It looks like PlatinumGames has taken full ownership of The Wonderful 101.
As shared on the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit by user Joseki100, a new filing in the US trademark office has revealed that PlatinumGames has taken full ownership of the franchise. You can read and even download the filing online, but we’ve taken the liberty of clipping the note that was appended to this document:
“Registrant PlatinumGames Inc. attaches a copy of the Trademark Assignment Cover Sheet as well as the Notice of Recordation confirming that the subject trademark registration, Reg. No. 4602018, has been assigned from the prior owner, Nintendo of America Inc., to the current owner, PlatinumGames Inc., and this assignment has been recorded at REEL/FRAME: 8543/0892.
Registrant requests that the USPTO’s records be updated to reflect the correct owner of the registration, and that the renewal notice be issued in the name of the correct owner, PlatinumGames Inc.”
Originally released in 2013 as a Wii U exclusive, The Wonderful 101allowed you to control as many as 101 masked superheroes, using a special ability called “Unite Morph” where the heroes would take on various shapes to fulfill specific functions.
The game was the creative brainchild of Hideki Kamiya. Kamiya had previously explored the idea of superhero themed video games with Viewtiful Joe, but also experimented with unusual control schemes with Okami.
The Wonderful 101 was originally designed around the Wii and its motion controls. However, when PlatinumGames approached Nintendo about a partnership, they struck a deal to make the game Wii U exclusive. As a result, the game was redesigned around the Wii U’s unique features, namely the GamePad’s touch screen and the dual screen idea of the console.
Now PlatinumGames’ deal with Nintendo had an interesting caveat. Nintendo shares the copyright for The Wonderful 101, and subsequently is the sole owner of the trademark. PlatinumGames had to convince Nintendo to let them bring the game to new platforms when they made The Wonderful 101 Remastered.
Nintendo kept the rights but allowed PlatinumGames to go through with this. PlatinumGames would go on to launch a successful Kickstarter, and brought the remaster to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam in 2020.
Neither Nintendo or PlatimumGames have publicly disclosed how many units the game sold, or if either release could be considered financially successful. However, both designer Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba have both professed their passion for the IP, and their desire to make a sequel.
And this is where things get awkward. One year ago, Hideki Kamiya announced that he would leave PlatinumGames. Kamiya would later clarify that he was not retiring, but that he left the company over trust issues. He would then confirm with fans that the games he made with PlatinumGames were owned by them.
With this in mind, we must entertain the possibility that PlatinumGames made this move, not because of Nintendo, but because of Kamiya. While PlatinumGames and Nintendo clearly enjoy a very close relationship, they may have wanted to close any windows for Kamiya to do something with The Wonderful 101 IP.
As such, this does not necessarily mean PlatinumGames will make any new The Wonderful 101 games in the future. This is certainly one of those things fans don’t want to think about, but these are certainly the sort of things that can motivate these moves.
In any case, this also opens up the possibility that PlatinumGames will make future The Wonderful 101 products outside of Nintendo, and they may not be video games. It’s possible that a The Wonderful 101 movie or show, for example, could be more easily made now.
We would certainly welcome some The Wonderful 101 toys that could actually implement the game’s gimmick IRL, perhaps a cross between LEGO and M.U.S.C.L.E? In any case, maybe there’s something to look forward to from this after all.
