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Capcom layoffs, Senior VP Christian Svensson voluntarily leaves

entremet

Member
Hey Sven, since I know you're reading this, I always thought you did the best job you could and the bulk of the criticism directed to you seemed to be a result of the fact that as an American executive for a Japanese company you were frequently caught between a rock and a hard place in terms of having to do your bosses' bidding while simultaneously being the public face for some unpopular calls. Best of luck finding a new gig.
Good point. I think Sven got a lot of flack for stuff outside his control.
 

El Sloth

Banned
This sucks. Best of luck to Sven. I always gave him the benefit of the doubt when delivering bad news since I knew it was in fact Capcom JP's doing. Only so much he could do.

I worry about what this might mean for fans of Capcom.
 
J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
S-Kill out
Sven out
Capcom to go the Konami route of "I-don't-give-a-fuck-about-feedback" confirmed.
 

Glass Rebel

Member
Best of luck to Sven and the rest of the affected. Thanks for trying to work within the restrictions set up by Capcom of Japan.

As for Capcom themselves, good luck to you as well. You'll need it in the coming generation.
 

Azure J

Member
This sucks. Best of luck to Sven. I always gave him the benefit of the doubt when delivering bad news since I knew it was in fact Capcom JP's doing. Only so much he could do.

I worry about this might mean for fans of Capcom.

Now everyone gets to feel like a Megaman fan post Legends 3-gate!

Kappa
 

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Sven got a lot of shit because he was the cardboard target angry fans could throw garbage at. But I think his later day comments started to show he was straining to tell people what they wanted to know and suggest what fans wanted done, without being able to really do shit because of the JP administration.

Much like Seth he came across in actuality as someone who understood what the grass roots level game player was concerned about. So I hope he can end up in a place where that's useful, if he still wants to deal with the shit that comes from being in such a position.
 
Capcom can now freely make their Marvel patch now. They can't be accused of lying now because the guy who answered the questions is not with them anymore.

We'll see TvC2 before you get your Marvel patch. Seeing as that new Gatchaman anime just dropped. There's your excuse. DO DAT SHIT!

And Marvel has ran it's course. Mr. G after Sunday will become the new pariah of being a fraud. Afterward, somebody will come with the final tech that makes the game settle into its place and then when the next Avengers movie drops so will Marvel 4 or vs DC. Either's fine.

The above is jokes. Except for TvC2 & Chris G. I know how much you care about the game so no shame in having hope that Capcom will maybe fix it.

But seriously, Sven was cool folks and sad to see him go. He was cool enough to let the streets know why Street Fighter EX 4 will never, ever, ever, ever, ever happen.
 

Gartooth

Member
So much for AA5 retail. Oh well, thanks for trying, Sven.

Good luck out there.

I'm not even worried about that, my fears rest solely on the matter that if AA5 doesn't meet or surpass expectations, the series life in the west will end both digital and physical. I'm sure Capcom considered skipping the game in the west entirely and they compromised on the current strategy, Sven was probably one of the biggest proponents of pushing the game's release at all.
 

Nyoro SF

Member
Sven is the biggest reason Capcom has a presence on the PC now. He pushed hard for that shit. If someone doesn't step into his place for that, PC Capcom fans are in trouble.
 

.la1n

Member
"Sadly I'm the only one affected by the reorganization"

As opposed to the better alternative of you and many others losing their jobs as well?
 

MagiusNecros

Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Capcom had a good run. It's a bad thing when the person who went out of his way to communicate with the fanbase decides to voluntarily leave.

Must have been a tough decision.
 

Omikaru

Member
Good luck in the future, Sven. I never gave you hate like others did; I knew you were just having to deal with Capcom Japan and be a public face for their stupidity.

At any rate, with Dead Rising 3 looking like complete and utter dogshit, I didn't think Capcom could suck any harder. With Sven now gone, I'm starting to doubt that...
 

GuardianE

Santa May Claus
"Sadly I'm the only one affected by the reorganization"

As opposed to the better alternative of you and many others losing their jobs as well?

...? He said he's NOT the only one. How does your statement make sense?


It's sad and hard to see how Capcom is drying out but well Capcom todays situation it's cause PSX/PS2 bolted brains Inafune, Kamiya, Mikami.

What? None of these people are with the company anymore.
 
I'm not even worried about that, my fears rest solely on the matter that if AA5 doesn't meet or surpass expectations, the series life in the west will end both digital and physical. I'm sure Capcom considered skipping the game in the west entirely and they compromised on the current strategy.

