Re-imaging of Dante, and the New Devil May Cry

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“I remember calling it Developers May Cry, it looked that good.” God of War III’s game director Stig Asmussen confesses in the upcoming God of War Directors Live event, when asked about his art direction days on the original God of War. Devil May Cry; its headliner, Dante; and the entire DMC mythology have sprung installments on multiple consoles, comic books and an anime series. Dante is an iconic figure in the video game world, so imagine the reaction when Lead Producer Alex Jones and Chief Creative Director Tameem Antoniades were tapped to change everything we know about Devil May Cry and start from scratch. The result? DmC.


Clearly, Ninja Theory and Capcom were anticipating a strong reaction and fan skepticism, but after my conversation with the new DmC team, I grew more confident that Dante and the cast of DmC are in good hands. It’s daring, crazy and extremely challenging to change an 11-year-old franchise. But, if Christopher Nolan can do it with Batman Begins, maybe Ninja Theory can do the same for Devil May Cry. I’m sure you’ll agree when I say that I feverishly await more details behind the new DmC. Expect both Jones and Antoniades to visit the PlayStation.Blog in the future.

I like the new hair. There, I said it.

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291 Comments

11 Author Replies

  • Ok its a reboot meaining that Ninja Theory is allowed to make some changes. I personaly would buy this because It looks like the action hasn’t been changed much.Give developers some time to make great games. just remember after the third batman movie they all started to suck until Mr. Nolan took over so hope for the best

  • Hey I like it. As long as he in it longer then he was 4 and its better then 2. Because that one was repetitive and he hardly did anything. I looks like the story of the beginnings of Dante. that he is getting used to his powers and getting cocky. In a good way. One last thing. The series need a re-boot, It was getting closer and closer to those cliché action games.

  • @ForgiveMyAim
    I really would like to see that!

  • I loved the original games, except 2. THe reboot looks great.

  • I think the game will be great. However, the new look for Dante sucks. They said the old Dante was no longer cool enough, but now he looks like some little emo punk who wants to sit around cut his wrists and cry about it. The old Dante was way cooler.

  • @kchow23: I fully agree with you. Christopher Nolan and Wes Anderson are two of my fave writer/directors. I also think that Kojima and Levine are the two key people that could emulate that level of brilliance in a game. Of course, I think David Cage should also get a mention.

    There is no way Ninja Theory could even near that. Heavenly Sword was a good game, but nothing more.

  • There is no questioning that you must realize the awesome task that you have taken upon yourselves with what you are doing with the DMC franchise. The idea that you could weather the storm of all this negativity and prove the internet biomass wrong by creating a really interesting and bold re-imagining of DMC is really exciting.

    I don’t like or dislike what you have shown so far. But, I am intrigued. If you have the stones to stick with your designs I’ll be really impressed.

  • I’m against all this as well but the story could redeem it a tad. Want to know more. I’ve beaten all the games, read the novels, read the manga, and watched the anime; this is my favorite franchise and I want to see it done right. The way Dante seems powerless and somewhat reluctant is really only mimic’ed in the first DMC novel (which is actually no longer considered canon but still a really good read and it ties in with the anime). Could this game be bordering the same line as that novel?

  • DANTE MAY CRY !!!

  • I bet I know why you like Dante’s new hair.

  • So the new character is suppose to be “cool”? He smokes which is so not cool. He was smoking in what three scenes in the trailer? Either the developers consider smoking am important part of the character (pathetic) or they are unable to come up with good cinema scenes without smoking (also pathetic, but hopefully untrue).

    Reasons I like the old Dante: He’s sexy, self-confident, invincible, a smart alack, and he isn’t a kid. I’m pushing 30 here, I don’t want to play some punk kid. Punk kids are a dime a dozen!

