Capcom-Production-Studio-1
Latest
Can Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate break through in the U.S. and boost the Wii U at the same time?
This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs has to offer. I just finished a viewing of the fabulous Shin Megami Tensei 4 trailer. In a month I'll be playing Pokemon Black 2 & White 2, and Dragon Quest X and Monter Hunter 3 Ultimate are set for the Wii U. Once again I'm reminded that Nintendo's platforms might not have all of the Japanese RPGs, but they have most of the good ones.On the subject of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate: What does the announcement that it will be released on the Wii U mean for Japan? Is the series finally ready to make the leap in the U.S. now that it's about to released on a (presumably) mainstream console? The answers may not end up deciding the Wii U's ultimate fate, but they should offer some insight into how the system's library will shape up.Most of you have probably heard about the Monster Hunter frenzy in Japan by now, since it's a good five years old at this points. Thanks to a unique combination of urban density, falling PSP prices and peer pressure, Monster Hunter has become a cultural force in Japan. In the face of this cultural climate, any new Monster Hunter game brings with it a certain amount of pressure to join in with the group.Monster Hunter has enjoyed niche success in the U.S., but the factors that propelled its meteoric rise in Japan have been largely absent on this side of the Pacific. Put simply, it's tough to find another Monster Hunter fan in the west, which is a problem for a game that puts so much stock in its multiplayer experience. If you're really dedicated, you can attend meetups organized over the internet, but not many gamers seem persistent in that effort. I know I'm not.
Monster Hunter Tri players have spent millions of hours hunting monsters
Gaming and caffeinated beverage-centric news site Coffee With Games has once again compiled a number of statistics for Monster Hunter Tri, Capcom's Wii-based online action-RPG -- which celebrated its first birthday last week. The results are, well, startling: Out of nearly 70,000 players who have reported playing the game through Wii's Nintendo Channel, an astonishing 6,313,120 total hours of play time have been logged. That's an average of 90 hours and 25 minutes for each reported player. Of course, that figure's predicated on the idea that those 6.3 million hours are spread evenly among the player base. There's a good chance that a majority of the crowd played the game for a much more modest amount of time, while about 500 people have played the game unceasingly for the 8,800 or so hours that the game's been out. Oh, man. We accidentally bummed ourselves out, there.
Capcom exec expects western acquisition in next 2 years
With titles like Dead Rising and Lost Planet, it seems that Capcom has developed a taste for western cuisine, at least in how it applies to game development. This observation was echoed by Capcom exec Christian Svensson, who in a recent interview noted belief that the Osaka, Japan-based company could look to add an established Western dev to its portfolio in the near future. Confessed Svensson, "I would be sort of surprised if we didn't acquire a western studio in the next two years." But Capcom knows that it has the pick of the litter, and it isn't about to let just anyone into its ivory tower. "We're not going to acquire anyone that we haven't done a game with," noted Svensson. The exec also stressed that chemistry would play a "critical" role in any future match, leaving just 28 other dimensions of happier, healthier relationships to be sorted out.
Capcom sued over Dead Rising
We heard the rumblings of this coming earlier this month, but now it seems like it's official: MKR Group, which owns the rights to George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, has sued Capcom for similarities between the zombie flick and Capcom's Dead Rising, both of which feature zombies in a shopping mall. In part, the suit states, "In both, the recreational activities of the zombies and absurdly grotesque 'kill scenes' provide unexpected comedic relief." Personally, we think this whole thing is a little silly. Zombies in a shopping mall are like polar bears on South Pacific islands or cheetahs in Ludwig's den. It's their natural habitat, what do you want them to do, make an unrealistic zombie game?
Rumor: Dead Rising 2 being handled by western developer
The latest issue of EGM is imparting some spicy rumors upon us. Perhaps most shocking is word that Capcom may be passing the buck on Dead Rising 2, leaving the sequel in the hopefully-capable hands of a North American developer. The rumor doesn't state which studio would be working on the Dead Rising followup, although it does suggest that the developer is based in Los Angeles -- ruling out our guess of Texas-based Gearbox Studios, who only recently announced a "really big" project in pre-production. Of course, they wouldn't call it a rumor if it were necessarily true. We'd like to see Capcom remain involved with the Dead Rising franchise, but if it does in fact pass on to a western studio we can only hope it falls into the right hands.
