Capcom employee speaks out about RE4

Mai Valentine

Mai Valentine

Moderator
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=12912&topic=17214880
Naturally, I can't be sure that this is legit. But this is what the employee says is in his first post:

Well, I realize that as an employee of Capcom, I am throwing myself to the wolves by even coming here at this time...

But just allow me to mention 2 facts about the gaming industry that you may all not know. After I have you can tear me a new one all you want.

1. The word exclusive is usually never defined as more than 6 months. Sony sees it this way. Microsoft sees it this way. And so does Nintendo. Having a PS2 verison out 1 year later is more than enough time to give all those Game cube owners a chance to play it long before any other hardware owner. I am a hardcore gamer and I personally can't wait 2 weeks for a gamer to go to a lower price structure (I have to have it on the day it is released) so I couldn't wait a month much less a year.

2. Games are costing more and more to make. Now, please think back to Mikami's personal feelings (and interviews) of the past. Do you really think he is just in it for the money? The answer is no. Look at Capcom's financials for the last 2 years. Not a pretty picture. At one point as a business, you have to choose whether to be proud and go out of business or to be realistic and perhaps alienate a few hard-core fans.

As always, I know a lot of people are disappointed by this decision and I can truly understand that. But please understand that Capcom has supported the cube over the favorite and taken financial hits over and over for it so I hope some of the hardcore gamers out there can respect the company for sticking to their guns as long as possible.

In closing, I can say that the game is absolutely amazing and probably the best in the series and... any game created on a specific platform will be optimized for that it... (just common sense really).

Ok. I'm done... so FIRE away.
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What do you guys think of that?
 
I think it's more or less reasonable. This quote sums it up:

As always, I know a lot of people are disappointed by this decision and I can truly understand that. But please understand that Capcom has supported the cube over the favorite and taken financial hits over and over for it so I hope some of the hardcore gamers out there can respect the company for sticking to their guns as long as possible.
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We're not really sure how Capcom have done financially ever since switching to Cube, but it can't of been good. Therefore i'm actually with the decision to be exclusive for a year and then going to PS2 to restore back money. They are afterall a buisness, and I think the angry Cube fans need to see it from that standpoint. Would you do the same? I would, it's common sense.

Also, as i've said before, if Resident Evil 4 really IS the best in the series, then why not share the love to a wider audience? This is about gaming to me and not the console war, so it doesn't bother me that a game is going to be on 2 consoles instead of one. Infact it just brings more people to discuss the game with. :)
 
I see what they are saying...  I have never known exclusive to mean that though.....

Do alll gaming companies have the same standard about "unique games?"
I have not heard that before.

Also, I think Capcom would have done better IF they did not rehash a series that has been all over every system.  Now, RE4 probably will sell well.... but I seriously think people are tired of res 1-CV.... maybe I am wrong.

RE0.... people said that it was an ok game... but just not RE caliber (even those that didn;t own a Gamecube).
Now with RE4, it seems the reviewers are happy... so hopefully it'll be done well.

But Viewtiful Joe sold well on the Gamecube.... and I believe better than the ps2 version... I don't have #'s to back it up though.  Once a game has been out on 1 system for a long time, it has a harder time to sell well on other systems (as history has shown with other games).  ITs because there is nothing new to it.... it has been seen and played and the hype is gone.  I Am not saying they won't sell welll.... but there will definitely be a decrease in how well it sells.

BUT if Capcom feels this way, why can't they make Devil May Cry, and other games  on the Gamecube?  You know... they make that argument, but don't follow suit with other systems and that does bother my a bit because there is money to be made by porting it to the Gamecube....

†B†V† :hat
 
A few things I wanted to mention...

1. For the last two years a majority of Capcom's software has come out on PS2...So if they are in financial trouble it can't squarely be blamed on the GC.

2. By their logic, maybe they should just go the way of EA and put their stuff on every platform possible to take in the most sales to get the company back on track financially.

There were also some good points made on another GF topic
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=12912&topic=17277604

Namely
Maybe if they spent less making their 1000 Mega Man games and SF2 clones that all sell in mediocre quantities, they wouldn't be in such dire financial straits.

A bigger problem would be their seemingly endless supply of action adventure flops (Clock Tower 3, Chaos Legion, Dino Crisis 3, Devil May Cry 2, P.N. 03, Monster Hunter, RE Survivor/Dino Stalker series), not to mention games like Auto Modellista and Onimusha Blade Warriors. Those cost a lot of money to develop.

The company really needs to trim down its lineup and ensure higher quality. It's also important that the developers care about what they're making (assigning different teams to high-profile sequels can backfire).
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The problem I have with Capcom's stance on this is that if the following is true
The word exclusive is usually never defined as more than 6 months. Sony sees it this way. Microsoft sees it this way. And so does Nintendo.
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Then why isn't Sony and/or Capcom letting people have games like Devil May Cry, Onimusha, Maximo, Okami, etc. If exclusive is only for 6 months and that is what Sony also believes, why are these games that have been out for much longer than 6 months still only available on the PS2?
 
Mai Valentine said:
A few things I wanted to mention...

