Capcom Drops Xbox
06-29-04 | 09:54 AM
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From: Blu-Ray: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Petition
Capcom Drops Xbox
June 29 (Bloomberg) -- Two years after Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates handed out the first Xbox game console at a Tokyo video store, the machine's Japanese sales trail those of Sony Corp.'s rival PlayStation 2 console by 48 to one.
That's partly because Japanese Xbox owners have about 160 games to choose from, compared with more than 6,000 for the PlayStation 2. Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, plans to gain on Sony by releasing new games tailored for Japanese users with the next version of the Xbox, said Norman Cheuk, head of Microsoft's game development division in Tokyo.
``It's too late to be No. 1 on this version of the console,'' said Cheuk, 35, who moved to Tokyo from Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, headquarters in September and oversees a team of 100 game developers. ``A lot of what we're doing today is to position ourselves. We're looking at the future generations where we'd like to be successful.'' Microsoft hasn't said when it will release an updated Xbox console.
Japanese consumers bought about 60,000 Xboxes last fiscal year, compared with 2.9 million Sony PlayStation 2 consoles, according to Tokyo-based market researcher Enterbrain Inc. The Xbox ranked third by sales behind PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Co.'s GameCube, according to Tokyo-based market researcher Enterbrain Inc. The companies don't report console sales by country.
Xbox sales in Japan -- the world's second-biggest market for video-game consoles and software after the U.S. -- slid by two-thirds in the year ended March 31, according to Enterbrain. Sales dropped even after Microsoft cut the console's price by a third to 16,800 yen ($153) in November.
`Strong Support Base'
To grab market share from Sony and Nintendo in Japan's $3.8 billion market for game consoles and software, Microsoft must convince Japan's biggest game publishers to make more titles for the Xbox, said P.J. McNealy, an analyst at American Technology Research in San Francisco. Microsoft's own Japan-based game developers plan to release just three new games over the next year, according to the company.
``To be successful in the Japanese market you need a strong support base of Japanese developers,'' McNealy said. ``For Sony and Nintendo, their base in Japan gives them a huge edge over Microsoft.''
Konami Corp., Japan's biggest independent game maker, released flight-simulator game ``Air Force Delta 2'' exclusively for the Xbox when the console debuted. The follow-up version of the game will be exclusive to the PlayStation 2, said Hitomi Nozawa, a spokeswoman for the game maker.
Capcom, Square Enix
Capcom Co., Japan's third-biggest game maker, has turned down offers from Microsoft in recent months to help pay distribution and development costs in return for more exclusive games for the Xbox, said Kazuhiko Abe, head of Capcom's corporate strategy division, without giving details. He said his company, which currently makes one game exclusively for the Xbox, isn't interested in developing more.
"There are no plans,'' Abe said in an interview. ``It's just not profitable enough.'' Of the 25 games Capcom plans to release this year, only one will be compatible with the Xbox.
Asako Miyata, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman for Microsoft, declined to comment on the company's discussions with Japanese game makers.
"We can't provide details as to our specific efforts with those publishers, including financial support,'' Miyata said.
Square Enix Co., Japan's No. 2 game maker, publishes none that can be played on the current Xbox. It's considering making titles for the next Xbox, said Michiro Sasaki, general manager for corporate planning. Tokyo-based Square Enix's ``Final Fantasy'' series for the PlayStation 2 console -- in which players assume roles and team up with other characters to achieve objectives -- has sold 60 million copies worldwide.
`Dead or Alive'
Microsoft has allied with smaller Japanese partners. Tecmo Ltd., a Tokyo-based game developer whose 52.6 billion yen in sales last fiscal year were a quarter of Capcom's, makes the two bestselling titles for the Xbox in Japan, according to Enterbrain. They include ``Dead or Alive,'' a fighting game centered on a martial-arts tournament.
