Final Interview with Clover Studios

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May 2012

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May 28 - Memorial Day

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[TheContact]

1Up has an insightful interview with Atsushi Inaba, Clover Studio's president, shortly before the news of their closure hit.  Some really good questions in there.

1UP: About two months ago we did an Okami Cover Story on 1UP and we really tried to push that, in terms of looking at games as art, Okami perhaps epitomizes that. Is artistry something that Clover intends to keep pushing in the future with its games?

Inaba: When you say "art," and people respect Okami as art, they then recognize the art style and theme. That is something that really makes us happy, sure, but first and foremost we are game creators. We want to make games that people enjoy playing. Art is one of those things that if you understand it, great, and if you don't, then that's okay too. But that's not one of the things we really aim for. We are trying to make games that are considered fun. While we understand that people are calling Okami art, and that's really nice to hear, as game creators we'd rather hear that you are really enjoying playing our game. That's what we strive for with Clover Studios.

That really made me happy, because in my opinion, it's the way games should be made.  FYI, if you have a PS2 and haven't picked up Okami, you're missing out on a phenomenal game.

[Kia_Purity]

I've been meaning to pick up Okami... but I'd have to check my budget DX

From what I've seen of the game while Silver's been playing it at his apt is totally awesome. I love the look/style and the gameplay of the game. :B

[Janus]

I've been playing it for the last week... I have 35 hours in it, I think (I like explorrrrrring  )... I'm quite impressed.  It reminds me a lot of Zelda.  I'd say the art is the most impressive aspect of it.  The gameplay is nothing short of fun, either.  I have a friend who, at first glance, said "please tell me these are not the actual graphics... this is horrible".  Shortly after, his eyes were glued to the screen. "This game is amazing!  I really like the style". 

My only complaint is the annoying pseudo-voiceovers.  Namely, the narration with the annoying HISSSSS every 2 seconds. 

[Sirus]

I just don't understand. How could Clover get canned when they've made two of the most innovative games in the past several years? Hell, Godhand for all it's flaws is still mindlessly fun.

[TheContact]

Because Okami sold 148,000 copies in Japan since its release in April.  That's a dud.  GodHand has only sold 65,000.

Even Vagrant Story, considered a dud, sold 305,000 copies in Japan.

Clover Studios just couldn't sell anything to the Japanese.  Now, how those games are faring on this side of the world, I don't know yet, as they're both very recent releases.

[Myaru]

You'd think innovation would sell, but that is apparently not the case.  And that's kind of interesting in light of all the complaining I hear or read when a new game is just the same old thing, woe, angst, why won't companies make something different?

I guess this is sort of a flawed assumption, but it does seem that people are reluctant to take risks with their games, and that isn't surprising when one considers that we're talking about a business, and that games don't pop out of thin air for free.

The only reason I haven't purchased Okami (as I hear it's a great game) is because I have five games sitting on my shelf that I already purchased, and those should really be played first.  ^^

[Sirus]

I haven't gotten Okami yet for the same reasons, but I will have it at some point.

I certainly hope it does well here, though I would be very strange for an undeniably Japanese game chock full of classical mythological references and symbolism would to be gobbled up over here while the collective Japanese reaction is 'eh'.

...well, maybe not, but i'm sure it says -something- that oftentimes Americans can seem more interested in Japanese culture and history than that Japanese themselves are. Just...not sure what.

[TheContact]

You'd think innovation would sell, but that is apparently not the case.  And that's kind of interesting in light of all the complaining I hear or read when a new game is just the same old thing, woe, angst, why won't companies make something different?

I guess this is sort of a flawed assumption, but it does seem that people are reluctant to take risks with their games, and that isn't surprising when one considers that we're talking about a business, and that games don't pop out of thin air for free.

Well, that's the thing.  Okami is innovative, but not radically so.  I mean, it's 90% Zelda, honestly.  And Zelda has sold well regardless.

Turns out, a lot of it is marketing, imo.  I don't think people really have either heard of Okami, or have been told how great it is.  I was telling my friends about it incessantly, and it wasn't till any of them actually bought it that they realized I wasn't just completely insane.

Innovation is a risk, but as an industry, we tend to be notoriously bad at marketing games and getting the word out about them.

If Metal Gear Solid is too American, and Okami is too Japanese for the Japanese, I don't know wtf they want besides Brain Training.

[Sirus]

This is true. With exceptions for the 'big' games (Any given year's Madden, maybe a Final Fantasy game or two) game companies seem to rely on marketing through the industry, IE with advertisements and ads in game magazines or through the internet grapevine. This works fine for the hobbyist gamer who looks at all those things anyways, but it makes it a lot harder to reach the mainstream out there who may own a game console but doesn't really follow the industry much.

Of course, getting good exposure on television isn't cheap, and they'll have to compete with all the other entertainment venues and others for that commercial space, who really have kind of a gridlock on the best airing times. I'm not sure how much of why you don't see more advertising for games is because the industy won't or because it can't without incurring astronomical costs. And we all know game development is still costing too much as it is.