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[Aquamarine]

After reading from this article @gi.biz http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ooks-towards-big-changes-after-difficult-fy13



Capcom doesn't look like its in good shape at all.

The amount of cash they have left is anemic and with no big sure fire big block buster hits left except for maybe monster hunter. Where does Capcom go from here? I don't want to lose another publisher however what can they do? Just play it safe and do Street Fighter, Monster Hunter and some HD remakes? Thoughts?

First of all, Capcom was able to increase their net cash position from 2012.

Secondly, in terms of the grand total of their liquid assets like cash and short-term marketable securities, Capcom has actually maintained a relatively stable threshold for the past 5 years.

Of course, I agree that coming into the next generation (increased development costs) with this kind of position is going to be challenging for Capcom, especially as their major titles are falling short of sales targets. But the business itself is more stable than you're letting on.

 

[Shion]

The problem with Capcom is that they are thinking like a publisher and not as a developer. I dont think that the people at Capcom are driven by making great games. But they rather analyse graphs and charts and sit on there asses all day discussing stocks, financials and corporate bullshit.

They are literally sitting on top of a mountain of great IP and they have no idea how to maximize its potential. They are too busy looking at american games and wanting to westernize there franchises that they cant see to potential of there own IP. The attempt at making Resident Evil another call of Duty failed. And as good as dragon dogma is, it doesnt have the character and charm of the breath of fire series. Dont get me wrong its a great game. But it feels dry and lifeless compared to Japanese RPG.s like tales of Xillia and Persona 3&4.

I always read such comments in threads like this, but, realistically speaking, do Japanese publishers even have a choice anymore? I think they don't.

The console market has shifted towards AAA and western-centric games. Traditional Japanese titles can't succeed in the new market environment (at least not as retail releases with a decent budget behind them), so they need to find a way to adapt.

Do I like it? No.

Does it make sense? Yes.

On a side note, I think that many Japanese publishers, including Nintendo, still don't realize that mid-tier productions are dead. Anything that isn't a huge AAA release has no place in the current retail market at a premium MSRP. It's all about quality smaller projects at low MSRP and huge AAA titles these days.

Imo, Capcom needs to consolidate their retail productions, shift their business towards, lower-budgeted, high-quality DD titles, and focus their resources on producing fewer but better AAA games.

 

[mugurumakensei]

Some of the blockbuster games have pretty mediocre graphics and i don´t think it´s necessary to dump ridiculously high budgets into your games to have success.

It´s fine for some games (GTA would be the prime example), for others not so much.

I think Capcom understands well that it's not needed by all titles. After all, Monster Hunter it exists and sells well with rather cheap costs. The titles also don't look significantly different from the PS2 titles.

However, LP and DMC were envisioned as titles to compete against the GTAs and and CoDs. To compete against those titles, you do need a big budget. However, I see capcoms digital titles and Monster Hunter keeping them afloat.

 

[Senor Kami]

They'll be fine. They made like $20-$30 million in profit last quarter. It's not like they're bleeding out from this $152M. They're adding to it. I've got no worries from them until they have at least back to back quarterly losses. That would be a sign of trouble, not the Gaf definition where having money in the bank and adding to it is seen as an ill omen.

Hell, by that goofball stance THQ was and is like the most successful publisher ever and Activision is on the brink of total fiscal collapse.

 

[Glass Rebel]

I always read such comments in threads like this, but, realistically speaking, do Japanese publishers even have a choice anymore? I think they don't.

The console market has shifted towards AAA and western-centric games. Traditional Japanese titles can't succeed in the new market environment (at least not as retail releases with a decent budget behind them), so they need to find a way to adapt.

Do I like it? No.

Does it make sense? Yes.

On a side note, I think that many Japanese publishers, including Nintendo, still don't realize that mid-tier productions are dead. Anything that isn't a huge AAA release has no place in the current retail market at a premium MSRP. It's all about quality smaller projects at low MSRP and huge AAA titles these days.

Imo, Capcom needs to consolidate their retail productions, shift their business towards, lower-budgeted, high-quality DD titles, and focus their resources on producing fewer but better AAA games.

Meanwhile Dark Souls sells 2.4m copies and is a great success.

 

[Super Nothing]

What?? The Wii is less powerful than the Xbox 360?? Get the hell out of here!