The Xbox trails in Japan because players have a smaller choice of locally designed games, said Peter Moore, Microsoft's vice president of retail sales and entertainment -- especially popular role-playing titles like ``Final Fantasy.''
``You could probably argue that if we had a Japanese-centric role-playing game at the beginning of the console life cycle we would probably be in a better position today,'' Moore, 49, said in an interview last month at the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.
Better Outside Japan
There are fewer than 160 Xbox-compatible games sold in Japan, compared with 6,165 that can be played on the PlayStation 2 and 191 for the GameCube, according to the companies.
The Xbox has performed better outside Japan. Microsoft said last month it was on track to sell between 13.5 million and 16 million of the consoles worldwide by the end of its business year on June 30. That's roughly on par with the 14.5 million GameCube consoles Nintendo had sold as of March 31. Sony had sold 70 million PlayStation 2 machines as of March 31.
Cheuk said he's replaced some of his team's 100 game designers and engineers with new Japanese talent, without giving details.
In the U.S., Cheuk oversaw the development of ``Project Gotham Racing,'' the No. 3 best-selling Xbox game worldwide, which lets players virtually race cars such as Ferrari SpA's Enzo through the streets of major cities.
Monk Warrior
Cheuk's Tokyo studio released ``Magatama'' -- an action game featuring a sword-wielding monk warrior who fights to rid an ancient Japanese capital of supernatural forces -- in November. Spokeswoman Miyata wouldn't disclose the game's sales. The studio will release ``Sudeki,'' a role-playing game, by the end of 2004 and two more titles by mid-2005, the company said this month.
Microsoft's Japan-based game developers have faced setbacks. The company said in a statement earlier this month that it canceled its ``True Fantasy Live Online'' role-playing game -- which would have accommodated thousands of players at once over the Internet -- after almost three years in development because it wasn't happy with progress on the game.
That's partly because Japanese Xbox owners have about 160 games to choose from, compared with more than 6,000 for the PlayStation 2. Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, plans to gain on Sony by releasing new games tailored for Japanese users with the next version of the Xbox, said Norman Cheuk, head of Microsoft's game development division in Tokyo.
``It's too late to be No. 1 on this version of the console,'' said Cheuk, 35, who moved to Tokyo from Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, headquarters in September and oversees a team of 100 game developers. ``A lot of what we're doing today is to position ourselves. We're looking at the future generations where we'd like to be successful.'' Microsoft hasn't said when it will release an updated Xbox console.
Japanese consumers bought about 60,000 Xboxes last fiscal year, compared with 2.9 million Sony PlayStation 2 consoles, according to Tokyo-based market researcher Enterbrain Inc. The Xbox ranked third by sales behind PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Co.'s GameCube, according to Tokyo-based market researcher Enterbrain Inc. The companies don't report console sales by country.
Xbox sales in Japan -- the world's second-biggest market for video-game consoles and software after the U.S. -- slid by two-thirds in the year ended March 31, according to Enterbrain. Sales dropped even after Microsoft cut the console's price by a third to 16,800 yen ($153) in November.
`Strong Support Base'
To grab market share from Sony and Nintendo in Japan's $3.8 billion market for game consoles and software, Microsoft must convince Japan's biggest game publishers to make more titles for the Xbox, said P.J. McNealy, an analyst at American Technology Research in San Francisco. Microsoft's own Japan-based game developers plan to release just three new games over the next year, according to the company.
``To be successful in the Japanese market you need a strong support base of Japanese developers,'' McNealy said. ``For Sony and Nintendo, their base in Japan gives them a huge edge over Microsoft.''
Konami Corp., Japan's biggest independent game maker, released flight-simulator game ``Air Force Delta 2'' exclusively for the Xbox when the console debuted. The follow-up version of the game will be exclusive to the PlayStation 2, said Hitomi Nozawa, a spokeswoman for the game maker.
