Dire Straits for Capcom
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Dire Straits for Capcom
Found this on GameSpot:
Interesting....maybe this is because Capcom refuses to FRIGGIN' SUPPORT THE XBOX?!?!?!? I want Onimusha 2, let alone 3...I want Resident Evil, I want Dino Crisis... oh wait, we're getting that one...
Jeremy
Capcom declares losses, shelves 18 games
Sales of key games fall short of original expectations.
According to Bloomberg Japan, Capcom has declared 19.5 billion yen ($163 million) in losses for its 2002 fiscal year. While its losses where originally estimated at 12.7 billion yen ($106 million), Capcom explained that its major titles sold below expectations. Biohazard 0 (Resident Evil 0) for the Nintendo GameCube was expected to sell 1.42 million copies but sold only 1.12 million. Devil May Cry 2 for the Sony PlayStation 2 sold 1.4 million copies instead of the expected 1.66 million. Clock Tower 3, which was also released for the PlayStation 2, sold 250,000 copies instead of the expected 450,000. Capcom released Chaos Legion (PS2) and P.N. 03 (GC) in March as part of an effort to meet its sales goals for the year, but the sales of the additional games did not offset its losses.
The company's losses were also attributed to the cancellation of projects that were not likely to be profitable. Capcom has terminated 18 games out of approximately 100 currently in development. This is the first time that Capcom has canceled nearly 20 percent of its projects. The development funds spent on these terminated projects will be declared as special losses, totaling 5 billion yen ($41 million). No specific games were revealed in the cancellation announcement.
Capcom vice president Heiji Oshima said that one of the reasons for the decline in sales was some of its titles simply didn't suit the market's demand. From now on, Capcom will strengthen its evaluation structure in order to better assess projects before they go into development. Capcom will also begin to frequently evaluate games in the middle of their development and immediately cancel any projects that may not suit the interests of the market.
Oshima also said that Capcom currently does not have any plans to merge with another company, although he does not know about the future. Oshima believes that Capcom has enough competitive edge to survive on its own at the current time.
By Hirohiko Niizumi, GameSpot [POSTED: 04/18/03 11:04 AM]
Sales of key games fall short of original expectations.
According to Bloomberg Japan, Capcom has declared 19.5 billion yen ($163 million) in losses for its 2002 fiscal year. While its losses where originally estimated at 12.7 billion yen ($106 million), Capcom explained that its major titles sold below expectations. Biohazard 0 (Resident Evil 0) for the Nintendo GameCube was expected to sell 1.42 million copies but sold only 1.12 million. Devil May Cry 2 for the Sony PlayStation 2 sold 1.4 million copies instead of the expected 1.66 million. Clock Tower 3, which was also released for the PlayStation 2, sold 250,000 copies instead of the expected 450,000. Capcom released Chaos Legion (PS2) and P.N. 03 (GC) in March as part of an effort to meet its sales goals for the year, but the sales of the additional games did not offset its losses.
The company's losses were also attributed to the cancellation of projects that were not likely to be profitable. Capcom has terminated 18 games out of approximately 100 currently in development. This is the first time that Capcom has canceled nearly 20 percent of its projects. The development funds spent on these terminated projects will be declared as special losses, totaling 5 billion yen ($41 million). No specific games were revealed in the cancellation announcement.
Capcom vice president Heiji Oshima said that one of the reasons for the decline in sales was some of its titles simply didn't suit the market's demand. From now on, Capcom will strengthen its evaluation structure in order to better assess projects before they go into development. Capcom will also begin to frequently evaluate games in the middle of their development and immediately cancel any projects that may not suit the interests of the market.
Oshima also said that Capcom currently does not have any plans to merge with another company, although he does not know about the future. Oshima believes that Capcom has enough competitive edge to survive on its own at the current time.
By Hirohiko Niizumi, GameSpot [POSTED: 04/18/03 11:04 AM]
Jeremy
#3
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Wow, 100 (now 72) projects going on at the same time? Is this normal for a company of their size? Or are they spreading their resources a little thin?
Capcom's proven that they need to ride at least one big cash cow and it's spinoffs in order to be successful. They had Street Fighter 2 and the fighting game phenomenon, then Resident Evil and the "survival horror" thing. But none of their franchises are doing it now. I thought maybe DMC would do well, but DMC2 was almost universally panned. And the game I looked forward to the most from them, Auto Modellista, was terrible.
