The Nordic Game Conference pulls devs and industry pundits from all over Europe for their speakers list. As the event has grown in scope and size, they've started scheduling speakers from North America and Japan. Last year, the conference guested ICO and Shadow of the Colossus dev Fumito Ueda.

From the press release:

"Having Keiji Inafune and Goichi Suda join Nordic Game this year highlights the strong and growing relationship between the Japanese and Nordic games communities" said Tom Felices, executive director of the event, "and will offer attendees a unique opportunity to meet two of the most exciting game creators today".

The Japanese duo joins a roster that is guaranteed to draw the attention of the industry around the world: Tom Edwards, Englobe (US), Lars Gustavsson, EA DICE (SWE) and Ryan Schneider, Insomniac Games (US), as well as speakers from Media Molecule (UK) and Grin (SWE) are among the industry heavyweights appearing at Nordic Game 2009.

Nordic Game 2009 kicks off in Malmö, Sweden May 19. Check out the official site for more info.

Gamasutra has a great interview up with Masafumi Takada, best known for his work on the Grasshopper Manufacture games killer7 and No More Heroes and contributor on projects ranging from Super Smash Bros. Brawl to Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. The interview covers a ton of ground, from what it's like to work with Goichi Suda to Takada's work on Samurai Champloo to his theory on composing for games:

Music is really tied to your experiences and memories, similar to how your sense of smell is. If you hear music that you've heard before, it should bring memories from that previous time rushing back. So the game is of course a virtual world, where there are naturally things that don't have any relation to reality.

But perhaps these experiences could happen to you in the future. The music will be tied to these potential future experiences. So I want to create music that will tie you to, and remind you of, the virtual world, but also come back to you in the real world, and create future memories. The soundtrack should recall your old memories, but also help forge new ones.

After you've played the game, when you listen to just the music, I want players to be able to remember the feelings they had at that time, and their feelings of that era.

I, like most people, have an unholy mix of music on my 'favorites' list on my iPod; it's always nice to have some of my favorite gaming tracks sandwiched between diverse music and have those tracks stand out in a good way ('Really? That's from a video game?' is a reasonably common refrain from non-gamer passengers in my car). We do get so attached to music, and I'm so attached to music from some of my favorite games — to think of it as something that should be part of the memory process and not merely unobtrusive background is something that's not new, but important to remember. Somewhat lengthy interview that's certainly worth perusing.

Masafumi Takada: Grasshopper's Musical Craftsman [Gamasutra]

This originality will always remain, but I also want us to challenge ourselves by working at making realistic visuals as well. The next title will have a very different style, but keep the Grasshopper feeling at the same time... The Xbox 360. Definitely, I want to develop on this platform. It is really easy to work with. It is also quite popular outside Japan on markets that I would like to aim at. Specifically, I think of the American market as the Major League — I would like to go there and be successful.

No More Heroes Ships Early [IGN]

Killer.

America Has No More Heroes [IGN]

Capcom certainly agrees that "the innovative control system of the Wii would seem like a good match for the innovative gameplay of Killer 7" and leaves the door open for a future Wii port by writing "we cannot completely rule out the idea of a Killer 7 Wii at some point in the future." With response mostly positive, I can't help but think Capcom execs with yen signs in their eyes might change their mind and put the summer interns to work on it.

However, for now, you'll have to settle for the GameCube or PlayStation 2 version. Michael McWhertor

Killer 7 NOT planned for Wii at this time [Capcom]

While such a listing may simply be an error, it would make a great deal of sense. Killer 7's on-rails gameplay and point-and-shoot action are a good fit for the Wii-remote. Plus, the game would take advantage of the Wii's expanded audience, filling in holes in the console's "mature" category. Still, checking with the usual online retail suspects turns up nothing and recent interviews with Grasshoper honcho Goichi Suda reveal no hints about such a project.

I've got an e-mail in with Capcom to see what they have to say. While this is simply a rumor, something about it smells of truthiness. Michael McWhertor

Killer 7 [Capcom via NeoGAF]

As previously mentioned, the title is being whipped up by Suda 51 (Killer 7) and should be out next year. Here's a couple screenie scans from Famitsu. The game looks 31 flavors of sweet. And those in-game T-shirts we talked about? Gnarly. If there is one man who understands exactly what I want in a video game, that man is Suda 51.