Capcom, Square Enix
Capcom Co., Japan's third-biggest game maker, has turned down offers from Microsoft in recent months to help pay distribution and development costs in return for more exclusive games for the Xbox, said Kazuhiko Abe, head of Capcom's corporate strategy division, without giving details. He said his company, which currently makes one game exclusively for the Xbox, isn't interested in developing more.
"There are no plans,'' Abe said in an interview. ``It's just not profitable enough.'' Of the 25 games Capcom plans to release this year, only one will be compatible with the Xbox.
Asako Miyata, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman for Microsoft, declined to comment on the company's discussions with Japanese game makers.
"We can't provide details as to our specific efforts with those publishers, including financial support,'' Miyata said.
Square Enix Co., Japan's No. 2 game maker, publishes none that can be played on the current Xbox. It's considering making titles for the next Xbox, said Michiro Sasaki, general manager for corporate planning. Tokyo-based Square Enix's ``Final Fantasy'' series for the PlayStation 2 console -- in which players assume roles and team up with other characters to achieve objectives -- has sold 60 million copies worldwide.
`Dead or Alive'
Microsoft has allied with smaller Japanese partners. Tecmo Ltd., a Tokyo-based game developer whose 52.6 billion yen in sales last fiscal year were a quarter of Capcom's, makes the two bestselling titles for the Xbox in Japan, according to Enterbrain. They include ``Dead or Alive,'' a fighting game centered on a martial-arts tournament.
The Xbox trails in Japan because players have a smaller choice of locally designed games, said Peter Moore, Microsoft's vice president of retail sales and entertainment -- especially popular role-playing titles like ``Final Fantasy.''
``You could probably argue that if we had a Japanese-centric role-playing game at the beginning of the console life cycle we would probably be in a better position today,'' Moore, 49, said in an interview last month at the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.
Better Outside Japan
There are fewer than 160 Xbox-compatible games sold in Japan, compared with 6,165 that can be played on the PlayStation 2 and 191 for the GameCube, according to the companies.
The Xbox has performed better outside Japan. Microsoft said last month it was on track to sell between 13.5 million and 16 million of the consoles worldwide by the end of its business year on June 30. That's roughly on par with the 14.5 million GameCube consoles Nintendo had sold as of March 31. Sony had sold 70 million PlayStation 2 machines as of March 31.
Cheuk said he's replaced some of his team's 100 game designers and engineers with new Japanese talent, without giving details.
In the U.S., Cheuk oversaw the development of ``Project Gotham Racing,'' the No. 3 best-selling Xbox game worldwide, which lets players virtually race cars such as Ferrari SpA's Enzo through the streets of major cities.
Monk Warrior
Cheuk's Tokyo studio released ``Magatama'' -- an action game featuring a sword-wielding monk warrior who fights to rid an ancient Japanese capital of supernatural forces -- in November. Spokeswoman Miyata wouldn't disclose the game's sales. The studio will release ``Sudeki,'' a role-playing game, by the end of 2004 and two more titles by mid-2005, the company said this month.
Microsoft's Japan-based game developers have faced setbacks. The company said in a statement earlier this month that it canceled its ``True Fantasy Live Online'' role-playing game -- which would have accommodated thousands of players at once over the Internet -- after almost three years in development because it wasn't happy with progress on the game.
06-29-04 | 10:07 AM
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Interesting. Although I can't believe Capcom would ignore the US market, which in relation is much larger for the Xbox than in Japan. Maybe the fact that Capcom can get away with making crap games on a more popular system because there's always people who will buy them. Let's face it, Capcom's lineup has been less than stellar recently, and for every good game they release at least one bad one. Auto Modelista anyone? Resident Evil Outbreak? or Zero? Devil May Cry 2? Way of the Samurai? Crappy network code ruined Steel Battalion: Line of Contact, even though it was conceptually solid.
If they want to know how to sell games, have them look at Tecmo. Just a couple releases a year for the Xbox but they are consistently top sellers in overall platform sales.
