Monthly Archives: February 2020

PlatinumGames Expanded So It Doesn’t Have to Turn Down ‘Fun Projects’

Platinum Games, the Osaka-based studio behind Bayonetta and Vanquish, has talked to IGN Japan about the creation of a new office in Tokyo that Platinum director Hideki Kamiya says will be staffed with “Crazy people who want to make games.” Currently, Platinum Games is sized at about 240 employees according to COO Atsushi Inaba. The aim of the Tokyo studio is to bring aboard 100 more employees. At the time of the studio’s announcement, Platinum said the Tokyo location would attempt working on different projects like live-service games. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=project-gg-new-platinum-game-first-images&captions=true"] Inaba says another reason for expansion is just to work on more games in general, whether they’re original projects or partner projects. “First of all, we do not have enough staff at the moment. It’s a nice problem to have, but we get a lot of work offers from other publishers, for example something like Nier Automata where we can collaborate on the publisher’s IP, or to make original titles for a publisher, and we are limited to how many projects we can take on. So there are a lot of projects that we have to turn down, and I think it would be better to increase our capacity so we can work on more fun projects.” Platinum, aside from working on original games, frequently partners with publishers to work on their IP. Whether it’s with Square Enix on Nier: Automata, or Nintendo with Bayonetta 3 and Star Fox Zero. From what Inaba is saying, Platinum is quite the popular partner and there are probably numerous publisher projects the company had to turn down. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/project-gg-teaser-trailer"] But with a new Tokyo studio and an increased employee count, perhaps Platinum can work on even more projects going forward. The Tokyo studio was announced as part of a series of four announcements. Platinum already announced The Wonderful 101 Kickstarter, Project G.G., and the Tokyo studio. There’s still one announcement left, and Kamiya says it’s the biggest one of them all. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

PlatinumGames Expanded So It Doesn’t Have to Turn Down ‘Fun Projects’

Platinum Games, the Osaka-based studio behind Bayonetta and Vanquish, announced the creation of a new office in Tokyo that Platinum director Hideki Kamiya and COO Atsushi Inaba says will be staffed with “Crazy people who want to make games.” Currently, Platinum Games is sized at about 200 employees according to Inaba. The aim of the Tokyo studio is to bring aboard 100 more employees for a total of about 400. At the time of the studio’s announcement, Platinum said the Tokyo location would be working on different projects like live-service games. But in an interview with IGN Japan, Inaba says another reason for expansion is just to work on more games in general, whether they’re original projects or partner projects. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=project-gg-new-platinum-game-first-images&captions=true"] “First of all, we do not have enough staff at the moment. It’s a nice problem to have, but we get a lot of work offers from other publishers, for example something like Nier Automata where we can collaborate on the publisher’s IP, or to make original titles for a publisher, and we are limited to how many projects we can take on. So there are a lot of projects that we have to turn down, and I think it would be better to increase our capacity so we can work on more fun projects.” Platinum, aside from working on original games, frequently partners with publishers to work on their IP. Whether it’s with Square Enix on Nier: Automata, or Nintendo with Bayonetta 3 and Star Fox Zero. From what Inaba is saying, Platinum is quite the popular partner and there are probably numerous publisher projects the company had to turn down. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/project-gg-teaser-trailer"] But with a new Tokyo studio and an increased employee count, perhaps Platinum can work on even more projects going forward. The Tokyo studio was announced as part of a series of four announcements. Platinum already announced The Wonderful 101 Kickstarter, Project G.G., and the Tokyo studio. There’s still one announcement left and Kamiya says it’s the biggest one of them all.

