tecmo

Itagaki Not Impressed With Devil May Cry

Team Ninja's top ninja Tomonobu Itagaki sure has opinions! Lots of them. Previously, he praised Rockstar's work on GTA IV and then crapped on his company's Ninja Gaiden Sigma. And now? Now, he offers his opinion on Devil May Cry and the franchise's creator Hideki Kamiya:

I think Kamiya-san makes good games. However, I think they, the systems, gameplay elements in his game tend to be rather shallow and he makes up with that through stylish presentation. I think if you were to compare them directly, the combat and other gameplay elements in Ninja Gaiden II are much deeper than projects that he works on.

...In my games its all based on a back and forth with the enemies, its very interactive. You feel like you're pushed to the brink but you manage to survive, the enemies are as out to get you as you are to get them. Whereas other types of action games, one of which being Devil May Cry, enemies exist there as objects on which you unleash your attacks.

Gotta give Itagaki this much: at least he's not boring!
Talking with Tomonobu [OXM Thanks, Hatchetforce!]

Looks like those Platinum Games rumors are true. Things like a mulit-page article in this week's Famitsu magazine tend to confirm things like that. There's 3D action title Bayonetta for the PS3 and the Xbox 360>. The angel-battling game features a protagonist with gun-feet. The game is being directed by Hideki Kamiya, the creator of Devil May Cry and director of Okami. The other game Famitsu mentions is Infinite Line, which is apparently being co-developed with Nude Maker. The game is being directed by Nude Maker's Hifumi Kouno. The DS game allows players to customize their spaceship and features the appearance of over 200 characters! The last game mentioned is monochrome and crimson Wii title MADWORLD. The ultra violent title will feature comical mayhem. And blood. Lots and lots of blood. Platinum Games is working on a fourth title as well. No idea about title or platform or publisher — all that's known is that Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami is at the helm. That will suffice for now!

Famitsu 20080516 [Wii @ Everyday]

okami

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 »

Ack! Well, lame-named Platinum Games (formerly the awesomely named "SEEDS") has posted its new homepage today. The start-up company is actually named PlatinumGames and not Platinum Games. The company seems to be in full hiring phase, and the website is wall-to-wall recruitment. Specially, the company is looking for planners, programmers, designers, sound designers and web designers. PlatinumGames is even looking for foreigners who can speak Japanese. There are messages from PlatinumGames' bigwigs Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil creator), Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry creator) and Atsushi Inaba (Okami producer) in which they talk about why they entered the industry and whatnot. In the "About Us" section, PlatinumGames president and former Capcom 3rd Production Studio member Tatsuya Minami explains why the ho-hum name "PlatinumGames" was chosen:

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.

Deep. Minami also says PlatinumGames will be making "original" titles for a world-wide audience. Sounds reminiscent of the SEEDS manifesto, so we are expecting interesting title from them. Name still sucks, though. Click through the site, there are pictures of a PS3, so maybe they're working on a PS3 game or just playing one for fun. Who knows! 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.