With the recent week full of news, previews and demos of games at E3, lots of gamers got a sneak peak at upcoming titles. One of the most exciting titles shown at E3 was Bayonetta 2. A demo was available for the game showcasing a series of battles in an over the top fashion familiar to fans of the first game. Unfortunately, as was announced earlier in the year, Bayonetta 2 will be exclusive to the Wii U. While this may be a bold move from Nintendo, it will most likely result in the death of Bayonetta as a series.
The Series Was Already Dying
Much has been made about how Bayonetta was never getting a sequel in the first place until Nintendo came along and put down money for it. If this was indeed the case, then what will change by the game becoming a Wii U exclusive? The answer: Nothing. If Bayonetta was not profitable on multiple platforms, that won’t change on the Wii U. Not only that, but by being exclusive, Nintendo are also alienating the gamers who don’t want to purchase a Wii U anyway but loved the first game. Bayonetta isn’t a good enough game to be a system seller, so nothing will ultimately change. Seeing this, Nintendo will most likely not bother continuing the series.
The Wii U Won’t Add Anything To Bayonetta 2
Let’s face it, Bayonetta was good without all the Nintendo gimmicks like the Wii-mote. The same will be the case with the Wii U gamepad. It will add nothing to the series aside from being able to play the game on the gamepad while someone else is watching the TV. Given how the Wii U itself is a weak console compared to the newly announced next-gen consoles by Sony and Microsoft, not much will improve in the game itself compared to the first game. Essentially, Bayonetta 2 will more likely be Bayonetta 1.5. While improvements are most obvious in the graphics department, gameplay and A.I. can be immensely bettered with the coming of next-gen consoles. Unfortunately we won’t get this with Bayonetta 2. Many will see this, whether gamer or reviewer, and it won’t be to the benefit of Bayonetta 2.
Nintendo Has Built Itself For The Casual Market
And the casual market won’t care for a game like Bayonetta 2. Sales for Bayonetta weren’t that good to begin with, but going to the Wii U might very well reduce that number further. The casual market from the Wii and Wii U don’t tend to buy games that aren’t catering to the casual mindset. An over the top game like Bayonetta 2 will unlikely appeal to them. The bulk of purchases would have to be from core fans of Bayonetta, and they have already been alienated. This won’t paint a pretty picture for Bayonetta 2, as sales less than the original won’t help its cause in the future. While we haven’t seen much of the game yet, it at least still looks good. There could be some issue though if Nintendo force its gamepad touchscreen to be used in game. Gimmicks like that in a pure gameplay game like Bayonetta will only hurt the game and the series on a whole. There’s hope that won’t be the case here, but if you don’t cater to the casual market on the Wii U, you don’t cater to anyone really.