• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Whatever happened to Itagaki's "Devil's Third"?

U

UrbanRats

Member
So i remember the old 2011 trailer:
http://youtu.be/xF_jdR6COVM

Which made it look like a crazy and cool multiplayer (?) action game, mixing 3rd person shooting and melee.

Then THQ dropped the franchise, and gave the rights back to Valhalla Studios.

Itagaki spoke about the game being perfect for WiiU, and there was also a mention of Valhalla Studios partnering up with some Korean devs.. but that was in 2012's Summer.

Whatever happened? Do you think they might move it to next gen? Or could it come out right at the end of this one? (would make the most sense, if the game is almost over, due to installed base)

And more importantly, what looked like a crazy action game with Katanas and people running on walls, is being described as a realistic military game now?
"In the resulting turmoil, war erupts around the world as the balance of military power is thrown into chaos. For a better idea of Devil's Third, please try to imagine in what ways infantry battle would be altered in a world without satellite technology," said Valhalla.

"Close study of military affairs, historical verification and geopolitical analysis form the backbone of development for an intense, dramatic story in a fierce and cruel world."
Click to expand...

The fuck is going on, Itagaki?
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
Probably a next-gen exclusive for Sony or MS. It'd be interesting to see it be picked up by Ninty, but I assume Bayonetta 2 is enough for them right now.
 
FrostuTheNinja

FrostuTheNinja

Member
Oooooooooooooooooooooh yeah! I completely forgot about this. Would be crap if it just ended up being just another boom boom explosion game. :/
 
T

TEJ

Member
I hope it does come out.

It would be interesting to see a game with good gunplay and good melee combat.
 
B

bone_and_sinew

breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
I thought it was going to be his Ninja Gaiden to Platinum's Vanquish.

Last I heard he was shopping for publishers after THQ let it go.
 
Vlaphor

Vlaphor

Member
I think they had to rebuild large parts of the game due to a licensing issue, and THQ saw that as too expensive so they bailed and gave the game back to Valhalla
 
U

UrbanRats

Member
Jobiensis said:
Let him take his time, we don't need a rushed thing like NG2.

Hopefully for Next Gen consoles.
Click to expand...

Sure he can have all the time in the world, i just wish to know what the game is about.
I wish i could find it, but i remember an interview where he (Itagaki) was all nerdy about Battlefield 3 not being realistic and simulative enough, so i have to wonder if that 2011 trailer is, at this point, even remotely indicative of what we'll get.

EDIT: Ah.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...s-devil-39-s-third-and-next-gen-consoles.aspx
 
U

UrbanRats

Member
Interesting bits from the interview linked above:
Are you running into any hardware limitations with the Xbox 360 and PS3? Are you looking forward to the next generation of consoles?

If I didn’t have any knowledge of the economy, or if I were young, I'd want to release my game on the new platform. The decision I’m making now is that, if I released my next game on a next-gen console or if someone releases a next gen console, then all the publishers developers and players will be so confused and everything will be messed up because of the economical situation. The U.S. economy is bad. The EU economy is bad. The Japanese economy is bad. This is not good timing for the release of a next-generation console. This is just not for the game industry. I can say the same for customers.
--
One of the big debates entrenched fans have about Call of Duty and Battlefield is frames per second. Call of Duty runs at 60 fps, but Battlefield runs at 30 fps to accommodate a larger scale battle. Where does Devil’s Third fall in this spectrum? Do you think it even matters?

My game runs at 30. Our graphics engine can draw very beautiful images at 30 frames per second like the Battlefield series.
--
With Call of Duty, Battlefield, Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, etc., the military shooter genre is overcrowded right now. What is the Devil’s Third going to bring to the table to help it stand out?

It’s going to be a more physical game. Those games you mentioned are specifically about playing and fighting with guns. The close quarters combat is not so good. It doesn’t look that great.
Click to expand...

Not the one i was talking about unfortunately.
 
R

Retro_

Unconfirmed Member
This happened

Farrell explained that the company chose to let go of the title as it wasn't in a good position to make a profit. Farrell said that the game had to switch engines mid-development, which introduced some unforeseen financial burdens in the middle of its production cycle.

According to Farrell, the company behind the original Devil's Third engine went out of business, and THQ had to help the game transition to new tech. At TGS 2011, Itagaki told Gamasutra that the game was using a customized version of Relic's proprietary engine.
Click to expand...

When we ranked all of our product releases when we underwent our restructuring, the profitability of Devil's Third wasn't comparable with our other franchises," Farrell added.
Click to expand...

Basically the financial burden of the project due to its troubled development outweighed any potential profitability the title might have had for the company. So they canned it.

All hope isn't lost yet though as THQ had relinquished the rights to the property to Itagaki and his studio. So they're free to find another partner to bring the game out

no news on if they were successful in that endeavor though.

For what it's worth Valhalla Game Studios is still an existing company, so I mean they must be working on something
 
P

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Vlaphor said:
I think they had to rebuild large parts of the game due to a licensing issue, and THQ saw that as too expensive so they bailed and gave the game back to Valhalla
Click to expand...

