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Capcom discusses new focus on PC, digital distribution
Speaking to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Capcom's Christian Svensson discussed the company's renewed focus on the PC market and digital distribution. According to Svensson, Capcom sees the PC as the world's most common platform, noting "the platform of choice in many countries is not a current-gen console." With many publishers focusing on consoles, Svensson sees diminishing support for the PC as an advantage for Capcom, saying that "the more people who shy away from that platform, the bigger the opportunity."Another key to Capcom's strategy is digital distribution. Svensson said that Capcom is already leading in digital distribution on 360, PS3 and Wii, and is now "building up a digital distribution channel" for PC "that has about twenty different partners." He believes that the company's digital distribution business will likely fair just as well as retail sales "in the current climate."Finally, Svensson believes that the PC industry needs to move toward becoming more consumer-friendly. That means helping consumers understand system requirements as well as coming up with "an anti-piracy policy that is friendly to consumers, that will remove barriers to sales, and improve the ecosystem." In an interesting twist, Svensson said there are positive aspects of piracy that could be harnessed by the industry. "As a distribution network it is useful," said Svensson.Hit the source link for the full interview.
Sony: Half of PS3 owners also have a PSP
According Capcom's vice president of strategic planning and business development Christian Svensson, Sony's data indicates that approximately 50% of PS3 owners are also PSP owners. Svensson made the comment on the official Capcom forums in a thread that was discussing the possibility of the newly launched adhocParty making it stateside. "An interesting note from Sony's data that they've been sharing with us ... about 50% of PS3 owners, also own a PSP." We are unsure of whether the data was collected from around the world or just in the US.Does this statistic sound right to you? Do most of you who have a PS3 also own Sony's handheld?
Capcom informs of Spyborgs overhaul, already thinking about sequel
While lobbying questions about Spyborgs and, uh, Zack & Wiki 2 (oh how we wish it wasn't such a pipe dream), Capcom's Corporate Officer/VP of Strategic Planning & Business Development, Christian Svensson, kind of explained why the game was missing from E3. You see, Capcom is "refining it considerably." Also, when asked about online co-op, Sven commented that it would only local multiplayer, because Capcom has to "save some features for the sequel." We guess they're planning a franchise around this!%Gallery-24237%
Spyborgs not sneaking in to E3 this year
When it was first announced, we promised to keep an eye on the doin's and transpirin's of Spyborgs. The trailer is hilarious, the dev team is experienced, and Capcom is talking it up like it's going to be some kind of surprise hit. The sad truth -- everyone needs to wait a little longer before hearing more news about this silly sci-fi title.Spyborgs won't be shown at E3, the biggest marketing and promotions event of the year. After being questioned about the game in the Capcom forums, the all-knowing Christian Svensson mentioned that there were limited details at Captivate 08 (yeah, we know), but it's still going to "lie low for a bit until we're ready for a bigger reveal." It makes sense in a way -- with the onslaught of overhyped bigger games coming up at E3, it might be best to sneak this smaller, hopefully good game under the radar, and bust out the details when we least expect it.%Gallery-24237%[Via Nintendo Everything]
Zack and Wiki: Quest for a Sequel is fruitless
Oh, Zack & Wiki, what an overflowing treasure chest of delights you were; your demanding (yet fulfilling) puzzles and vibrant, cute visual style won us over in a heartbeat. Even though you consistently made us feel thick, we'd still do anything to spend just another hour in your puzzley company. Even that meanie Yahtzee liked you! Alas, a new adventure featuring the pirate and his monkey is looking increasingly unlikely. Capcom bossman Christian Svensson seemed to rule out a follow-up on the Capcom forums, noting that he "[wasn't] so sure there will be [a sequel] on any reasonable timeline." That doesn't mean we'll never get one, of course, but we wouldn't go expecting Zack & Wiki 2 in the next decade or anything rash like that. We can't say we blame Capcom, either -- remember how the company was forced to drop the game's price just three months after it launched in the States? That's probably not an experience it wants to revisit. %Gallery-3283% [Via Nintendo Everything]
Apparently, Capcom is bored of making money
That's right: we've finally turned to lolgoats. We hope you appreciate this new direction.Anyway, any meager hopes we might have harbored for a western localization of Resident Evil Zero have just had the last gasps of air stamped emphatically from their shriveled lungs by Capcom's Christian Svensson. Writing on the company's message boards, Svensson stated that Capcom's U.S. arm had been "asked twice if we've wanted to bring it Westward and twice we've declined." Ouch, Christian. He did concede that "nothing is ever final," but surely Zero would have to tear up the Japanese sales charts to stand a chance of being localized.Although we're not exactly devastated by the news -- the GameCube edition is cheaply and widely available on eBay, and is pretty much the same game, sans Wiimote controls -- we are surprised. Didn't the Wii port of Resident Evil 4 rake in an obscene fortune for Capcom? Why, yes it did.[Via Go Nintendo]
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]
Phoenix Wright: Ace Strategic Planner
As consumers, we hardly look into the business side of gaming. That doesn't mean we don't take a look at stocks and sales numbers, because we like to play the part of video game analyst at times. Yet, we usually don't think about the behind-the-scenes decisions that publishers have to make. When we want games, we just want them, publishers be damned. Games like Electroplankton bother us because they're so hard to find, and even when Electroplankton was available way back when, it was only available online and at the Nintendo World Store. We never stopped to think that maybe retailers refused to put the game on their shelves. (Note: We're not saying that this was the case with Electroplankton, only that it may have factored into Nintendo's decision).MTV Multiplayer's interview with Christian Svensson, the Senior Director of Strategic Planning & Research for Capcom, brings some of these issues to light. Svensson talks a lot about the first Phoenix Wright game specifically, and how it was difficult to convince retailers to stock the title despite fan interest. There are also many other issues that come into play, like first week sales and production speeds. If companies can't provide retailers with games almost immediately after orders are placed, stores will just move on to the next hot title on the market. This makes proper estimates for DS games especially important, since they take about two months to manufacture. No pressure.The article is definitely worth a read, and the next time you find yourself irritated because so-and-so game is impossible to find, you might be a little less quick to yell out objections.