Jeremy
If they want to know how to sell games, have them look at Tecmo. Just a couple releases a year for the Xbox but they are consistently top sellers in overall platform sales.
Jeremy
06-29-04 | 10:11 AM
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Boy that's full of bad news there. Microsoft has an uphill battle against Sony, but if anyone can do it MS can. They can, and will, bleed money until they even up with them and start printing money with this thing. I would guess the XBox 2 will be an oustanding system based on Microsoft's history, we'll see if they can get someone to make some killer release games for it. The current incarnation of the XBox still hasn't thrilled me, I'm still a Cube fan.
06-29-04 | 10:21 AM
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From: Flava-Country!
Re: Capcom Drops Xbox
Originally posted by joshd2012
Two years after Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates handed out the first Xbox game console at a Tokyo video store, the machine's Japanese sales trail those of Sony Corp.'s rival PlayStation 2 console by 48 to one.
Two years after Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates handed out the first Xbox game console at a Tokyo video store, the machine's Japanese sales trail those of Sony Corp.'s rival PlayStation 2 console by 48 to one.
06-29-04 | 10:31 AM
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I'm mixed about this, I like Capcom games but as jrutz said they have kinda been slipping lately, not to mention ironically i'm wondering where the helll Street Fighter 4 is after years of endless semi sequals. But back on topic the xbox just isn't a platform that lends itself well to porting out crap that came out years ago on other systems and still become a hot seller, they see this and so instead of developing something new and interesting ala Viewtiful Joe they just said to hell with it. Does that suck? Sure, but it isn't exactly like Capcom released a game every other month for the xbox, I won't miss them because I damn near forgot they developed for it.
06-29-04 | 10:58 AM
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Not to draw parallels (by which I mean I'm going to draw a parallel) but these posts sound like the same ones that get criticized in GC threads when a developer says they are dropping support for the cube. It doesn't matter so much that Capcom didn't support the box that much to begin with but I'm sure XBOX owners will miss games like Onimusha3, DMC3, Viewtiful Joe etc. While they may not have been system sellers, game variety is a key point in console sales (as the PS2 has shown). Anytime any developer drops support for a console, it can't be a good thing. Having more game options is better than having less game options. Hopefully XBOX will have a better time with it's next console overseas.
Oh, and please don't make any developer strive to be like Tecmo. Personal taste of course but all their games are style over substance big time.
Oh, and please don't make any developer strive to be like Tecmo. Personal taste of course but all their games are style over substance big time.
06-29-04 | 11:12 AM
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The only reason this news is painful for me is because even though it's very pricey, Steel Battalion is an amazing game and I would have liked Capcom to continue making new additions to the franchise. Maybe they'll make news ones for the PS3(or whatever) but somehow I doubt it.
06-29-04 | 11:13 AM
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Originally posted by PixyJunket
Huh? There are Capcom games on the Xbox? News to me..
Huh? There are Capcom games on the Xbox? News to me..
No kidding.
06-29-04 | 11:18 AM
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The Xbox has performed better outside Japan. Microsoft said last month it was on track to sell between 13.5 million and 16 million of the consoles worldwide by the end of its business year on June 30. That's roughly on par with the 14.5 million GameCube consoles Nintendo had sold as of March 31. Sony had sold 70 million PlayStation 2 machines as of March 31.
I'm not to worried about this news. If I read it right the reasons have a lot to do with Japan. So what. The rest of the World seems to be ok. In the article it even seems like MS's own Japan division is being lazy when it comes to making games for XBOX. What's up with that? Sounds like no matter what Japanese will be slightly more loyal to Japan based companies.
It sounds like Gates needs to start kicking some lazy asses in the Xbox Japan division.
Last edited by Giantrobo; 06-29-04 at 11:22 AM.
06-29-04 | 11:19 AM
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Not a good thing, but its just one Japanese Developer. The only game I got from Capcom was Omiunsha for the Xbox. So its not a big deal. I was glad to see Square was considering games for the Next box.
