With the recent announcement that Ninja Gaiden 4 was in the works during the recent Xbox Developer_Direct, according to Team Ninja producer Fumihiko Yasuda, the idea for the company to team up with PlatinumGames for the development of Ninja Gaiden 4 was Phil Spencer’s idea.
Speaking to Game Watch, Yasuda credits Spencer for coming up with the idea for the team-up, while also talking about how difficult it was for Team Ninja to come up with a plan regarding the development of the game. Yasuda also mentions that Koei Tecmo president Hisashi Koinuma and PlatinumGames president Atsushi Inaba being good friends was important.
“I think everyone knows that the Ninja Gaiden series has been on hold for more than a decade, but Team Ninja has been considering making a new title for a long time,” Yasuda said according to a rough translation of the interview. “However, we were having difficult deciding on a plan. Then Koei Tecmo president Hisashi Koinuma and PlatinumGames president Atsushi Inaba, who are from the same generation and are good friends, had a chance to discuss the matter.”
Yasuda then spoke about the collective experience both the developers had with making fast-paced action games, with Team Ninja’s own experience with the Ninja Gaiden franchise, and PlatinumGames being well-regarded for titles like Nier: Automata and Bayonetta.
“After that, Phil Spencer from Microsoft suggested that the three companies – PlatinumGames, Koei Tecmo and Microsoft – work together on a new numbered title in the Ninja Gaiden series, and that’s how the project got started,” he continued. “We have developed action games ourselves, but because we were going to be making a new Ninja Gaiden for the first time in over a decade, PlatinumGames had already made a number of great action titles, such as Bayonetta and NieR: Automata, so we wanted to work with them, and that’s how the collaboration began.”
Spencer himself revealed in an interview earlier this month that plans for a new title in the Ninja Gaiden franchise actually started around “six or seven years ago”. He spoke about the relationships he had with various game publishers in Japan, and after a lot of conversations in-person as well as online, the plans for a Ninja Gaiden 4 were put into motion.
Ninja Gaiden 4 was announced with a trailer, and will be making its way to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S this Fall. The title will also be available through Game Pass.
The latest entry in the franchise will feature a brand new protagonist in the forum of Yakuma – a young ninja from the Raven Clan. Series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa will also be present in the story, and will likely play a pivotal role in the game’s events. The announcement trailer also indicated some level of rivalry between Yakuma and Hayabusa.
Ninja Gaiden 4 was announced alongside the launch of a remake of Ninja Gaiden 2 based on Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Titled Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, the game is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review for more details.
