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Inaba: Western devs 'superior' to Japanese devs
Atsushi Inaba, creator of Okami and the upcoming Madworld, contends that western game developers are better than their Japanese counterparts in a new interview with Develop. According to Inaba, Japanese developers have to "work hard" to match the standards of western developers. He adds that game development will soon be "about individual developers and not about what country they are in" and that the games industry is being consumed by the ever-growing beast, Globalizilla -- the embodiment of globalization, of course. (Note: Inaba did not specifically utter the name "Globalizilla" -- probably because he's superstitious.)When asked about opportunities for Japanese developers, Inaba stated that there were many opportunities, but that such opportunities hinge on a developer's ability to sell products to a global audience. He further added that it's important to focus on new IP in order to keep innovation alive in the industry, stating, "Industries that innovate and produce something new will always survive in the global marketplace." So, we shouldn't expect a Madworld sequel then?
Joystiq @ New York Comic Con 2009!
Click to begin your photo tour -- it's like you're really here! Joystiq is here: Live from New York Comic Con 2009! Join us on the show floor as we bask in the glow of video games. Take that, you boring old comic ... books. Check out all there is to offer us thumb twiddlers, including a Platinum Games Inaba sighting -- and ... is that really you, Vin Diesel? -- in our gallery below:%Gallery-44042%
MadWorld producer talks mature Wii titles, sequels, minigames
Despite having few ultra-violent titles in its library (most notably Manhunt 2 and No More Heroes), the Wii can't seem to shake its "kiddie" moniker. MadWorld producer Atsushi Inaba hopes to change that, telling play.tm, "It would be great if MadWorld can really kick off [a trend of mature titles]." He also opined that the console's hardware capacity is not a problem so long as you can "correctly communicate the concept or features of the game." Seeing as we're able to envision waggling the remote and producing lots of virtual blood, we think he might be onto something. Inaba also said that they're (gasp!) considering a sequel should the game be successful. If that's not enough of a non-surprise for you, he reminds us that there will be minigames -- known here as "Blood Bath Challenges." This is a Wii title, after all. Gallery: MadWorld
Capcom talks about Clover closure
This news may not be as hopeful as the last Clover-related item, but it certainly helps to soften the original shock of Capcom's shutdown of Clover Studio last October. Capcom's vice president of marketing, Charles Bellfield, explained the nature of Clover's dissolution, giving us a glimpse at Capcom's internal development team structure. Basically, most of Capcom's teams are defined by their heads, and programming talent is pulled from a common pool. Clover was the exception, with a dedicated team of about 80 people. When Hideki Kamiya, Atsushi Inaba, and Shinji Mikami "decided to leave" the rest of the staff were folded back into the Capcom development pool. It's not exactly a happy ending to the Clover saga, but at least the whole development team didn't get canned for being too Viewtiful. The Clover bigwigs have their freedom, and the staff still have Capcom jobs. The interview is packed with info on all kinds of recent Capcommery, including a discussion of Phoenix Wright's surprising success. A Fanboy high five to the interviewer, former Video Game Ombudsman and blog-relative Kyle Orland.
Clover bosses start Seeds, blogger strains to resist botany metaphors [update 1]
Four months ago, we started mourning the sad loss of Clover Studio, the development house responsible for beautiful, original games like Viewtiful Joe, Okami, and God Hand. Well, now we can wipe our cel-shaded tears away! Atsushi Inaba, Hideki Kamiya, and Resident Evil/Devil May Cry creator Shinji Mikami have held their V-Watches aloft, shouted "Henshin a-go-go, baby!" and transformed the moribund Clover into a new development studio, called Seeds. And they want you! You know, if you're a qualified programmer or artist of some kind. According to the site, they are in the process of looking for new people to help them make some "weird, amazing games." We Fanboys are hoping that they (and whoever publishes their future work) turn their attentions to the two weirdest, most amazing consoles we can think of. These guys have some prior DS experience, and they've no doubt noticed that the DS has done a little bit of business in Japan, so it seems likely they'll be weirding and amazing it up on two screens in the near future.[Via Game|Life][Update 1: Those insidious italics!]
