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Capcom employee talks about RE4 -> PS2 on GameFAQs

AirBrian

Member
Ben Judd, AKA benjuddkooka (VIP - User has been confirmed as an employee or authorized representative of a game developer or publisher.) said this:

benjuddkooka said:
Let's talk about the word exclusivity...

Well, I realize that as an employee of Capcom, I am throwing myself to the wolves by even coming here at this time...

But just allow me to mention 2 facts about the gaming industry that you may all not know. After I have you can tear me a new one all you want.

1. The word exclusive is usually never defined as more than 6 months. Sony sees it this way. Microsoft sees it this way. And so does Nintendo. Having a PS2 verison out 1 year later is more than enough time to give all those Game cube owners a chance to play it long before any other hardware owner. I am a hardcore gamer and I personally can't wait 2 weeks for a gamer to go to a lower price structure (I have to have it on the day it is released) so I couldn't wait a month much less a year.

2. Games are costing more and more to make. Now, please think back to Mikami's personal feelings (and interviews) of the past. Do you really think he is just in it for the money? The answer is no. Look at Capcom's financials for the last 2 years. Not a pretty picture. At one point as a business, you have to choose whether to be proud and go out of business or to be realistic and perhaps alienate a few hard-core fans.

As always, I know a lot of people are disappointed by this decision and I can truly understand that. But please understand that Capcom has supported the cube over the favorite and taken financial hits over and over for it so I hope some of the hardcore gamers out there can respect the company for sticking to their guns as long as possible.

In closing, I can say that the game is absolutely amazing and probably the best in the series and... any game created on a specific platform will be optimized for that it... (just common sense really).

Ok. I'm done... so FIRE away.
benjuddkooka said:
There are several reasons for the GC not selling. Some of them can be linked to Nintendo. Others not.

It's all about the money? Go ask 3DO... how about BAM? What about their employees? No?

I have worked for a business that went under and it's not a pretty sight... You do what you need to... to get by. Now if we are going to start smearing games for changing their mind about platforms... then we had better jump on DVD makers and all the multiple special versions they put out. And let's not stop there. Let's all forget that they entertainment industry is extremely risky and that you can be here one day and gone the next... Lets forget that music, movies, and games all abide by these rules... Lets escape from reality into a morally perfect utopia where none of us lie and we are all perfect beings...

Ah, that'll be the day...
benjuddkooka said:
Actually, define the word "love" based on a dictionary. Now tell me if that is actually how you percieve the word? It probably isn't because definitions must be taken in context. Exclusive, in the business world (and gaming world for that matter) never means FOREVER. I have seen so many EXCLUSIVE screen shots from so many gaming magazines that appear 2 months later in other mags... Point being, exclusive means that you get it first and it is exclusive for that time frame. I don't know of many games that do remain exclusive forever... common sense would said in the past exclusive rarely meant that and the wording has been fairly ambigious... although originally this was the intention... as the market changes, you must change to survive. Simple as that.
benjuddkooka said:
There are reasons for all decisions. Few people seem to be thinking rationally.

Is Capcom only in it for the money? Yes... that and they like making games.

Are other companies doing it for the art? No. Sorry guys, they are in it for the money as well. No artists here.

Does Capcom gain anything by intentionally stabbing Nintendo in the back? No. We don't gain anything by stabbing ANY hardware maker in the back. Without them all the 3rd parties in the world mean nothing.

Is there a reason for the announcement now? Yes.

Can I tell that to you? No. Sorry, but the second a company is traded publicly, their image (that is, their financial PERCEPTION) becomes extremely important. Some info can go public... other never can. So who killed JFK again?

Why did Capcom say it was NEVER coming to the PS2 a BILLION times (ahh, I love how badly people spaz out and exaggerate) and then in the end move over to PS2?

Back then no one thought it would. That was the game plan. Somewhere along the line, the production values may have slipped? Delays may have plagued the product. Maybe someone said, you can release the game as it and have it only be 80 percent done, or you can bring out a PS2 version and finish the game 100% the way you think it needs to be. I don't know. Lots of theories. I do know that this decision didn't come easy and that it definitely doesn't make anyone a liar.