Project G.G. Will Have ‘Much More to It’ Than Just Action

Platinum Games has officially announced Project G.G. According to studio director, Hideki Kamiya, Project G.G. is the first wholly-owned Platinum Games project, and while the studio says this new project will stay in keeping with with the studio’s love of the action genre, the game will also be broader in scope. “We have labelled it as being part of the Hideki Kamiya hero trilogy,” said Kamiya in an interview with IGN Japan. “The first two titles being Viewtiful Joe, which is a solo hero story, and The Wonderful 101, which is a story of a group of heroes. In Japan, the next type of hero would be the giant hero, and I’ve always wanted to make a game based on that idea.” "But while Viewtiful Joe and The Wonderful 101 were pure action games, this will not be like that. Any game I make will of course include carefully crafted action elements, but this won’t be simply an action game. There will be much more to it than that.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/project-gg-teaser-trailer"] The giant hero and kaiju genre, or tokusatsu, is best known in the west from shows like Power Rangers. But while Kamiya says he’s inspired by the genre, Project G.G. isn’t a straight adaptation of it. “[I]t won’t be a very niche kind of game; giant hero stories are popular in Japan, with things like Ultraman, and the game will have that kind of flavor to it, but I don’t want to restrict myself to the Japanese hero genre,” Kamiya says. “So the setting will probably not be Japan, as that might be restrictive. But I haven’t decided yet.” Not much else is known about Project G.G. other than how Platinum is aiming to launch on every current console. “Basically we’d like to hit PS4, Xbox One, Switch and Steam, and then of course PS5 and Series X are coming soon. We don’t know exactly when this will come out, but we’d like to release it on whatever are the main platforms at that time,” Platinum Chief Creative Officer Atsushi Inaba said. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=project-gg-new-platinum-game-first-images&captions=true"] There's no concrete release date at this point, but Inaba explains that there's a general window the studio expects to be able to release it within: “Put it this way, we’re not looking at something as long as three years. Nor will it be as soon as half a year or a year. But as our first self-owned and self-published game, we want to deliver it as soon as we can.” However, Kamiya makes clear that he'd prefer to make a quality game over a timely one: “Hey, I don’t have any desire to release games quickly! My only desire is to release games that are good.” In the meantime, Platinum Games still has one more announcement to make as part of its “Four” initiative which included The Wonderful 101 Kickstarter, Project G.G., and a brand new Tokyo-based studio. But IGN will be there to cover the big surprise when it’s announced. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

How Platinum Games’ Project G.G. Builds Off of Viewtiful Joe, Wonderful 101

Platinum Games has officially announced Project G.G; or Project A Go-Go. According to studio director, Hideki Kamiya, Project G.G. is the first wholly-owned Platinum Games project, and while the studio says this new project will keep with the studio’s love of the action-genre, the game will also be broader in scope. “We have labelled it as being part of the Hideki Kamiya hero trilogy,” said Kamiya in an interview with IGN Japan. “The first two titles being Viewtiful Joe, which is a solo hero story, and The Wonderful 101, which is a story of a group of heroes. In Japan, the next type of hero would be the giant hero, and I’ve always wanted to make a game based on that idea.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/project-gg-teaser-trailer"] The giant hero and kaiju genre, or tokusatsu, is best known in the west from shows like Power Rangers. But while Kamiya says he’s inspired by the genre, Project G.G. isn’t a straight adaptation of it. “[I]t won’t be a very niche kind of game; giant hero stories are popular in Japan, with things like Ultraman, and the game will have that kind of flavor to it, but I don’t want to restrict myself to the Japanese hero genre,” Kamiya says. “So the setting will probably not be Japan, as that might be restrictive. But I haven’t decided yet.” Not much else is known about Project G.G. other than how Platinum is aiming to launch on every current console. “Basically we’d like to hit PS4, Xbox One, Switch and Steam, and then of course PS5 and Series X are coming soon. We don’t know exactly when this will come out, but we’d like to release it on whatever are the main platforms at that time,” Platinum Chief Creative Officer Atsushi Inaba said. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=project-gg-new-platinum-game-first-images&captions=true"] Even the release date isn’t concrete with Inaba and Kamiya both saying that while anything can happen in game development the studio wants to deliver Project G.G “as soon as we can.” In the meantime, Platinum Games still has one more announcement to make as part of its “Four” initiative which included The Wonderful 101 Kickstarter, Project G.G., and a brand new Tokyo-based studio. But IGN will be there to cover the big surprise when it’s announced.