BTW
This is old news we know the Xbox is doing bad in Japan and if it took 3 years for one Japan developer to bailout. This speaks volumes on how microsoft is trying shore up Japan developers.
BTW
This is old news we know the Xbox is doing bad in Japan and if it took 3 years for one Japan developer to bailout. This speaks volumes on how microsoft is trying shore up Japan developers.
06-29-04 | 11:22 AM
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I don't see how you can parallel this to any of the Cube news. Acclaim dropping Gamecube support is nothing but good news for Cube owners; Capcom dropping Xbox support is slightly a downer since they are capable (every now and then) of making great games.. but since they haven't done anything to date on the Xbox, very few will miss their presence.
06-29-04 | 11:23 AM
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From: Gateway Cities/Harbor Region
Originally posted by Apollo
BTW
This is old news we know the Xbox is doing bad in Japan and if it took 3 years for one Japan developer to bailout. This speaks volumes on how microsoft is trying shore up Japan developers.
BTW
This is old news we know the Xbox is doing bad in Japan and if it took 3 years for one Japan developer to bailout. This speaks volumes on how microsoft is trying shore up Japan developers.
06-29-04 | 11:29 AM
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Originally posted by SiberianLlama
The only reason this news is painful for me is because even though it's very pricey, Steel Battalion is an amazing game and I would have liked Capcom to continue making new additions to the franchise. Maybe they'll make news ones for the PS3(or whatever) but somehow I doubt it.
The only reason this news is painful for me is because even though it's very pricey, Steel Battalion is an amazing game and I would have liked Capcom to continue making new additions to the franchise. Maybe they'll make news ones for the PS3(or whatever) but somehow I doubt it.
06-29-04 | 11:50 AM
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But did anyone read into the good news? Xbox could have Square-Enix on their side. If that happens, Xbox sales increase, and Capcom ends up developing for Xbox anyway.
jeremy
jeremy
06-29-04 | 11:58 AM
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Originally posted by Apollo
This is old news we know the Xbox is doing bad in Japan and if it took 3 years for one Japan developer to bailout. This speaks volumes on how microsoft is trying shore up Japan developers.
This is old news we know the Xbox is doing bad in Japan and if it took 3 years for one Japan developer to bailout. This speaks volumes on how microsoft is trying shore up Japan developers.
06-29-04 | 11:59 AM
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Originally posted by jrutz
But did anyone read into the good news? Xbox could have Square-Enix on their side. If that happens, Xbox sales increase, and Capcom ends up developing for Xbox anyway.
jeremy
But did anyone read into the good news? Xbox could have Square-Enix on their side. If that happens, Xbox sales increase, and Capcom ends up developing for Xbox anyway.
jeremy
06-29-04 | 12:01 PM
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There are over 6000 PS2 games in Japan?
Are they all tentacle porn or something?
Are they all tentacle porn or something?
06-29-04 | 12:03 PM
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From: Blu-Ray: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Petition
Originally posted by PixyJunket
I don't think it'll be that big of a deal unless they do something exclusive (and good)..
I don't think it'll be that big of a deal unless they do something exclusive (and good)..
Draven - they are counting PS1 games as well.
06-29-04 | 01:41 PM
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Originally posted by Draven
There are over 6000 PS2 games in Japan?
Are they all tentacle porn or something?
There are over 6000 PS2 games in Japan?
Are they all tentacle porn or something?
06-29-04 | 02:14 PM
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HMMM if you look at the sells numbers for capcom games on xbox I think xbox fans dumped Capcom long before they dumped Xbox.
Man I used to love Capcom they used to be the shit now they are just shit. However things are looking good for them in the future now. They seem to be turning around.
Man I used to love Capcom they used to be the shit now they are just shit. However things are looking good for them in the future now. They seem to be turning around.