You know, most of you board members that have jumped off the deep end so quickly instead of looking on the bright side, really need to look at yourselves and your life. A lie is something you intentionally do knowing it is not the truth. For every time the producer or director answered an interview, they were never "lying" to you. Now that a PS2 version is coming out, it turns out they were WRONG... something that was unforeseeable and uncontrollable by them alone. Not a lie... a mistake. If you are going to rage and spaz out, then at least do it under the right context.

To err is human, to forgive is divine. But those are lessons you learn later in life... I hope.

Happy holidays.
benjuddkooka said:
The hardware specs are what they are. I can't say one thing or the other but try comparing VJ1 on GC and PS2. You may notice some minor differences. Any game that is initially developed for a single piece of hardware is going to look best on that hardware... ports usually don't. But that is merely common sense. Since the PS2 version is coming out so much later if is also common sense that additional content must be added or sales will suffer for sure.

Hey, to each his own. If people insist on defining a lie as an act in which you do something different from what you said (whether you knew about it or not) then I guess that pretty much makes the whole world liars since we have all done something different from what we said due to extenuating circimstances at one time in our life.

Sorry folks, very simple concept. Lie = intentional. Mistake/Accident = unintentional.

And if you plan to just ignore a person's free will and their intention as an important factor in judging their behavior then I just hope you don't get married or have kids...
Nothing revolutionary, but it's interesting to hear his thoughts. I wonder how involved (if at all) he is with RE4.

For the entire thread go to the RE4 Board in the GameCube section.
 

jenov4

Member
Thanks for posting the quotes! He(?) has some good points and I can totally understand from a business point of view why Capcom is bringing this game to the PS2.

I think I'll just stay away from the gamefaqs forums. It's troll haven over there. ;)
 

Deku Tree

Member
benjuddkooka said:
Is there a reason for the announcement now? Yes.

Can I tell that to you? No. Sorry, but the second a company is traded publicly, their image (that is, their financial PERCEPTION) becomes extremely important. Some info can go public... other never can. So who killed JFK again?

This is the most interesting part to me.
 

bjork

Member
:shrug:

If I worked for a company, I probably have better things to do than go to gamefaqs of all places.
 

Soul4ger

Member
bjork said:
My friend's dad works at Capcom and I have RE4 on my Revolution.

Oh, yeah, well I met Sonic Team at an arcade in Japan, and we started talking about NiGHTS 2, and they made it for the Dreamcast for me, and my name is in the credits, and I have a copy, but you'll never see it.
 

bjork

Member
Soul4ger said:
Oh, yeah, well I met Sonic Team at an arcade in Japan, and we started talking about NiGHTS 2, and they made it for the Dreamcast for me, and my name is in the credits, and I have a copy, but you'll never see it.

:lol
 

Ironclad

Member
IIRC Ben Judd is a PR guy so he shouldn't have any direct influence on the game, but he is charge of taking care of things like this. I think Mr. Judd did an excellent job of condoling some of the people irritated by Capcom's PS2 release announcement for RE4. I think that if Capcom can stay alive for a few more years by releasing the game on the PS2, I think they should do it.
 

cvxfreak

Member
Ben Judd is the real deal people. He's in the credits for RE Outbreak, RE Zero, and Outbreak File 2. He was also the voice of the IGN Kobayashi interview. And his benjuddkooka account is also indeed the real deal.
 

Ironclad

Member
CVXFREAK said:
Ben Judd is the real deal people. He's in the credits for RE Outbreak, RE Zero, and Outbreak File 2. He was also the voice of the IGN Kobayashi interview. And his benjuddkooka account is also indeed the real deal.

What is Judd's title in those credits? I could have sworn that he was a PR guy.
 
Wow, a business decision explained on GameFAQs. It probably would have come off better for whoever this guy may be to actually convey the message through an article instead of the message board. Interesting and not so surprising comments.
 

