What should CAPCOM do now?

[Deepak]

Capcom cuts 18 games amidst falling profits


Capcom cuts 18 games amidst falling profits
» Coming soon: Capcom vs. Indifferent Marketplace
News | Friday, April 18, 2003 | Kyle Buchanan [Staff Writer]

As reported by Bloomberg Japan, Capcom’s losses for the 2002 fiscal year were even worse than anticipated: a hit of 19.5 billion yen ($163 million U.S.), surpassing the company’s initial forecast of 12.7 billion yen ($106 million). The profit plunge was attributed in part to the middling sales of three of Capcom’s most anticipated games: Resident Evil 0 for Gamecube, which sold 1.12 million copies against a projected 1.42 million, Devil May Cry 2 for PS2, which sold 1.4 million copies against 1.66 million, and Clock Tower 3 for PS2, which sold 250,000 copies against the forecasted 450,000.

Also contributing to the company’s losses was Capcom’s decision to shelve 18 games, or nearly 20% of its 100 games in development. 5 billion yen ($41 million) was spent on these scuttled projects, which will now never see a profit. None of the game titles had yet been announced.

Capcom vice president Heiji Oshima stated that to offset future losses, the company would revise its evaluation structure to better assess the viability of its games in their initial stages of development. Games that may face a difficult marketplace reception will be immediately cancelled. Oshima also said that Capcom still has enough strength to preclude merger talks with another game company, though he could not predict whether such talks would take place in the future.

It seems CAPCOM is not a force anymore it used to be (in PSX days)....so what is the way out...?

I suugest following.....

1. Dont create too many (new) franchises...focus on selective titles...!
2. RE hasnt done well on GC (expectedly!)..bring it back on PS2 but dont bring out a RE every six months...once in a year is ok...
3. Ideally PN03/Dino Crisis3 should have been first on PS2....

Anything else??

 

[Teasy]

Yeah they're very typical suggestions from you Deepak. Your focusing on RE0 not meeting Capcom's forcast and how it should move to PS2. Yet you say nothing about games like Devil May Cry 2 on PS2 also not meeting its forcast (despite the massive userbase). Why should Res Evil 0 sell any better on PS2 when Devil May Cry 2 didn't?

I think Res Evil 0 did well to sell 1.12 million so far. Its a pretty tired series and really needs Res Evil 4 to revitalise it.

 

[PC-Engine]

Yeah they're very typical suggestions from you Deepak.

and we haven't even mentioned installed base ratios...

 

[Ozymandis]

Why should Res Evil 0 sell any better on PS2 when Devil May Cry 2 didn't?

Because DMC2 sucked whereas RE0 was a good game?

That's what I'd guess

 

[Qroach]

What a bunch of BS, how the hell does capcom, have 100 games in development? No publisher has that many in cdevelopment at one time, with the expection of EA. Capcom doesn't relese tha tmany games a year to even justify that number. I think this article is off base.

If each game costs 1 million dollars to develop, then capcom is spending 100 million on game development? Yeah right...

 

[Evil_Cloud]

I think Res Evil 0 did well to sell 1.12 million so far. Its a pretty tired series and really needs Res Evil 4 to revitalise it.

Capcom found that RE0 sold less then expected, so 1,12 million is not that good...

 

[Grall]

And if they'd expected every game to sell 47 million copies, then none of their games would sell well.

Look, dude... Maybe the game deserved to only sell 1.12 million (still isn't too shoddy a figure, and is RE0 even out in Europe yet btw?), maybe they didn't advertize enough for it? Maybe people can't be arsed about Resident Evil anymore (the movie sucked like outer space for example). Maybe the price's simply too damn high for these games anyway? Christ, I remember when Sony whined carts were too expensive, look what the games cost these days! JEEZ!


*G*

 

[Sonic]

Here's an idea for Capcom. Instead of concentrating on one console, invest a few extra dollars and release games simultaneously across the board. At least this way the games can sell the most on each system and i twould help to maximize profits.

 

[Evil_Cloud]

yes RE0 is available here in Europe... for some while.
I would expect a blockbuster title like RE0 to sale at least 2 million...

 

[Ozymandis]

The RE titles on PSX sold what, at least 1.5-2 million worldwide, right?

 

[zurich]

Well Capcom's games are generally ~$10 USD cheaper than the competition.. I guess its up in the air whether or not the loss in profits is worth the shelf attention.

And I think DMC2 would have done better had it not sucked I'm anything but a fan of Mikami, but he certainly did justice to the first game.

Also, if you're going to argue install base, you should also factor in # of similar titles on GC (1 - Eternal Darkness), as well as the GC-software-starvation (relatively speaking) versus the flood of PS2 games. Its a hell of alot easier for a game to drown in PS2 SKUs these days than on the other systems.

