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Ben Judd leaves Capcom for Digital Development Management
Another Capcom producer has exited the company, though the circumstances are much less mysterious in this case than when Keiji Inafune departed. Ben Judd, best known as the producer of Bionic Commando -- and as the English voice of Phoenix Wright -- has left the company, in order to run a new Japanese office for Digital Development Management, a talent agency for the video game industry. He is the "lead agent" for Asia. "Ben's breadth of publisher experience in Japan combined with our ever-expanding client roster allows DDM to generate and facilitate projects for publishers, brand and license holders, and investors now on a worldwide basis," DDM founder and managing partner Jeff Hilbert said in the announcement. Judd will work to connect developers and publishers, and coordinate deals between game companies. DDM currently represents developers [PDF link] including Ninja Theory, Slant Six Games, and Silent Hill: Downpour developer Vatra Games.
Keiji Inafune says Japanese game industry is over, man
Giving Tokyo Game Show attendees a chance to get some hands-on time with Western-developed Dead Rising 2 at a party this week, Capcom's Keiji Inafune stated, "Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished." Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd translated the Mega Man creator's claims to the crowd (that Destructoid captured on video, found after the break), explaining the eulogy as Inafune's reaction to the show floor at this year's TGS.Unsurprisingly, his words were less harsh about his Japanese company's upcoming titles. "Just so that you all don't think that the game industry is finished, Capcom is doing our best," he said. Next year's Dark Void and Dead Rising 2 -- both Western developed games, mind you -- can't hurt Inafune's confidence, eh?
Capcom's Judd on VC Bionic Commando: Nintendo 'told us no'
In this interview with 1UP, Capcom's Ben Judd tells the fascinating story of his start as the first Western-born producer at Capcom Japan and the origins of the new Bionic Commando games. But we don't care about that. (Professionally, anyway. It's a great story and we love Bionic Commando). Bionic Commando on the Virtual Console came up again, and Judd reiterated his earlier statement that the game just isn't happening on VC, but not because Capcom isn't interested. "We couldn't get it approved for the Virtual Console," he told 1UP. "I can't say why." He said last time that it wasn't the exploding heads, and he didn't answer the question in this interview about a possible problem with the Nazi content (such as the head that explodes).
Joystiq hands-on: Bionic Commando (Xbox 360)
click to enlarge var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Hands_on_with_Bionic_Commando'; Tell you what: Let's just pretend you all know that this is an updated version of the classic Bionic Commando, the latest salvo in Capcom's continuing effort to reach out to the North American audience. Let's just skip all of that and skip to what you want to hear: Let's talk about swinging.It's the first thing we were introduced to in our time with the game, so it feels right to get it out of the way first. So how is it? Fun. Really, really fun. There's a great sense of speed and it makes wandering through the desolate and dynamic Ascension City a real joy.But that glowing praise comes with a caveat: It's also not easy. In fact, we didn't feel like we really "got it" until about 20 minutes in. Some of the difficulty is derived from the amount of control you have. You have to know what you're swinging from, unlike in the Spider-Man series (the closest swinging competitor) where your webs will automatically find the nearest surface. No, you have to aim your arm. But once you get it, it's really satisfying.%Gallery-24249%
Capcom confirms: Bionic Commando not coming to VC
When we heard about the original Bionic Commando coming to Xbox Live and PSN, we couldn't help but hope that an announcement for the game on the VC would be soon to follow. Fast forward to four months later, and Capcom's Ben Judd recently stated in an interview with IGN that putting the NES version on the VC "couldn't happen." According to Christian Svensson, the Senior Director of Strategic Planning & Research for Capcom, this isn't the company's fault. Rather, Nintendo is the one to blame, as Capcom would like nothing more than to have the game on the Virtual Console.We've already done our own speculating as to why this game would be roadblocked by Nintendo, but to hear it confirmed is rather heartbreaking.[Via Siliconera]
