SEGA has announced a momentous partnership with developer PlatinumGames, along with three games that they’ve apparently been keeping under wraps quite well for quite some time now. The three titles - MADWORLD, Bayonetta and Infinite Space - are a diverse bunch and will be arriving on a viarety of platforms.

MADWORLD (screenshots), the first title set for release in Q1 2009, is an inventive and delightfully brutal third-person action game designed and developed exclusively for Wii. MADWORLD seems to stand somewhere between madcap No More Heroes and post-modern noir of Sin City. Check out Matt’s more detailed MADWORLD post to see what this one’s all about.

Next on the list is Bayonetta (images, trailer below), a stylish and cinematic action game directed by creator Hideki Kamiya. The game sees gamers take control of Bayonetta, a daring anti-heroine and witch, as she squares off against a host of angelic foes in “a game of 100% pure, unadulterated all-out action” where “outlandish finishing moves are performed with balletic grace.” Bayonetta is set for release in 2009 on both the 360 and PS3.

And finally, Infinite Space (working title, screenshots), a DS-exclusive RPG that claims to stretch the DS’s hardware offerings to the max. Infinite Space takes place in outer space and gives players the ability to build, control, outfit and customize an armada of spaceships. The game is produced by Atsushi Inaba and directed by Hifumi Kouno (from developer Nude Maker) and again, is set for a 2009 release.

Mike Hayes, President and COO of SEGA Europe, seems pretty happy with the arrangements, “We are thrilled to have forged this new relationship with such a talented team of individuals and we are understandably excited about the titles that they are producing for us. SEGA continually strives to release games for all consumers that are of the highest quality, working with Platinum Games further enhances that strategy.”

PlatinumGames seems equally pleased as Tatsuya Minami, President and CEO said, “The creative forces at PlatinumGames bring a new level of imagination into the SEGA family at a pivotal time in the video game industry when the demand for quality, originality and fun has never been greater.”

The SEGA/PlatinumGames deal also covers a fourth title, one directed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. An official announcement on that is expected “soon”.