Devil May Cry: a series retrospective - part III
The third installment in the franchise took a lot of steps in order to reclaim the throne of awesome that was stripped away by the missteps made in the second title. Taking place first chronologically, Devil May Cry 3 tells the story of how Dante got his full demonic powers, his brother Vergil, and took the over-the-top cinematics to a hilarious new level. The game starts much like the first Devil May Cry -- Dante is sitting in his not-yet-opened shop and approached by someone named Arkham, who unleashes a flurry of demons to assault him as per Vergil's request. After the attack, a giant tower pops up in the middle of the city. Sensing Vergil, Dante makes his way to the tower in what could be described as a pissing contest of epic proportions. While making his way into the tower, Dante is met by the game's female lead -- a girl on a motorcycle with a gigantic rocket launcher named Kalina-Ann. The girl's name is Lady, but she is also referred to as Mary. She seems to enjoy Lady more. As the game goes on, you learn she's Arkham's daughter and is driven by her desire for revenge against him, because he killed her mother. Anyway, as the game progresses Dante learns that Arkham and Vergil led him to the tower in order to acquire his half of the amulet so the portal to the demon world, long sealed by Sparda, would split open once more and Sparda's power could be reclaimed by, ostensibly, Vergil. Arkham has other plans though -- once the portal to the demon world has been opened [by both halves of the amulet, the blood of Sparda's lineage, and the blood of a priestess (Lady)], he leaves the three for dead and rises to the top of the tower and welcomes the opening portal to the demon world. Dante and Lady make their way back to the top of the tower (Vergil apparently fell into a deep crevasse) where Dante convinces Lady to let him handle things. She gives him her powerful weapon, Kalina-Ann. Once at the top, Dante enters the demon realm and confronts Arkham who seems a bit too overwhelmed by the power of Sparda. During their battle, Vergil reappears and teams up with Dante to fight the enemy. Arkham is weakened and expelled from the demon realm and back to the top of the tower. Lady is waiting for him there and gets her revenge. It's awesome. In the demon realm, Dante and Vergil battle over who has the right to own Sparda's sword, the Force Edge. Dante wins, eventually. Defeated, Vergil decides to remain in the demon realm with his half of the amulet -- after the ending credits he is seen facing off against Mundus, the enemy from the first Devil May Cry. We can assume Mundus defeated Vergil and turned him into the demon Nelo-Angelo. Dante and Lady meet outside the tower and form a partnership of sorts, naming Dante's shop Devil May Cry because of the tear Dante shed over the loss of his brother. The game definitely makes an effort to link the story of the other two games together and it does so very well. What appeared to be a threadbare plot in the first game now is a dramatic continuation of the hardship and family struggle that was introduced in the third. As a whole, the series grew greatly because of this. Nelo-Angelo became a much more emotional villain to face as you now have some history with Vergil. You despise Mundus more because you know he was waiting in the demon realm and subjugated Vergil. As a whole, the series flows much better. So did the combat. DMC3 offered the ability to switch between two weapons and two guns on the fly, which unleashed a flurry of combos that took the hyper-action of the genre to a whole new level. There was also a class system -- where you can raise your proficiency at using melee weapons, guns, blocking attacks, using evasive maneuvers, slowing time, or creating a double of yourself. Adding the classes to the different variety of weapons made the game much more customizable and approachable for players of all preferences. To this day, only God of War games can even compare to the wild style of fighting and chaotic nature of Devil May Cry 3's battle system. If you haven't played it, we assure you, it's that good. There's one catch, though: you need to be a very, very, very good player at Devil May Cry games to play this game. It's incredibly difficult. Capcom had to release a "special edition" with a lowered difficulty level (among numerous other changes, including the ability to play as Vergil). It's that hard. It's that good. The camera is still wonky, but it gets in your way less. Dante reprises his role as a one-line spitting anti-hero. As far as the franchise goes, the only game Devil May Cry 4 has to compare itself to is this one. This is the cream of the crop as far as DMC goes and as far as action games go. %Gallery-15292% Read our review of Devil May Cry 4 >
Devil May Cry: a series retrospective - part II