Particle Physicist

between a quark and a baryon
'Maybe someone said, you can release the game as it and have it only be 80 percent done, or you can bring out a PS2 version and finish the game 100% the way you think it needs to be. '



you think that might be a hint as to what actually happened ?
 

jenov4

Member
WasabiKing said:
Wow, a business decision explained on GameFAQs. It probably would have come off better for whoever this guy may be to actually convey the message through an article instead of the message board. Interesting and not so surprising comments.

Yeah I doubt the whole age demographic of the Gamefaq forum members would understand the concept. ;)
 

Culex

Banned
Hey, to each his own. If people insist on defining a lie as an act in which you do something different from what you said (whether you knew about it or not) then I guess that pretty much makes the whole world liars since we have all done something different from what we said due to extenuating circimstances at one time in our life.

Sorry folks, very simple concept. Lie = intentional. Mistake/Accident = unintentional.

And if you plan to just ignore a person's free will and their intention as an important factor in judging their behavior then I just hope you don't get married or have kids...

What the fuck?! How can he (or she) say that?
 

Jonnyram

Member
quadriplegicjon said:
'Maybe someone said, you can release the game as it and have it only be 80 percent done, or you can bring out a PS2 version and finish the game 100% the way you think it needs to be. '

you think that might be a hint as to what actually happened ?
In other words, the game was going way over budget and management told Mikami he can only get more money if he agrees to release on PS2?
Off with his head!
 
I think this raises the Capcom - Nintendo situation from a slap in the face to knee to the genitals, a punch to the boobs, and an ass raping.
 
Where in that piece does he have an excuse for announcing the PS2 version months before the release of the GameCube version? Do they WANT the gamecube version to sell poorly or is there something else going on here?
 

Jonnyram

Member
Lemurnator said:
Where in that piece does he have an excuse for announcing the PS2 version months before the release of the GameCube version? Do they WANT the gamecube version to sell poorly or is there something else going on here?
It seems they wanted to appease their stockholders now, though the reason for the timing is not obvious. Perhaps some explanation will come in the next few weeks.
 

M3wThr33

Banned
"Is there a reason for the announcement now? Yes.

Can I tell that to you? No."

Read: Needed Sony approval, so Sony forced a pre-Xmas notification. Rat bastards.
 

DrGAKMAN

Banned
This guy is from CAPCOM USA right? Then he knows jack!

I can see how he's defending his company being caught in a lie and saying it wasn't a lie...just that the people who worked on the game didn't know at the time that things would change. Yeah...

I don't agree with him on alot of levels.

His whole "exclussivity isn't really exclussivity" definition he gave doesn't work. Except when you apply it to GAMECUBE. I mean *I know* Sony has ensured Tekken exclussivly, DMC exclussivly, the main FF & MGS games exclussivly and MANY other games exclussivly thru close relationships *cough*moneypowerdominance*cough* with the companies who make them. Microsoft, as well, has ensured that Tecmo games are & stayed exclussive as well as alot of Sega games and others. Everything on GAMECUBE though...never stays exclussive: RE, Bloody Roar, Godzilla, CAPCOM 5...even games that do extremly well like Sonic (ports mind you, ports) and Super Monkey Ball end up getting ported.

When he says that CAPCOM supporting GAMECUBE has hurt them...uhhhh...no. Thier games underperforming have hurt them...not just supporting GAMECUBE. DMC 2, Clock Tower, Onimusha, RE Outbreak, Dino Crisis and several other of thier games have all underperformed...in fact, the RE games they made have done pretty well considering the userbase difference. I mean, did they expect P.N.03 (a game which didn't cost much to make) to give them awesome returns, did they expect VJ (a game which also probably didn't cost too much to make and was basically a 2D game in a 3D dominated market) to be the game to turn thier financials around, did they expect FULL PRICED RE 2, 3 & CVX ***direct ports*** to sell??? Did they expect any of the RE games to sell when they sent mixed signals by saying they were exclussive to GAMECUBE to Nintendo fans then turning around making Gun Survivor & Oubreak on PS2 exclussivly pretty much telling Sony fans: "hey, don't worry, RE isn't really exclussive to that other system"!?! I mean they might as well have said then: "hey, just wait, RE4 will be on PS2". Don't get me started on the mixed signals with advertising (or, lack of) either. He says "supporting" GAMECUBE has hurt them??? I quote support 'cos GAMECUBE didn't even get a SF Anniversary Collection...I mean WTF!?! Most all of thier games have been on PS2 mainly or have been ported to PS2 at some point. I thought alot of thier financial problems were also due to reality issues one year too? And this joe shmoe from CAPCOM USA is saying it was GAMECUBE's fault that CAPCOM is going down? Pfft...the nerve!