 

[Deepak]

Yeah they're very typical suggestions from you Deepak. Your focusing on RE0 not meeting Capcom's forcast and how it should move to PS2. Yet you say nothing about games like Devil May Cry 2 on PS2 also not meeting its forcast (despite the massive userbase). Why should Res Evil 0 sell any better on PS2 when Devil May Cry 2 didn't?

I think Res Evil 0 did well to sell 1.12 million so far. Its a pretty tired series and really needs Res Evil 4 to revitalise it.

RE kind of games just do not make any sense on GC....and I am sure RE would have sold many times better on PS2...there are lots of RE fans out there!

The fact is that people who buy GC buy it for traditional N 1st party games not for RE types.....so makes much more sense to have RE on PS2/XB.....

 

[CaptainHowdy]

yea, it sold poorly because of the GC, so whats DMC 2's excuse? it didnt sell much better, and its on PS2....

its just factual, good games sell, rehashes dont, RE0 was a rehash, I say wait and see how RE4 performs..

putting it GC made plenty of sense, he clearly stated he didnt feel
PS2 could pull it off, and he also is very upset with how utterly crappy
PS2's hardware build quality is(its pretty known they arent build to last, most everyone who has one has already gotten a second or third system since launch, the creator of RE stated he himself had been through 3 systems by the time he started REmake).

the only reason he didnt take it to Xbox was because he knew it would fail in Japan, where they reside..

if its the Userbase, why is Metroid Prime such a success, its not exactly sunshine and hugs.

 

[jvd]

I think thier biggest mistake was selling re 2 and re3 for 50 bucks each with no improvements. They should have stuck the two together for like 40 bucks or something and watch them sell like mad .

 

[zurich]

How was RE 0 a rehash? Its a completely new game, just similar gameplay mechanics.. (think FF).

Just as long as they dont can Steel Batallion Online, oh man. It's MS's DUTY to their gamers to fund that game till it gets out the door

 

[Teasy]

Ozy

Because DMC2 sucked whereas RE0 was a good game?

Ok Devil May Cry 2 isn't as good as RE0, AFAICS from reviews anyway, but its hardly night and day. In the end both games were disapointing. Also what you have to take into account is that DMC2 is only the second game in its series (far less stale then RE) and is on a system with 4 times the userbase of GC.

The RE titles on PSX sold what, at least 1.5-2 million worldwide, right?

On PSX Res Evil was an excellent new game series. Since then it hasn't improved one bit gameplay or control wise. The series is not what it once was. Check out the sales of the Res Evil game on PS2.. they're far worse then the sales of the GC versions.

Evil_Cloud

yes RE0 is available here in Europe... for some while.

Actually RE0 has only been out for one months in Europe.

 

[Teasy]

Deepak

RE kind of games just do not make any sense on GC....and I am sure RE would have sold many times better on PS2...there are lots of RE fans out there!

How can you be sure it would have sold better on PS2 with not one bit of evidence to support it. Its wishful thinking. The first RE game on PS2 sold like crap.

The fact is that people who buy GC buy it for traditional N 1st party games not for RE types.....so makes much more sense to have RE on PS2/XB.....

GameCube owners buy the system for the games they like that are on the system, not just first party games. Guess what.. Res Evil is the only place to play GC. Therefore lots of Res Evil fans will buy GC.

Zurich

How was RE 0 a rehash? Its a completely new game, just similar gameplay mechanics..

A 'new' story and a few small gimmicks doesn't make RE0 a completely new game. It has the same gameplay and controls that the original had 6 or more years ago.

I bought Res Evil for GC, just for the revamped visuals and to give Res Evil another try. But why would I want to buy RE0? What's new in the game that makes it worth buying? It is basically a rehash.

 

[zurich]

Lets not open this can of worms again

RE for PS2 was a port(emulated) Dreamcast game, there's no point propping it up against the GC RE games.

Its one of those situations where we'll never know, too many 'what ifs' without an ounce of hard evidence to back up any opinions.

 

[CaptainHowdy]

How was RE 0 a rehash? Its a completely new game, just similar gameplay mechanics.. (think FF).

Just as long as they dont can Steel Batallion Online, oh man. It's MS's DUTY to their gamers to fund that game till it gets out the door

thats funny, when people were praising it, you were all about how bad it was, and how it was just like the rest and thats a bad thing. Its a rehash because its taking a horrible old control scheme, and doing nothing to improve it, its very pretty, and I do like it, but it didnt break new ground, and the majority of the people out there have even commented how they hate the fixed camera angles and control scheme...RE4 is where we will see something different.

 

[VNZ]

Capcom practically lost their direction with no arcade board (or business) to focus their creativity on (coincidental or not). The Onimusha, and to lesser extent (as opposed to the majority of the posters here seem to believe) the RE, series might provide the necessary cashflow for some time still - but they really should release all the "Capcom 5" games on GC, PS2 and arcade. If only to give those games a proper chance to fulfill their commercial potential.