The Financial Downward Spiral of Capcom (And How It Can Still Be Saved) [Part 1 of 2]

So Capcom has a mere 152 million in the bank. Is 152 million a lot of money? Of course it is, until you realize that there are movies that cost more, there are modern-games with $50 million invested, and until you realize that those millions applies to the entire company. And with a new generation of gaming literally around the corner and rising costs guaranteed, Capcom is in deep, deep trouble.


But before you feel bad for the Japanese company and its struggling ability to stay relevant (Similar to Square Enix) in these dark times, let’s bring this one major point up:


Capcom brought this upon themselves.



And here are the backwards steps Capcom took (not in any order) leading to their dire situation:


1) Breath of Fire VI Disaster

Instead of working on a legit Breath of Fire game, a deeply appreciated franchise in the RPG community, Capcom takes the stupid route and makes the sixth installment an android-only game. So instead of taking a multi-million selling franchise and giving it a next-generation uplift or even make a handheld installment they make it a phone game. Way to crap on a classic 90s franchise.




2) Mega Man Disaster

They cancelled the last FOUR Mega Man games, even though this was the franchise that essentially put the company on the gaming map in the first place. This was similar to what would happen if the next 3-D Mario game was abruptly cancelled altogether without explanation. Mega Man 9 and 10 were good hits on the online marketplaces within the three systems. So instead of a Mega Man Legends 3 for the 3DS, instead of Mega Man 11 for the next-gen systems, instead of a Mega Man X9, we have----nothing. Its pretty much the death of Mega Man as we know it. No wonder the original staff from the previous Mega Man games took off running....


3) Resident Evil Disaster

Resident Evil used to be the peak of survival horror. But recently the franchise went in a totally different direction and tried becoming another Uncharted or God of War leading to disappointing results. Capcom has yet to learn that we want a horror game, not an action game with lots of monsters. And even with that, the games pale in comparison to games of similar structure. Stop trying to become Halo and be more like your old-school Resident Evil games.Resident Evil's recent-depleting numbers should tell you that message.


4) Nintendo/Capcom

Remember when Capcom promised Nintendo 5 exclusive games on the Gamecube and it turns out that each of these games (that succeeded) went to the PS2? Remember when the Mega Man brand was dying and Capcom asked Nintendo to put the blue bomber in Smash Brothers Brawl and Nintendo (of course) turned them down? Hey want to know what happened to Brawl? Became the best-selling fighting game of all-time, toppling every Street Fighter game in the process. Who has the last laugh there? Capcom’s backstabbing of Nintendo was a major blow and a total contrast to what happened to Sega when they partnered with Nintendo and got some life after losing their ability to make hardware. I am sure Capcom could have used Nintendo's 100 million Wiis userbase between the years 2006-2011 when the Wii was at its peak.


5) Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Hey remember that Marvel fighting game missing Rogue, Loki, Gambit, Mega Man, Venom, Silver Samurai among dozens of others? How on earth did Marvel vs. Capcom 2, a game older by a decade, have twice as many characters? And then re-releasing the game with an Ultimate edition the very same year was a low disgusting blow. Just to rub this in, here’s a nice tally: Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2.27 million) Smash Brothers Brawl (11.79 million).


6) Street Fighter IV Super Mega Ultimate Turbo Hyper Alpha Marathon Pickles

The tiring amount of variations of the Street Fighter games used to be fun to witness on the SNES/Genesis days, but nowadays with the economy and rising costs of being a gamer, its very stupid to witness. What has held off the sales of fighting games and most Capcom games nowadays is knowing that there is a superior version around the corner waiting to come out. We gamers are far more informed than we used to be, and that sort of nonsense just won’t be tolerated. You think GTA V would have made one billion in sales in three days if Rockstar adopted Capcom’s technique in releasing games?


7) Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

The one fighting game that surprised many was the Wii’s Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, by making 25 million with minimal hype or fanfare. And this goes back with the strained and bizarre Nintendo/Capcom relationship, which didn’t allow this franchise to flourish for some odd reason. This was the one surprise-hit franchise in Capcom’s watch in the past half-decade and yet nothing was done to enhance the momentum—no sequel, no multi-platform release, no porting to the 3DS, nothing……why?


8) The DRM/DLC Disaster

This one takes the cake. Capcom’s treatment of these two subjects is the main reason for its downfall. There was the Resident Evil 3DS controversy, which disallowed for gamers to erase any save data, destroying its chances for re-sale. It was a low move that resulted in terrible sales for a game released in a handheld that is outselling all other systems by a substantial amount. This was the first attempt at a DRM-style change in gaming as game companies across the planet have started combating Gamestop and all the small resale markets that sell old games.


Then the DLC mayhem. If you sell DLC content that’s fine. But when the DLC content is within the video game itself, it causes problems because it leads the gamer to believing that they are paying full price for a game they don’t have full access to. This resulted in games like Street Fighter X Tekken, Resident Evil 6, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 getting hacked and revealed to be games with the DLC attached and forcing you to pay extra to unlock. Utter nonsense. If you think gamers don’t rebel against this I have a story for you Capcom: you are down to less than $150 million right now. Time will tell how much farther you are going to fall.