Then he says that us Nintendo fans are "exagerating" this whole exclussivity thing??? Mr. Mikami and the people who worked on these games countless times told us they were exclussive. Mr. Mikami himself said that they would stay on THIS system THIS generation and NEXT. He even said he'd cut his own head off if they went to another system. To me...this sounds like a broken promice. He made a promice and the company he works for breaks it...then that company has a rep come to us and tell us to calm down about it? What an ass!

Oh yeah, and way to cop out on why CAPCOM announced this NOW! Waiting until RE4 releases on GAMECUBE first makes more sense. You maximize sales of that version, generate possitive hype for the game and then BAM say it's coming to PS2, then PS2 fans will be happy too! All that and they get to quell shareholders since the PS2 version announcement would still take place before thier fiscal year ends in March. But NOOOOO...they not only HAD to announce this before the GAMECUBE version launches (basically sabatoging potential sales) they ALSO announce it before Christmas, which hurts GAMECUBE sales too! Don't tell me Sony didn't have some influence on this announcement. He cops out on the real reason this happened (as well as why it happened now) 'cos he either didn't know or he's full of it. The real reason is this all comes down to politics. A game MAKER wants HIS games on the system HE chooses, so higher ups decide to take him down a notch and put him in his place by doing the opposite just to spite him and make nice with the market leader.
 
Lemurnator said:
Where in that piece does he have an excuse for announcing the PS2 version months before the release of the GameCube version? Do they WANT the gamecube version to sell poorly or is there something else going on here?
I don't think this announcement will make much of an impact on the GC version's sales and Capcom knows this. Sales will be from people who already own the GC and the ones that have a PS2 also are not likely to wait a whole other year for the PS2 version which will obviously look inferior. Even if it does have additional content, it may not have enough to make gamers wait or double dip.

In a nutshell: What sales the GC version accomplishes will do so regardless of this announcement.

EDIT: BTW, the people upset about this announcement really need to get a life.
 
Mr_Furious said:
I don't think this announcement will make much of an impact on the GC version's sales and Capcom knows this. Sales will be from people who already own the GC and the ones that have a PS2 also are not likely to wait a whole other year for the PS2 version which will obviously look inferior. Even if it does have additional content, it may not have enough to make gamers wait or double dip.

In a nutshell: What sales the GC version accomplishes will do so regardless of this announcement.

EDIT: BTW, the people upset about this announcement really need to get a life.

iawtp: see: VIEWTIFUL BOMB on ps2.
 
DrGAKMAN said:
This guy is from CAPCOM USA right? Then he knows jack!

I can see how he's defending his company being caught in a lie and saying it wasn't a lie...just that the people who worked on the game didn't know at the time that things would change. Yeah...

I don't agree with him on alot of levels.

His whole "exclussivity isn't really exclussivity" definition he gave doesn't work. Except when you apply it to GAMECUBE. I mean *I know* Sony has ensured Tekken exclussivly, DMC exclussivly, the main FF & MGS games exclussivly and MANY other games exclussivly thru close relationships *cough*moneypowerdominance*cough* with the companies who make them. Microsoft, as well, has ensured that Tecmo games are & stayed exclussive as well as alot of Sega games and others. Everything on GAMECUBE though...never stays exclussive: RE, Bloody Roar, Godzilla, CAPCOM 5...even games that do extremly well like Sonic (ports mind you, ports) and Super Monkey Ball end up getting ported.

