Clarification: Dissolution of Clover Studio

October 12, 2006, 08:53 AM

by brandon, via atsushi inaba -
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There's some slightly inaccurate info about Clover going around today, so I thought I'd add some insight. The company is indeed dissolving as a Capcom company. However, we interviewed inaba at TGS, and some people were surprised, as they'd heard he was leaving Capcom to form his own studio. It may well be that he's leaving with Clover, and this is Capcom's 'face-saving' method of doing so. Regardless, I don't think you have to worry about Clover-esque games coming to market, as I don't think inaba has any intention of slowing down. So don't get all crazy.

As for his reasons for leaving, there are some hints in the interview, but I'll wait til they're properly transcribed. In brief, he mentioned in passing (when I said it suddenly seemed like Capcom had just decided to make good games again), that he wasn't sure whether people would still feel that way in five years. Lastly, some sources have stated that "Clover" comes from "creativity lover." We actually asked him what the name came from in the interview, and it comes from the 'mi' of shinji mikami (Biohazard creator and Inaba's mentor), and the 'ba' of atsushi inaba (Clover head). Thus, 'three leaves' - what has three leaves? Clovers. Then he went on to say that they used a four-leafed clover in the logo because it looked nicer. So now you know!