In an interview with VGC, Hideki Kamiya and Atsushi Inaba of PlatinumGames went into great detail about the past and future of the prolific development studio. One of their big pushes right now is for their next big game Sol Cresta. the Neo-Classic Arcade title is intended to be a throwback to retro-style shooters but with that signature Platinum flair.
Creative Director Hideki Kamiya elaborated on the inspiration behind his upcoming space flight shoot ’em up.
I’ve always had love for 2D games since I was a kid, especially shooting games, so I was thinking about how I could incorporate that into a game that I could work on. I had the concept of having three ships, where the abilities of each ship would kind of switch them around, and have them dock and split up. I had the idea of maybe coming up with a new world and a completely new IP, but then the idea of borrowing some of the ideas of this existing IP came up. So now we have the three ships concept, some new ideas for settings and worlds, while also respecting and keeping elements of those earlier games. I hope it will please fans both of the shooting genre and those earlier games.
Sol Cresta is also intended to be the first entry in Platinum’s Neo-Classic Arcade series. It’s clear that Kamiya and his team all have an affinity for the styles of games they grew up on (like many of us) and are hoping to have the opportunity to continue making more in the same vein.
Within the discussion of retro games, things eventually shifted towards the waning availability of older games and how difficult it is at times to gain access to those that are either only being sold for obscene prices or no longer exist on any storefronts.
Kamiya had this to say about the ongoing issue:
And the responsibility for keeping those games available belongs to the company that owns the IP. If people want to play a classic game and they can’t, because it’s not available on new platforms and can’t be found in its original form either, that’s like a threat… it’s holding game culture back. The people who own the rights to these games should be actively making moves to preserve game culture and making games available to everyone who wants to play them.
In regards to the future, Platinum still has few other major projects in the pipeline. Project GG, their self-published title that takes inspiration from tokusatsu properties such as Ultraman is “proceeding apace” according to director Kamiya.
Atsushi Inaba also chimed in and said that Astral Chain director Takahisa Hauru is also hard at work on his next project for the studio.
And Platinum interview would not be complete without a mention of the long-fabled Bayonetta 3. All we have gotten as of late is that its coming but it is not up to them when it will be shown. Inaba did make sure to reassure everyone that it is still on the way:
There’s no need to worry. Don’t worry about it at this time. Everything’s OK.
PlatinumGames is easily one of the busiest studios out there these days and their slate of in-development titles is very evident of that. The next few years will definitely be very exciting when it comes to what they have in store for players. Just don’t rush them becayse its very clear that they hate that.
For the full interview with Kamiya and Inaba, head on over to VGC.
