Chatting with Develop, Inaba says:

To be honest, I think that western developers are superior to those in Japan overall.

So we the Japanese developers should realise that we have to work hard to reach the western level.

And how can they do that? As you'd expect from the man behind Okami, Viewtiful Joe and the upcoming MadWorld, Inaba reckons that a good place for Japanese developers to start would be taking the plunge, and coming up with new, original IP.

Our vision has always been to create new IPs. The best way for a developer to make a mark in the industry and secure its future is by creating new and successful IPs. It's a very hard process but if you succeed, the rewards are massive.

In other words, less games that end in IX or XIII, thanks.

'Western developers are superior to the Japanese,' says Inaba [Develop]

Inspired by the look of graphic novel, MadWorld has garnered considerable interest from gamers. Because when gamers express interest and interest expresses money, we get sequels.

According to the game's producer Atsushi Inaba of Platinum Games, "Platinum Games has several rights so we'll be developing something new after this, but if there is a lot of interest in MadWorld then maybe we will make another one."

And another one and another one and another one.

Interview / MadWorld developers Astsushi Inaba and Shigenori Nishikawa [That VideoGame Blog via GoNintendo via Sega Nerds]

According to Inaba, it wasn't feasible for the developers to make a title in black and white as it was difficult to differentiate items on the screen. "Even with this game, there was a certain amount of trepidation on the part of the team to make it in black-and-white. But once we actually built what you've seen, we were very happy," said Inaba.

"Obviously, there aren't any other games like this, and that is central to the look of the game. As soon as we realized that we had something on our hands that was going to work, we began to be really afraid — we wanted to hurry and get this out there in front of fans so that somebody didn't come in and steal our thunder."

Inaba added that there were no plays to included a "colorized" version of MadWorld as an extra. "Getting the full impact of adding color is really more the PS3 or 360's territory," said Inaba. "We'd rather not do it at all."

MadWorld Preview [1Up]

We're really interested in the Wii platform so we wanted to create a really cool and stylish game for that... As you can see [from our Leipzig presentation] it's really easy to pick up and play so when we came up with the concept of Mad World the Wii felt like a good console for that. It feels like a game that is at home on Wii.

Stuff like this is good for the Wii as a platform, you know. It really is. The machine is starting to get pigeonholed.

MadWorld concept "really suited Wii" [CVG]

First of all, there are mini-game challenges, like the Death Press, in which Jack, the star of MadWorld, will have to toss as many bodies into a spike-filled crusher before time runs out. You know, to break the monotony of turning faces into pulp and being showered with blood.

Plus, there are driving sequences, specifically riding a motorcycle with a chainsaw in your right hand sequences. While the motorbike level we saw at Games Convention was nearly devoid of traffic (and losers to chainsaw), the final game will absolutely see plenty of carnage on the streets.

Finally, there are boss battles. The one we got a glimpse of featured a series of tornadoes moving in a serpentine path down a bridge, with a whirlwind tossing boss at the other end. The chainsaw versus giant turbine handed boss combat didn't get much screen time, as it faded to black as Platinum Games producer Atsushi Inaba scrapped with the tornado man.

There's a definite concern on our end that the endless goring of your enemies might lead to some repetition, so we hope these portions of the game help to shatter that. Until we go hands-on, we'll have to be satisfied with just looking. Like looking at these new screen shots. *hint hint*

While the level of what’s missing has reduced, I still feel that none of the platforms totally satisfy my needs. That’s why different games on different platforms is the way to approach the situation. Also, from a business point of view, it doesn’t make sense to develop for a single platform at this point.

True, but don't count on third party exclusives to vanish anytime soon.

Platinum Games [Next Gen via Go Nintendo] [Pic]

So if it's a concept that will be matching the Japanese market, we're going to try to probably concentrate on the Japanese market, but of course the Western market is the biggest market now, so we are concerned about the Western market, and have the Western market in mind. We might even do some testing specifically in the Western market to create a game.... To be honest, if we're going to consider the Western market, we should be thinking of creating a game on the 360; however, the 360 is not doing that good in Japan, and we're a Japanese studio, so do we want to ignore Japan? And let's think about the European market. Well, is 360 doing good there? No. So OK, what about PS3? Well, how well the PS3 is doing is still kind of vague, you don't know where to go with PS3.

The meaning of "platinum" is that it doesn't deteriorate, and it holds its quality over time. Users won't be betrayed by the quality, which will remain high.

Hit the jump for a pic of Kamiya's Gundamized desk.

Squint and maybe you can see what they're working on...

PlatinumGames [Official Site]

He was about as blunt as one could be. Here's the Q&A.

When you looked over the games that came from Clover Studios, why do you think that audiences didn't respond to those games, Okami and Viewtiful Joe in particular, which got excellent reviews?

Perhaps I might get into trouble if I say this in front of people from the mass media. Games are not a work of art. It's actually a product. If we think of it as a work of art, then... when we think about Picasso and Van Gogh's paintings, the end result is beauty, so it doesn't matter if you sell it or not. However for games, it's a product. It is a commodity. The producer has to think about that.