When he says that CAPCOM supporting GAMECUBE has hurt them...uhhhh...no. Thier games underperforming have hurt them...not just supporting GAMECUBE. DMC 2, Clock Tower, Onimusha, RE Outbreak, Dino Crisis and several other of thier games have all underperformed...in fact, the RE games they made have done pretty well considering the userbase difference. I mean, did they expect P.N.03 (a game which didn't cost much to make) to give them awesome returns, did they expect VJ (a game which also probably didn't cost too much to make and was basically a 2D game in a 3D dominated market) to be the game to turn thier financials around, did they expect FULL PRICED RE 2, 3 & CVX ***direct ports*** to sell??? Did they expect any of the RE games to sell when they sent mixed signals by saying they were exclussive to GAMECUBE to Nintendo fans then turning around making Gun Survivor & Oubreak on PS2 exclussivly pretty much telling Sony fans: "hey, don't worry, RE isn't really exclussive to that other system"!?! I mean they might as well have said then: "hey, just wait, RE4 will be on PS2". Don't get me started on the mixed signals with advertising (or, lack of) either. He says "supporting" GAMECUBE has hurt them??? I quote support 'cos GAMECUBE didn't even get a SF Anniversary Collection...I mean WTF!?! Most all of thier games have been on PS2 mainly or have been ported to PS2 at some point. I thought alot of thier financial problems were also due to reality issues one year too? And this joe shmoe from CAPCOM USA is saying it was GAMECUBE's fault that CAPCOM is going down? Pfft...the nerve!

Then he says that us Nintendo fans are "exagerating" this whole exclussivity thing??? Mr. Mikami and the people who worked on these games countless times told us they were exclussive. Mr. Mikami himself said that they would stay on THIS system THIS generation and NEXT. He even said he'd cut his own head off if they went to another system. To me...this sounds like a broken promice. He made a promice and the company he works for breaks it...then that company has a rep come to us and tell us to calm down about it? What an ass!

Oh yeah, and way to cop out on why CAPCOM announced this NOW! Waiting until RE4 releases on GAMECUBE first makes more sense. You maximize sales of that version, generate possitive hype for the game and then BAM say it's coming to PS2, then PS2 fans will be happy too! All that and they get to quell shareholders since the PS2 version announcement would still take place before thier fiscal year ends in March. But NOOOOO...they not only HAD to announce this before the GAMECUBE version launches (basically sabatoging potential sales) they ALSO announce it before Christmas, which hurts GAMECUBE sales too! Don't tell me Sony didn't have some influence on this announcement. He cops out on the real reason this happened (as well as why it happened now) 'cos he either didn't know or he's full of it. The real reason is this all comes down to politics. A game MAKER wants HIS games on the system HE chooses, so higher ups decide to take him down a notch and put him in his place by doing the opposite just to spite him and make nice with the market leader.


crying.jpg



For fucks sake. You people are a bunch of whining bitches.
 

Particle Physicist

between a quark and a baryon
DrGAKMAN said:
When he says that CAPCOM supporting GAMECUBE has hurt them...uhhhh...no.

yeah.. that had me scratching my head.. hasnt the gamecube been the only console this gen where they havent underperformed with sales targets ?
 

Deku Tree

Member
Capcom probably thinks that if they had kept the RE series on the Playstation it would still be big like Final Fantasy. Therefore supporting the gamecube has hurt them.

If a game fails on a system with the largest userbase, there is no one to blame but the developers. But if a game fails on the system with the smallest userbase, it is natural to blame the system because a company does not want to blame themselves.
 
Deku Tree said:
Capcom probably thinks that if they had kept the RE series on the Playstation it would still be big like Final Fantasy. Therefore supporting the gamecube has hurt them.


well. they did move it to the DREAMCAST first. OMG its all the gamecube's fault. Regardless; it'll be interesting to see who they make games for next gens when the counters reset.

