Clover Vets Reunite

[RiseToFall]

Shortly after Capcom announced the dismantling of (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6159721.html) Okami developer Clover last year, it was revealed that two of the studio's big names--Viewtiful Joe producer Atsushi Inaba and Devil May Cry director Hideki Kamiya--had already left the company (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6159819.html) in search of "fresh challenges."
They appear to have found one, as the pair are listed on the Japanese language site for upstart developer Seeds, along with fellow Clover veteran and Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami. While Kamiya and Inaba had left Capcom entirely, Mikami last year was still working for Capcom as a contracted producer.

Viewtiful Joe producer Atsushi Inaba. (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:open_blog_image_viewer%28%272007/044/inaba887_screen.jpg%27%29;)
According to Seeds' Web site (http://www.seeds-inc.jp/index.html), the studio was formed in August of last year with Inaba as president, and has so far grown to employ 51 people. The group is even looking to expand more, with the site hosting a call for producers and creative talent.
"We are a group of creators who have already created colorful products," the site reads. "Now, standing on new ground, and even as the soil has changed, our passion to pursue new play [fun] hasn't changed. We are challenging ourselves on a global scale to create entertainment products with a new, fresh feeling. We need more seeds."
Clover Studios is expected to be officially dissolved next month. Remaining staff has recently been working on the PAL versions of Okami and God Hand.
Link (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6165955.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0)


I am extremly happy for them, and can't wait to see what games this talented studio will be working on.

[XxSephirothxX]

Awesome. Viewtiful Joe was kind of run into the ground quickly, which was a shame, but on the whole they've created some really wonderful games that brought both innovation and artistic vision to the table in a way few developers recently have been able to match. I would say Seeds is already up there with Mistwalker in terms of potential for putting out some awesome stuff.

[JKTrix]

Who knows, they could still make games for Capcom, but now they're not limited to Capcom's rules and boundaries. I'm sure they didn't want to make 5 Viewtiful Joe games over 3 years. Of course, going independant is likely to put a damper on their financial backing, but I think their reputation should be good enough for a major company to sign them on for a game.

I see Microsoft in their near future.

[Roto13]

There are only four Viewtiful Joe games. :P

Here's hoping they get solicited by Capcom to finish the VJ trilogy.

[JKTrix]

I see Microsoft in their near future.

I was semi-joking when I said that, but I was just looking at their official site (http://www.seeds-inc.jp/site/index.html), on their staff page there's a pic with the Xbox 360 controller in the background.

http://www.seeds-inc.jp/site/staff/ueda.html

Now the 360 controller works for PCs as well, but if they're makin' PS2/3 games, I they'd use the appropriate controller.