PlatinumGames vice president Hideki Kamiya has reassured fans that Bayonetta 3 will not be in any way toned down, just because Nintendo is publishing it. Speaking to IGN Japan, alongside newly-installed CEO Atsushi Inaba, Kamiya said (via Google Translate), “There was a rumor that ‘there may be restrictions on creative expression’ because it’s Nintendo Publishing. But that’s not the case at all.”
The first two Bayonetta games feature a lot of blood and gore (albeit totally fantastical and unrealistic), as well as swearing, suggestive nudity, and an excessive amount of literal butt kicking, and there was a time when Nintendo would have hesitated at the idea of publishing such an adult-oriented game. But the Switch era has seen the Nintendo brand move in a broader, more mainstream direction, and the old-fashioned belief that “Nintendo is for kids” is no longer a widely held one.
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That’s not to say that PlatinumGames’ “creative expression” is all about boobs, butts, blood, and bad words, of course. The studio is known for its crazy, over-the-top, genuinely creative action games, and it’s great to hear that Nintendo won’t be making any attempt to dilute or curb Platinum’s trademark style in Bayonetta 3. It’s also welcome that Nintendo is dipping its toe into publishing relatively mature titles.
