With the release of Okamiden just a few months away, Capcom producer has told Official Nintendo Magazine why the original game flopped when it was initially released on PlayStation 2 in 2007. It's because it was released on the wrong console at the wrong time.
The Legend Of Zelda-style adventure was critically acclaimed - receiving 9.5 in our Okami review - but it perhaps wasn't as popular as it should have been.
According to Eshiro, launching the game when new consoles were being announced may have been a problem.
Okamiden will be released for DS on 18 March, one week before 3DS.
According to ONM, it certainly deserves a big audience. As they said in their Okamiden preview in the new issue of Official Nintendo Magazine, "If this doesn't sell, there's something incurably wrong with the world."
You can read the full Okamiden preview and Motohide Eshiro interview in the February issue of Official Nintendo Magazine. Click here to buy a copy and get it delivered direct to your door, or even better, subscribe and get Monster Hunter Tri.
Comments
19 comments so far...
gilly83 on 24 Jan '11 said:
love Okami its defo in my top ten games its a crime it didnt sell a bucket load tho
ginsin on 24 Jan '11 said:
Okami is my 2nd favourite game of all-time. Truth.
Cogglesz on 24 Jan '11 said:
Well if he thought that why did he decide to bring it out a week before the 3ds comes along ? not saying Okami is bad, its great just what ever happened from learning from your mistakes ?
mkwuk on 24 Jan '11 said:
No denying Okami is a great game - but he says it failed at retail because it was released at the same time new consoles were being announced... and then they go and release the follow up on the DS a week before the release of the 3DS!
ParamedicFoetus on 24 Jan '11 said:
For a new IP it didn't get enough advertising, I can remember buying it on release and there were a few copies slipped into my local game stores in the same way a budget title would be. Capcom didn't push it enough and when it (and godhand) didn't sell they closed clover. Their loss.
budge on 24 Jan '11 said:
A delightful game. I too am bewildered as to why it didn't sell well because the PS2 was quite the home for obscure little Japanese RPG's.
dookiephonic on 24 Jan '11 said:
Why it didn't sell? Oh thats easy because it wasn't called Call of Duty: Okami. Also the advertising was non-existent.
boskersrevenge on 24 Jan '11 said:
Most gamers are thick.
That is all.
paulhudd on 24 Jan '11 said:
this must be a bet with the execs at capcom, can we make a stunning game which should sale 16 bejillion copies, and make it so obscure we get less than 100k sales?
challenge accepted!
lordirongut on 24 Jan '11 said:
Okami is an incredible game which deserved far better than it got, but I don't think that timing had anything to do with it - Final Fantasy XII and God of War 2 both came out in 2006 (I believe God of War 2 and Okami were reviewed in the same issue of Games Master) and they both sold bucketloads. I think it was more a lacklustre marketing campaign on Capcom's part.
It is definitely one of the best games of the last generation, though - a true undiscovered gem. We can only hope Okamiden does a little better.
rustym on 24 Jan '11 said:
isnt 3DS backwards compatitable?
If it may sell to 3DS owners too as launch line up looks poor to me and any1 wanting an adventure game for it will have to play ds games until zelda and the likes are released later in the year
eye.of.despair on 24 Jan '11 said:
Although im tempted to agree with u.. ah hell.. i do agree with u..but only this once..
I very much doubt a okami sequel will ever be anywhere near as good as the original which is like for many others, one of my favourite games of all time.. The reason i say that is because the key people who worked on the original are workin at platinum games as far as i know.. This is because those barstuds at CAPCOM dissolved clover for whatever abusive reason.. those whores.. Its simple really. we havent had an okami sequel this gen like RE5 and DMC 4 is because capcom thought it couldnt be milked till the teets fall off.. IMO okamiden isnt really a true sequel.. anyone whose played okami knows this because of the ending.
potnoodle1 on 24 Jan '11 said:
I'll be buying this game to play on my 3DS. Nothing in the launch line up is even worth getting out of bed for. Might buy one of the DS Zelda games as well.
razors edge on 24 Jan '11 said:
Then why buy a 3DS? Just stick with your DS, if you have one, if not buy one.
FAUNA on 24 Jan '11 said:
OKAMI is one of the best games ever made. A true visionary art masterwork...
Balladeer on 24 Jan '11 said:
kimoak on 24 Jan '11 said:
Brilliant game. I would say it was because of no brand awareness + pathetic advertising. It's a new game so what you have to do is advertise. They didn't. If they did I would have known about it when it was released. I only caught wind of it when it was ported to the Wii... AND I AM A GAMER!
WHERESMYMONKEY on 25 Jan '11 said:
I liked the wii controls. They were a much better fit than the PS2 ones were. Regardless it's stonking on either console. Then again that seems to be the way of it in gamesland there's loads of awesome games that no bugger plays. Maybe CVG should do a feature on it. the top 10 awesome games that no bugger played.
The Bossman on 25 Jan '11 said:
Well I bought it back in 2007 and loved it, and still do. Just a shame the prequel/sequel is out on DS only. Don't really wanna spend a huge amount of cash for one game.