andriasang
about 2009 performance
western developed titles
about 2010 big games
Monster Hunter Frontier for Xbox 360
Mega Man Online
Resident Evil
3DS
about 2009 performance
Tsujimoto described 2009 as a year where Capcom was aided greatly by series titles. Most notable among these was Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Monster Hunter Freedom Unite overseas), whose budget version sold one million units over the fiscal year. Tsujimoto attributes such long-term success as indicative of Capcom's game-making practices being received favorably by gamers. He also believes the efforts of Capcom's business divisions in creating "sales spaces" at retail helped out greatly.
Other titles mentioned by Tsujimoto as strong performers for 2009 were Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition. The former saw continued repeat orders he said.
Newcomer titles didn't fare so well, and this became a major topic for Capcom, said Tsujimoto. Titles like Dark Void and Bionic Commando that were developed in partnership with overseas studios failed to reach their initially planned sales targets.
western developed titles
Capcom isn't pulling the plug on overseas tie-ups, though. In fact, Tsujimoto feels that working with overseas developers is essential. However they'll be doing things a bit differently. Previously, external developers would develop game designs that they themselves made. From here on out, Capcom will make use of their old IPs and develop games in a number of countries while having the Japanese side take the lead. Tsujimoto feels that rather than just leaving the projects up to the overseas developers, it's important for Capcom's development staff to become deeply involved.
about 2010 big games
Capcom's highest hopes for 2010 are with sequels, though. For Japan, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is the big attraction. For overseas markets, Dead Rising 2 is the big game.
Monster Hunter Frontier for Xbox 360
Xbox 360 will get the first HD Monster Hunter through a version of the PC online title Monster Hunter Frontier. Asked about a possible worldwide release for the game, Tsujimoto said that if Capcom can clear some of the difficulties associated with a worldwide release, such a release would be possible. However, because the development staff is in Japan, they must first make the game compatible with the Japanese Xbox 360 and investigate such things as different user trends from PC users, infrastructure problems, and service issues.
Mega Man Online
Outside of Monster Hunter, there's one big online title from Capcom that has recently been making headlines: Mega Man. As detailed in Capcom's earnings report last month, Korea's Neowiz is developing an online Mega Man game for Capcom (a more formal announcement was made last week, although this was after Nikkei's interview with Tsujimoto). Tsujimoto explained that the project started off with Neowiz expressing the desire to make an online Mega Man game and presenting Capcom with an idea. Capcom's side felt that the idea would result in an interesting game.
The online Mega Man game will be released first in Korea, but Tsujimoto feels that it will be essential to at some point think about bringing it over to Taiwan and China. Also, because there are lots of Mega Man fans in Japan, he believes it will be possible for the game to see a Japanese release if it is determined that the resulting game is something that would be accepted by Japanese gamers.
Resident Evil
The other example involves Resident Evil. Said Tsujimoto, "The 3D movie Resident Evil IV Afterlife starring Milla Jovovich is scheduled to hit theaters on September 10. Timed with the movie's release, we'd like to do something to heat up the game series."
3DS
For 3DS, Tsujimoto feels the 3D technology is just one element of the system. Said Tsujimoto, "Of course, it allows us to do things that couldn't be done until now, so the development staff is showing great interest, but what's important is how much the users themselves want 3D content. What we're more looking forward to is the offering of a new business model. Nintendo has been in the hardware business for a long time, and I believe they must be looking closely at Apple's recent success. We third parties are paying attention to Nintendo's E3 3DS announcement because of this point as well."