Capcom is broke and dying

[htimreimer]

sad, sad news, capcom is dying

[denniedarko]

It would really suck if they shut down. Their on disc dlc practices are incredibly lame and stupid, but I have liked their past few games. I loved DmC, (my GotY still so far), though I understand why fans didn't, but hearing fans say things like "we'd rather not have another Devil May Cry then a sequel to DmC, just let the series die," is petty on their part.

And Resident Evil 6. Man, I really don't get the hate this game gets, even as a Resident Evil game. I am a fan of the series, (2 being my favorite), and have enjoyed all the games, (except 5, which was awful), and I love Resident Evil 6. It was is an awesome game. 4 campaigns, better partner AI, awesome graphics. This one is leaps and bounds better than 5 in every single way, (except maybe graphics, 5 looks better to me for some reason), yet fans hate on it left and right while saying 5 is good. I don't get that at all. I paid full price for RE6 and don't regret it at all. Just think of what Capcom could have done with this game, as in charge you 4 times for each campaign.

Though some of their things I don't agree with, (just sit on Megaman and do nothing?), I still think they make solid games and it is going to suck if they go under.

[burningdoom]

Wow, they aren't some 2nd rate company, either. They were tops dogs in the third-party companies.

[haloofthesun]

If they go under it's their own fault. Overblown budgets, poor DLC practices, many digital-only games, etc. They don't seem to get it either. The solution to their money problems was officially announced to be even more DLC. Goodbye Capcom.

[burningdoom]

Guess I better get my copies of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Super Street Fighter IV that I've been putting off, before they become collector's items.

[redblaze57]

It would really suck if they shut down. Their on disc dlc practices are incredibly lame and stupid, but I have liked their past few games. I loved DmC, (my GotY still so far), though I understand why fans didn't, but hearing fans say things like "we'd rather not have another Devil May Cry then a sequel to DmC, just let the series die," is petty on their part.

Personally I understand why they say that. Devil May cry has been one of my favorite series and one of the main reasons I got a PS2 and one of the few series I've actually got into more than just the games I've read the Light Novels and Manga(shame it was never finished) also the Anime. So knowing things such as...well let's just say there is a reason why Ebony & Ivory say "For Tony Redgrave By .45 Art Warks" on their sides.

I could go on about this one but in a nutshell for me
-Gave it to a Studio that I personally hate and believe had no business being apart
-constant freezing (froze from just trying to get used to the Aerial dash)
-completely changed characters to the point where the names are the only this that are the same(not even talking about appearance)

Just had to get that off my chest. I'm just also tried of hearing "they made his hair turn white so you should happy"

[sin2beta]

That doesn't make a lot of sense. Didn't they just get like $4 million for a small development team Mega Man sequel?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mightyno9/mighty-no-9

 

Sadly that would have just been a drop in the bucket. Although it would be a whole number percent, which is nothing to ignore.

[htimreimer]

That doesn't make a lot of sense. Didn't they just get like $4 million for a small development team Mega Man sequel?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mightyno9/mighty-no-9

 

Sadly that would have just been a drop in the bucket. Although it would be a whole number percent, which is nothing to ignore.

mighty no 9 is being made by comcept usa, a subsidiary of comcept , capcom has no part in the making of it

[sin2beta]

That doesn't make a lot of sense. Didn't they just get like $4 million for a small development team Mega Man sequel?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mightyno9/mighty-no-9

 

Sadly that would have just been a drop in the bucket. Although it would be a whole number percent, which is nothing to ignore.

mighty no 9 is being made by comcept usa, a subsidiary of comcept , capcom has no part in the making of it

That's the point of the tongue sticking out. It's more a jab at Capcom for how they've treated Mega Man and Inafune.

EDIT: Capcom has a big part in making Mighty Number 9 in that it is pissed off Capcom employees making, for all intents and purposes, a Capcom game.

[sin2beta]

Although, I guess I should put something more constructive down rather than just make fun of Capcom. There is a LOT to the changing landscape of the console game market. Capcom has been fairly prolific and big budget. I think this hurt them. Console games made a lot of sense back in the day. They did not cost much (in comparison) to develop. All you had to do was pay a licensing fee and you had a decent shot at getting fat off the spoils. Games are cheaper now than they were in the 90s. They cost a hell of a lot more to make. Moreover, I'm not sure, but I don't see licensing fees changing much.