  • New gameplay could be interesting. Art and everything seems good. But the new Dante, I do not like at all. I’ve owned and played all the Devil May Cry games. They were all good. 2 and 3 weren’t the best but still good. When I saw a new DMC would be coming out I was excited til I saw the video with the new Dante. It’s terrible and a Disgrace to the franchise. I will not buy this game, EVER! Unless you bring the real Dante back. And any TRUE Devil May Cry fans would agree.

  • change hurts, but its almost always worth it.

    give them a chance, if u dont like it, next dante game will come out in 4-5 years and he will have white hair again. big deal… have some faith in ninja theory

  • NO NO HELL NO F*** NO KEEP THE ORIGINAL DANTE!!!!! THE SILVER HAIR WAS PART OF HIS CHARACTER JUST KEEP HIM THE SAME. THE NEW ONE JUST LOOKS STUPID

  • I really hate Dantes new look and the fact he wont have his style anymore, Idc if hes a littler edgier , Him looking the way he did and his style was what made him bad ass. We need the old Dante back! Without him im not sure about this game. Otherwise the gameplay looks alright..

  • I like the idea of of a new DMC. I just don’t like that Capcom gave them the go ahead to destroy an iconic character. First the black hair. In Japanese lore, demonic beings are born with white hair. I think it was in the prequel (#3) that the original creator showed Dante and Vergil with white hair during their childhood. The second is him smoking. There was a reason why Dante never smoke in the other games: The character’s creator made Dante a non-smoker. I see all these changes as a slap to Hideki Kamiya’s face from Capcom and somewhat from Ninja Theory. I just hope Kamiya-san answers back with a Bayonetta 2 announcement.

  • Why is there Twilight in my DMC?!@!

  • I have been a big DMC fan since the first one in 2001, but the new Dante is just sad.

    ps smoking doesn’t make him cooler.. >_>

  • Game play will always be king. However, what worries me the most is the fact that someone spent time and energy to determine it should be written DmC (uppercase, lowercase, uppercase). That tells me the designers are focusing on the wrong thing.

    Also, if we’re using Batman comparisons, I would put this stye in the Val Kilmer/George Clooney movies and not the Dark Knight.

  • The absolute and utter destruction and disgrace of a beloved character and series. Might as well give a full makeover of mario and the likes as well. You may say its a different genre or a different culture behind the series but obviously many have disagreed. Just completely uncalled for and unjustified…

    You may believe in what you are doing, but to simply stand by it without any question, infuriating many fans without so much as a flinch or any consideration that perhaps you shouldn’t persist with this “re-imagining” or at least make it as a new character instead of simply disgracing the original dante etc… shows not dedication but down right arrogance. You really do nothing but belittle the fans, and that is more infuriating than anything else.

    You have been completely removed all interest from any titles you ever make ever again, and I stand by that statement firmly, with no exceptions. I may be one person but I am certain that the same or similar conclusions are shared by many many others. As such, I do hope the sales reflect peoples disappointment, and the series will return to its former style.

  • Hate the new Dante and Ninja Theory is the wrong dev for this project. A sad day for the Devil May Cry franchise…. :(

    @48 I didn’t mind the Enslaved demo. Controls did feel loose but it was still good fun.

  • screw all the haters…the new Dante looks like he would spit in the eye of the old Dante then kick him in the side of the head so hard he would knock the white right out of his hair.

    I can’t wait for this reboot

  • @71 100% agree with you dood.

  • I am actually excited for a revamping. I love the other games to pieces. I’m not going to rage on the new look until I actually have the game in my hands and play it. One little teaser/info video is not actually enough to make a solid argument. In my opinion at least.

    • Very good opinion. I’m eager to see more. Clearly, from all these comments one can tell Ninja Theory has much to prove, never turn your back on the underdog.

  • What made dante “cool” to me was his attitude and flash behavior. He isn’t an easy being to kill and he KNOWS that. He has enough skill and talent to take down the most mean and powerful demons around.