1. For the last two years a majority of Capcom's software has come out on PS2...So if they are in financial trouble it can't squarely be blamed on the GC.

2. By their logic, maybe they should just go the way of EA and put their stuff on every platform possible to take in the most sales to get the company back on track financially.

There were also some good points made on another GF topic
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=12912&topic=17277604

Namely


The problem I have with Capcom's stance on this is that if the following is true


Then why isn't Sony and/or Capcom letting people have games like Devil May Cry, Onimusha, Maximo, Okami, etc. If exclusive is only for 6 months and that is what Sony also believes, why are these games that have been out for much longer than 6 months still only available on the PS2?
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right...and generally speaking... platformers sell well on the Gamecube.

You know... Automodellista wasn't a bad game.... but they need to make things beyond mediocre.
I want to own automodellista.

I was REALLY excited about PN03.... but when I got to play it.... man it just wasn't cracked up to be what it was. You know.. they had the right direction. It was a killer idea, I think they needed to spend more time on it and refine it. PN 03 could have been killer.

†B†V† :hat
 
Ya, it seems like they're in direct contradiction with themselves. I respect them for having stuck it out with the GC for as long as they did, and wish more companies would do the same, but if they're gonna release so called GC "exclusives" on other consoles 6 months later, the same should apply to PS2 "exclusives" coming to the GC.

They still did show a lot more Nintendo support than a lot of other companies though, so I can't fault them too much.
 
stealth toilet said:
Ya, it seems like they're in direct contradiction with themselves. I respect them for having stuck it out with the GC for as long as they did, and wish more companies would do the same, but if they're gonna release so called GC "exclusives" on other consoles 6 months later, the same should apply to PS2 "exclusives" coming to the GC.

They still did show a lot more Nintendo support than a lot of other companies though, so I can't fault them too much.
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I agree with you there.

But like Mai said...  Its hard to go by that when they blame the cube for losing them money.

Lets ask them how many REs outbreak sold on the PS2 compared with the Res's (not counting, 2,3, and CV) remakes and originals made on the Gamecube.  You'll see they sold better than Outbreak (at least the last numbers I saw).

so in a way, they are in direct conflict there.

Also, Viewtiful Joe..... sold WELL on the Gamecube.  Yet they ported that to the ps2.... and gave the Ps2 extras and fixed the bugs they left in the Cube version.

†B†V† :hat
 
Well this is what someone on IGN said.
Where are you all getting your misinformation from? (not from Capcom's fiscal, or quarterly meetings that's for sure) REmake surpassed Capcom's initial sales projections, & RE:0 underperformed by 200k iirc. (according to their fiscal year predictions) They still have easily supported the PS2 with the bulk of their development time, expenditures, & exclusive titles which is where they got burned at in actuality. Commercially both Onimusha's 2 & 3 severely underperformed, RE:Outbreak, DMC2, Maximo 2, etc. (according to Capcom's projections) It looks as if the PS2's VJ & Under the Skin are well on that track as well. Not to mention Capcom's decision to make titles like Mega Man: X8 exclusive to the PS2, when the compilation & Megaman X are currently selling slightly better upon the GC.

Whether it's due to Capcom expecting too much because of the PS2's enormous userbase, or them simply over inflating projections, their major blockbuster titles have done increasingly worse as time has progressed upon the PS2. RE4's R&D budget alone probably raised bigwig eyebrows. Even if their sales projection number was only 1.8 million units on the GC ww. (REmake is currently at 1.3, & RE:0 1.2 last I checked months ago) So they were in trouble well before this, remember their real estate fiasco last year? No. This was done solely to maximize profit.
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No one has gotten any numbers, though.

You know what other argument is irritating? That Resident Evil is going back to where it started, so that's good. If that's the case...how come we haven't gotten back (true) Final Fantasy, Ninja Gaiden, Metal Gear, or any of the numerous franchises which started on the NES or SNES? See, if Square Enix decided to put the main FF series back on a Nintendo system, PS2 fans would be complaining and conveniently forgetting that the first Final Fantasy appeared on the NES, so FF would be "going back where it started."
 
Well, all i'm saying is that RE4 should be on the PS2 as well. It's good for the fans and it's good for Capcom. I have no problem with it.

Although I do agree that PS2 games like DMC and Maximo should be shared too. Capcom may as well go multi-platform.

And yes, for the love of all that is good in the world, stop with the Megaman X59434000000 games  >:(
 
Retro Hero said:
Well, all i'm saying is that RE4 should be on the PS2 as well. It's good for the fans and it's good for Capcom. I have no problem with it.

Although I do agree that PS2 games like DMC and Maximo should be shared too. Capcom may as well go multi-platform.

And yes, for the love of all that is good in the world, stop with the Megaman X59434000000 games  >:(
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I will agree with this... at least we get the RE4.

I would like to see DMC on the Gamecube.. along with the other games.

and to your last comment retro.... I must :lol :lol :lol

Mai you are right... if Final Fantasy 7-12 were immediately on the Gamecube.. I am sure you would see some angry fans as well.

Maybe Capcom bit off more than they can chew and are trying to cover their butts?

