Tomonobu Itagaki is certainly a peculiar figure in the gaming industry. The designer, who is mostly known for creating popular games like Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, doesn't really hold back whenever he goes on record.
That happened once again recently, when Itagaki was interviewed by Polygon's James Mielke. The interview is centered around Itagaki's latest production, Devil's Third, developed by his Valhalla Game Studios and released for Nintendo's WiiU last year.
When asked about a potential sequel, he mentioned his uncertainty in regards to console hardware after PlayStation 4 Pro and the upcoming Xbox Scorpio. He then went ahead to say that Microsoft and Sony are making these enhanced consoles because of Virtual Reality, since the original PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are not powerful enough.
We don't know what the next hardware is going to be. So, there's a high chance [Devil's Third 2] will come out on the PC.
I think that the future is stormy. It's difficult to see beyond that. I'm talking about the consoles past those, past Project Scorpio. I'd like to release Devil's Third 2 on PlayStation 5 and whatever comes after Xbox One. But I don't think that's the way it's going to happen.
PlayStation 4 Pro is just rhetoric. The current gen doesn't have enough power to support VR, so they're releasing it to support VR. I'm going to get in trouble again for saying this, aren't I? Microsoft and Sony are going to be on my case for saying shit like this. PS4 Pro is not really their motivation. VR, which is what the upgrade is for, requires a lot of processing power.
Many have speculated that Sony's primary motivation with the PlayStation 4 Pro was to bolster the newly launched PlayStation VR and it looks like Itagaki sits firmly within this camp.
Microsoft also promised that Project Scorpio will offer full VR support, even though there's no certainty yet as to the hardware that will provide it.
In case you're wondering about Devil's Third Online (a free-to-play multiplayer-only version of the game that launched last June in Japan for PC), it's about to be localized for a Western release.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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