Okami and Viewtiful Joe, I think, are wonderful games and because they are wonderful games I think, the job of the director was fantastic. But the producer didn't do his work. The producers work is to make the team make good games and then sell those games. The producer has to do the promotion. They have to think about the promotion. The producer has to take those good games and think about how to deliver it to as many users as possible. Certainly to get good reviews is part of his job. However, the producer has to make sure the game sells [on par with the review]. I think the producer dropped the ball there. Capcom said they would do it, but Clover said "Oh, we'll do it ourselves." And I think this was a failure.

Great directors may exist in great numbers, however, if you don't have a good producer it won't lead to sales. And I think this Clover Studios example is a really good example of that.

Daaaamn! Who knew Keiji could be so harsh? Let's hope Clover producer Atsushi Inaba has better sales success at his new venture Seeds. Michael McWhertor

When Capcom shuttered Clover, the arm behind Okami and Godhand, grown men cried. Producer Atsushi Inaba fled the company, while his partner-in-crime Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil) kept contractual ties with Capcom.

So, what came of Inaba? What is he doing now? Word from a handful of insiders is that he has set up his own studio in Osaka and is hard at work on new titles. This shouldn't come as a surprise in the least (file under "no duh"), but it is good to hear this chatter. No word what this outfit is called, and we've gotten conflicting reports that Mikami has joined Inaba's boutique studio. Stay tuned until there's something official. Brian Ashcraft

I know you're just as sad and/or angry as I am about the closing of Clover Studios, creators of Viewtiful Joe, Okami and God Hand. My emotions lean closer to "anger" as I realized I was the only one at my local EB to secure a God Hand pre-order. Shame on you, game buying public!

Well, there's not too much more to say about the death of one of the more consistent, arguably more artistic, independent developers this generation, but the dudes at 1UP are going to try. They sat down with Clover boss and game producer Atsushi Inaba to score a little more info. The interview is a few weeks old, probably close to or during the Tokyo Game Show, but Inaba hints very strongly about the inactivity of the studio and talks briefly about future plans.

He also discusses why Okami was never intended for the Wii, but with Capcom taking some of the Clover faithful back into the corporate fold, I won't be surprised to see Okami Paint or God Hand Crotch Party making their way Wii-side soon. Michael McWhertor

Clover Studios' Final Interview? [1UP]
Capcom On Clover Closing and Clover Studio is Dead [Kotaku]

As of today, the studio behind Viewtiful Joe, Okami and God Hand is no more. Clover Studio was shuttered by main shareholder Capcom. At a Board of Directors' meeting was held, and it was decided that Clover should dissolved. The reason? According to the Capcom IR release:

Clover Studio Co., Ltd. has met the goal of developing unique and creative original home video game software, however, in view of promoting a business strategy that concentrates management resources on a selected business to enhance the efficiency of the development power of the entire Capcom group, the dissolution of Clover Studio Co., Ltd. has been raised and passed at a Board of Directors' meeting.

The studio was established on July 1, 2004 and takes its name, "clover," from an abbreviation of "creativity lover." Under president and CEO Atsushi Inaba and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, the studio turned out a handful of inventive titles that were anything but mainstream. Sales, unfortunately, reflected that, and Capcom management took action. It's okay to love creativity, just don't expect it to turn a profit. Clover Studio will be officially liquidated March 2007. Brian Ashcraft

Read The Depressing Release [Capcom, Thanks Torokun!]

The Kotaku team is irrationally excited about God Hand. And that's not some ass-kissy thing I'm throwing out there because the Clover localization dude threatened to read the site after our interview—it's the truth.

I wanted to find out how the hell a game like God Hand is pitched. Producer and Clover Studios prez told me "Shinji Mikami [Resident Evil 4 and God Hand director] came to me with a poster. It was an image with two fists and had a very cool style. He said, I want to make a game like this. We wanted to make an original, fun game."

While God Hand kicks major ass in the action department, it's not the most unique game graphically. Especially so when compared to other Clover titles like Okami and Viewtiful Joe. Inaba explained that "We've become known for cel shaded games, but we thought a more realistic approach would be better. We wanted the focus to be on the gameplay more so than the graphics." He also mentioned that when one is presented with the goodness that is God Hand, "You get a different impression of the game when you play with the controller than when you look at it."

So what's so great about the gameplay then?

"My favorite part of God Hand is the ability to use the right stick to evade enemy attacks," he said. "Once you learn how to use that it becomes a cool fun game to play. Some say its very hard but you have to learn how to use this."

When asked about next-gen, he said he's "interested in the hardware and I'd really like to make a game on the PlayStation 3" but that "When you consider how much detail you have to put into next-gen games, it's an annoying time to be a developer. With all of that detail, costs will rise. People who see your games pick on things we never thought of." To remedy this, he suggested that other developers use graphical approaches like Okami.

We didn't have much time to go into much else, as we were primarily focusing on God Hand, but hopefully we'll speak again soon. Keep watching this space for more God Hand love hyperbole until its release next month. Michael McWhertor