More shots after the jump. Brian Ashcraft

Upcoming Wii game Heroes has been retitled to No More Heroes. The irony is divine. The game was developed by Suda 51, who also brought us the stylized Killer 7 and sounds intriguing. The plot? You're geeky Travis Touchdown, who wins a Light Saber-type weapon called a Beam Katana and kicks off a new career as a professional killer. It takes place in a fictional city in the Western United States. There's a French chick. It's a sandbox-type game. And the game's hero wears otaku-type shirts which were created by Okama, the character designer behind TV hit Densha Otoko's opening scene (above). Cool t-shirts and Light Sabers, can Suda 51 read minds or what?! Brian Ashcraft

Another Rad Grasshopper Game [VGB]

Here at Kotaku, we don't have a cracker jack team of proof readers. When we fuck up, it's because we, and we alone, are checking each of our posts. Ourselves. But, when big companies make an boo-boo, it's because groups of people screw the pooch.

Take the GameCube box for Capcom's Killer 7, which apparently lists the game's website as www.killer7.com, a NSFW site that has nothing to do with video games but everything to do with interracial gang bangs. (The actual game's site is www.killer-7.com.) Whoops! Brian Ashcraft

Eds. Note: Capcom just dropped word that when the game was originally released, www.killer7.com was the game's official site. Since then, it was not able to renew the URL. Another company did instead.

Capcom's Nudie Link [iBloggedThis]

While the visual style is nothing short of impressive, the voice over work is, in a word, awful. Obviously the biggest question on most gamers minds, especially those familiar with the ups and downs of K7 is "How does it play?". Details are scarce, but we'll know better when the game ships in Q3 of 2007. Keep your eyes peeled for more details and check out The Wiire for more. Michael McWhertor

[Editor's note: If you're having issues viewing the video, VLC media player comes highly recommended.]

Heroes First Footage and Details [The Wiire]
YouTube Version [Yep, The Wiire couldn't handle it]

Goichi Suda, aka Suda51, sat down with Gamasutra's Brandon Sheffield and a buncha journos to talk about his company's latest release: Contact. Best known for designing Killer 7, Suda took a producer role for the RPG Contact. Tomm Hulette described the game as "a rare breed of quirky RPG that attracts a rabid fanbase with its whacked-out story, setting, and characters." The game also includes animal-training, item-collecting, monster-hunting and mini-games.

When told that the game seems really normal and not wack-o like typical Suda titles, the designer-turned-producer replied:

I think if I'd made it it would've been called Killer Contact or something. And anyway, it's the normal people like me who make crazy games. People who make normal games like Contact are the real crazies. So Akira Ueda [Contact's lead designer] is totally nuts.

And that's coming from a guy that wore a Lucha libre mask while promoting Killer 7! Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Gamasutra]

Gamasutra reports that Killer 7 designer Goichi Suda (AKA Suda51) is making an original game for the Nintendo Wii. The title is apparently Heroes and was schedule for E3 face time, but is not making an appearance for unknown reasons. A shame the game didn't get that public airing.

Wii Suda Game [Gamasutra]

Kurayami Is Revealed On PS3 [JeuxFrance]

GameSpot has a report suggesting that Killer 7 creator Gouichi Suda and Metal Gear Solid mastermind Hideo Kojima indicated they'd like to work with one another and joked that they "should announce something at E3." Now, whether there's any truth to their team-up or not, we'll have to wait until May to find out.

Killer 7 and MGS Creator to Join Forces? [GameSpot]

The modestly reviewed, highly artistic and visually interesting Killer 7 is getting a comic book makeover from Devil's Due according to Monsters and Critics. Killer 7's unique style should translate well to the pages, since the game felt like a playable comic book.

Devils's Due to Publish Comic Based on Capcom's Killer 7 [Monsters and Critics]

Gouichi Suda, the force behind Killer 7, is creating light entertainment for the Nintendo DS. Titled Contact, the yet released game follows a boy named Cherry that searches his planet for an alien professor's scattered power components. The kid also collects costumes, such as for a chef, pilot, fisherman or firefighter. Depending on what Cherry wears, his abilities change. I know exactly what that's like. If I'm not encased in a wetsuit, there's no way I'm up for SOCOM: Navy Seals.

New Game for Suda [Eurogamer]
Give Killer 7 Chick Drugs

Leave it to Bonnie at Heroine Sheik to point out the femme fatale in Killer 7's use of blood as a weapon. The eerie character of Kaede and her grisly avatar make her profuse bleeding even more eerie. Obviously a tie to menstruation and society's reactions to it, Bonnie hypothesizes that Kaede "plays off of our subconscious (or conscious) associations and uses the strength of that fear to her own in-game advantage." My ex-girlfriend used menstruation as a weapon long before Killer 7 came out. Guess she was pretty forward thinking, after all.

What Are You Going to Do, Bleed on Me? [Heroine Sheik]
Kaede In Action [Gametrailers]