Y: The Last Man FX Series Casts Ben Schnetzer as Yorick

Actor Ben Schnetzer has been cast for the role of Yorick Brown in the TV adaptation of Y: The Last Man, multiple outlets are reporting. Schnetzer will star in the long-gestating FX series alongside a cast that includes Diane Lane, Imogen Poots, Lashana Lynch, Juliana Canfield, Marin Ireland, and Amber Tamblyn. Previously, actor Barry Keoghan was set to play the role of Yorick and had been attached to the project since 2018, but left the series in early February. Currently, production is scheduled to begin sometime in April. The plot for the FX TV series follows the comic book Y: The Last Man, created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Pia Guerra. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=tv-shows-to-watch-in-2020&captions=true"] Character Yorick Brown is the last surviving male on Earth with his pet monkey, Ampersand, after a deadly plague. The DC Comics series follows their journey as they try to survive in this new world. The troubled development of Y: The Last Man as a TV series goes as far back as 2014. However, FX president John Landgraf, spoke last month about it progressing along in pre-production, following a showrunner change. “Eliza Clark is running that show with Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson. We’ve seen five or six scripts now. We haven’t scheduled it because it hasn’t gone into production yet. But it seems to be going well.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/10/14/fx-developing-y-the-last-man-tv-series-ign-news"] For more information about Y: The Last Man, now going by the name of Y, take a look at everything we know so far. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

Y: The Last Man FX Series Casts Ben Schnetzer as Yorick

Actor Ben Schnetzer has been cast for the role of Yorick Brown in the TV adaptation of Y: The Last Man, multiple outlets are reporting. Schnetzer will star in the long-gestating FX series alongside a cast that includes Diane Lane, Imogen Poots, Lashana Lynch, Juliana Canfield, Marin Ireland, and Amber Tamblyn. Previously, actor Barry Keoghan was set to play the role of Yorick and had been attached to the project since 2018, but left the series in early February. Currently, production is scheduled to begin sometime in April. The plot for the FX TV series follows the comic book Y: The Last Man, created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Pia Guerra. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=tv-shows-to-watch-in-2020&captions=true"] Character Yorick Brown is the last surviving male on Earth with his pet monkey, Ampersand, after a deadly plague. The DC Comics series follows their journey as they try to survive in this new world. The troubled development of Y: The Last Man as a TV series goes as far back as 2014. However, FX president John Landgraf, spoke last month about it progressing along in pre-production, following a showrunner change. “Eliza Clark is running that show with Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson. We’ve seen five or six scripts now. We haven’t scheduled it because it hasn’t gone into production yet. But it seems to be going well.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/10/14/fx-developing-y-the-last-man-tv-series-ign-news"] For more information about Y: The Last Man, now going by the name of Y, take a look at everything we know so far. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

