Seriously. Namco Bandai and Ninja Theory’s upcoming collaboration known as Enslaved: Odyssey to the West really has the weight of the world on its shoulders, as Namco Bandai has expressed their belief that “it is the symbol of the future of [Namco Bandai].”

“Enslaved is much more than a product, it is the symbol of the future of this company,” Namco Bandai Partners VP of Sales, Marketing, and Publishing Oliver Comte told MCV. “The game looks incredible, the studio is well-known and everything is on track.

“It’s important for consumers to play Enslaved because it could be the benchmark of what we have to make as a company.

“In five years Enslaved should be the most important franchise for Namco Bandai. Enslaved 2 and 3 should be our equivalent of Gran Turismo 5 or Uncharted.”

Woah. Those are some big franchises that Comte hopes Enslaved can reach. Apparently, Enslaved is just one part of their plan to become a top world publisher. Other parts of that plan involve developing more western titles, rather than Japanese.

“We want to be a Top Five publisher in the games industry worldwide,” Comte said. “To be one of the key publishers in the future, we need to develop Western, non-Japanese games.”

I guess that’s a big no no for a localization of PS3′s Tales of Vesperia, then, isn’t it?