Okami Wii created for you

By Robert Purchese Published 16 November, 2007

Fan pleas prompted port.

Capcom business development boss Christian Svensson has revealed that Okami Wii would never had been made if you lot hadn't belly-ached about it.

He was chatting openly on the official US blog, praising you lot for being so tenacious and helping prove there was an appetite for it.

"Even before the Okami's PS2 release, the media and Capcom fans would constantly ask us if it was ever going to come to Wii, citing the interface as being ideal for the brush mechanics," chirped Svensson.

"Okami Wii specifically exists because of that direct communication, especially those we receive on our message boards (even if they're sometimes mean to us)."

You may remember us giving Okami top marks on PS2, but despite our - and many others - singing and dancing it failed to fly off of shop shelves. For Svensson, this was a problem bought about by the choice of platform.

He added: "The bulk of our core audience was thinking about new platforms. And while there are standout new IP successes like God of War that released that same year (albeit 9 months earlier than Okami), its was still an uphill battle no matter how you sliced it."

Ready at Dawn, of Daxter and God of War PSP fame, is handling the port - a relationship formed in a hotel suite at GDC back in March and helped considerably by the onset of beer.

But the choice was far from easy, according to Svensson; for a game as beloved as Okami only the best would ever be good enough for the Capcom's table [get out - Ed].

"This was never going to be a quick turn and burn cash in..." proclaimed Svensson. "The project was far too important to do anything other than applying the utmost TLC if we were going to be successful."

The Wii version has no new content as Capcom feels it is big enough already, but alongside the new and naturally fitting motion-sensing controls Svensson hinted we may see some technical nips and tucks. Quick, belly-ache about 16:9 support.

So far work on Okami Wii is going swimmingly, and Svensson is confident it will be in (US) shops by next spring.

"As it stands today, the team has the game assets converted (quite the laborious process), up and running in a ported version of Clover's engine. There are still several systems getting set up properly but there's most definitely a Wii-driven Amaterasu running around Wii-rendered environments as we speak," concluded Svensson.

Pop over to our Okami PS2 review to see why we are so excited about it all.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (34) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Kryon #1 4 years ago

    "Fan pleas prompted port."

    Oh really? I would have assumed that revenue prompted the port... Silly me, eh...

  • el_pollo_diablo #2 4 years ago

    Cripes.

  • Ignatius_Cheese #3 4 years ago

    Just slap on a touch of gloss (not that it needs it) by way of 480p and 16:9 support and I'll be all over this like flies over hot shit.

  • Darren #4 4 years ago

    I already have the astonishingly good PS2 version but I'll be buying it for the Wii as well as I believe the Wiimote's pointer function will be absolutely perfect for the Celestrial Brush bits. Besides the game is so excellent, it's worth buying twice. :)

  • pervertron #5 4 years ago

    Poor Clover guys - they pour their heart and souls to produce a brilliant game and then have to give it over to somebody else to get all the credit. :(

    :) Still happy remembering all the villagers going round wearing t-shirts with a big cock painted on them. Aaaaaaa.

  • Olemak #6 4 years ago

    Good news, but still - my hyperbole sensor blew a fuse reading Svendssons statements.

  • Lexx87 #7 4 years ago

    Give it achievments and i'll play
    Edited by 1 at 16/11/07 @ 11:45

  • MoGamer2006 #8 4 years ago

    @Lexx87

    A comment that moronic and yet you still had to edit it?

  • Whitewalker #9 4 years ago

    Sounds great!

  • chicknstu #10 4 years ago

    Bleating fans... nobody bought the original!

  • locus2k1 #11 4 years ago

    Thank you Capcom, now re-open clover studios

  • asphaltcowboy #12 4 years ago

    Didn't get round to buying it for PS2 and just got a Wii, so I think I know which is getting bought!

  • Hypercube #13 4 years ago

    lol, it's amusing reading the original review's comments thread!

    jmctavish 09-Feb-07 16:20:21 "Hopefully Capcom will have the sense to port this to the Wii."

    Eighthours 09-Feb-07 16:31:01 "Would all the painting stuff make this game even more of a stunner on the Wii, d'ya think?"

    Goban 09-Feb-07 16:42:48 "Is this likely to get ported to Wii? Or has the Capcom 5 spoiled their relatioship with Nintendo?"

    krudster 09-Feb-07 16:47:02 "I'd say there's zero chance of that happening."

    It's good to see they wised up, I would imagine this will sell a lot better than the original (but still brilliant) PS2 release.

  • Triggerhappytel #14 4 years ago

    Aah, it failed because it was on the wrong platform (the most popular games console ever, I understand?), and not because it was a very unique and stylised game with very little advertising? Glad we got clarification on that.

    On a more serious note, please buy this game, Wii owners. It deserves to be a success so dearly, even if Clover have been sadly disbanded :(

  • Carroceiro #15 4 years ago

    The thing is, how many people have a Wii and not a PS2? Most gamers have a PS2 and if the game didn't sell well then, I can't see how it'll sell well now. Besides, is it really that much better to use the wiimote to control the Celestial Brush? If you think about it, it really isn't that much more fun to wave your hands about to make the strokes. Everyone keeps talking about how the game would be perfect for the Wii, but I don't think that it'll be so much better because of the wiimote. Which is why I wouldn't buy this port, even if I had a Wii (which I don't, I don't plan to have one). The wiimote simply can't justify buying a game one already has. The PS2 version was perfectly fine as it was.
    Actually, scratch that. If there's one thing that they should do with this game, that thing isn't being able to make strokes with the wiimote, it's ramping up the difficulty level. The game was way too easy for its own good and, in my opinion, that was the only thing that kept it from being a perfect game. There was no challenge to be had at all!