So with all this, can they be saved? Of course, stay tuned for the YouTube video that will be my Part 2 to this massive article about the issue of Capcom’s slow death. It will be released next Monday. 




But until then Capcom read these words: Stop Your Nonsense.

The Eighth Generation 9/21/13: How Nintendo's Franchises Can Earn Ninten...

How Wind Waker Might Become Zelda's Batman Begins

So the similarities between what has been happening with the Zelda franchise upon hitting 3-D and what happened with the Burton Batman saga are far bigger than you may assume.

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Ocarina of Time was a huge hit, the biggest hit of the four and was the highest-acclaimed. It set the bar for blockbuster video games everywhere because of its size, scope, and sheer domination of the gaming world for a good period of time.

Batman 1989 set the bar for blockbusters because of the heavy merchandise tie-ins, massive opening weekend that set the record at the time, and pretty much establishing the Batman franchise and in what direction it was heading.
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Majora’s Mask is the darkest of the Zelda games since Ocarina of Time (and I can take it a bit farther by saying it’s arguably the darkest Nintendo game ever made) and by far the most unique. The doom-and-gloom tone and pacing of the game turned off some gamers, while establishing a cult audience that have since demanded a re-release of this gem.

Batman Returns also established a cult audience while receiving backlash for being far too dark. It felt in place with the franchise but felt out of place for trying too hard to be gloomy. The result is good money, but demand for a change.

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The Wind Waker is the animated Zelda game in the group that was still dark, still serious, still adventurous, but despite looking very different still felt like it had the Zelda touch. Despite the final tedious sequence, it was a heck of a good game and one of the best in the Gamecube era.

Pretty sure none of you saw this gem, but Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is a spectacular animated film that follows the Batman mythos to a T even though it was never met the success, acclaim, and praise it deserved.

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Twilight Princess was a return to form in the Zelda franchise by looking like Ocarina of Time with a subplot twist of becoming a wolf. Gamers and critics accept the changes and the niches and view it as arguably the best Zelda since Ocarina of Time (Even though in my opinion Majora’s Mask remains the best video game of the new millennium). However, something didn’t stick, something was lacking as the competition was beginning to catch up to the Zelda quality.

Batman Forever was a massive success that was met with minimal critical praise but the moviegoers loved every moment as it became the second biggest American movie of 1995---trailing only Toy Story. Despite the great performances, the better tone, and plenty of action, something wasn’t really clicking, and a downward spiral was inevitable.

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Skyward Sword is a Zelda game that was quickly forgotten, quickly moved aside, and did not have the outstanding or lasting appeal of your typical Zelda games. While critics seemingly loved it, the game did not feel Zelda, did not feel complete, and the overall experience was sorely lacking. It barely outsold Majora’s Mask while not even coming close to the sales of Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and especially Ocarina of Time. Couldn’t even outsell Link’s Awakening or Zelda II.



We all know what happened to Batman and Robin. Let’s move on.




Now I bring this parallel to this article because it appears that Nintendo is attempting to restart the Zelda franchise, similar to how Batman Begins started the mythos from scratch. Wind Waker is most definitely not the signature Zelda title, but the most accessible. So could it be that Nintendo is priming Wind Waker to become the rebirth of Zelda? The relaunch? The reboot?

Hear me out. This isn’t just going to be a release, it’s actually going to be packaged with most/almost all WiiU purchases starting in late September. Wind Waker is being treated like Mario Bros. and Mario World, Nintendo’s pick to become your first gaming experience with the new system. Wind Waker is being primed to cater to a new audience as well as appeal to the hardcore that (according to Nintendo) saw the Gamecube gem as the last truly great hardcore Zelda title.

I theorize that the future Zelda installments are going to run with the Wind Waker look and feel as opposed to the Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask tone. After all, the lighter Zelda saw good success on the Gamecube and also on the DS with Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. And if you read some of the interviews, there are hints that the producers want to continue reverting back to what made Wind Waker good when planning their next epic Zelda game.

I firmly believe that Wind Waker isn’t just a way for the WiiU to get back in the game, this is Nintendo acknowledging the disappointment of Skyward Sword and a desire to go back to basics, and a desire to reboot the franchise to a new audience while obtaining whatever scrambling fans are left.


Just like Batman Begins.



And if Zelda down the road can go the route of the Nolan Batman Trilogy, the gaming industry will definitely not complain.

The Eighth Generation 9/6/13: The Inexcuasble Shunning of American Gamer...

Microsoft's Strange Neglection of American Gamers

This one really baffles me, it really does.




Microsoft is reaching out to the United Kingdom market by offering them a choice between FIFA or Forza 5 when they preorder the Xbox One for the first day. Originally there was some confusion (that Microsoft didn’t clarify) that this was applying to gamers worldwide, not just the British. And the other confusion (Which Microsoft was also late in clarifying) is that it applied to ALL pre-orders when in actuality it applies only to day one pre-orders. Good going Microsoft PR team. Nonetheless, after several weeks and potential pre-orders with the thought of getting a game included at launch, Microsoft cleared the air by stating this was only for the U.K. region.