Hawaii Five-0 Ending After 10 Seasons, No Season 11 on CBS

Hawaii Five-0 will come to an end after ten seasons on CBS. A two-hour series finale will take place on Friday, April 3. Deadline reports that a back injury from series star Alex O'Loughlin has caused trouble for the actor for years. The network explored going on without O'Loughlin by having his co-star, Scott Caan, continue the show with a new partner. With both stars' contracts up at the end of the season, the decision was made to end the series. "This show has been pretty much every waking moment for the last 10 years of my life,” said O’Loughlin in a statement. “Everywhere I go on this planet, in every language, I am McGarrett to all these people. What we’ve done, what we’ve accomplished, it’s extraordinary. I can’t really put words to express my level of gratitude. I’m just glad to have been a part of this, a part of history and I’m going to miss it. And to the fans, I don’t know how to thank you guys. Thank you for following us the way you have. I’m going to miss you. Aloha.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-tv-show-cancelled-or-announced-to-be-ending-in-2020&captions=true"] The show was developed by Peter M. Lenkov, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. It's a reboot of the Hawaii Five-0 series that ran on CBS from 1968 to 1980. The reboot has apparently been huge for CBS. Deadline reports that the show has been broadcast in over 200 countries and received $2 million per episode from a deal with TNT to re-air episodes for the show's first season. The show has also crossed over with fellow CBS shows NCIS: Los Angeles, MacGyver and Magnum P.I. over the years. “It’s never easy to say goodbye to a hit franchise that carried on the legacy of the original with such distinction while establishing its own signature style,” said Kelly Kahl, CBS Entertainment President, in a statement. “From episode one, Hawaii Five-0 has been a huge success for us. Thanks to the amazing talents of the producers, writers, cast, and crew, it has played a key role for a decade on our schedule and helped establish our powerhouse Friday night. We cannot be prouder of its quality, longevity and are thankful for the passionate fan-devotion it inspired.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/21/cbs-all-access-review-2019"] Hawaii Five-0 is the second ViacomCBS show to get the ax recently with Ray Donovan cancelled at Showtime. Here is IGN's list of every other TV show that announced its end so far in 2020. Hawaii Five-0 is currently available on CBS All-Access. IGN's review of CBS All-Access says there's some potentially great shows on the way but "the company still has a long way to go" before competing with Netflix and Disney. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

Hawaii Five-0 Ending After 10 Seasons, No Season 11 on CBS

Hawaii Five-0 will come to an end after ten seasons on CBS. A two-hour series finale will take place on Friday, April 3. Deadline reports that a back injury from series star Alex O'Loughlin has caused trouble for the actor for years. The network explored going on without O'Loughlin by having his co-star, Scott Caan, continue the show with a new partner. With both stars' contracts up at the end of the season, the decision was made to end the series. "This show has been pretty much every waking moment for the last 10 years of my life,” said O’Loughlin in a statement. “Everywhere I go on this planet, in every language, I am McGarrett to all these people. What we’ve done, what we’ve accomplished, it’s extraordinary. I can’t really put words to express my level of gratitude. I’m just glad to have been a part of this, a part of history and I’m going to miss it. And to the fans, I don’t know how to thank you guys. Thank you for following us the way you have. I’m going to miss you. Aloha.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-tv-show-cancelled-or-announced-to-be-ending-in-2020&captions=true"] The show was developed by Peter M. Lenkov, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. It's a reboot of the Hawaii Five-0 series that ran on CBS from 1968 to 1980. The reboot has apparently been huge for CBS. Deadline reports that the show has been broadcast in over 200 countries and received $2 million per episode from a deal with TNT to re-air episodes for the show's first season. The show has also crossed over with fellow CBS shows NCIS: Los Angeles, MacGyver and Magnum P.I. over the years. “It’s never easy to say goodbye to a hit franchise that carried on the legacy of the original with such distinction while establishing its own signature style,” said Kelly Kahl, CBS Entertainment President, in a statement. “From episode one, Hawaii Five-0 has been a huge success for us. Thanks to the amazing talents of the producers, writers, cast, and crew, it has played a key role for a decade on our schedule and helped establish our powerhouse Friday night. We cannot be prouder of its quality, longevity and are thankful for the passionate fan-devotion it inspired.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/21/cbs-all-access-review-2019"] Hawaii Five-0 is the second ViacomCBS show to get the ax recently with Ray Donovan cancelled at Showtime. Here is IGN's list of every other TV show that announced its end so far in 2020. Hawaii Five-0 is currently available on CBS All-Access. IGN's review of CBS All-Access says there's some potentially great shows on the way but "the company still has a long way to go" before competing with Netflix and Disney. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.