Ninja Gaiden is going to be ‘in the Shadows for a while,’ according to the developers

Man, how time flies. Arcade-style action games are more or less a relic in terms of game design these days, as modern audiences have gradually flown the coop over to the First-Person Shooter or Action-RPG. But there was a time when games like Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry reigned supreme as some of the best interactive entertainment on the planet. Unfortunately, these types of action games haven't carved out much of a role on modern consoles, and with Ninja Gaiden, the series has seen a gradual yet epic decline, hitting rock bottom with Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z back in 2014.

Team Ninja has since changed up their approach, and have ventured into the Hardcore Action-RPG genre that Dark (Demon's) Souls has made famous over the last several years with Nioh. US Gamer caught up with Team Ninja's Creative Director, Tom Lee, who said that we should not be expecting another Ninja Gaiden game for a while.

He said:

"Maybe I can say that Nioh is a gateway into the next chapter for Ninja Gaiden. [Ninja Gaiden] is a very important, if not the most important franchise, for us. But at this point I think this franchise needs to be in the shadows for a while until we bring it back. There will be a time, and when the time is right, we will bring it back."

On the plus side, it sounds like Ninja Gaiden is not a dead franchise, and that the studio might very well be developing Nioh as a way to see how they can evolve the series. Both games emphasize difficulty as a core feature of their mechanics, but it's clear that Team Ninja feels as though the traditional Gaiden experience is a thing of the past.

Nioh, on the other hand, has a chance to be a solid Souls alternative for those looking for their next fix. The game releases next month on February 7th, and you can bet we are looking forward to it.

Source: [US Gamer]