    The thing about him is that it was as if he took every encounter on as if it was a walk in the park and you as a gamer should feel ashamed if you lose to the enemies. His light heated attitude kept the melodramatic cheese down to the minimum and gave it a well needed sense of playfulness that somehow makes me feel as if he is one of the few awesome iconic heroes in the gaming landscape that simply don’t need to be be angry or very serious. We get that in way to many games as it is.

  • So let me get this straight.. they want this to appeal to the West, which from what I’ve been seeing in upcoming games lately means staying away from ‘skinny pretty boy types’ and going for big Marcus Fenix types.. hell, even look at Nier, they changed the protagonist for the western version to an old, big burly barbarian dude. So for DMC, they decide to take a well established character and change him into a skinny, beat up, druggy, pretty boy type?? wtf? I’m so confused! It isn’t just the hair either (which looks like the Creative Director’s hairdo mind you). The jacket just looks..off. I don’t know what it is, it makes his shoulders look really puffy and makes the character look oddly proportioned. I doubt the game needed a reboot because fans no longer thought Dante looked ‘cool’ enough.

  • I would trust ninja theory with my LIFE!!!

  • Okay, I think everyone is being WAY too whiny about the new look. I kinda like it. What I find the funniest, is no even has a real reason to be whining. You don’t know what this game is going to be like yet. NO ONE DOES, IT WAS JUST A TEASER. So stop with the immature high school stereotyping, and wait for more info/demo if ones ever released. I trust that Capcom isn’t about to let Ninja Theory ruin the franchise. Just wait till it’s out, I bet it will blow your mind.

  • @70 Batnipples and all?

  • What happened to “we want to give the fans what they want”? I can’t imagine anyone not on hallucinogens sitting down and devising this look for a “cool” Dante.

    I am willing to give this game a chance as long as it has a real story. That is the one aspect, IMO, that Capcom consistently failed to get right. It certainly felt that each game was created on the fly and there was a lack of cohesiveness between the games. That is probably most apparent between DMC and DMC 2.

  • #76 You speak truth!

  • i dont like it and the music in the trailer is horrible

  • I’m tellin ya man capcom is on a roll for pissing people off. lol

  • I’m only got to play DMC4 so not much bothers me with the revamp. It’s kind of like in the comics when other artists do there own rendition of characters. It can add fresh ideas and maybe even draw other people into it. I mean it is a restart of the series so it’s not like they are ruining the old storyline. I can’t wait to see more on this in the future.

    • That’s an excellent, and brilliant analogy. This is EXACTLY what this is. I’m with you, I can’t wait to see more.

  • just give the option to play with the real dante

  • Honestly, I see this being the first Devil May Cry I’ll be able to get in to since the first release on the PS2. DmC2 was garbage, and I never played DmC3. Hated DmC4 because it felt really outdated, but this new Devil May Cry looks pretty decent.

    Could care less about this white hair whining that’s going on, I never saw Dante as this amazingly iconic character like Mario, Link, Kratos, Snake, or Master Chief; so changing his overall look doesn’t bother me all that much.

  • BRING THE OLD DANTE BACK!!! THAT IS ALL I WANT!!

  • @86, I agree, It would be really cool to throw in an extra costume or 2…or 3…that are HD renditions of the old Dante. But, I do like the old look, as well as the new. And I’m ready to be blown away by this new installment. Bring it on Ninja Theory!

  • @87 Dante is one of my MAIN video game icons. But you don’t see me whining like all these tards…lol, people are so narrow minded.

  • Devil May Cry

    Star = Dante (Check)
    Plot = More adult oriented (Check)
    Voice acting and mo-cap = not cheesy and convoluted by enuendos (Check)
    Ninja Theory (Check)

    Kedaro coming back to DMC after a big break of thinking it took a very wrong turn (Check)

  • cant wait for DMC but the Emo Dante kind dosent look like the type if guy who couldn’t get along withs the cooler Dante, but i hope they will put the cooler Dante in the game to help a litte bit

  • Actually some of those points don’t make sense Rey… Nolan took over because 1) hes brilliant and everyone knew Batman would be in good hands 2) Batman movies sucked 3) Batman + Dark Theme fits well. If you’ve played DMC you would know it was doing just fine.. DMC1 and 3 were great, DMC4 was good and DMC2 sucked. Then that was because the creator left and is currently with Platinum Games.