The second entry into the Devil May Cry franchise had a lot of high hopes pinned on it. People were upset they didn't get the option to play as Trish in the first game and the control scheme should be easy to rectify. What's more, people were promised bigger environments, more bosses, and most importantly, more Dante. So, what happened this time? The game takes place some time after the first Devil May Cry. At the outset of the game, Dante meets up with newcomer Lucia to gather up an item -- a coin, called Medaglia. She invites him to her house, if he can find it, and once there he meets her mother Matier. Matier claims her clan fought alongside Sparda thousands of years ago, but now their livelihood is threatened, along with mankind. A big business, Uroboros (our spelling may be butchered, we only caught it on the side of a helicopter), led by a man named Arius, is trying to resurrect the great demon Argosax. No known relation to Mundus, but both seem to really, really hate mankind. To resurrect Argosax, Arius will need a plethora of items known as Arcana. Dante and Lucia collect these throughout their adventure. Eventually Dante and Lucia confront Arius, who explains Lucia is his creation. He opens the portal to the demon world and faces off against Lucia. Dante, in the meantime, enters the demon world and fights the semi-resurrected Argosax. It is unclear at the end of the game if Dante manages to escape the demon realm after facing Argosax, but Lucia and Matier wait at his devil hunting shop until they hear the sound of a motorcycle outside. Did this summary seem a bit shorter than the previous one? It's because the story is practically nonexistent. Over the course of ten missions as Dante, there may have been three minutes of story-driven cutscene. You just keep moving and slashing. It's pretty bad. That's one major gripe people had with the game -- Dante doesn't even seem to be the main character. He's relatively quiet and level-headed. These attributes don't suit him. Lucia steals the spotlight -- she even gets her own disc so you can play as her. Some critics claimed her storyline was much better and worth the price of the game, but since we're focusing on Dante for this feature, we didn't bother to retread that path. The story isn't the only thing lackluster about the second entry: the difficulty is in the toilet. You can literally sit back and mash your pistols to beat bosses into submission. This is partly due to the large, open environments that are pretty easy to get lost in. More space means more time to shoot from afar. Also, the weapon variety is sorely lacking. You can power-up your weapons, but aside from the basics, don't expect anything flashy (like a purple/blue flying-V guitar that shoots electrified bats). The game can be fun, but compared to the title before and after it, it's not even in the same category. Capcom realized this and decided to take a serious look at the franchise before setting off to create the third game, Devil May Cry 3. %Gallery-15291% Devil May Cry 3 >
Devil May Cry: a series retrospective
Devil May Cry 4 arrives on PS3 this week, signaling the long-revered franchise's jump to the current generation. How did the series become as beloved as it is today? Join us as we take a retrospective look on the long-running legacy of the Devil May Cry series. It all began back in 2001 when Capcom unleashed a game titled Devil May Cry on the PS2. The game introduced the character of Dante, a man who runs a shop where people come to have demons dealt with. At the start of the game, Dante meets Trish, a femme fatale who tests his abilities. She reveals that the one responsible for killing his mother and brother (Vergil ... more on that later), Mundus, is making a return. And so your adventure begins. %Gallery-15289%
Dead Rising 2 not in the works, being considered
Considered by many to be one of the best games available on the Xbox 360, most of us thought a sequel to Dead Rising was a certainty. It may then come as a surprise to fans to learn that the game is currently not in production at all. In a recent interview, Keiji Inafune told Game Informer that he'd like to produce a potential sequel, but it's not in the works right now. Inafune adds that the game is being considered in Japan, and that it's the one project being considered that he'd like to produce the most, but there are still many technical and financial issues to be considered. X3F readers will know that both Dead Rising and Lost Planet were very successful in the west, but not so much in Capcom's native land of Japan. Anyone want to take odds odds on seeing Resident Evil 5 before Dead Rising 2?
Inafune says Dead Rising 2 not in production
Mmmmm, angry brains. Despite what we've been told, apparently Dead Rising 2 is not in production according to a Game Informer interview with producer Keiji Inafune. Inafune says that it is something he would "love" to make, but his responsibilities at the moment don't allow for that kind of time. He says Dead Rising 2 is a title being considered by Capcom Japan and if they announce it, he would want to produce, but he doesn't clearly state that the game is on hold because he wants to be the one to do it. Sad news for Dead Rising fans who were probably expecting an announcement that the sequel would be around sometime late next year. Despite being successful in the States and Europe, Inafune's Dead Rising and Lost Planet didn't do so well in Japan. Maybe it's time for Microsoft to apply a little pressure with Capcom on behalf of those who don't really care about Monster Hunter Freedom 2 and want a little more Frank West in their life ... we know MS knows how to spend money for what they want.
