While the final months of 2006 were exciting times – the Wii and Playstation 3 were released mere days apart while the Xbox 360, DS, and PSP really started to heat up content wise – it was also a time of mourning. Just after the release God Hand and Okami, Clover Studios disbanded. Parent company Capcom absorbed much of the staff while the designer trinity of Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil), Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry), and Atsushi Inaba (Viewtiful Joe) went off to form a new independent studio. Clover’s games were true rarities in the industry, each one an artistic ziggurat built on a foundation of violently colorful worlds and idiosyncratic mechanics. Viewtiful Joe’s comicbook world of an empowered movie buff that found the player manipulating the action with VCR commands, Okami’s sumi-e fantasia that allowed the player to literally exert their will on the world through painting; truly special stuff. That’s why it’s so exciting that yesterday’s rumors about their new games turned out to be absolutely true.
Their new studio, Platinum Games, has signed a three game publishing deal with Sega and their new titles sound like classic gold. Bayonetta for PS3/360 looks to evolve the stylish violence Kamiya created in the original Devil May Cry seven years ago, MadWorld is set to join No More Heroes in the world of surrealist Wii action, and Infinite Line’s take on science fiction sounds markedly deeper than the usual DS fare. Check out the leaked trailer for Bayonetta below.
Our thanks go out to NeoGAF and all its members’ tireless effort to dig up any and all info that leaks before press embargoes break.