Capcom responds to Inafune resignation, comments on future acquisitions

Capcom's investor Q&A session for its most recent financial report sheds a bit more light on the recent departure of Keiji Inafune. When asked to explain why Inafune left the company, Capcom said it was "thinking about radical reforms in our R&D operations in response to the rapid changes taking place in our markets." At the outset of these reforms, Inafune expressed a desire to remain "an independent creator" and "Capcom accepted this request." A replacement for Inafune wasn't named, though Capcom will soon hold meetings "to reach decisions concerning the direction of our development activities and other important items."

In another interesting bit of the Q&A, Capcom stated that it may acquire more developers in the future, similar to the recent acquisition of Blue Castle Games following its completion of Dead Rising 2. While the company has no specific acquisitions planned at this time, it says it would consider acquiring a development partner if "an acquisition would better enable Capcom and the partner to utilize their strengths and produce benefits for both companies."

Of course, to hear Inafune tell it, Western developers like Blue Castle are Capcom's only hope for success. Inafune said as much in a recent interview, in which he stated that Western developers are "far and away more passionate" than their Japanese counterparts.