Sega-Addicts (good site. Cool people write there. wink wink nudge nudge  ) recently reported that Sega was undergoing layoffs. From what I've seen. I would not be surprised if this is due to losing staff on the console side rather than dwindling profits. Sega has been doing fairly well in profits. They've also announced moving to PC development. I imagine Sega is keeping Sonic on Wii and Yakuza on PS4. The fanbases make sense. But once Yakuza is done. Sonic may be the only console exclusive. They've shifted to PC. It is much more stable and cheap. You can be very profitable. Former Sega-Addict and friend of the show Jim Sterling talks on this in his Payday 2 video (You know, I totally linked the wrong video. Well, here is one that is better than the original one I tried to put).

The liquid capital that Capcom has is approximately the same as what Sega purchased ATLUS's parent company for. Now these are not one-to-one comparisons. Still, those numbers are alarming. I think anyone on the street would think Capcom is doing infinitely better than SEGA... I'm not sure.

This might be the last console generation with physical media. For more reasons than one.

[insektmute]

Much as I really hope Capcom weathers the storm, they've really made a lot of blisteringly stupid mistakes. Even putting aside all the DLC stuff, they've lost way too many people like Hideki Kamiya, Shinji Mikami, Keiji Inafune, and Atsushi Inaba, continuously downplayed (I've even say sabotaged) the properties that made them successful, and failed to invest in enough internally-developed new IP.

They're too big to die a true death, so if it does come to them going under, someone else will likely pick them up, but by then, the magic will have gone completely. Even under tumultuous circumstances, a company's internal culture has a big impact on what's created there, for better or worse. If they'd had a bit more foresight, they'd have worked to establish smaller, more agile development teams, which is more or less how the old Production Studio units were oriented.

Their greatest failing is in listening to journalists, pundits, and Western executives, all of whom kept insisting that games MUST have massive marketing budgets and huge development teams if they're to find a place in the market, and they MUST cater to Western tastes in order to succeed. They opted to address that by farming everything out to work-for-hire developers and outsourcing agencies, stopped listening to internal developers, and leveraged it all against completely overblown sales expectations.

A quote from way back in the GC/PS2 era says it well:
"First off, the breaking of exclusivity in this case was not because of user demand, but a plan to boost the stock price, as some already understood, but it seems like there has been confrontation between the developers and the management who are following shareholders' instructions. Capcom nowadays is different to when Okamoto worked there, the development team's voice seems weaker than before. It also looks like a lot of skilled staff will leave the company after the GC version of 4 is finished. But the people behind this rebellion are the developers, and they ask that you don't blame Mikami or Kobayashi."

[teck]

I truly hope Capcom pulls through, but this really NEEDS to be taken as a learning exercise for them....  If they don't learn some lessons from it then they are just doomed to repeat it anyways....  I love nearly every game they've ever made to be honest, but they don't treat their customers right with their policies and from articles I've read it seems like there is a bit of mismanagement going on....  Though I hear more about terrible mismanagement from companies like Square Enix....  Who knows how they are still in business....

[haloofthesun]

Though I hear more about terrible mismanagement from companies like Square Enix....  Who knows how they are still in business....

If they continue like they have been (which they will) they won't be in business for much longer. They've decided to almost entirely forgo their handheld fanbase (more in the West than Japan, admittedly) in favor of iOS games and are pouring an insane amount of their budgets into amazing graphics, but shallow story and gameplay, which has turned into just a constant bleed of profits. Shoving Final Fantasy XIII down everyone's throats certainly hasn't helped. Their recent announcement of porting Final Fantasy VI to iOS and once again leaving out their loyal handheld customers solidifies this. If they don't change something soon, they'll go under due to the constant loss of money.

[Jakandsig]

Though I hear more about terrible mismanagement from companies like Square Enix....  Who knows how they are still in business....

If they continue like they have been (which they will) they won't be in business for much longer. They've decided to almost entirely forgo their handheld fanbase (more in the West than Japan, admittedly) in favor of iOS games and are pouring an insane amount of their budgets into amazing graphics, but shallow story and gameplay, which has turned into just a constant bleed of profits. Shoving Final Fantasy XIII down everyone's throats certainly hasn't helped. Their recent announcement of porting Final Fantasy VI to iOS and once again leaving out their loyal handheld customers solidifies this. If they don't change something soon, they'll go under due to the constant loss of money.

