In the upcoming Game Informer issue 201, we talk with Platinum Games' Hideki Kamiya, whose action spectacular Bayonetta will be released early next year. Though we focused a lot on that flashy new Sega-published title, we also took some time to ask Kamiya about his past work with Capcom and discovered which francises he wishes he could return to and which he's left behind.
"I don't have the rights to any of the IPs that I've made," Kamiya explained. "They belong to the companies that publish them, and they're a business so they have a right to exploit those IPs as they want.... However, to be completely honest, I'd love to do them myself."
Asked which IPs in particular Kamiya would like to revisit, he clarified:
"Up until very recently I really felt someday I wanted to make a sequel to Okami, and there were others who wanted me to as well. But then the other day I heard the announcement that someone else would be making a sequel and now I'm just not interested in it anymore. Once someone else touches a world that you yourself created it stops being yours. There is no point in making a sequel when the world doesn't belong to you. Viewtiful Joe is probably all I've got left. That story is incomplete so I'd like to finish it someday. But that would probably be the most difficult one to do [laughs]."
The Okami sequel Kamiya is referring to would be Okamiden, the upcoming DS continuation of the cartoon dog adventure. As exciting as that game looks, it's hard not to be disappointed that Kamiya no longer wants to touch the franchise.
You can check out the full interview with Hideki Kamiya in issue 201 of Game Informer, which will arrive to subscribers and be available on newsstands soon.
"Once someone else touches a world that you yourself created it stops being yours. There is no point in making a sequel when the world doesn't belong to you."
Sad truth conundrum... =(
too bad about the Okami sequel but i would love to see another Viewtiful Joe. another Viewtiful Joe game is long overdue.
Okami was a great game. It's sad to hear the creator of such and original and stylized game no longer cares to work with it. :(
Okami is one of the best games ever made. I would love another console version of the series, but it's a shame that Kamiya would no longer be involved.
I really hope he brings Viewtiful Joe back to it's classic way without making something like red hot rumble.
Viewtiful joe is one of the best series made by capcom.
This almost seems a little...whiny. I think it's true that once someone touches something you've created, they change it, but that doesn't mean that they change the soul of it, does it?
If you make a particular kind of sandwhich, and then I take that kind of sandwhich and change one of the ingredients, it's a lot like the one you made, but now it's something new. There's no reason you can't go back to the original yourself and make something -else- new, is there?
By this logic, no one at Disney should have worked on Kingdom Hearts, and Square shouldn't ever have made any games with Cloud in them after KH got hold of the character. It's just silly.
That's a shame. :( I would really like a Viewtiful Joe sequel, though.
I'm glad that Shigeru Miyamoto and Yoshio Sakamoto don't feel that way (at least I don't think they do). I know that other people have worked on Zelda, Mario and Metroid titles, but they have still come back and worked on later entries for these titles.
@Christian:
Okami has been long overdue for a sequel as well. Okami was released only a year after Viewtiful Joe 2, right?
I used to love Viewtiful Joe, but now it seems to me that it was all nostalgia. I'd love to see another one, though. Maybe it could reinvigorate my love of the series.
Oh, GOD, yes! I want Viewtiful Joe 3! It'd be a great way to end the series.
It's even more disappointing that the Okami sequel is coming to the DS.
@Joseph: I think comparing games to sandwiches is kind of a stretch. Kamiya's not speaking for how everyone should act, just for how he feels specifically. If someone messes with his creation, it's not his creation any more. I think that's fair.
I'd kill to see another Viewtiful Joe. Hideki needs to get some kind of agreement with Capcom to where he can make another while they get something.
Its a shame, but it happens
Yes that is definitely screwed up that someone that created the IP that actually WANTED to do the sequel is not involved and only recently found out about the project.
Okami is one of my all-time favorites but no matter what Kamiya-san makes is gold, so he can really make anything. He is a true visionary artist.
Great set of games from a great studio. I hate that our industry kills creativity like this in favor of money. But it's business.... what are ya gonna do....
I wish that Clover could've been like an independent film studio type setup..... not expecting huge sales, but knowing that their game would be great and sell decently.
Viewtiful Joe is one of my favortite games. I remember when I first got it, I didnt stop playing until 2 am. I hope there will be another sequal.
I can fully understand his point. From a writer's perspective, I know I would never consent to anything that allowed anyone else to work within a framework I'd laid down. This might seem egocentric, and it is. But until you've put years of blood, sweat and tears into something, it is difficult to understand that feeling.
That said, with all due respect to Mr. Kamiya, this won't stop me from buying Okamiden. I can't deny that while he may not be involved in the sequel, it looks really good.