Sarcasm aside, Capcom is the kind of company that is trying to do their best with every game they release. They don't want to be a mid-level fish in a big pond, they want to be a big fish.

I'm just saying move the goalposts. Be a big fish in a pond where it's cheaper to be a big fish. The Wii U is capable enough and won't cost nearly as much to develop on as the Xbox One and PS4. Increasing budgets have ruined an ever-growing number of developers and publishers in the last 10 years and I can't believe nobody is putting the brakes on.

First, I answered your question, there's no need to be a douche about it. Second, the Wii U is not the platform to focus on because nobody owns one. They could develop a game that will run on the Wii U so long as they also produce a 360/Xbone/PS3/PS4 version as well. It's better to be a medium sized fish in an ocean than a big fish in a puddle. As long as the game is good, it doesn't really matter that your game isn't maxing out the hardware.

 

[dezzy8]

I hope not, but then again I hope that they burn, and sell off their IPs to publishers who will actually do them justice.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Is this sarcasm? Because Nintendo has been milking the same hand full of franchises for years. Nintendo is the house that Mario built and has been working around the clock for decades to maintain.

Many Successful IPs failed over the years as its quality deteriorates specifically the Capcom ones that were highlighted after the talent left, Nintendo prioritize talent behind the IP to ensure it's successful, they might be milking those IPs but most of their output is held with high standards. If that's not true then Mario would've died years ago. Even Kid Icarus a forgotten IP became a million seller recently. Capcom and some other Japanese devs don't treat their IPs with such care and dedication look at how cheap Breath of Fire 6 looks it really sickens me.

 

[Shion]

Meanwhile Dark Souls sells 2.4m copies and is a great success.

Dark Souls is the exception, not the rule.

 

[thewhitehawk]

Sarcasm aside, Capcom is the kind of company that is trying to do their best with every game they release. They don't want to be a mid-level fish in a big pond, they want to be a big fish.

I think that pursuit will be their undoing. The fan base that grew up with Capcom's great arcade titles are getting their "fix" with other companies and supporting independent developers or those that fund their projects via Kickstarter while in the meantime Capcom continues to cannibalise the franchises they still support by fragmenting the communities with multiple iterations of the same games, charging for on-disk content and neglecting their third best-selling franchise by cancelling multiple new projects and failing to do anything to commemorate its 25th anniversary other than releasing some merchandise.

I love classic Capcom games as much as the next person who grew up with them, and Street Fighter IV is genuinely awesome, but it's evident to me that this path won't help Capcom in the long run. They are taking dividends from those who still appreciate their work at the expense of alienating others. Unless their management seriously changes, I'm not expecting many good news from them in the near future.

 

[ambar_hitman]

They ruined IPs like DMC, Resident Evil, Lost Planet.
Ignored IPs like Megaman, Onimusha, Okami.

With right kind of leadership, they can come back. But they have been making all the wrong decisions since RE 5.

 

[Azull]

Next-gen Monster Hunter and they would be A-okay.

 

[Professor Renegade]

If Capcom goes under, I hope Nintendo buys the rights to Megaman.

 

[dragonflys545]

Next-gen Monster Hunter and they would be A-okay.

A-okay as in dies even faster? because Monster Hunter is only big on the portable space.

 

[Glass Rebel]

Dark Souls is the exception, not the rule.

Because nobody is trying to do what From does.

 

[Linkyn]

I don't think so. If things are actually going badly for them, they might consider merging with another Japanese developer / publisher, say Namco Bandai or Konami.

 

[Azull]

A-okay as in dies even faster? because Monster Hunter is only big on the portable space.

The MMO that tensent is developing seems to be getting a lot of attention. A true next-gen monster hunter might shake things up. The current Monster Hunter MMO is played by a crap ton of people if I'm not mistaken as well.

 

[Coxy]

I always read such comments in threads like this, but, realistically speaking, do Japanese publishers even have a choice anymore? I think they don't.

The console market has shifted towards AAA and western-centric games. Traditional Japanese titles can't succeed in the new market environment (at least not as retail releases with a decent budget behind them), so they need to find a way to adapt.

Do I like it? No.

Does it make sense? Yes.