This is a mixed post. Ios has been far more profitable for Final Fantasy than Handhelds have been in recent days.


Why? Because they are to big. In order to manage both sides with companies like Taito, Crystal Dynamics, etc. they have to make double what they were making before. Most of the money that came to Square Enix this gen was from Eidos. At the same time, Square can't afford to pay everyone, manage all these companies, and distribute games WW without a huge loss. Especially since there best selling games are from Eidos, who has higher budget games, then most of their own in japan.  So Square WILL inevitably be screwed.

CAPCOM on the other hand is a different issues. CAPCOM can't keep up with modern budgets. They have few franchises that bring the, money, and taking a risk like reviving old franchises with AAA budgets is too high of a risk, especially if the fanbase is not there. I know certain fans of series like say, Megaman, are upset (and wrongfully acting like Inafune was not the reason for the profit downfall of the series) and I understand that but there is no way that would work. It's why Capcom is moving to IOS and handhelds slowly.

CAPCOM won't be bringing us SFV or other entries in other series outside of RE for awhile. Capcom has not had enough money since 2003 to bring big budget titles because they don't have enough money to Market, distribute, and ship WW their games among other issues.  Resident Evil 6 BARELY made back the budget price, I believe with that multi-million budget game they got back $6000 in profits! Of course they have no money.

A  solution would be them to focus more on XBL arcade and remakes, and also IOS/3DS/PSvita.  Sure it will change Capcoms game strategy but they will at least be alive. Capcom has a chance to be saved. Square Enix however. is inevitably screwed. They will implode but they may survive it.

[haloofthesun]

Though I hear more about terrible mismanagement from companies like Square Enix....  Who knows how they are still in business....

If they continue like they have been (which they will) they won't be in business for much longer. They've decided to almost entirely forgo their handheld fanbase (more in the West than Japan, admittedly) in favor of iOS games and are pouring an insane amount of their budgets into amazing graphics, but shallow story and gameplay, which has turned into just a constant bleed of profits. Shoving Final Fantasy XIII down everyone's throats certainly hasn't helped. Their recent announcement of porting Final Fantasy VI to iOS and once again leaving out their loyal handheld customers solidifies this. If they don't change something soon, they'll go under due to the constant loss of money.

This is a mixed post. Ios has been far more profitable for Final Fantasy than Handhelds have been in recent days.


Why? Because they are to big. In order to manage both sides with companies like Taito, Crystal Dynamics, etc. they have to make double what they were making before. Most of the money that came to Square Enix this gen was from Eidos. At the same time, Square can't afford to pay everyone, manage all these companies, and distribute games WW without a huge loss. Especially since there best selling games are from Eidos, who has higher budget games, then most of their own in japan.  So Square WILL inevitably be screwed.

It's true, iOS is the safest route. But it's more of a short-term solution than a long-term one. Really it's just kind of keeping them afloat. Or more accurately, it's just slowing down the bleeding out process. SE's core fanbase doesn't care about iOS games and, while probably not a majority, it's estimated that most people that purchase their Final Fantasy iOS games only play them casually and aren't really big fans. This in turn keeps them from purchasing the incredibly vast amount of addon content released to try and nickel and dime the customer, but even still it's about the only thing they have going for them.

But it's also tarnishing their already poor reputation because they're viewed as a company that makes shallow casual games for quick money. Their iOS ports of well-liked games generally aren't very well received, either. Final Fantasy V, while not being the most popular in the series, is generally disliked largely due to the fact that it actually looks worse in many cases than in the original version, even though it's advertised as being enhanced.

Though maybe I'm overestimating the number of people that actually hate this route they're going. It might just be a case of a vocal minority complaining. In any case, they seem to be utterly screwed and either don't know or are unwilling to adapt.

However, many of the significant people that worked at Square are long gone anyway and have moved on to other things (most notably Monolith Soft), much like how Capcom isn't really what it used to be because so many of the developers have left, so it's not a huge deal. If either of these companies were to go under, their IPs would live on. I imagine Nintendo would acquire at least a couple of Capcom's, meaning people may actually get the Mega Man games they've been demanding for years.