I'm sure someone's gonna come here and say that this is all because of GCN exclusivity. And certainly releasing RE 2 and 3 at ridiculous prices without significant modifications didn't help them. But they need to get lucky, and then ride the coattails of their success.
BTW, 10 of the projects that were cut are said to be GBA games... which is good news for console owners.
Capcom's proven that they need to ride at least one big cash cow and it's spinoffs in order to be successful. They had Street Fighter 2 and the fighting game phenomenon, then Resident Evil and the "survival horror" thing. But none of their franchises are doing it now. I thought maybe DMC would do well, but DMC2 was almost universally panned. And the game I looked forward to the most from them, Auto Modellista, was terrible.
I'm sure someone's gonna come here and say that this is all because of GCN exclusivity. And certainly releasing RE 2 and 3 at ridiculous prices without significant modifications didn't help them. But they need to get lucky, and then ride the coattails of their success.
BTW, 10 of the projects that were cut are said to be GBA games... which is good news for console owners.
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Not surprising at all, of all the companies that need to merge with someone you think capcom would have done it ages ago. Once upon time there was Capcom and Konami, two great companies with great games to look forward too. While Konami gives consumer what they want Capcom has not in ages. They made Mega Man boring, as well RE. Breath of Fire was soo good with 1 and 2 and then, OMG, it got so bad. Heavens, they been selling same Street Fighter so long its boggling. Darkstalkers has but dissapeared, and I afriad even it didnt we be getting Cell shaded remakes of same game instead something cool like mana or castlevania like darkstalkers or new true sequel. I just cant feel sorry for them, in world where alot great games dont get thier due, Capcom getting exactly what they earned.
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I think they're doing pretty bad b/c the games as of recently have, for the most part, been crap.
RE 0 was ok, but they really needed to fix the controls there.
DMC2 was just terrible in every way.
What I've seen of the other games they have planned, they look like crap too.
Instead of working on 100 games, why not work on 50 and put some real quality into those?
RE 0 was ok, but they really needed to fix the controls there.
DMC2 was just terrible in every way.
What I've seen of the other games they have planned, they look like crap too.
Instead of working on 100 games, why not work on 50 and put some real quality into those?
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I wouldnt exactly label their situation as being in "dire straits". The Japanese games industry is going through a somewhat significant slump these days. Many companies are hurting as well. And besides, 12 out of those 18 cancelled titles were probably just their usualy ports of some version of Street Fighter or Megaman. Okay, that was a joke.
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Well, I'll go out and just say it : I think it was a risky (and bad) decision that they bolted the RE series from the PS2 for the GC. When I was last in Japan ('98), the whole country was "Biohazzard" crazy and it had a HUGE following on the ps1. I don't think it was smart to jump systems and upset a huge fan base; a case of voting with your heart instead of your head. Maybe the whole "survival-horror" game concept is over and subsequent games would have fizzled regardless of system (like Clocktower 3 did), but why would you not want to pitch a sequel (or prequel or remake) of an established gaming franchise to the largest number of potentially interested game buyers?
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I don't think you can blame this on RE exclusivitey for the GC. RE 0 sold 1.12 million copies. That's not bad for an OK at best entry into a stale series. DMC2 selling only 1.4 million was probably a much bigger disappointment for Capcom execs.
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Originally posted by Kellehair
I don't think you can blame this on RE exclusivitey for the GC. RE 0 sold 1.12 million copies. That's not bad for an OK at best entry into a stale series. DMC2 selling only 1.4 million was probably a much bigger disappointment for Capcom execs.
I don't think you can blame this on RE exclusivitey for the GC. RE 0 sold 1.12 million copies. That's not bad for an OK at best entry into a stale series. DMC2 selling only 1.4 million was probably a much bigger disappointment for Capcom execs.
Jeremy
#16
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Originally posted by Trigger
I'll take on that responsability.
I'll take on that responsability.
If games aren't selling on the PS2 they aren't going to sell anywhere.
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Re: Dire Straits for Capcom
Originally posted by jrutz
Interesting....maybe this is because Capcom refuses to FRIGGIN' SUPPORT THE XBOX?!?!?!?
Interesting....maybe this is because Capcom refuses to FRIGGIN' SUPPORT THE XBOX?!?!?!?
