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[Richie]

No official numbers have been revealed. A little trusted birdie told us that, as of mid-April 2015, the game's sold 157k units in the States. IIRC the last time the game charted on Japan it had sold 50k, but that's like three weeks after launch. This is missing present-day numbers, major territories like Europe and digital sales also, but...going from this, I wouldn't be surprised if the game hasn't reached 400k worldwide

With such sales, one could think the franchise has no future, that Nintendo won't be interested in pursuing future Bayonetta games. Yet...Maybe they don't see it this way? This is a Wii U game. That affected its sales' potential from the start. Sure, there are success stories, you have your Marios, your Smash, your Kart, Zeldas, your Splatoon...But you also have franchises like Donkey Kong and Kirby underperforming, and those are veteran IPs with mainstream appeal and quite the big legacy.

There's also all the prestige and critical acclaim Bayonetta 2 received; it's currently sitting pretty at Metacritic with a 91 score, and while I don't care much for the site, Nintendo themselves have brought it up for marketing purposes in the past. Why, the game was even nominated at the Game Awards for GOTY! A legit event in Nintendo's eyes, otherwise Miyamoto and Aonuma wouldn't have bothered to show up, much less premiered an exclusive look at Zelda U there.

So it may be delusion on my part, but, I think there's a chance Nintendo ain't letting go of Bayonetta in the future. The game expands their portfolio, it drowns them in accolades, it was an exclusive to brag about snatching. Despite its sales, do you think they're content with them under the circumstances, and may pursue the IP again down the road?

 

[KingBroly]

I think it was good enough in the sense that they'll continue to work with Platinum, not so much fund another Bayonetta.

 

[Striek]

Nope. No one does. There wont be another Bayonetta on any system.

 

[TheMoon]

Impossible to say.

We don't know how it did in the PAL region and we don't know what their sales expectations were but they were probably fairly realistic and not some crazy pie in the sky dream.

Even if they were super happy, doesn't mean they'll greenlight Bayonetta 3 or anything. They clearly liked working with PlatinumGames, see Star Fox Zero + Project Guard/GiantRobot and they'll keep doing that.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

I sure hope so...

 

[DownGrader]

I think it was good enough in the sense that they'll continue to work with Platinum, not so much fund another Bayonetta.

And they did it with Star Fox Zero. In fact, the partnership actually grew up out of that Easter egg flying section in Bayonetta 2.

 

[Golnei]

Nope. No one does. There wont be another Bayonetta on any system.

That's not completely fair - we don't know how successful the pachislot machine was, yet. Maybe it'll find an audience there.

 

[Muchi Muchi Pink]

Nope. No one does. There wont be another Bayonetta on any system.

Never say never. Because that's what we thought last time about Bayo 2.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

It was a strong critical success, and they're dumb if they think it would have changed fortunes for the system.

It probably worked out better than W101, which was neither a critical or sales success, and cost quite a bit to make.

 

[danmaku]

Sega still owns the IP, it's up to them to make another sequel, maybe with Nintendo maybe with someone else. I don't see a sequel coming in this gen, though. Maybe the next one.

 

[Neff]

I highly doubt there will be future Bayonetta games, unless B2 gets another chance on NX.

That said, I think Nintendo would have to have been aware of the limited appeal of the franchise when they picked it up, since the original wasn't a big success by any means. There's several likely reasons as to why they decided to rescue Bayonetta 2, but profit probably isn't one of them.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

I'd hope Nintendo would blame the Wii U before blaming Bayonetta 2 for its sales. Quality-wise it was obviously golden.

 

[random25]

Maybe it sold decently enough to get back the total funding on the game. It's up to Platinum to decide if they want another sequel to the series. And I'm highly sure Nintendo won't hesitate to fund it again if Platinum pitches it in.

That's not completely fair - we don't know how successful the pachislot machine was, yet. Maybe it'll find an audience there.

Much erotic and much violent. Oh my.

 

[ZeroX03]

Probably safe to say Platinum isn't working on Bayonetta 3, and those sales aren't lighting the world on fire. Sega obviously isn't interested in any more. Series is probably dead, but at least it went out on a very high note.

 

[Zalman]

I wouldn't say it's impossible that Nintendo funds another game. It was a critical success and led to good word-of-mouth. If NX is more successful, they could try again on a more popular platform.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Last I heard, B2 was over 700k by now. That's good enough for a niche Wii U title.

 

[foxuzamaki]

It sold more than the each individual console bayo 1 was on, we know that atleast, and I wouldn't be surprised if it got some (small) legs and is selling to this day, like its hard to pass up buying a game and getting another game free with it.

 

[Mpl90]

Last I heard, B2 was over 700k by now. That's good enough for a niche Wii U title.

I fear that's from ********, so it's bullshit.

 

[Kiant]

Well it did add something different to Nin's portfolio of games. It would probably have to be multi-plat if they do make a sequel though.

