Clover
”The Difficulty of (Games') Difficulty
Kieron Gillen has a nice meditation on difficulty and games over at the Escapist: where do you find it these days? Gillen opines that real difficulty, something "balanced expertly on the precipice between hard and unfair" (like his example of God Hand), is increasingly pushed towards the edges. As the rules of the economic game have changed, many titles are forced to balance challenge with "completability," with the balance being skewed towards easy (or 'easier): More »Capcom Fuck Clover's Sad Panda Corpse [Updated]
How does Okami director Hideki Kamiya feel about the Wii port? He's pretty bummed out! The Wii version has cut the staff end credits from the game, which was released in North America earlier this month. The original game was developed by now dissolved Capcom subsidiary Clover and ported by Daxter developer Ready at Dawn. According to Kamiya: More »
okami
Okami On Wii Controls Well, Only "Quasi-16:9" [UPDATE]
Last week, Capcom stated on their company store that Okami on Wii would be running at 16:9. Why is this important? Because the PS2 version did not, and if the Wii version did, it'd be a very valid reason for many to go out and buy the same game twice. Turns out that the game doesn't really run at 16:9, however. IGN sat down with it the other day and found it actually sports:
...a quasi-16:9 widescreen mode — we call it "quasi" because it's not full resolution; thin black bars remain on each side of the screen.Ah well. On the bright side, they report that the use of the Wii Remote for celestial brushwork is like "night and day" compared to the PS2 version, with brushwork becoming faster, more accurate and easier to pull off. And in case you weren't already aware, the port's best feature is related neither to aspect ratio nor gameplay: you can now skip the game's cutscenes, which should make a second playthrough all the more enticing.
Hands-on Okami [IGN]
UPDATE - I'm done with this topic. The build IGN were playing on was, according to Ready At Dawn, an old one, and RaD president Didier Malenfant has promised us that the final, retail build of the game will feature "full 16:9". Case closed. Move along.
Okami Wii Port Rumors Return
Is there yet another Capcom megaton announcement coming? Possibly if we believe French gaming site—that we've never heard of until today—Jeux Actu's report that Okami has been "confirmed on Wii." Given that news from Capcom's London Gamer's Day, including revelations that Street Fighter IV, Dark Void and a PLAYSTATION 3 port of Lost Planet were all en route, we won't blink at an announcement that Capcom is bringing Okami to the Wii.
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Seeds Gets Craptastic New Name
Clover Studios was Capcom's boutique team behind game innovative games like Okami and God Hand. What's more, Clover is a pretty nice name! When things soured with Capcom, the studio was shuttered and producer Atsushi Inaba, Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya formed SEEDS. It was Clover reborn, and likewise it also had a cool name. The emphasis here is had. Over on the SEEDS official website, there is a notice that Seeds is apparently merging with
envelope plz
Okami Snags Questionably Coveted Edge Award
At the fifth annual Edinburgh Interactive Festival, which runs today and tomorrow, the winner of the EIF Edge Award was announced, with Clover Studios' PlayStation 2 epic Okami nabbing the prize. I assume that title is something along the lines of "Best Game of 2007" or "Exceptional Achievement in Game Design" but it may be dryly appropriate, simply "Winner of the Edge Award." More »
gossip
Okami Creator Itching for Sequel
Wii port or not, before I start, know: At the moment, Capcom has no concrete plans to make Okami 2, and nothing has been greenlit. However! Insiders tell us that Devil May Cry creator and Okami designer Hideki Kamiya really would like to make Okami 2. The Union Jack lovin' game creator is very interested in doing a sequel and has voiced this desire. Unfortunately, since the game is a Capcom/Clover title, it's not his decision to make. It's just something that he'd really like to do. What's more, Kamiya tells our insider that the dissolution of Clover had nothing to do with poor Okami sales. Rather, producer Atsushi Inaba had an argument with Capcom management.
watching them grow
SEEDS Studio
CLOVER studio, who have in the past been responsible for Okami and Viewtiful Joe, is now SEEDS studio (I guess they are going backwards?). Designers Kamiya and Mikami are apparently working on a few big titles for (assumably) the PS3 and the Xbox 360 as they will no longer be supporting the PS2 any longer. What they're working on is still kept tightly under wraps, but I'm sure these talented fellas will be able to churn out something we all like. More »
'Vision Doesn't Sell Games'
From this week's Escapist, a rather sobering look at the 'demise of Clover Studios.' Everyone claims they want new, different, innovative games, but somehow a studio like Clover that produced Viewtiful Joe 2, God Hand and Okami can't stay afloat. The author points out that for a "scrappy independent developer," selling hundreds of thousands of copies would be quite the achievement, but for a division of Capcom it was a "stinging disappointment." More »
keiji inafune
GDC07: Capcom's Inafune Slams Clover Producer
In a session with Capcom R&D head Keiji Inafune, the creator responsible for games like Dead Rising, Lost Planet and Mega Man, the topic turned to the recently closed Clover Studios. Session moderator N'Gai Croal asked Inafune about Clover's gorgeous financial underperformers Okami and Viewtiful Joe. More »
gamasutra
Capcom Clears Up Clover Closing
When darling developer Clover was shut down by Capcom corporate, following a string of gorgeous and fun to play games that failed to perform at retail, it smacked of giant corporate entity unjustly squashing its arthouse underdog. In the Gamasutra interview published today, Capcom's Charles Bellfield helps to add clarity to the situation, giving a helpful peek at the structure of the Japanese company that published Viewtiful Joe and Okami. More »
top
From Clover To Seeds: Okami Creator's New Gig
In a heart-wrenching move to many, Clover Studios was shuttered late last year. Fronted by Atsushi Inaba, the studio brought us titles like Okami and GODHAND. We had heard rumblings that Inaba had created another Osaka-based studio. What's more, it apparently had big financial backing. More »
original
Blind Item: What Clover Is Doing Now (And With Whom)
Eds Note: "Blind Items" will appear occasionally for gossip and rumors. Hit up the comments section for conjecture and speculation. More »
okami
Okami Art Book Comes Stateside
Just last month we wrote briefly about the collected art works of Clover Studios' Okami, then lamented that it was a Japanese only release, making an import of the book an expensive ordeal. More »
clover
Rumor: Clover Studios v2.0
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. More »
okami
Rumor Smash: Capcom Doesn't Love The 360 THAT Much
Two Capcom-Xbox 360 rumors have been crawling around the internet for the past couple (slow news) days, so before we get too many more tips about these non-stories, let's smash 'em! More »
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