#18
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It has little to do with any exclusivity deals. As darkside posted, RE0 sold 1.12 million on the GC and DMC2 1.4 million on the PS2.
I think the main problem is they churn out a lot of crap games that are just rehash of older games and what not.
Steel Battalion probably kicked their as as well. It's a very well done game and they had to spend a good chunk of change developing it. There's no way they came close to making a profit on it because at $200 a pop it didn't sell well.
I think the main problem is they churn out a lot of crap games that are just rehash of older games and what not.
Steel Battalion probably kicked their as as well. It's a very well done game and they had to spend a good chunk of change developing it. There's no way they came close to making a profit on it because at $200 a pop it didn't sell well.
#19
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Tired franchises is the problem. They have run Street Fighter and RE into the ground. I really don't think RE 0 would have sold that many more units if it had been a PS2 exclusive. Capcom needs to work on more things that are completely new and majorly revamp the older series. RE0 was really just the same old same old and they didn't fix the stuped controller scheme that turns away many people that play it. Devil May Cry 2 just plain sucked. They have no one to blame for the problems but themselves.
Hopefully some of the new original titles they have coming up will get them back on track.
Hopefully some of the new original titles they have coming up will get them back on track.
#20
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Originally posted by darkside
Great then explain the PS2 poor sales for me and why thats the fault of the GC.
If games aren't selling on the PS2 they aren't going to sell anywhere.
Great then explain the PS2 poor sales for me and why thats the fault of the GC.
If games aren't selling on the PS2 they aren't going to sell anywhere.
It's nothing against the GC really, it's just that the GC has the weakest sales of the consoles and it just doesn't make good business sense to make exclusive titles for the weakest selling console... especially when you're Capcom. Their Xbox support has been pretty weak as well which makes little sense... Steel Battallion is a great game, but at 200 bucks it's not really poised to be a big seller.
Clock Tower 3 for the PS2 is another example of a weak franchise with no advertising campaign... that's the type of title they should put on the GC or Xbox and give their more popular franchises to the system with the largest install base. CT3 probably would've sold the same number of copies on the GC as it did on the PS2...
#21
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Maybe they should have put in even the barest amount of effort into the RE remakes after the first. Or added Live support for MvC2. Or shown any enthusiasm for anything besides milking their franchises.
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imagine what a title like RE0 with good reviews would sell on the PS2.
the GC has the weakest sales of the consoles and it just doesn't make good business sense to make exclusive titles for the weakest selling console... especially when you're Capcom. Their Xbox support has been pretty weak as well which makes little sense...
#23
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Originally posted by Kellehair
RE0 didn't get great scores and every review blasted Capcom for not changing the control scheme.
RE0 didn't get great scores and every review blasted Capcom for not changing the control scheme.
Well it got better reviews than DMC2... plus it's a bigger selling franchise. That's all I'm saying.
Are you saying it doesn't make good sense to put exclusives on the GC but it makes sense to put them on the Xbox?
#24
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Keep in mind that Capcom is a Japanese company though (and a lot of their games have traditionaly been more popular over there), so the X-box's piss poor japanese sells probably influence their support of the system. IF RE0 was an x-box exclusive, it probably would have sold even less (not that over a million is a bad figure for a tired, stale series) simply because it wouldn't have sold as many copies in Japan.
Obviously it would have sold much more on the PS2 like you said, as sony is miles a head of both competitors world wide.
Obviously it would have sold much more on the PS2 like you said, as sony is miles a head of both competitors world wide.
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Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
Keep in mind that Capcom is a Japanese company though (and a lot of their games have traditionaly been more popular over there), so the X-box's piss poor japanese sells probably influence their support of the system. IF RE0 was an x-box exclusive, it probably would have sold even less (not that over a million is a bad figure for a tired, stale series) simply because it wouldn't have sold as many copies in Japan.
Obviously it would have sold much more on the PS2 like you said, as sony is miles a head of both competitors world wide.
Keep in mind that Capcom is a Japanese company though (and a lot of their games have traditionaly been more popular over there), so the X-box's piss poor japanese sells probably influence their support of the system. IF RE0 was an x-box exclusive, it probably would have sold even less (not that over a million is a bad figure for a tired, stale series) simply because it wouldn't have sold as many copies in Japan.
Obviously it would have sold much more on the PS2 like you said, as sony is miles a head of both competitors world wide.