We often see Nintendo Wii games come with PS2 versions, but make no mistake: porting from one console to another is no cakewalk. That's what we learned after Ready at Dawn discussed about the difficulties of porting Konami and Clover Studio's Okami to the Wii. You'll understand why by reading the full article.

Fans of Clover Studio's Okami will now finally have something to chew on. Christian Svensson of Capcom finally released some much-needed information about the Ninendo Wii port of the game, such as its progress, when we can expect some hands-on preview, and the like. Do hit the full article to check them out.

After running into the montage of Legend of Zelda commercials Skullkid700 put together which has been popular recently, we felt the urge to look back and enjoy other amusing Japanese video game TV spots that can only come from the ingenious Japanese minds. With all the laughs these ads give, it's only fair to share to you guys so nobody misses out on the great stuff they watch in the land of the rising sun. If you're ready for hilarious commercials, brace for impact and check the videos out at the full article!

Keiji Inafune was recently interviewed by Game Informer about his new position in Capcom and other videogaming-related issues. One of the most interesting highlights of the discussions is when the Mega Man-designer was asked about the possibility of having critically-acclaimed PS2 title Okami on Wii.

First and foremost, Keiji Inafune clarified that he is no longer directly making games. He was promoted to oversee all production at Capcom, meaning he has to make sure that games under them follow quality standards. Basically, his new job is to make sure that Capcom remains a force to reckon with in the gaming industry.

The discussion then shipped to Clover Studio and its departure from Capcom. Despite this, Inafune mentioned that Viewtiful Joe and Okami are still owned by Capcom so a sequel is possible should they want it. When asked if fans will ever have Okami on Wii, he answered,

Of course that's something that I've personally thought about, but it's easier said than done. It's a cliche, but it's not just saying, "Okay, let's port it over here." There's technology, controls, and then people to make the game, whether it’s scheduling or knowing the hardware you want to take it to. It's not out of the realm of possibility.

Despite that, the renowned designer shared as well that Capcom is not considering sequels right now. And on a personal note, Inafune added,

Something like Okami, you can't really have another company make a sequel or other people make a sequel - that's something that only the people who made Okami, it's so unique to them, it wouldn't be a sequel, it would be something else.

Near the start of this year, a glimmer of hope appeared for many a Clover Studio fan in the guise of the newly formed SEEDS Inc. development house. And while the studio kept its quiet for these past few months while it gathered strength - we spotted recruitment feelers on their site during our last visit - SEEDS seems to be making preparation for a new game.

There aren't much details on what this new title will look like, although info snippets taken from Famitsu indicate it's being planned for a multiplatform release for the next-gen (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii) and portable (PSP, NDS) consoles.

This new project is further expected to be headed by Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya. Inaba was the former head of Clover Studio, while Kamiya is known for directing Capcom titles such as Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami. That's all the info we've got for the moment, although we're certainly hoping this new project bears fruit.

The developer Flagship is going to be liquidated and merged with Capcom this June 1 (this is not the Flagship Studios that developed Hellgate: London). This is in keeping with the streamlining of Capcom's operations which began with the merger and liquidation of two other studios: Clover Studio and Studio 8.

Flagship, which was established in 1997, is responsible for games such as The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, and Kirby Squeak Squad. However, the employees of the company will not be canned, because they will still be working for Capcom "in the same capacities."

So how will this streamlining affect the game developer? It's still uncertain, but we can expect their investors to be happy with the efforts the company is doing to increase their profit margin.

This is quite different from the Keiji Inafune we reported about a couple of days ago. It would be remembered that the Head of Capcom Production Studio 2, during a lecture at the Game Developer Conference (GDC), seemed to still have some harsh and melancholic feelings towards the closure of subsidiary company Clover Studio.

Inafune was asked if the engines for Xbox 360 video games Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and Dead Rising would be used for future projects on other platforms. The Capcom official answered that the engines were, in fact, developed for multi-platform usage. However, Mr. Inafune reiterated that they wouldn't work on the Wii.

On a more positive note, Keiji Inafune announced that Capcom is looking to use the Resident Evil 4 engine for some future Wii projects. He then added that they will be making an announcement soon concerning a potential new franchise, but they didn't clarify if it's going to be for Nintendo's new console.

What Inafune clarified is the fact that he's not buying into this whole photo-realism hoopla the whole next-gen scene is riding on. He shared that he is still interested on making iconic mascots such as Mega Man and Wii is a most suitable avenue.

It should be remembered that back in February another Capcom bigwig, Christian Svensson, remarked that their company will not be making any mature titles soon, because gamers of this generation are getting younger and more casual. Inafune curiously rebuffed this and commented that all next-gen systems will get their share of mature projects.

He even commented that Nintendo's current stance provides a better opportunity for developing mature games as compared to the one the video game maker had during the GameCube (GC) days.

Ouch.

Kotaku reports on a GDC 2007 Q&A session with Lost Planet producer Keiji Inafune, and when he was asked about the closure of avant-garde Clover Studio, he had one thing to say. Bluntly. They didn't sell, therefore...

Keiji clarified that he DID think that Viewtiful Joe and Okami were great games (heck, critical acclaim agrees with him there). The problem was that "Games are not a work of art... it's a product... a commodity" (heck, sales of Okami sadly agree with that perspective. So do Lost Planet sales).

Based on this quote of Inafune's response, it seems that there must have been a clash of perspectives, and on approaches to promoting a game, between Clover and Capcom:

... 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... 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.

To paraphrase: it doesn't matter if you're the great Picasso, you STILL need a market-savvy marketer if you wanna make mad money (well, that definitely means advertising majors have their job secure in the gaming industry). A sad commentary in a mass-market industry, or the harsh Darwinian reality of the economics and psychology of gaming?

Verily, a company does sit on its bottom line, but where lies the line between the bottom line and racing for the bottom?

At this year's Game Developers Choice Awards, Gears of War stood head and huge padded shoulders over other nominees as it took home the Best Game award. Epic Studios' hit next gen videogame title also bagged awards for Visual Arts and Technology.

Clover Studio's PS2 title Okami and Nintendo's Wii Sports also got high accolades. Both games took home an award each for Innovation along with Bostjan Cadez's Flash title Line Rider. Okami also got an award for Character Design, while Wii Sports bagged a Game Design award.

Other major award winners included Harmonix and RedOctane's Guitar Hero II, which won an award for Audio. Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess walked away with the Writing award and Titan Quest developer Iron Lore Entertainment picked up the award for New Studio.

The Game Developers Awards are the only peer-based, open nomination awards program in the videogame industry today. Nominations are open to all members of the International Game Developers Association. The finalists chosen by the Choice Awards Advisory Board and the winners are finally voted on by IGDA members.

Devs of the now defunct Clover Studio (makers of Okami) have been given new assignments by parent company Capcom.

CVG reports that the devs were assigned to work on Resident Evil 5 with Jun Takeuchi and Keiji Inafune's Wii project. Some regret was expressed over the exit of three Clover veterans: Shinji Mikami, Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya. The trio left Capcom to do their own thing and formed an independent studio of their own called Seeds.

The rest of the Clover team were assimilated by the game development giant's dev talent pool. The move wouldn't affect the games in development so much since Capcom doesn't have strict rules regarding their dev teams. According to Charles Bellfield, Capcom's vice president of marketing, "everybody does work on a variety of content and games at Capcom."

Well, there we have it. Some people have some concerns regarding the new Resident Evil since Shinji Mikami is not on the driver's seat anymore. We'll have to wait and see.