  • A reboot of the serie worked very well for comics and it will probably be better that way for DMC. Only 2 titles on 4 were excellent. Just like with comics, I think it’s great that they decided to try something else without hurting the original.

    The whole industry is stalling due to developers being scared of taking risks. Let’s at least give them that, they are daring to risk it to bring their vision of the game. I’m not sold yet, but so far, it looks better than DMC2 and 4 (not that it is really hard to beat those).

    I don’t really like the new look, but the atmosphere looks much darker and I like that. I can’t wait to see if the game will be good or not.

  • This already looks like a step in the right direction, It may be the best thing Capcom every did for DMC(Ie. handing it over to NT*)
    So far I’m kinda’ excited to play it, especially after having experienced the ‘Enslaved’ demo, Ninja Theory has a strong cult following, and somehow even though they’ve made nothing but grade AAA titles so far, they are heavily underrated by gamers who…

    A- …judge books by their covers
    B- …haven’t been enticed enough to touch an NT* title.

    Anyone I talk to who has actually played the real version of Heavenly Sword(Not just the short Demo), praises Ninja Theory like the best thing since sliced bread, and I can vouch for playing both HS and Enslaved demos, and I’m 100% sold on DmC blowing people’s minds.

    Keep up the good work Ninja Theory and PSBlog

  • Yeah… comic book artist do make changes to bring in more people but keep in mind throughout all the changes have Batman, Spiderman, Iron Man, Captain America, Superman or any other icon changed looks to the point you can no longer recognize them? Do you think if all of the sudden Mario was completely different in a new game people would be happy with it? or could even recognize him? You keep the same look to appeal to the hardcore and you add or change the theme, gameplay mechanics, level design and all that to appeal to a broader audience

  • @Rey on the subject of Batmans voice being different… it was because of the actor. same reason why Cole from inFamous has a different voice cause they wanted someone who could also do the mocap

  • I like the new Dante. I’ll always love the old one, but they’re shifting him away from the whole Aristotle theory that main characters have to be powerful and in some sense royal.

    Dante’s over-the-top cheesiness got too out of hand for me at a couple points in the previous games, so it is SO refreshing to see his persona knocked down a couple pegs.

    Now we get to see a Dante that fuses rebelliousness with awesomeness, rather than arrogance with awesomeness.

  • Honestly it’s beautiful for the face and everything else but does anyone else agree that this “new” Dante looks like a member of Flock of Seagulls?

    https://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/flock%20of%20seagulls.jpg

    Extremely metro, boyish, lost his flair. It’s just not the same and many fans are saddened by this. At least I know the ones commenting think it’s a bad job. Put the hair back, give him some aged features and then were talking but really now..I’d much rather watch an emo concert then this new sorry excuse of Dante.

  • Using the example of Batman Begins is very poor analogy. He had to make Batman Begins and reboot that franchise because the previous movies became so cartoonish is was ridiculuous. Those strayed from the “original” Batman with Michael Keaton so far it was a joke.

    I was fine with Nero because you knew going in it was a different character and Dante was still involved. But I hate the design of this “Dante”. I want them to answer why the character looks like the creative director.

  • To be completely honest, I don’t like where this is headed. The things that got me interested in the DMC series in the first place seem to be disappearing. I think that from what I have seen so far, I’ll be seriously disappointed with DmC, but I’ll try to reserve absolute judgment until I have played it for myself…

    Oh, and… There is a difference between Nolan’s reboot and this one… The original Batman movies sucked. DMC didn’t suck.

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