Update: The PlatinumGames tease from earlier today has been revealed as a Kickstarter for a remastered version of The Wonderful 101, the superhero game released in 2013 for the Wii U. We noted in our original report that a remaster had been rumored for the Switch and PS4, but it turns out that a PC version, which had previously gone unmentioned, is also going to happen.
The initial Kickstarter goal of $50,000 for a Switch version of The Wonderful 101 was surpassed almost immediately, while stretch goals for a Steam release at $250,000, and a PS4 version at $500,000, were demolished shortly thereafter. The campaign is only a few hours old at this point, yet is already well over $450,000, and still climbing rapidly.
Further stretch goals, which seem almost certain to be hit, will include "a host of amazing extras" and potentially even more platforms. The Kickstarter will run until March 6, and the game is slated to ship digitally in April. (Physical rewards aren't expected until November.) That's cutting it pretty close, and anyone who's backed a Kickstarter previously knows to take such dates with a grain of salt, but PlatinumGames said that because the core content of the game is already established, "we are confident in the development schedule and guarantee that backers will receive their copies in a timely fashion."
As for why PlatinumGames needs a Kickstarter after its success with Nier: Automata, the studio said that it's grown over the years but still hasn't reached the point where it's able to self-publish its own games. It recently received a capital investment from Chinese conglomerate Tencent, but The Wonderful 101 Remastered plan precedes that agreement, and so that investment will not be used to fund the project.
"Support from players and fans is vital in making this happen. With your help, we can create these brand new additions to make The Wonderful 101: Remastered the definitive release you all deserve, and bring it to more platforms so everyone can enjoy," the studio said in the Kickstarter FAQ. "And of course, all additional content funded through stretch goals will be made available to backers for free!"
Original story:
Nier Automata developer PlatinumGames seems to be poised to announce something today. This morning, the Platinum Twitter account posted a link to a new site with the hashtag Platinum4. The mystery number is all we've got to go on, so far.
There's not much on the site right now. A brief animation plays, hurling us through stylised stars from the Platinum logo, and then the number appears. It bobs around a bit and flickers, and that's it.
Obviously the only logical conclusion is that Platinum is tired of working on Bayonetta 3 for the Switch and has just jumped straight to 4. It's the only thing that makes sense.
Of course, there's also the mystery game that it teased last year.
"Right now we’re in the middle of designing something that has never been done before," Atsushi Inaba said back in May. "I know a lot of people say that, but the game we’re working on truly is unlike anything else."
Then there's the rumoured PS4 and Switch port of Wonderful 101, expected to appear on Kickstarter. The PC omission is a shame, but Platinum is yet to confirm the rumour.
Whatever it is, we might find out soon. At the bottom of the site is today's date.