    Now, if, according to them, they decided to port the game to the Wii, because the flans pleaded, then we'd better have a sequel, because I'm sure that's what fans truly want. I know I do.

  • IAmBatman #16 4 years ago

    MAKE THE INTRO SKIPPABLE.
    30 fucking minutes. Ugh.

  • SeesThroughAll #17 4 years ago

    The thing is, how many people have a Wii and not a PS2? Most gamers have a PS2 and if the game didn't sell well then, I can't see how it'll sell well now.

    Show a 1 minute commercial on TV with a fit girl waving the Wiimote and chuckling at what she draws on the screen, including about 2 seconds of in-game footage.

    It'll sell as much as Wii Sports.

  • Triggerhappytel #18 4 years ago

    @ Carroceiro - how about the fact there's fewer AAA games on the Wii, and less direct competition, hopefully encouraging better sales. And Zelda: Twilight Princess doesn't count, because Okami is better. I also agree that they should make it a bit tougher (and reduce Ammy's item capacity), although they probably won't for the Wii masses.

    @ IAmBatman - yes, the intro was a bit annoying, but I think 30 minutes is a bit of an exaggeration. I'm sure it was 10 - 15 minutes. However I do think they should let you skip through text if you want. It'd save a hell of a lot of time.

  • monkie_king #19 4 years ago

    carrocerio: "they decided to port the game to the Wii, because the flans pleaded"?

    i think the petition by the danish pastries helped too.
    Edited by 1 at 16/11/07 @ 13:43

  • quantumsheep #20 4 years ago

    Well, I have a PS2 and waited for a wii port.
    Edited by 1 at 16/11/07 @ 13:45

  • VMerken #21 4 years ago

    At the time, I hoped for a DS port, because (a) the stylus is also an excellent Celestial Brush enabler and (b) Clover had released a few Viewtiful Joe DS titles at the time, so it seemed like a realistic scenario.

    Man, I hope Seeds - I mean, Platinum Games (who thought up this dullest of names which brings up associations with low-budget PS2 titles?) takes off.

  • FaceOmeter #22 4 years ago

    Excellent, I've been holding off buying the PS2 version in the hopes that this would happen. NOW ALL MY BRILLIANT PLANS HAVE COME TO FRUITION AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA

    /coat

  • PameBoy #23 4 years ago

    I only ever got about 10 hours into the PS2 version, and when I heard the Wii port was coming I sold it on. FAR too many other games to be getting on with at the mo.

  • Feanor #24 4 years ago

    I wonder why krudster was so sure there wouldn't be a Wii version. I guess the huge sales of the Wii weren't so huge back then.

  • immateriaux #25 4 years ago

    Have this for PS2 but will certainly pick it up for the Wii - great games do deserve continual support but this will also definitely reward a replay on the Wii.

  • smelly #26 4 years ago

    >I would have assumed that revenue prompted the port.

    Not likely - if that was the case they wouldnt have bothered.

    Sure you could sell twice as many, but twice as many as 0.. is still 0.

  • smelly #27 4 years ago

    Ace, in original thread - i posted:

    Still say it looks like a kids game thouhg.. they should release it on the wii as thats for kids...

    Kids games like this dont belong on proper grown up consoles like the ps2 and 360.

  • Kryon #28 4 years ago

    @smelly

    "Sure you could sell twice as many, but twice as many as 0.. is still 0. "

    No you're right, they're not doing it for money, they just want to make friends with you...

  • escalinci #29 4 years ago

    Draw distance, 16:9. I've only seen it in motion in badly compressed videos so I don't really know how good it looks.

  • HermitArcader #30 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Ryze #31 4 years ago

    Not got the PS2 version - perfect Wii game.

    Nintendo have struck gold. I knew this would happen.

    I'll love my 2008 US Wii.

    Sony - take note. These companies have LISTENed and RESPONDed to their fans.

  • Razorus #32 4 years ago

    I think it was a mistake to release it on the PS2, they should have developed it for the Wii to begin with.

  • okamifan1 #33 2 years ago

    Why put it over to the Wii? I didn't want it to move....

    Okami was a great game and it does have achievements well kind of anyway......

    I say boo to the wii!

  • okamifan1 #34 2 years ago

    Carroceiro! Well said I couldn't of put it better!
    Spending over 100 pounds just to get a wii and the game is just a waste of money!
    The wiimote is a publicity scam making you think it will be better but really the challenge of the celestial brush on the ps2 is hard enough I don't want to do it with some stupid pencil type thing as Carroceiro said the only I would want this game to be changed is the difficulty then it would be worth buying but a stupid wiimote is not enough to please me!
    I didn't want this game to go onto the wii I am a blooming fan IT IS JUST TO GET MONEY!!!!!!
    IF ONLY CLOVER WAS STILL IN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CLOVER FOREVER!!!!!!!!!