Hideki Kamiya has no plans to retire, haunts Platinum’s car park in a lambo
Platinum Games co-founder Hideki Kamiya recently left the company in a surprise move and has now opened a YouTube channel.
In his first video, he updated fans on what he’s been up to since his exit from the studio. “I’m out of a job, so please subscribe,” the Bayonetta director opened up the video. He went on to state that he’s been watching lots of Netflix, Disney Plus, and YouTube, feeling very refreshed after being out of a job for three months now. That indicates that Kamiya actually exited the company some time before the official announcement was made.
The game developer didn’t want to go into the reasons behind his exit from Platinum, saying: “How should I put it. Uhm. There’s no way I can put it. You guys understand, right?”
Make sure to enable subtitles when watching the video!
He continued: “I’d say, I left the company because I wanted to follow my beliefs as a game creator. And to choose the path I think is right and move on.” Reading between the lines, it seems like there were stark differences in opinion as to the creative direction of the studio.
Kamiya also said that while he has no plans of retiring – “to be super clear, I’m not retiring, as long as there’s a place that would hire me, so you know… I’m gonna wait for the offer” – he’s unable to go back to work straight away for a year, so it seems like he’s signed a non-compete agreement upon leaving that’ll take him out of action at least until next year.
For any company that wants to hire him after that, Kamiya has already shared his expected salary: “I will consider any offer above 100 million yen a year.” That’s around $670,000 USD.
He doesn't look especially needful of the unemployment office's help like this.
Hideki Kamiya on YouTube
Kamiya ends his video by leaving the Platinum Games car part in his Lamborghini Countach (current prices go between $500,000 and $1,000,000 USD), saying: “Off to the unemployment center. See you!”
Seeing his car, it’s doubtful that he needs the unemployment office’s help – and it’s quite clear that he’s enjoying his newly found free time way too much to be bothered to work, at least for now.