On a side note, I think that many Japanese publishers, including Nintendo, still don't realize that mid-tier productions are dead. Anything that isn't a huge AAA release has no place in the current retail market at a premium MSRP. It's all about quality smaller projects at low MSRP and huge AAA titles these days.

Imo, Capcom needs to consolidate their retail productions, shift their business towards, lower-budgeted, high-quality DD titles, and focus their resources on producing fewer but better AAA games.

not only do they have a choice, it's a choice the successful japanese developers have already made. Namco Bandai and Koei Tecmo have raked it in by delivering reasonably budgeted games fans want.

 

[Rich!]

No, they're more like the new THHQ

 

[OnPoint]

First, I answered your question, there's no need to be a douche about it. Second, the Wii U is not the platform to focus on because nobody owns one. They could develop a game that will run on the Wii U so long as they also produce a 360/Xbone/PS3/PS4 version as well. It's better to be a medium sized fish in an ocean than a big fish in a puddle. As long as the game is good, it doesn't really matter that your game isn't maxing out the hardware.

Felt you were being condescending about how you explained to me that the 360 can handle what the Wii puts out. Let's put the knives away now, I can see that wasn't how you meant it.

Nobody owns a Wii U because nobody is putting games on it. Despite how things started, it's a chicken-egg situation at this point. You mean to tell me if Capcom moved their stable of franchises over to the Wii U lock-stock-and-barrel that people wouldn't pick one up? I bet it would move crazy units. Nintendo should be offering them the moon for that at this point (unrealistic as it is).

While I agree with you that a game doesn't need to max out the hardware to be good, that's not Capcom's current business model. My point is that if they moved to a system that was cheaper to dev for, they could keep that model and continue to produce games at an affordable rate that wouldn't bankrupt the company slowly over time.

 

[SousedLouse]

Because nobody is trying to do what From does.

What, have their fans cover their ass before reviewers use their games as punching bags so they can get good press for once? Because that's the only difference between Dark Souls and, say, the King's Field series, or the last couple of Armored Core games.

 

[Boerseun]

Based on the information from the recent Capcom sales thread, their sales targets on major titles are far too low to generate profit (excluding Monster Hunter 4 and RE: Revelations).

For that reason I am expecting them to expand their activities in the mobile market in a big way soon. Also expect them to pick up additional obscure Japanese indies for localisation and release in the West (see Fairy Bloom Freesia, Chantelise: A Tale of Two Sisters, Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale, etc.); a low cost, low risk venture.

Somewhat unrelated...

Should I be the first to say it? Operation Raccoon City is a much better game than either Resident Evil 5 or Resident Evil 6. It's smooth, responsive, with great level design and satisfying gunplay. Things neither of those two games can boast off (in my opinion). It's a real shame more people havn't played it.

 

[Linkyn]

I bet it would move crazy units. Nintendo should be offering them the moon for that at this point (unrealistic as it is).

I'm actually wondering the same thing with many of the smaller studios. Nintendo should really try to push forward and secure SEGA, Atlus, Platinum and possibly another Japanese company as second party developers. With their business philosophy and how they are managed, Nintendo's ways should be closest to what eg Capcom is used to.

 

[Glass Rebel]

What, have their fans cover their ass before reviewers use their games as punching bags so they can get good press for once? Because that's the only difference between Dark Souls and, say, the King's Field series, or the last couple of Armored Core games.

I have no idea what you're trying to say but I feel it's probably not worth finding out.

 

[Baleoce]

Capcom are frustrating to a ridiculous degree. How can they hold ownership to so many amazing I.P's and yet be so utterly shite at the same time.

 

[BasilZero]

If they are the next THQ maybe Camelot can finally work on Breath of Fire rather than have that mess of a iOS game >_>.

 

[Nyoro SF]

What, have their fans cover their ass before reviewers use their games as punching bags so they can get good press for once? Because that's the only difference between Dark Souls and, say, the King's Field series, or the last couple of Armored Core games.

Wut...

 

[Zelenogorsk]

They need to stop outsourcing all their franchises to western studios. Dragon's Dogma alone shows that they have plenty of in house talent, they just need to start using it.

Also they have plenty of opportunities to turn it around just based on the properties they still have. Monster Hunter 4 will sell great, Dragon's Dogma did solid numbers and I think a next gen sequel would do well. Street Fighter and MVC are still popular in the fighting game scene. Maybe people will get excited about a Resident Evil game if they make it an actual fucking Resident Evil game.

