Hideki Kamiya, the renowned director of the Japanese video games Bayonetta, Viewtiful Joe, and The Wonderful 101, is leaving PlatinumGames. On September 25, 2023, the development studio initially broke this news on X, formerly known as Twitter. Soon after the news was released, Kamiya quickly followed up by confirming it on his own X account. According to the post, on October 12, he is scheduled to formally quit Platinum.
Kamiya is not only a director but also a game designer and executive vice president at PlatinumGmaes since 2017. On October 1, 2007, he co-founded this company with the current CEO Atsushi Inabata, and former members Tatsuya Minami and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. Kamiya and Mikami worked together at Capcom on the Resident Evil and Devil May Cry series.
Throughout his working time in this company, he served as creative director on Sol Cresta. Before this announcement, Kamiya was directing a new game project codenamed Project G.G. This project was the final title in his self-titled “Super Hero” trilogy, followed by The Wonderful 101 and Capcom’s Viewtiful Joe.
In the announcement on X, the PlatinumGames stated, “We regret to announce that Hideki Kamiya will be leaving PlatinumGames on October 12, 2023. We are truly grateful for his creative ideas, leadership, and contribution to the growth of PlatinumGames from our start-up to this very day. We believe that he will continue to succeed in his future endeavors as a game creator. We are looking forward to seeing the game industry grow into a better place with him in it. We wish him all the best for the future!”
In return to this post, Hideki Kamiya stated, “As announced on the official PlatinumGames X account, I will be leaving PlatinumGames on October 12, 2023. This came after a lot of consideration based on my own beliefs. and was by no means an easy decision to make. However, I feel this outcome is for the best. I will continue to create in my Hideki Kamiya way. I hope you will keep your eyes peeled.”
Following the series of tweets, Kamiya posted another tweet sharing his gratitude to his fans and supporters. He posted on X, “I thought I’d be bullied more because of my usual behavior, but I’m so touched by all the words of support I’ve received. Thank you so much.” Along with this, he said, “I’m not worried about my future at all. As long as I have your support, I will keep making games, and I will do my best not to disappoint you.”
When I decided to quit, many of my old and young colleagues and staff were sad to see me go, and some even shed tears for someone like me. I realized once again that I was only able to be who I am because of the support of the people around me. I will continue to be grateful for the help of others
I will continue to believe in the spirit of creation that I have always believed in through my career at Capcom No 4 Development, Clover Studio, and Platinum, no matter what anyone says. I don’t know if I will be able to continue to make games that live up to that belief – I don’t have a formula for success, but I’m committed to aiming for it.
Renowned Director Hideki Kamiya’s Work Life
Hideki Kamiya became interested in video games at a young age thanks to a neighbor who frequently asked him to use his Epoch Cassette Vision system. Kamiya was drawn to gaming primarily because of the sounds it made. He acquired the Nintendo Famicom during his first few years of junior high.
One fine day, after reading an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and Masanobu Endo from the Family Computer Magazine, Kamiya made the decision to become a video game developer. After finishing college, he applied for jobs at numerous game developers.
Sega Corporation, a Japanese multinational video game, and entertainment company rejected his application, whereas Namco Entertainment headquarters in Tokyp approved it. However, this organization wanted him to work as an artist rather than a game creator. He made his directorial debut with Resident Evil 2 in 1996.
Let’s check out the names of some of the most popular games of Director Hideki Kamiya below;
- Resident Evil 2 (1998)
- Devil May Cry (2001)
- Resident Evil Zero (2002)
- Viewtiful Joe (2003)
- Devil May Cry 2 (2003)
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