More like Itagaki and team were busy partying rather than building the actual game. Which somehow wound up looking worse than the original trailer footage when checked up on. After the amount of time and $$$ wasted on the wanna-be rockstar its no surprise they bailed.
 
R

Retro_

Unconfirmed Member
bone_and_sinew said:
I thought it was going to be his Ninja Gaiden to Platinum's Vanquish.
Click to expand...

Nah I don't think it was supposed to be anything like NG

It obviously had melee combat but I'm pretty sure he was aiming for the online multiplayer shooter space over the kind of action games he made at Tecmo.

This reminds me of a quote he made towards Bayonetta a few years ago, which is pretty hilarious in hindsight

1UP: What do you think about Bayonetta, as a game? Do you think Kamiya is right to follow the Devil May Cry formula so closely?

TI: If I made a similar game as a game I made in the company I quit, people would say, "What an idiot, can't he make anything else?" Well, that is more or less the opinion I have for, uh, that Bayo-something game.

1UP: What do you think of Bayonetta's character design? She's covered in hair.

TI: Covered in hair, is she? I dunno, Mr. Kamiya must have a lot going through his head. Well, in any case, I would first recommend laser eye surgery. I'm sure he's not that strapped for cash, right?
Click to expand...

http://www.1up.com/news/developer-interview-itagaki-skewers-competition?pager.offset=0

Karma is a bitch lol
 
U

UrbanRats

Member
Retro_ said:
This happened





Basically the financial burden of the project due to its troubled development outweighed any potential profitability the title might have had for the company. So they canned it.

All hope isn't lost yet though as THQ had relinquished the rights to the property to Itagaki and his studio. So they're free to find another partner to bring the game out

no news on if they were successful in that endeavor though.

For what it's worth Valhalla Game Studios is still an existing company, so I mean they must be working on something
Click to expand...
Their partnering up with that Korean studio, makes me think they could be able to release this Fall, with a bit of luck.
Maybe they'll show something at E3? Also now they're using Relic's engine, but i hope they don't have to switch it up again due to THQ going under.

Parakeetman said:
More like Itagaki and team were busy partying rather than building the actual game. Which somehow wound up looking worse than the original trailer footage when checked up on. After the amount of time and $$$ wasted on the wanna-be rockstar its no surprise they bailed.
Click to expand...

GrayFoxPL said:
I'm sure the development in a bar is going great.
Click to expand...
Well, there was this.
 
D

Danielsan

Member
Retro_ said:
Nah I don't think it was supposed to be anything like NG

It obviously had melee combat but I'm pretty sure he was aiming for the online multiplayer shooter space over the kind of action games he made at Tecmo.

This reminds me of a quote he made towards Bayonetta a few years ago, which is pretty hilarious in hindsight



http://www.1up.com/news/developer-interview-itagaki-skewers-competition?pager.offset=0

Karma is a bitch lol
Click to expand...
Their feud has always been hilarious, especially considering they're both great shit talkers. Still, Itagaki has always been inferior to Kamiya's awesomeness. While Itagaki has been dicking around and trying to create Devil's Third, Kamiya has put out what is arguably the best game in its genre and is scheduled to release yet another fantastic title later this year.
 
D

Deadly

Member
Danielsan said:
Their feud has always been hilarious, especially considering they're both great shit talkers. Still, Itagaki has always been inferior to Kamiya's awesomeness. While Itagaki has been dicking around and trying to create Devil's Third, Kamiya has put out what is arguably the best game in its genre and is scheduled to release yet another fantastic title later this year.
Click to expand...
What has Kamiya said about Itagaki ?
 
R

Retro_

Unconfirmed Member
UrbanRats said:
Their partnering up with that Korean studio, makes me think they could be able to release this Fall, with a bit of luck.
Click to expand...

They're partnering with Doobic games to develop tablet and PC versions of Devil's Third. Not any kind of publishing deal for the PS360 versions.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/20/devils-third-developer-forms-joint-venture-with-doobic/

Doobic's only previous title is a F2P shooter.

So this kind of news doesn't really inspire confidence in me. It more suggests that they're just turning to F2P game development with the brand.
 
U

UrbanRats

Member
Danielsan said:
Their feud has always been hilarious, especially considering they're both great shit talkers. Still, Itagaki has always been inferior to Kamiya's awesomeness. While Itagaki has been dicking around and trying to create Devil's Third, Kamiya has put out what is arguably the best game in its genre and is scheduled to release yet another fantastic title later this year.
Click to expand...

Well it wasn't completely Itagaki's fault if THQ went to shit.

Retro_ said:
They're partnering with Doobic games to develop tablet and PC versions of Devil's Third. Not any kind of publishing deal for the PS360 versions.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/20/devils-third-developer-forms-joint-venture-with-doobic/

Doobic's only previous title is a F2P shooter.

So this kind of news doesn't really inspire confidence in me. So much as it suggests that they're just turning to F2P game development on the PC and tablet space.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the tablet version especially puzzles me.
 