Spoiler

Please give us a sequel :-(

 

[Stilton Disco]

Bayonetta 2 bombed and bombed hard. No one is going to be happy about it's sales.

The critical acclaim likely helped Platinum hugely though. They seem to be the go to studio for hire these days for when anyone wants a well made niche title with a reliable release window.

So it's all good, and let's be fair, if the IP has to die, Bayonetta 2's bombastic, joyful insanity was a hell of a way to go out.

 

[Litri]

Considering how much Bayonetta sold on the other platforms, they are probably good enough. Single platform, userbase, etc.

 

[Deleted member 465307]

Has any Platinum game been a sales success? I'm not sure Bayonetta 2 is any less attractive than any other game they might make, apart from maybe when they get paid by a publisher to make a game in a franchise, like Metal Gear, Nier, or Star Fox.

 

[foxuzamaki]

Bayonetta 2 bombed and bombed hard. No one is going to be happy about it's sales.

The critical acclaim likely helped Platinum hugely though. They seem to be the go to studio for hire these days for when anyone wants a well made niche title with a reliable release window.

So it's all good, and let's be fair, if the IP has to die, Bayonetta 2's bombastic, joyful insanity was a hell of a way to go out.

it didn't really bomb that hard, wonderful 101 bombed hard tho, for what they got out of it, especially with the WiiU userbase at the time, it might have even done what they expected.

 

[direct_quote]

PG seems reduced to developing other people's IPs now... I wish we'd get Vanquish 2 or a spiritual successor to God Hand, but Mikami left so....

 

[SatoAilDarko]

Something to keep in mind is that almost all of the copies were sold at full price unlike most releases. The lowest it ever dropped was $45 a in the past few months and now it's gone from stores.

The cheapest new copy available on Amazon is $55 plus $4 shipping.

It seems to have basically sold what Nintendo shipped in America and done it at full price.

Edit:

I'll be interested to see the profitability of Bayonetta 2 compared to the multiplatform first. The first didn't sell amazingly, sold a much greater percentage of copies at discounted price.

It was also the first game while the second had a foundation b to build upon.

 

[Golnei]

Has any Platinum game been a sales success? I'm not sure Bayonetta 2 is any less attractive than any other game they might make, apart from maybe when they get paid by a publisher to make a game in a franchise, like Metal Gear, Nier, or Star Fox.

No original Platinum IP has been a success - for all their cult appeal, anything original from them is sales poison. Turning into a factory dedicated to licensed games and grunt work for other developers is really the best thing that could happen for them.

 

[Nirolak]

I don't think they'd be working on all these others games if Bayonetta 3 was in the cards.

They're not a giant studio.

 

[DownGrader]

Something to keep in mind is that almost all of the copies were sold at full price unlike most releases. The lowest it ever dropped was $45 a in the past few months and now it's gone from stores.

The cheapest new copy available on Amazon is $55 plus $4 shipping.

It seems to have basically sold what Nintendo shipped in America and done it at full price.

A friend of mine got his copy of Bayonetta 1+2 for around $6 because of the pricing error Basically, someone skipped a zero, and the game was sold for 250 rubles instead of 2500. T'was a good day. Maybe not so good for that poor store manager.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

I don't think they'd be working on all these others games if Bayonetta 3 was in the cards.

They're not a giant studio.

Though I suspect they had a much bigger project recently that probably got cancelled because the publisher pulled out.

 

[Brazil]

I like to think that they look back on it as something "worth it" regardless of sales, considering how it's one of the best games ever and how it'd never get made without them.

That's some legit goodwill you get from the fans there.

 

[oti]

Nope. No one does. There wont be another Bayonetta on any system.

Bayonetta... MOBA!
$$$$$£££¥$$¥$¥

 

[Auto-Reply]

I have no idea what Nintendo considers to be "good enough" when considering the WiiU marketshare.

In a perfect world, we would get a Jeanne spin-off aswell as Bayo3.

 

[random25]

Bayonetta 2 bombed and bombed hard. No one is going to be happy about it's sales.

The critical acclaim likely helped Platinum hugely though. They seem to be the go to studio for hire these days for when anyone wants a well made niche title with a reliable release window.

So it's all good, and let's be fair, if the IP has to die, Bayonetta 2's bombastic, joyful insanity was a hell of a way to go out.

It didn't bombed hard. Heck, it really didn't bomb, depending on how we define the term. Seems to have sold most of its shipment at full price. It just didn't sold as much as we would like it to be (like say, a million worldwide) given its GOTY mentions, high review scores, and its popularity among core action gaming fans. Both Nintendo and Platinum may have even lowered expectations on sales numbers given that Bayo 1 sold poorly on either PS3 or 360, thus no big shipment for Bayo 2.

