Bayonetta Origins will solve Japan's birth rate crisis, according to its director

Bayonetta lead Hideki Kamiya reckons the latest game in the series can solve Japan's declining birth rates.

Japan is in the vice-like grip of rapidly-declining birth rates - so much so that 2022 saw the lowest number of newborns since records began in 1899. Fumio Kishida, Japan's prime minister, has said the country may even be unable to function in the future if the birth rates don't rise to counter the nation's ageing population.

But don't worry, Hideki Kamiya has a solution to this problem: Bayonetta Origins. The PlatinumGames co-studio head, in the tweet below, posits that playing Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon would make young adults want a child like Cereza all of their own.

From there, Bayonetta Origins would hasten young adults to seek marriage partners, which would eventually result in the birth of a child - such is the gravitas of Cereza's appeal. This, Kamiya plans, could be the silver bullet for Japan's national crisis, and help the nation's declining birth rates.

It's a bold argument, we'll give him that. Cereza is a very easy character to get behind and root for in Bayonetta Origins, it's true, but we're not quite convinced that young adults would even want a mischievous child with the character's mystical demon-like powers running amok.

As we noted in our Bayonetta Origins review, the new prequel succeeds in showcasing a glowing new side of Cereza. Is that enough for a couple to hook up, marry, and conceive a child? Kamiya certainly thinks so. We wish him nothing but the best on this bold new marketing strategy.

Check out our upcoming Switch games guide for a look at all the other Nintendo exclusives on the horizon, that may or may not solve Japan's national crisis.