And of course we can all hope for an Itsuno directed DMC5 (who am I kidding that's a pipe dream)

But hey based on the decisions they made in this last generation I'm confident in their ability to completely fuck over and ruin all their major IPs. Let's just hope they aren't that stupid.

 

[edwardslane]

Nintendo buying Capcom would be a massive shift for much need asset for someone like Nintendo.

Nintendo having Monster Hunter, Megaman, Resident evil + all their other countless franchises exclusive might be enough to get people talking about Wii U again.

 

[Ludist210]

On a side note, I think that many Japanese publishers, including Nintendo, still don't realize that mid-tier productions are dead. Anything that isn't a huge AAA release has no place in the current retail market at a premium MSRP. It's all about quality smaller projects at low MSRP and huge AAA titles these days.

Eh, I dunno. I think Nintendo gets it...price-wise, most of their "AAA" games have the budget of a mid-tier game. They even said on record that Fire Emblem on Wii U only needs to hit 700k sales to be considered a success.

 

[RurouniZel]

Monster Hunter will help them for a while yet.

 

[Yoshichan]

Hey guys, remember when Capcom gave us Dead Rising, Lost Planet, RE5, DMC4, old-school MegaMan, remake Bionic Commando and much more? Damn, were they good at the start of this gen...

 

[Tizoc]

Imo, Capcom needs to consolidate their retail productions, shift their business towards, lower-budgeted, high-quality DD titles, and focus their resources on producing fewer but better AAA games.

High quality DD titles is something Capcom should really consider for the west at least.
I've been thinking they should make an RE game very similar to the gameplay style of 1-3 on PSX, and release that for $15-20.

 

[OnPoint]

High quality DD titles is something Capcom should really consider for the west at least.
I've been thinking they should make an RE game very similar to the gameplay style of 1-3 on PSX, and release that for $15-20.

Revelations fills that void right now.

 

[sleepykyo]

Doesn't Capcom actually make money off of licenses (RE movies) unlike THQ, who needed to pay for WWE?

 

[ShinAmano]

Nintendo buying Capcom would be a massive shift for much need asset for someone like Nintendo.

Nintendo having Monster Hunter, Megaman, Resident evil + all their other countless franchises exclusive might be enough to get people talking about Wii U again.

Future ps4/xb1 owner here...but I would go anywhere capcom goes...was I the only one who thought their games were awesome this gen? Sure RE and DMC took a slide but dragons dogma, street fighter, dead rising, lost planet, umvc...not to mention awesome digital games.

 

[vg260]

Future ps4/xb1 owner here...but I would go anywhere capcom goes...was I the only one who thought their games were awesome this gen? Sure RE and DMC took a slide but dragons dogma, street fighter, dead rising, lost planet, umvc...not to mention awesome digital games.

I was happy with their output for the most part as well. Street Fighter and DD have been my biggest time-sinks this gen. Just for every good thing, there was an equal or greater bad thing.

 

[VASPER]

I want a SF5 before that happens. Please stay around Capcom.

 

[Korigama]

The MMO that tensent is developing seems to be getting a lot of attention. A true next-gen monster hunter might shake things up. The current Monster Hunter MMO is played by a crap ton of people if I'm not mistaken as well.

Portable titles for Monster Hunter are where the money lies in respect to player base. All one needs to do is compare how Monster Hunter Tri on the original Wii sold compared to the PSP titles, as well as compared to the 3DS release of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.

The franchise's popularity in Japan is rooted in being an on-the-go social activity via dedicated portables. Not consoles or online experiences.

 

[Biker19]

The Wii U is capable enough and won't cost nearly as much to develop on as the Xbox One and PS4.

Um, I have news for you...developing games for the Wii U is actually more expensive than developing games for Xbox One & PS4. Both PS4/Xbox One have up to date hardware, as well as being much easier to develop games for, & that they both have good development tools, etc.

The Wii U isn't in the same league, as it's barely more powerful than 360/PS3, & the tech that it has inside of it is even more outdated than the tech inside of both PS4 & Xbox One. Heck, porting games from PS3/360 to the Wii U is already expensive, & porting games from XB1/PS4 to Wii U will probably be even more expensive.