Lost Planet and Dead Rising haven't broken 100K in Japan
This info is definitely not lost in translation with the universal language of numbers. According to Capcom's own sales records (chart after the break), neither Lost Planet nor Dead Rising broke 100K units sold in Japan. This isn't really the most shocking of news given the sales of the Xbox 360 in Japan, but it does show the game resonated with North American and European audiences more. Despite tepid sales in Japan, both titles sold outside the Land of the Rising Sun to the tune of 1.4 million copies each, signs of Capcom's growing global focus. Now, before you go pointing at cultural differences -- highlighted by Monster Hunter Freedom 2 for the PSP selling 1.2 million units, while the PS2 versions of RE4 also couldn't break 100K -- here's some fun info: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which was published by Capcom in Japan, sold 430K units. So, frozen tundras don't resonate with Japanese gamers, neither does a mall full of zombies, but playing a gang-banger bent on ghetto domination sells 200% more than Dead Rising and Lost Planet combined. Ah, good times.
Japan shuns Lost Planet and Dead Rising
As part of their 2006 fiscal year reporting, Capcom released sales numbers that prove that Japan hasn't been feeling Lost Planet or Dead Rising. According to their numbers, both games sold pretty well in North America and Europe, Dead Rising selling 730,000 and Lost Planet selling 810,000 copies in North America alone. But Japan is another story all together as both games have yet to sell even 100,000 copies, which makes up for less than 10% of each games' total sales. We understand that both Lost Planet and Dead Rising were geared towards Western audiences, so less than fantastic Japanese sales were a given. But we didn't think Japanese gamers would avoid these gems like the black plague. Don't worry though, Lost Planet or Dead Rising, we still love you and you can crash on our couch anytime you want.
Dead Rising: Frank gets free clothes again
If you're thinking Frank West's wardrobe is getting a tad stale, then we've got a couple of free clothing options for you. Up on the Marketplace you can download three new locker keys for Dead Rising that'll unlock three outfits including a pure white suit, stripe outfit, and an accountant look. Old Frank will feel like a new man! All three outfits are free and ready for download, so plop in Dead Rising and be sure to have Frank try on the white suit. It may get blood stained really fast, but killing zombies will have never looked so good!
Dead Rising's Frank West gets change of clothes
Sure, Capcom can't fix the tiny-text or give us that delicious co-op rumor, but they sure can give us more outfits for Frank West in Dead Rising. Major Nelson tells us that Capcom released some free goodies and some micro-pain-ment things. The free stuff is a Pure White Suit, Stripe Suit and Accountant Suit. The stuff they'll charge you for is "to celebrate Dead Rising and Lost Planet reaching a million" units sold. There are four theme packs being sold for 150 MS points ($1.87) each. Yup, that's a way to show gratitude, celebrate people purchasing your game by charging them more. We're just going to ignore that slap in the face by saying we'll be happy when we get some information on Dead Rising 2.
Getting deep on Dead Rising
GameCareerGuide.com gives Dead Rising a New Yorker Magazine-style treatment and goes all highbrow in reminiscing about the title. Dead Rising occupies a very strange place in gaming. It was obviously a hit and talks of a sequel were already in the works a week after the game premiered. But, putting aside the tiny-text and the punishing save system, those horrors were eclipsed by Otis and that walkie-talkie. There's plenty of "drinks at the Palm" moments in the piece. Like you'll have to read all three pages to understand what this quote actually means, "Dead Rising has, as you might put it, a profoundly 'old-school' sensibility -- a pre-Miyamoto one, even. Its goal is to recapture what once made video games entertaining, by getting rid of many of the institutionalized assumptions that have made them boring, or frustrating, or arbitrary." Highbrow analysis aside, Dead Rising certainly was a game where the concept was in the right place, along with the writing, the heart, the brains -- mmmm, brains. It was the structure of the game that hurt, especially the menacing way you failed for missing one of those picky, picky case files. The GCG piece actually explains that one should think of Dead Rising as a classic game where you should expect to play it through on one life. Fail? Well, then you should start over. Yeah, the piece gets weird, but that's because you have "institutionalized assumptions" about what to expect from a game. Read the piece and then come back to let us know what you think -- we know you will.
