After spending many years working at Capcom, on games such as Resident Evil and Devil May Cry, and eventually moving on to Clover Studio – a subsidiary of Capcom – where he directed Okami as well as Viewtiful Joe, Hideki Kamiya eventually left Capcom to form his own studio, Platinum Games.
Despite what some may think, he states that there’s no bad blood between him and Capcom, and that it was actually his decision to leave the company, which he “felt a little bad for”. He also thinks he would be very much open to teaming up with Capcom once again, if the opportunity presents itself.
In the same vein, Kamiya recently told Metro the following during an interview at Gamescom last week:
…I can honestly say that if there’s ever an opportunity, that makes sense for me or the studio, to work with Capcom again I would very much welcome that opportunity. Of all the publishers, not just Japanese publishers or partners, I can say with confidence that Capcom still holds a very, very special place in my heart and I love them dearly. It’s one of my favourite companies.
[laughs] And why I say that is because they really helped shape me to who I am today. I spent a long amount of time with them and they helped me grow into who I am. They are one of the few remaining companies in Japan… you know we’ve seen so many other companies being merged and bought out and acquired but they remain the Capcom that they started out as. So seeing that strength and power that still is Capcom today is very reassuring. And it shows the confidence, it shows the love and passion of what they do. So I really do welcome the opportunity to work with Capcom again.[laughs] There are people that think I was let go or fired from the team or from the staff at Capcom, but that is not what happened. It was just time for me to work with my partners and friends and colleagues, who I wanted to work with, and start a new venture and create new opportunities for ourselves. So I left of my own will and my own desire, to form Platinum Games with some other colleagues of mine.
So that is the truth, and I actually felt a little bad for leaving. Because Capcom tried to stop me leaving and joining my other partners at Platinum. So there’s a sense that if there’s ever a chance that we can not only work together but help bring new life into maybe a Capcom title, or work on a Capcom partnership, then, again, I would very much welcome the opportunity.
Many of us are still very much in touch with some of our old colleagues at Capcom. And in fact, right after I return from Gamescom I am meeting up with Jun Takeuchi [producer of Onimusha 3, Lost Planet, and Resident Evil 5 – GC] at Capcom and we’re gonna talk about what’s been going on. And this is long overdue.
And so there are things that we always casually talk about, dreams that we want to realise, and I think it’s not just us. I know that there are fans out there that also want to see… maybe something perhaps happening between Platinum Games and Capcom. So… not alluding to anything or not suggesting anything, but if there is a chance, or if there is an opportunity to work together, that would be something I would proactively lean towards to see what they have in mind.’