comes out sounds like my kinda game

  • Mattyrock

    Posted May 15, 2008 3:57 pm PT

    Pretty interesting but I'm not sure if they can trust Sega because of their doing.

    Okami, Viewtiful Joe and God Hand were awesome games. I agree that there should be another JSR.

  • IsmirZone

    Posted May 15, 2008 3:32 pm PT

    lamprey263 good point.

  • lamprey263

    Posted May 15, 2008 3:22 pm PT

    I can't wait to see what they come up with. They were the brains behind Capcom's success. Now Capcom is without them and now look where they've been, barely making new stuff except re-releasing old stuff.

  • Petri87

    Posted May 15, 2008 2:07 pm PT

    Awesome, I sence that my Wii purchase is getting closer. And i really hope Shinji Mikami is working on a action horror game or something like that. Also, Bayonetta.... super sweet.

  • ViVi110

    Posted May 15, 2008 2:05 pm PT

    I wonder if they will try at an Okami 2 this time.

  • xgalacticax

    Posted May 15, 2008 2:04 pm PT

    Madworld eh?. Well I have faith in Shinji Mikami

  • UltimateXShadow

    Posted May 15, 2008 1:44 pm PT

    I'm liking what I'm reading about Madworld. Even the name sounds fun!

  • Merl57

    Posted May 15, 2008 1:30 pm PT

    finally some mature games for the wii

  • Pete5506

    Posted May 15, 2008 1:20 pm PT

    More Jet grind rideo who be nice

  • okassar

    Posted May 15, 2008 1:02 pm PT

    Madworld looks ridiculous...it is indeed ultraviolent, but everything in it looks too comical for me.

  • Darkwolf2021

    Posted May 15, 2008 12:45 pm PT

    GIVE ME ANOTHER JET GRIND RADIO DAMMIT >.

  • Richmaester6907

    Posted May 15, 2008 12:36 pm PT

    SEGA hasnt got the best rep when it comes to games but with some luck they should bring some amazing titles to consoles

  • Taegre

    Posted May 15, 2008 12:31 pm PT

    Sega really has been developing a reputation for publishing the crazy titles few mainstream companies would be willing to risk money on. I can't imagine EA or Activision publishing Condemned untouched. Now Sega is going where even Capcom dared not to.

  • jobot_5000

    Posted May 15, 2008 12:08 pm PT

    Shinji Mikami, I love you, don't let me down. Show Capcom what they lost.

  • elozl

    Posted May 15, 2008 11:52 am PT

    Good, Madworld for Wii is really mad!!

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