Dead Rising and Lost Planet staying exclusive
Capcom's director of strategic planning Christian Svensson commented on their official forums to whether or not Dead Rising or Lost Planet would be appearing on the PS3 or Wii in the future. Bluntly put, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Svensson says that both games are "not slated to appear on Wii or PS3 as far as current plans go" going on to say that he is "bound by NDAs on these matters so I can't divulge why this is the situation". We guess that with the Playstation 3 losing exclusives left and right, it's fair to question whether any of our previously thought Xbox 360 exclusives may be headed for multi-platform. But, in this case, we're happy to report that both Dead Rising and Lost Planet are pretty much locked up to stay 360 exclusives for the long haul. [Via Joystiq]
Dead Rising and Lost Planet to remain Xbox 360 exclusives
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/Dead_Rising_and_Lost_Planet_to_remain_Xbox_360_exclusives'; At least "as far as current plans go." So says Capcom's senior director of strategic planning and research, Christian Svensson, posting on the official Capcom forums in the midst of a Devil May Cry outcry. When asked by fans whether the company's new mulitplatform strategy would extend to their pair of successful Xbox 360 titles, Svensson explains that "Dead Rising and Lost Planet are not slated to appear on Wii or PS3," noting that the reasons for the continued exclusivity "are quite convoluted" and are bound by a slew of suspicious non-disclosure agreements. He goes on to say that Capcom's current approach -- which sees Resident Evil 5 and Devil May Cry 4 coming to both PS3 and Xbox 360 -- is for future titles and isn't meant to be applied in a "retroactive" manner. Of course, this comes just days after Svensson used the forum to respond to sulking petitioners and their disdain for Devil May Cry gracing multiple platforms. "We are certainly moved that people are so passionate about our products that they would go to such extremes," he said in a seperate thread. "At the same time we feel that allowing more people access to our content pleases far more people than it displeases (after all, we're not denying DMC4 to anyone that was already going to get it). It really is the best decision for the company and for consumers." Apparently, Dead Rising and Lost Planet simply missed the multiplatform boat. [Thanks, mocoworm]
Dead Rising gets its OST
Those of you looking to get your groove on while chilling in a mall and massacring zombies now have you chance, as the Original Soundtrack for Dead Rising has been announced. Ordering online will also net you a snazzy T-Shirt designed by Yoshiki Takahashi, who did the layout for the Kill Bill posters. It seems to be limited edition as our Babelfishery indicates there are only producing 2000 sets. If you buy it now, it will cost you a little over fifty bucks, but there are talks of the soundtrack making its way to Europe and North America. Did you enjoy Dead Rising enough to want to pick up some cool swag and its tunes? [Via QJ.net]
Rumor: Co-op may be coming to Dead Rising
Keeping the rumor mill a twirling, Xboxic received word that in the latest issue of EGM they reporting that Capcom has co-op aspirations for Dead Rising. EGM says that when Dead Rising comes to the platinum hits catalog that it will include a new online co-op feature. At the same time there will be a co-op patch downloadable via the XBLM for current Dead Rising owners, but it will not be free. Do you think an online co-op patch could breathe new life into an aging Dead Rising or would you be dead set (get it?) against paying extra for the option via a download? Come on ... spill your guts!
Lost Planet producer: "western developers are leading the industry"
Capcom marketing specialist Brain Dunn has posted an "exclusive" interview with co-worker Keiji Inafune, Mega Man creator and one of Lost Planet's executive producers. While we shouldn't overlook Dunn's access to Inafune as a potentially convenient PR moment, the conversation is not without its honest details. Within, Inafune offers his insight into Capcom's resistance to expanding its content for a worldwide audience, revealing managements' initial rejection of the Lost Planet and Dead Rising concepts. "Actually for a while there we were practically on the verge of having the projects cancelled," Inafune told Dunn. Having convinced Capcom to invest in these properties -- both now commercially successful -- Inafune believes the company is entering a new era; in the same line as past milestones Street Fighter II and Resident Evil. "I think Dead Rising and Lost Planet have helped established Capcom not just as a Japanese developer, but as a developer that is on par with, and that can compete with, the top developers in the US," offered Inafune; important because the producer believes "western developers are leading the industry, with Japanese developers falling behind." Inafune suggests that Japanese companies need to improve working environments, imagining that western developers aren't nearly as over-worked or underpaid as their Japanese counterparts. He muses that by coupling an American "quality of life" with Japanese "diligence" (and selflessness) Japan can turn things around -- with some risk-taking too. "There are more titles like [Lost Planet] in store for fans: risky, challenging games, with a lot riding on them," promised Inafune.
