Guest Article: The Bayonetta 2 Wii-U Controversy

5 reasons Nintendo’s Exclusivity with Bayonetta 2 isn’t so bad

Recently, the collective hopes and prayers of action adventure gamers was granted with a resounding yes as PlatinumGames’ Bayonetta 2 was officially announced. This was followed quickly by the sound of a million groans as fans everywhere realized that their anticipated sequel would be exclusive to the Wii-U. this snowball started an avalanche of criticism as angry players voiced their rage at the idea of Nintendo handling the risqué witch. Comments ranged from the rational idea of not having a desire to not be forced to pay close to $400 dollars for one game, to the overly dramatic virtual suicide threats in the event this decision was not reversed. Whatever your side, here are five things to discuss for the Bayonetta decision.

Mutual benefit

First and foremost is the benefit. It’s important to note that Nintendo has had issues courting third party games and have largely stuck to their first party heavy hitters, but with the Wii they have attempted to branch out and accept more titles. The effort was made, but the majority of the titles in the Wii era were aimed at the casual crowed. This is not to say that Nintendo made the decision to forget the so called hardcore crowd, but they deluge of party games and put the focus more on the more casual crowd. Now with Wii-U on the verge of release, they find a mature and hardcore title that has been having troubles with release due to SEGA’s restructuring. The decision was made and now the title that fans have clamored for has found new life on the system that is attempting to prove their loyalty to the hardcore crowd. It would seem to be a win-win, but many gamers still have questions

Can Nintendo respect the M?

Nintendo has, in many ways, been a victim of their own success. The franchise that have carried the load and gotten them through the years are noted for a more family themed experience and are typically filled with color and content similar to a Disney film. This is a stark contrast from the now popular gore of modern day franchises like Gears of War, God of War, and Call of Duty. This has spawned the idea that Nintendo is only for kid’s games and were unable to compete in a market with more mature content. However, games like No More Heroes, Resident Evil 4, House of the Dead, and Madworld shows that Nintendo is willing to step into games aimed at the older generation. And the that they are more than capable of handling the subject matter. So while Nintendo has certainly made a name for themselves with kid friendly titles, they have put forth considerable effort to show they are unafraid to dip into the waters of the M rated market.

The cost of forward progress

One of the strongest arguments against Nintendo having exclusivity is that paying for a new system to play one game is ludicrous. While the simple answer is that you could just play more than one game on the system, it misses the point. This is the cost of enjoying this hobby. As gamers, you just accept that planned obsolescence is a factor. Eventually you must move on and upgrade your hardware in order to play the next best thing. Of course your argument becomes that paying for a new xbox or playstation will be better because they will have more games you like than a Nintendo, however that is entirely speculation because you don’t know what these systems will bring…..because they do not exist yet. Not to mention these companies are just that…companies. They will not abandon what sells. Yes it is ridiculous to assume that you must by a system for one game. But you can’t blame anyone for your own decision to only play one game. That’d be on you.

Watered down exclusivity

Back in the nineties, exclusivity was a tough pill to swallow and was the clear choice for buying games. Wanting to play Madden, Metal Gear and Final fantasy meant that you were going to buy a Playstation and that’s all there was to it. But recently, third party developers have shied away from exclusivity and moved into multi-platform releases. Even now, a game that comes out exclusive to one system, Mass Effect, takes a little more time but eventually finds its way onto other platforms. That is likely going to be the case here. Exclusive just doesn’t go as far as it used to. Of course there are still titles that remain exclusive to a system such as God of war, gears of War, halo and Uncharted, but rarely does a game that was previously multi-platform go back to just one system. The biggest likelihood is that Wii-U holds this license just long enough for Microsoft and Sony catch up and produce some updated form of the same game.

Crossover potential

….C’mon people. We saw solid snake in Smash Bros. How about our witch doing crazy flips and hair assisted high heeled kicks to Mario and Bowser. My friends we may be standing on the threshold of epic cameo appearances and playable characters.

Sure Bayonetta 2 launching to the Wii-U creates some hurdles, but it also opens the doors to endless possibilities. It’s too early to really speculate what the benefits and damages for this decision may be. But give it some time, perhaps this won’t be as devastating as you may think.

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About the Author: JP is a native of Athens, Alabama, though most of his time has been spent in Arkham, Westeros, and other such locations. He can typically be found on Xbox Live under the gamertag, “Sir JayPea”