First details: Viewtiful Joe DS

TOKYO--Last week, Viewtiful Joe developer Clover Studio hinted that the company would talk about the Viewtiful Joe title in development for the Nintendo DS in its next weekly site update. Today the developer proved true to its word, technically. While the update does indeed feature the first details of the game and a miniature, blurred screenshot, it doesn't get anywhere close to specifics, ostensibly because the project is still in an early stage of development, and because the team isn't sure if it can actually accomplish all the things it hopes to accomplish.

What is known so far is that Viewtiful Joe DS will indeed be an action game, but it won't take place in Movie Land this time around. The two screens on the Nintendo DS will be used for different purposes, although they'll be displaying things that have strong relevance to each other. Clover Studio hints that the screens will be used in a fashion related to "movies," which is the theme of the Viewtiful Joe series.

The game will use the touch-sensitive lower screen in a simple fashion that is said to match the atmosphere of Viewtiful Joe. The game will also feature a new, "important" character.

"There are a number of reasons to why we've decided to develop Viewtiful Joe on the Nintendo DS," reads the column. Chief among them is the fact that Clover Studios "simply wanted to make a game on the DS because it is a fun piece of hardware."

"We decided to make a Viewtiful Joe for the DS before we actually laid out any [specific] project plans. As long as we're doing it, it won't be just a simple port," read the Clover Studio site text.