 

[PantsuJo]

I know that Bayonetta 2 is licensed by Nintendo but we won't see any other game of this saga at this point, especially on Nintendo hardware.

The last hope for Bayonetta as IP is Steam.
We all know that this is the truth and the only possible future.
Bayonetta can survive only outside of Nintendo and outside of consoles.

 

[Neff]

Has any Platinum game been a sales success?

Bayonetta was a million seller, but obviously that wasn't satisfactory enough for Sega's investment.

They've never had a balls-out slam-dunk hit.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

I have no idea what Nintendo considers to be "good enough" when considering the WiiU marketshare.

In a perfect world, we would get a Jeanne spin-off aswell as Bayo3.

I liked Kamiya's idea for a Jeanne spin-off.

A 3DS game that plays like Viewtiful Joe.

 

[Mpl90]

Bayonetta was a million seller, but obviously that wasn't satisfactory enough for Sega's investment.

They've never had a balls-out slam-dunk hit.

Bayonetta saw a massive overshipment. It could've hit 1 million at retail in the end, but thanks to massive retailer discounts shortly after the launch. Bayonetta 2's price stayed at full MSRP / near enough for much longer in US, at least. Just in the past months we saw the game at 44.99, if not 34.99 from Gamestop.

 

[Persona7]

Something to keep in mind is that almost all of the copies were sold at full price unlike most releases. The lowest it ever dropped was $45 a in the past few months and now it's gone from stores.

The cheapest new copy available on Amazon is $55 plus $4 shipping.

It seems to have basically sold what Nintendo shipped in America and done it at full price.

Edit:

I'll be interested to see the profitability of Bayonetta 2 compared to the multiplatform first. The first didn't sell amazingly, sold a much greater percentage of copies at discounted price.

It was also the first game while the second had a foundation b to build upon.

I noticed that the gamestop near me randomly got a bunch of new copies of B2 that weren't there before. They also dropped the price to $34.99 so I am assuming this is some type of promotion and they received more copies or something like that. It was even available on their website but it seems to be out of stock now.

 

[CO_Andy]

Bayo 2 never reached the low value of $15 unlike the Wonderful 101. That's a good sign.

 

[AniHawk]

Though I suspect they had a much bigger project recently that probably got cancelled because the publisher pulled out.

i suppose this is one of those behind-the-scenes things, because all the currently-announced stuff looks like a lock. well, maybe microsoft got cold feet suddenly.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

i suppose this is one of those behind-the-scenes things, because all the currently-announced stuff looks like a lock. well, maybe microsoft got cold feet suddenly.

More just my personal theory that Rising 2 was in pre-production and no longer exists.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Yes there will be bayonetta 3 on NX. Nintendo has platinum for another one in store

 

[Muchi Muchi Pink]

Bayo 2 never reached the low value of $15 unlike the Wonderful 101. That's a good sign.

Maybe not in NA, but In Germany you can find a copy for 15€.

 

[Chamber]

I hope so. It's a niche little game on niche little platform, I don't know how high the sales expectations could have possibly been.

 

[AniHawk]

More just my personal theory that Rising 2 was in pre-production and no longer exists.

oh right. i forgot about konami doing things that sound like things they'd do.

 

[Punished_Snake]

Bayonetta 3 for NX, believe.

 

[Finalantagonist]

I think looking at it from the point of view as an "exclusive third-party IP" would make it seem pretty successful in the eyes of Nintendo. The fact you're even comparing it to Nintendo's personal IPs is a good sign.

I'd be surprised if we didn't see another Bayonetta game in some fashion soon, but it's kind of up in the air whether Nintendo will exclusively adopt it or not.

Kamiya seems vocal that he and everyone around him was pleased but Kamiya is just generally positively vocal about everything he does.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

Though I suspect they had a much bigger project recently that probably got cancelled because the publisher pulled out.

They can fill that hole up when Nintendo commissions them to work on a big, NX relaunch of a long demanded IP,

Spoiler

fucking Donkey Kong

.

Though in all honesty I want to see Nintendo give Platinum something more obscure to work with once they're done with Star Fox Zero. An action-focused Sheik game where Kamiya can pull from Okami to keep it (somewhat) Zelda-like could be cool. Could also fill in the huge gap I'm guessing we're in for after Zelda U finally comes out.

 

[Famassu]

400k would be pretty incredible for Bayonetta 2, considering it's on one of the worst selling consoles of all time and the fact (?) that (IIRC) Bayonetta 1 sold something like 1,2 million copies on two much more successful consoles. Selling about 1/3 of that on a console like Wii U seems relatively great.

Probably not enough for a Nintendo-published Bayonetta 3, though.

 

[DownGrader]

They can fill that hole up when Nintendo commissions them to work on a big, NX relaunch of a long demanded IP,

Spoiler

fucking Donkey Kong

.

Is Star Fox Zero a "big relaunch of a long demanded IP"?