I wish they'd make new franchises though. Ominusha + DMC are old hat now.
 

cvxfreak

Member
I'm surprised RE Outbreak didn't teach Capcom anything about the RE series's popularity. So long as the game is good, people will buy it. I like RE a lot but the last few games have been tailored to its fanbase.
 

Insertia

Member
DrGAKMAN said:
Everything on GAMECUBE though...never stays exclussive: RE, Bloody Roar, Godzilla, CAPCOM 5...even games that do extremly well like Sonic (ports mind you, ports) and Super Monkey Ball end up getting ported.

There's always a good chance that Gamecube to PS2 ports will peform well. The same can't be said the other way around.

When he says that CAPCOM supporting GAMECUBE has hurt them...uhhhh...no.

uhhh..yes.
RE for Gamecube has been selling below Capcom's expectations(according to Capcom themseleves).

RE4 for PS2 will possibly sell more in one territory then it will worldwide for Gamecube. Regardless of fanboy rhetoric, there is no reason to keep it on Gamecube.
 

arter_2

Member
GAKMAN you have nailed the ideas and feeling that I have and many others do. No matter what capcom Lied and these explanation are bullshit
 
DrGAKMAN said:
When he says that CAPCOM supporting GAMECUBE has hurt them...uhhhh...no.
How the hell do you know this? Do you know how much it cost them to develop the games they did on the GC or how much Nintendo's charging them for licensing fees or manufacturing goods, not to mention the heavy cost of marketing?

Such a statement is beyond ignorant. Capcom's always been vocal about their disappointments in the sales of majority of their efforts on the GC. The RE series, PN03 and even VJ under performed and the ones that did meet sales goals took a hell of a long time and more than one price drop to get there.
 

Jonnyram

Member
Insertia said:
RE for Gamecube has been selling below Capcom's expectations(according to Capcom themseleves).
This is true, but their expectations are likely unreasonably high. For starters, the two new games they have released on GC were a remake and a prequel. They're unlikely to sell to anyone but ardent fans of the series for starters. RE4 is the first for a long time that could actually increase the reach of the game because it introduces a different feel to the game.

I don't think they can really test its popularity effectively on the GC, though. To properly expand the RE series to new audiences, they have to release this on the PS2. Comparing it to Viewtiful Joe is not realistic either since that was always going to be a niche title thanks to the style of graphics. RE4 has the potential to be huge, because it looks very cinematic, something the casual audience loves.
 

Mashing

Member
Jonnyram said:
It seems they wanted to appease their stockholders now, though the reason for the timing is not obvious. Perhaps some explanation will come in the next few weeks.

Didn't capcom's stock take a hit after the announcement though? Or did it go up or stay the same? I agree that's what why the announced it know but they could have told the stockholder "Hey, we'll announce it after the Gamecube version releases as not to canabilize upfront sales. We will announce it after the GC version releases so DON'T WORRY".

That'd be good enough for me (and it should, if it wasn't then why would I be a stockholder of a company whose word I could not trust?)
 

Grubdog

Banned
Viewtiful Joe on GC did not underperform, I remember reading that the entire shipment sold out in Japan and they weren't expecting it, then they shipped more. Well, I just remember it exceeding expectations, i'm not 100% positive though.
 
Mashing said:
Didn't capcom's stock take a hit after the announcement though? Or did it go up or stay the same? I agree that's what why the announced it know but they could have told the stockholder "Hey, we'll announce it after the Gamecube version releases as not to canabilize upfront sales. We will announce it after the GC version releases so DON'T WORRY".

That'd be good enough for me (and it should, if it wasn't then why would I be a stockholder of a company whose word I could not trust?)
Such information could not be kept secret. If it's being announced to 'just the stockholders' that a PS2 version is planned and will have an official announcement after the GC version releases, this would be in the stockholder report which is publicly accessible. That's just one of the many problems with being a public company.
 
Grubdog said:
Viewtiful Joe on GC did not underperform, I remember reading that the entire shipment sold out in Japan and they weren't expecting it, then they shipped more. Well, I just remember it exceeding expectations, i'm not 100% positive though.
But that's just one territory. What about the U.S. and U.K. regions?
 
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