 

[qko]

Um, I have news for you...developing games for the Wii U is actually more expensive than developing games for Xbox One & PS4. Both PS4/Xbox One have up to date hardware, as well as being much easier to develop games for, & that they both have good development tools, etc.

The Wii U isn't in the same league, as it's barely more powerful than 360 & PS3, & the tech that it has is even more outdated than the tech inside both PS4 & Xbox One.

Haven't you heard? Capcom is going bankrupt and becoming an indie dev. They can surely get that free dev kit and free unity license now!

 

[jmdajr]

nah

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

Not a single fuck is given. If they didnt try to be the japanese EA they would be in far better shape now.

 

[apana]

Um, I have news for you...developing games for the Wii U is actually more expensive than developing games for Xbox One & PS4. Both PS4/Xbox One have up to date hardware, as well as being much easier to develop games for, & that they both have good development tools, etc.

The Wii U isn't in the same league, as it's barely more powerful than 360 & PS3, & the tech that it has is even more outdated than the tech inside both PS4 & Xbox One.

Has this actually been stated anywhere? By all accounts next gen will see a slight to moderate bump in budget from the current gen, we have even had a few CEOs confirming this.

 

[dhlt25]

they're not dead lol, they're in a better position than most japanese publisher. Also people talking about reviving dead franchise like onimusha or okami, even though I like those game there's no way they're going to sell, if capcom actually listen to comment on gaf they would already be dead now.

 

[Chris1964]

Eh, I dunno. I think Nintendo gets it...price-wise, most of their "AAA" games have the budget of a mid-tier game. They even said on record that Fire Emblem on Wii U only needs to hit 700k sales to be considered a success.

Only? I don't think "success" is the word they used.

 

[Mrcapcom]

Guess I can change my name or keep it so we can never forget smh

 

[Biker19]

Has this actually been stated anywhere? By all accounts next gen will see a slight to moderate bump in budget from the current gen, we have even had a few CEOs confirming this.

Well, we have a few posters debating about this from another thread right here that makes some good points about it:

Link 1.
Link 2.

And another one debating about it from another gaming messageboard:

Wii U isn't cheap to develop for.

 

[fates]

I can't believe how incompetent are the people that are running those big japanese companies. They're destroying ther biggest franchises, they fail to understand what their fans want... I just can't understand.

My theory since this phenomenon started is that I think some of these Japan-based companies really want that Call of Duty money that's seen in the west. Franchises like Mega Man, Viewtiful Joe, Breath of Fire, etc., while recognizable to anyone who's been into video games for some time would never generate that kind of money, and are cast aside in favor of these big AAA style games that they hope will capture that fire. It would only take one, after all.

Though I think this is more easily apparent in Square Enix than Capcom. Capcom honestly baffles me because things just don't add up. You shut down Mega Man but put out two games that probably aren't bad by any means (Remember Me and LP3) with little to no advertising. However, it's pretty clear they tried to get that money with RE6 and DmC.

In my opinion it's a terrible practice because... well, I'd rather have a good fair income that I know I can live on instead of getting a big lump sum that might pay the bills for a few years but then leave me hanging. Their recognizable franchises and characters had staying power. The other nice perk about doing it the old way is that you don't exclude the possibility of finding that big success as Squaresoft found with Final Fantasy 7 and Capcom with Monster Hunter.

 

[astarisborn94]

No since Capcom is in a better financial situation than THQ at this time and have many valuable IPs. However, Capcom desperately needs to improve their reputation among the gaming community. Right now, they're among the most hated Japanese video game companies and each passing day slowly be surely dissolve their reputation. Heck, if it weren't for Mega Man's inclusion in the upcoming SSB 3DS and Wii U, Capcom would have already lost any opportunity to regain the strong legacy they once had. Capcom only has this upcoming generation to rebuild their reputation and should they fail. I see them going defunct around the time the 9th generation rolls around.

I hope it doesn't happen, though. Really want to see how they handle Mega Man should they get themselves organized. I mean if Metroid can come back despite being dormant for eight years and Gunpei Yokoi having died yet has one of the best revivals a series could hope for, then an organized Capcom can definitely produce good Mega Man games without Inafune.