V

Veelk

Banned
Danielsan said:
Their feud has always been hilarious, especially considering they're both great shit talkers. Still, Itagaki has always been inferior to Kamiya's awesomeness. While Itagaki has been dicking around and trying to create Devil's Third, Kamiya has put out what is arguably the best game in its genre and is scheduled to release yet another fantastic title later this year.
Click to expand...

I don't want to turn this into yet another cock fight, but the only reason that Bayonetta is only arguably the best game in it's genre is because many people prefer the combat in Ninja Gaiden 2, and that game isn't even finished.

But I think both Itagaki and Kamiya are amazing developers and deserve the majority of the ego they have. Problem is that I think Itagaki got hit with a lot of bad luck by signing up with THQ and then getting ditched and having to work with a smaller developer while Platinum got saved by goddamn Nintendo and Konami so they could make what are likely going to be commercial hits. With Sega falling apart the way it did, Kamiya's fate could have easily been Itagaki's own.

Personally, if I ever win the big lottery (like, 500 mill) I am going to give 20 million dollars to both Kamiya and Itagaki and bless the world with two of the best action games ever.
 
R

rvy

Banned
Zrzut-ekranu-2010-09-18-godz.-10.54.02.jpg


Devil's Third, where art thou :'(?
 
R

Retro_

Unconfirmed Member
UrbanRats said:
Well it wasn't completely Itagaki's fault if THQ went to shit.
Click to expand...

That and the company that developed the engine they were using for the game up and went out of business mid development.

I'm pretty sure that's what ruined the project more than anything. I think THQ was probably the best partner for the type of game he was making.

Yeah, the tablet version especially puzzles me.
Click to expand...

I've got hope still despite all the contrary evidence. lol

If it's a no show and E3 and TGS again this year though, I'll be willing to accept the reality that the game in that E3 trailer is probably never going to exist
 
GrayFoxPL

GrayFoxPL

Member
ArjanN said:
I'm always surprised people actually buy into the whole rockstar image. It's an boring office full of geeks coding like every other game developer.
Click to expand...

I didn't meant his image. I meant he's depressed, drinking at a bar alone, because of the ruin he pushed himself into.
 
E

Endo Punk

Member
Itagaki needs to get over his ego and let a Japanese developer publish his game. I understand not going back to Tecmo but surely Konami or Square would help. Isn't he like tight with Kojima?
 
P

PhatSaqs

Banned
Lord what I would do to see a proper NG sequel, non rushed, and headed by Itagaki. I'd probably kill myself from excitement overload if it were ever announced........ :'(
 
K

KissVibes

Banned
Itagaki is one of the few I respect. He has a very frank personality and doesn't say much I disagree with. I hope Devil's Third gets off the ground and he shows that scrub Hayashi how to make a good action game. I mean holy shit, it's taken three releases of Ninja Gaiden 3 before it's finally right. That's embasrassing and kinda funny. It's almost like the Devil's Third title describes Hayashi and his NG3 attempts; like Itagaki put a curse on him where he can't make good games.

PhatSaqs said:
Lord what I would do to see a proper NG sequel, non rushed, and headed by Itagaki. I'd probably kill myself from excitement overload if it were ever announced........ :'(
Click to expand...

Maybe Tecmo should've done a little foreplay before they fucked him.

chertipros said:
I thought kamiya and itagaki had beef?
Click to expand...

Only if you're a mark.

The way those two act is classic wrestling shit. Same with the Tekken dude, all of them talk shit and rattle the cage because it's so easy for marks to buy into that shit. Hell, people in this every thread, even buy into Itagaki's playboy rockstar act. It's really funny to watch as a pro wrestling fan, I can see right through these acts.
 
R

rvy

Banned
TreIII said:
This so much.

But as a DOA fan, it should go without saying that series certainly benefited from Itagaki's departure more than Ninja Gaiden did.
Click to expand...

Ninja GAIDEN didn't benefit at all. Hayashit is a fucking hack. NG with no Itagaki is a travesty.

Will you be my daddy?
Click to expand...

bc183a124b0400b89e99cc93e655e6c7792c8593.gif


Itagaki_270x405.jpg


#Master Ninja Swag

ia_metroid_content_02.jpg


#NinjaDogShit Swag
 
Z

zroid

Banned
Imagine the resultant Iwata Asks with Itagaki. That alone makes it worth hoping it's coming to Wii U.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

The "I survived development hell" club (7 years+) of games.
2
62
8K
Ozriel replied
Ancient Roman figures brought to life via AI
Science 2 3
100
7K
Dirk Benedict replied
  • Locked
How The Last of Us became 'the greatest story' ever told in video games
Opinion Analysis 2 3 4 5
203
19K
Elysium44 replied
The 3DO is a great system with an incredible library of games. A recommendation thread. (Gif img heavy)
2 3
127
24K
trapexit replied
What happened to 12 of gaming's biggest studios after they were sold
2 3
116
13K
D.Final replied
Top Bottom