Not at first, anyway
Platinum Games has been in business for nearly 10 years, and in that time the studio has changed a great deal. The development team has tripled in size since 2006, and, in more recent history, transitioned from just making original titles to a mix of new IPs and licensed products.
Speaking with Weekly Famitsu in the magazine’s most recent issue, Platinum CEO Tatsuya Minami discussed the company’s philosophy behind becoming something of a hired gun.
“We used to have the idea that we wanted to be a studio that only made 100 percent original games,” Tatsuya Minami told Famitsu (as translated by Kotaku). “However, it turns out that only doing that is considerably difficult, and so now we take on various work.”
Since making original games is inherently risky, working on established franchises like Metal Gear and Star Fox (and developing adaptations of Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) has allowed Platinum to take risks and continue creating its own unique projects.
And it’s not like working on other properties is a negative experience. According to game director Eiro Shirahama, Platinum’s clients give the studio “tremendous freedom with development,” allowing the company to do what it does best — design excellent action games.
Platinum Games: Making only original titles is very difficult [Kotaku]
