Joystiq

In a Q&A session with Gamespot, the folks at Sega detailed some of their plans and expectations for the recently announced four-game publishing deal with Platinum Games. The agreement, which grants Sega exclusive rights to Mad World (Wii), Bayonetta (PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360), Infinite Line (DS) and a mystery title from Resident Evil designer, Shinji Mikami, was officially announced during a special event last week.

"The guys at Platinum are just at the top of their game right now, and what they've delivered is so clearly AAA in every way, when they started to show us product, we had to have it," said Sega of America president, Simon Jeffery. When asked about the marketing challenges inherent in starting up three (possibly four) new IPs, Jeffery notes that Sega is in it for the long run. "What we've seen today is the starting point, but all of those games--Bayonetta, Madworld, Infinite Line--won't be one-offs," he explained. "They're all uniquely different enough from everything in their space to build complete franchises out of. The whole foundation of PlatinumGames is built around that long-term strategy."

Though talk of franchises this early in a game's life would normally elicit concern, the ex-Clover talent at Platinum Games could certainly do with the commercial success to match their critical acclaim. Y'know, aside from the Devil May Cry and Resident Evil guys.