Bayonetta frontman Hideki Kamiya believes the latest game in the series can solve Japan’s declining birth rates.
Japan is grappling with a rapidly declining birth rate, so much so that 2022 saw the lowest number of newborns (opens in a new tab) since records began in 1899. Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister Japanese, said the country may not even be able to function (opens in a new tab) in the future if birth rates do not rise to compensate for the country’s aging population.
But don’t worry, Hideki Kamiya has a solution to this problem: Bayonetta Origins. The head of co-studio PlatinumGames, in the tweet below, posits that playing Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon would make young adults want a kid like Cereza all to themselves.
Play “Ceressa and the devil’s lost child” ↓ I want a child like Celesa ↓ An unprecedented marriage boom is coming ↓ The problem of declining birthrate will be solved ↓ Let’s go let’s go let’s go let’s goMarch 17, 2023
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From there, Bayonetta Origins would race young adults to find partners to marry, ultimately resulting in the birth of a child; such is the seriousness of Cherry’s appeal. This, according to Kamiya’s plans, could be the silver bullet to Japan’s national crisis and contribute to the country’s declining birth rates.
It’s a bold argument, we grant you. Cherry is a very easy character to root for and root for in Bayonetta Origins, it’s true, but we’re not entirely convinced young adults would want a mischievous kid with the character’s mystical demonic powers gone mad.
As we noted in our Bayonetta Origins review, the new prequel manages to show off a shiny new side to Cherry. Is it enough for a couple to connect, get married and have a child? Kamiya certainly thinks so. We wish you the best in this bold new marketing strategy.
Take a look at our next switch games guide to see all the other Nintendo exclusives on the horizon, which may or may not solve Japan’s national crisis.