†B†V† :hat
 
Retro Hero said:
Well, all i'm saying is that RE4 should be on the PS2 as well. It's good for the fans and it's good for Capcom. I have no problem with it.
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I don't, either. The more money Capcom makes, the better the chances that they will keep supporting the Gamecube with awesome games.

However, I just think they shouldn't have been so adamant that RE4 was going to be GC exclusive.

If I had been Capcom I would have made a statement along the lines of

I would say that it is quite possible that RE4 could be ported to the PS2. At this time, however, there are no plans since it is a Gamecube exclusive. But if it comes down to it and we need to port it to PS2, we may just have to do it. There are no guarantees that this game will only be for Gamecube.
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I'm sure a lot of fans would have been pissed off either way, but I would rather have known that there was a possibility from the beginning than to find out so suddenly.
 
so, will they ever release these other games for the Gamcube?

I doubt it.

they don't like the profit idea of taking a ps2 and putting it on the cube.

BV :hat
 
Well, Sony's support is probably just more important than Nintendo's. I mean, if Nintendo told Capcom they weren't interested in any game development for their system, that probably wouldn't hit Capcom too hard. If Sony wouldn't let them develop for the PS2, that's a lot of unsold copies...
 
stealth toilet said:
Well, Sony's support is probably just more important than Nintendo's. I mean, if Nintendo told Capcom they weren't interested in any game development for their system, that probably wouldn't hit Capcom too hard. If Sony wouldn't let them develop for the PS2, that's a lot of unsold copies...
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maybe Sony is threatening just that?

"if RE 4 is not on the PS2, we will not allow you to create games for the Ps2."

personally.. that sucks :) But its business.

Then again.. IF Capcom is going on the money argument.... they better start posting more games to the Gamecube.

†B†V† :hat
 
Nephlabobo said:
No - I don't think Sony would be that stupid. That's just your anti-Sony blinkers kicking in.

Sony didn't do this - it was the shareholders. I said it in the PS2 thread and I'll say it here.

It was the *shareholders* who pushed for this because Capcom wasn't making enough money to satisfy them.

The fact that Capcom mentioned them in the press release is a dead giveaway. How often do you see shareholders mentioned in a press release about games?
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wasn't it Sony that paid millions to keep Gran Turismo Sony Exclusive?  :D

yup. 

Shareholders can be mentioned because they are the "controllers" of the corp so-to-speak.  BUT.... who are the share-holders?  ok.... who are the majority shareholders?  IE to make a company decision AMONG shareholders.. you really only need 51% of the stock shares to make the decision for where the corp is to head.

IE if I own 51% of Microsoft's shares, my decisions in the company is the most influential and important... 49% could be totally against my decisions.. BUT since I am the 51% owner... my decision is the final... so-to-speak.
SO the majority could be 3 people... and the minority could be hundreds of thousands of people.  So, it is good to knwo who the shareholders are... and if the majority rule is actually the minority opinion in the company.

†B†V† :hat
 
Nephlabobo said:
Sony *paid* to keep GT exclusive. They didn't *threaten*. Or are you saying they did?

The majority shareholders are likely businessmen who have little or nothing to do with the development process besides giving the "ok" stamp to a new game to be developed.

I'm not exactly sure what your point is about the shareholders is. The majority shareholders likely make up a board of some sort. You're right that their decisions possibly don't reflect the majority of the company...but what does that have to do with anything?  Just because a decision is unpopular, it doesn't mean it won't happen - the Iraq war is a perfect example of that.

As for what it has to do with Sony - nothing.
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no.. the board makes sure the shareholders get their rights and that the actual operations the shareholders "vote" on happens.

your right.. this has nothing to do with sony.. but everything to do with Capcom. Its not necessarily a cash decision... is the point. Its just the shareholders dropping the ball.

Sony didn't threaten with the Gran Turismo incident.. they were basically kissing up to keep GT exclusive.

we'll never know if Sony ever threatens.. but in big industries.. it happens.... and I am sure it happens with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo alike.


†B†V† :hat
 
Nephlabobo said:
It may happen - but this doesn't appear to be a case where it has happened.

I wouldn't say the shareholders are dropping the ball...they're being greedy.

I guess if it's true that a big swarm of employees are leaving then they are because it will hurt the company in the long run.

Sony kissed up to keep GT exclusive and Nintendo kissed up to keep RE exclusive.

I think if GT were on the GC, the same thing would have happened. This is about generating more money.
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right.... and wouldn't you be a little upset if you kissed up... were told you were getting something exclusive... and then didn't? Nintendo didn't give outright cash, but they did do a lot of advertising..etc.. for Capcom.

Sony... they only paid to keep GT.. but they were never promised anything until that cash was given.

I think the shareholders made a bad mistake this time... and its a perfect example of corporate greed. But hey... money makes the world go round, eh?

†B†V† :hat
 
I think Neph's point was that he never said Microsoft "bribed" or "threatened" Rockstar into porting over the GTA series, like you're doing with the RE4 series. He's saying that this kind of stuff happens all the time, and there's no foul play with Sony involved.
 
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