And now they have offered Forza 5 to U.K. gamers.


As for the Americans…well…nothing yet…if anything happens at all.............



And this my friends is why Microsoft can never quite ever have a chance to seize first place. Why on earth are you punishing the one region that has best supported you all these years?


Between the Xbox and the Xbox 360, 103 million consoles have been sold. Amongst the 103 million, 60.24 million have been sold in North America. In case you don’t want to do the math, it is 58% of all Microsoft consoles sold have been sold in the Americas. Only 30% belong to Europe. Now I know that Sony quite frankly owns the entire European and Japanese market in recent years and Microsoft wants to gain the upper edge somehow.

But why are they punishing American gamers? Why are they being shafted by not getting a free game? It is not like Europe, Japan, or Australia is the biggest gaming market now---this title still belongs to America and its neighbors. In the United States nowadays, video games make far more money than television, music, and movies. Every single winning console in each generation had control of the American market. The Sega Genesis outsold the Super Nintendo in European, South American, and Oceanic market. Guess which one between Sega and Nintendo isn’t making consoles anymore.

And guess what, the PS4 isn’t launching with a video game in the United States either, but gains the upper hand by being $100 cheaper, including its version of a camera, and promising potential backwards-compatibility---just like the Xbox One. So wouldn’t it make sense to make this offer to American gamers as well as European gamers? Wouldn’t it have made sense to announce in E3 or shortly after that you are bundling the Xbox One with Forza 5 (potentially the best-looking launch game between the two major systems) or Madden (Which would come with that stupid NFL feature that Microsoft is so proud of)? Wouldn’t it make sense to continue the momentum of outselling Sony by 15 million copies on the biggest gaming section in the world?

It is insulting and absolutely stupid to make the offer for free games to only one or two smaller regions, and exclude the one major region that requires conquering to win the war. Fun Fact: Every console and handheld that wins Japan and the United States wins the whole darn thing, and usually by a good amount. The Wii overall outsold the PS3 and the Xbox 360 in all of North America and this is after giving up the battling three years early partially thanks to an awesome but forgotten 2010 campaign (Bit.Trip.Runner, Cave Story, Mega Man 10, No More Heroes 2, NBA Jam, Red Steel 2, Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions, Super Mario All-Stars, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Fragile Dreams, Goldeneye 007, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Tatsunoko vs Capcom, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Monster Hunter Tri).


Microsoft, reward the one country that saved your original system, and strongly supported your sequel through all the good times and bad times. Give the Americans a chance to get a free game. And allow us to choose just like the Europeans.



Don’t leave US (see what I did there?) in the dust.



Otherwise, Sony and Nintendo wouldn’t mind claiming some of the American gamer fanbase from you.



Source:
VGChartz

How "Mega Man" Can Help Microsoft in Japan

Kenji Inafune is a video game legend that wound up leaving the company that helped jump-start his career. In simpler terms, Capcom is a horrible crappy company that is a mere fraction of what it used to be. Anyways, he needs money to fund his next game---which is a spiritual sequel to his classic Mega Man franchise.


The Xbox 360 did not sell over 600 copies of its system in Japan in its latest week. Again. Japan has not bought 2,000,000 Xbox 360s yet during the system’s entire run.


Inafune needs money. Microsoft needs Japanese support and love. I smell a potential relationship.

If Microsoft ever plans on becoming the world leader in the gaming industry, they must tackle the Japan issue. Their sales in the Far East are above and beyond pathetic. They can’t get anything going outside the United States, whom has been there for them since the very moment that Halo burst onto the scene. 57% of the Xbox 360 sales were in North America, far bigger than the PS3 and the Wii (34% and 44% respectively). Guess which one is currently in last place this generation.

Another fun piece of trivia: whichever system sell the most in Japan wins the generation—it has remained true since the NES sold nearly 20 million copies back in the 80s/90s. The SNES, PSX, PS2, and Nintendo Wii each outsold the competitors in the Asia market and ultimately became the big seller. Japan can also save systems, as the country breathed life into comatose hardware like the 3DS and especially the PSP.

Financing Inafune’s game could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and a friendship involving a legendary Japanese gaming figure. The Mega Man games were absolute hits in Japan, and seeing that the Green Machine’s 3rd model is the exclusive system holding the creator’s next invention could stir the pot and raise some curiosity.

Inafune is requesting a mere $900,000 for his game is a cakewalk for Microsoft. Halo 4 cost more than $60 million to produce and market, would a cool million honestly hurt Microsoft in exchange for a potentially good Mega Man-like game built directly from the legend himself?

If Microsoft was smart, they would put down the money, give him creative freedom that Capcom refused to offer towards the end of Inafune’s time there, and potentially get a good hit that would resonate in Japan. This will not solve all their problems in appealing to the Japanese and Oceanic audience, but it would be a giant step forward.



Mighty No. 9 needs to be made. And the Xbox One would benefit from its release more than anybody else.