You should play the Wii version 'cause you can bypass the DAMN IRRITATING voices on cutscenes. I tried to play the PS2 version but, after the 30-minutes-non-skippable-with-annoying-voices introduction, I've lost the interest in the game (and it is serious, 'cause I've bought a PS2 only for it).

I'm just waiting the Wii Version.

And yes, it will cost $39.99 according to Gamestop.

The intro is not 30 minutes... it is about 15 though. It's slightly annoying that they force you to watch it the first time, but it's a stupid reason to not play an otherwise great game. Who says the intro will be skipable in the Wii version anyway?

 So it has a SPM intro but then its not quite as intrusive in terms of dialogue or is it about that same level of dialogue?  Just curious, I like a good story and while SPM was very wordy it didn't bother me enough to stop me from enjoying it quite a bit.

Yes, the intro is fairly lengthy and wordy.  After that you'll never have anywhere near that amount of text or wordiness.  There will be plenty of dialogue, but it's never anywhere near as long as that.

40 hours for $40....excellent value.

I think the capcom vice-president (not really sure of his role) posted it in the capcom forums (or possibly an interview).

I'd say the whole first half-hour to an hour is kind of a meh. In addition to the very lengthy intro scene you can't skip there's generally a lot of cut-scenes and talking at the beginning. It's somewhat unavoidable as there's a lot of exposition to cover the Japanese lore, story, characters, and explaining how to play the game, but it does fell like it could have been spaced out a little better.

It's well worth putting up with and the other 99% of the game has a much smoother pace. If SPM didn't bug you much you’ll be just fine. Just be warned the game tends to beat you over the head with explanations for the first bit of the game, but after that it’s smooth sailing.

From the latest IGN podcast the Wii version of Okami is getting better graphics and controls but nothing extra, I hope it comes out at a budget price like RE4 if they're doing that.

On topic, Okami is a adventure game, looks pretty cool I wanted to try it out but never got around to it, I heard a few things about it feeling like a Zelda-ish game, which would be fine with me.

So if I don't like Zelda there's little chance of me liking this?

I'd choose anytime the annoying voices from SPM (dots, dots, dots) than the disturbing voices from Okami. It makes me stop playing the game, I'm talking serious about it...

I'm seriously considering buying Okami now, and if it's $30, then there's no excuse for me not to buy it.
If there are enough people like me out there who own Wiis and missed out on the PS2 version, we just might have a hit on our hands. I hope.