It has been confirmed by the head of PlatinumGames that Nintendo fully owns the Astral Chain IP, even though the game was originally owned by both.
Nintendo fully owns the Astral Chain intellectual property, as PlatinumGames has confirmed that a recent change to the game's copyright logo that removed its name is accurate. Astral Chain is a highly-acclaimed action game from PlatinumGames, which was released as a Switch exclusive in 2019.
Astral Chain was set in a futuristic city, where the last vestige of humanity banded together to fight against invading interdimensional monsters. The player took control of a police officer, who forms a mental bond to a metallic spirit, known as Legion. The gameplay of Astral Chain is similar to that of PlatinumGames' other titles, like Bayonetta. The main difference is that the player controls two characters at once. The player manages both the police officer and the Legion at the same time and can use the chain that binds them together to perform attacks on enemies. Astral Chain was a huge hit for PlatinumGames, giving the company its first #1 hit in the UK and selling over a million copies.
Fans recently noticed that the copyright logo for Astral Chain on the official PlatinumGames website had been changed. Nintendo's name remained on the logo, but PlatinumGames' name was taken off. Some chalked this up to an error, as the original copyright still appeared on different websites. PlatinumGames Studio Head Atsushi Inaba told Video Games Chronicle that the change is correct and that Nintendo now owns the Astral Chain IP, but he wouldn't elaborate on the details.
The details surrounding this change are strange, but fans are suggesting a theory that sounds plausible. PlatinumGames announced The Wonderful 101: Remastered was coming to Kickstarter last year, and that it was going to be a multiplatform release. This was surprising, as the original The Wonderful 101 was a Wii U exclusive. It's possible that PlatinumGames gave up its stake in Astral Chain in exchange for The Wonderful 101, and the deal only recently went through. This is still speculation, however, and it's just as plausible that Nintendo bought out PlatinumGames' stake in the game.
This raises the question regarding the future of Astral Chain as a franchise. Is Nintendo interested in creating a sequel, or turning it into a full franchise? Would PlatinumGames be involved in more Astral Chain games? Can we expect to see its characters in the Super Smash Bros. series as playable fighters? Was this all a punishment for Hideki Kamiya complaining about the Switch's menu? There are a lot of unanswered questions about this situation, and the people at PlatinumGames aren't interested in elaborating. Maybe Nintendo will be the first ones to reveal more in the future?
Source: Video Games Chronicle
Nintendo fully owns the Astral Chain intellectual property, as PlatinumGames has confirmed that a recent change to the game's copyright logo that removed its name is accurate. Astral Chain is a highly-acclaimed action game from PlatinumGames, which was released as a Switch exclusive in 2019.
Astral Chain was set in a futuristic city, where the last vestige of humanity banded together to fight against invading interdimensional monsters. The player took control of a police officer, who forms a mental bond to a metallic spirit, known as Legion. The gameplay of Astral Chain is similar to that of PlatinumGames' other titles, like Bayonetta. The main difference is that the player controls two characters at once. The player manages both the police officer and the Legion at the same time and can use the chain that binds them together to perform attacks on enemies. Astral Chain was a huge hit for PlatinumGames, giving the company its first #1 hit in the UK and selling over a million copies.
Fans recently noticed that the copyright logo for Astral Chain on the official PlatinumGames website had been changed. Nintendo's name remained on the logo, but PlatinumGames' name was taken off. Some chalked this up to an error, as the original copyright still appeared on different websites. PlatinumGames Studio Head Atsushi Inaba told Video Games Chronicle that the change is correct and that Nintendo now owns the Astral Chain IP, but he wouldn't elaborate on the details.
The details surrounding this change are strange, but fans are suggesting a theory that sounds plausible. PlatinumGames announced The Wonderful 101: Remastered was coming to Kickstarter last year, and that it was going to be a multiplatform release. This was surprising, as the original The Wonderful 101 was a Wii U exclusive. It's possible that PlatinumGames gave up its stake in Astral Chain in exchange for The Wonderful 101, and the deal only recently went through. This is still speculation, however, and it's just as plausible that Nintendo bought out PlatinumGames' stake in the game.
This raises the question regarding the future of Astral Chain as a franchise. Is Nintendo interested in creating a sequel, or turning it into a full franchise? Would PlatinumGames be involved in more Astral Chain games? Can we expect to see its characters in the Super Smash Bros. series as playable fighters? Was this all a punishment for Hideki Kamiya complaining about the Switch's menu? There are a lot of unanswered questions about this situation, and the people at PlatinumGames aren't interested in elaborating. Maybe Nintendo will be the first ones to reveal more in the future?
Source: Video Games Chronicle
