GameDaily BIZ: So what's the story behind Capcom's decision to close Clover Studios?

Charles Bellfield: Well, to give you some context and background to this, let me first describe what Clover Studios actually was. Clover Studios was created in 2004, so it's been around for just a couple years. It was physically a floor in our sixteen-story R&D building in Osaka in Japan. It was identical to the other fifteen floors that were in the same building. It was a floor full of developers creating content within the Capcom family. Clover Studios itself was a fully owned subsidiary of Capcom... The only thing that's occurred in the last couple of days is that the name Clover Studios will no longer be used and two individuals, certainly key individuals in the company, plus a few others have left the company. But a lot of key individuals over the last few months have been transitioning from the Clover floor to working on other floors in the same building. So we won't be using the Clover Studios brand... but just like each of the other development studios we have, everything will be under the Capcom umbrella. Does it change the type of content we develop? Not in the slightest chance. Does it change the company at all? Nope. Have a couple of individuals left? Yes. Are we bringing new individuals on board? We do everyday.

BIZ: The people that left, however, were very important. Clover head Atsushi Inaba and Devil May Cry director Hideki Kamiya are both gone, right? And what about Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami?

CB: Mikami-san is still a contracted producer at Capcom, so he's very much part of the team, part of the family just as other producers are. Some are regular employees, while others are under contract for a timeframe or content or a particular project, which is pretty standard in Japan. Both Inaba-san and Kamiya-san have left the company. We would hope that at some point they would continue to work with Capcom going forward. We obviously wish them well in the meantime. Personally I would wish them a fantastic rest and vacation for a while and I look forward to working with them again in the future, but that's their choice. They are influential individuals within this team; you're absolutely right. But with regards to those three, Mikami-san is still with the team as a contracted employee but Inaba-san and Kamiya-san have left at the moment. We don't know what they're doing going forward, but certainly we're continuing conversations and discussions with them and we continue our relationships as well.

BIZ: The rumor is that they had left to start up a new independent development studio...

CB: It's interesting. I don't mind giving you my point of view. If you look at the Japanese development community, the frequency by which people leave a publisher owned development team and set up their own studio but continue relationships with that publisher is evident throughout the industry in Japan. And secondly, in terms of individuals leaving and setting up their own studio and then coming back to the company later on, this happens every single day in Japan. Remember this is the third Japanese company I've worked for... and this is not unusual within this industry in Japan. It would be unusual here in the U.S. Also, it's good for people to try something different every now and again and then come back or continue the relationships in a different way. In many ways, all the Japanese publishers over there have this transition in staff. I would tell you that one thing stays the same; Capcom is very much the same company.

Two years ago you would have called us stupid, so would the Japanese press, and so would the Japanese investment community, for doing two exclusive 360 titles. In a market where Xbox 1 had a less than stellar performance, in Japan you would have called us absolutely stupid, but we were prepared to take the risk with Microsoft in looking at the global perspective of the market and invest in two franchises which have been, one of which has been a huge hit globally, and the second one is on a path to being an even bigger hit globally. So we still take risks as a company, which is why I'd say to everybody who's posted stories and rumors and gossip about the Clover Studio situation, Capcom is still very much the same company that you grew up with and you love and adore. And that's why I came to work here four months ago.

BIZ: So what does the future hold for the franchises that Clover has worked on, such as Viewtiful Joe, Okami and God Hand?

CB: Just as Clover was a fully owned studio of Capcom, those IPs are fully owned IPs of Capcom as well. So God Hand and Okami, which are still to ship in Europe, are being finished up by the team at Clover and will ship in Europe on schedule. And those IPs are very much a part of the Capcom family of IPs. And look at what we're doing in terms of the library of content that we own as a company. In many ways, I love comparing ourselves to some of the other Japanese publishers in terms of the catalog of content that we have and track record in terms of great quality, high produced production values, and innovative content, whether it's DMC 3 Special Edition, RE4 or the Mega Man franchise—a new title is coming out next year to reinvigorate the Mega Man brand—whether it's Okami, or the creative talent of what God Hand is in terms of the innovation and uniqueness of the title.

And you've got to remember that some people loved it, some people hated it but the whole marketing strategy for God Hand here in the U.S. is something that I worked personally very closely with Inaba-san. He commented that it's very rare that a producer and a marketing guy agree on a marketing plan from day one. But he and I absolutely saw eye to eye in terms of how we were going to market the title in the U.S. We want to be different. If you take one thing, have a look at the print ads we did for God Hand, with the fist going through the mouth and out the back of the neck. That was the creative vision that Inaba-san wanted for the marketing of the title. I saw it first in Japan back in July or June, and I loved the concept. I thought it was brilliant in terms of just standing out and being different.

So in terms of mindset, Inaba-san and I have always been in agreement for the marketing of both Okami and God Hand, and that culture that he developed at the company—his uniqueness—it very much stays at the company even though he's gone. He's a lasting legacy here. I would definitely say to you that the likes of Inaba-san and Kamiya-san are like teachers. What they've done is been able to teach the students of Capcom in terms of their perception of game development. The lasting effect is their students remain at the company and now have the [smarts] for the school of thought that Inaba-san and Kamiya-san have for game development... And I will give credit to Inaba-san and Kamiya-san of being some of the most profound professors within the video game business, and I'm proud to be one of the students.