Sven is the biggest reason Capcom has a presence on the PC now. He pushed hard for that shit. If someone doesn't step into his place for that, PC Capcom fans are in trouble.

It is inevitable.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Either way, I think it's clear something had to change. There seemed to be absolutely no coordination between the US and JP branches, mostly because the JP branch appeared to have no interest in cooperating. Look at that Dungeons & Dragons collection. Capcom US and Capcom Japan hired different people to port the SAME game. Where else does that kind of nonsense happen?


I thought Sven was the best thing Capcom had going for it, honestly. He seemed to really go to bat for the fans when it came from begging for shit from Capcom Japan, and while he wasn't always successful, I appreciated his effort.
 

joe2187

Banned
Next week in capcom corporate news

Meet your new VP

tameem_antoniades_ninja_theory_1.png
 

DedValve

Banned
Hey Sven, since I know you're reading this, I always thought you did the best job you could and the bulk of the criticism directed to you seemed to be a result of the fact that as an American executive for a Japanese company you were frequently caught between a rock and a hard place in terms of having to do your bosses' bidding while simultaneously being the public face for some unpopular calls. Best of luck finding a new gig.

I used to really dislike Svensson but after a few years I figured that something like this was most likely happening. He made the best of his situation and did his best to keep morale high while bringing the fans voice up the latter.

I'd be really interested to see how many games got localized, released, made, etc. directly because he presented what many fans wanted to the higher ups.
 

RusselUp

Member
:( Sad to hear - best of luck to you Sven in your future pursuits. Appreciated the work & comments throughout your time there.
 
Hell, it even seemed like getting the ball rolling for localizing AA5 period was like pulling teeth based on his comments a little bit after the localization announcement.

Yeah, that's true. Though I'm not crazy about it being digital only, I understand why it had to be done, and I appreciate he was able to get the localization ball rolling.

I kind of have to wonder what that means for the series going forward, though.
 

Mupod

Member
judZ6UQNfRkVC.jpg


I know I might have spent a lot of time infuriated by his years of teasing MH news but I know he was always trying to get those games over here. Here's hoping the series still has a future in NA now that he's gone.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
Yeah, that's true. Though I'm not crazy about it being digital only, I understand why it had to be done, and I appreciate he was able to get the localization ball rolling.

I kind of have to wonder what that means for the series going forward, though.

If enough copies are sold, the series will continue to be brought here, I'm sure of this. That's why we need to support AA5 as much as possible.
 

Mr. X

Member
Capcom has to be IMO the worst drop off this generation.

Think about their output from last gen, the acclaim many of those titles had, the output of Clover Studios. They were on top.

Then this gen rolls around and they pissed it all away.
 
Sven was always one of the good guys, would love to see him slot in at Nintendo. They could use someone open and relatively honest over there, though I doubt NCL would allow it. We can hope.
 

Vibranium

Banned
Dammit, best of luck Sven, I hope he fires a parting shot to Capcom about the AA5 retail release (I hope it still happens...).

I really think he's a great guy, it sucks when the Japan management controls everything and it's impossible to really approach them with the needs of the western fanbase. I hope he finds a great new place to work where his input is appreciated more and he can please fans as well. It sucks when you're the target for criticism and it's not even your doing.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
judZ6UQNfRkVC.jpg


I know I might have spent a lot of time infuriated by his years of teasing MH news but I know he was always trying to get those games over here. Here's hoping the series still has a future in NA now that he's gone.

MH sold well on 3DS and Wii U here, and Nintendo will surely help. Not worried about MH4 at all.
 

MechaX

Member
If enough copies are sold, the series will continue to be brought here, I'm sure of this. That's why we need to support AA5 as much as possible.

But what is "enough" copies? Sven expressed that Capcom wasn't really satisfied with AA:I's sales despite how it sold inline with almost every other game in the series (and they skipped out on AA:I2 anyway).
 

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
Sucks for Sven, always though he, alongside the rest of Capcom USA were pretty insightful and transparent, more so than I've seen at any other publisher.

Hopefully if the reorganization is good for anything, it's putting Capcom back on track. Capcom USA was never really where the problems lied though.
 
But what is "enough" copies? Sven expressed that Capcom wasn't really satisfied with AA:I's sales despite how it sold inline with almost every other game in the series (and they skipped out on AA:I2 anyway).

Hell, I think I actually recall Sven saying he had to fudge sales expectations up a bit to get the localization approved in the first place.

Edit: I was under the impression that the problem with RE5 PC was that it never got the Gold Edition content.
 

Gartooth

Member
If enough copies are sold, the series will continue to be brought here, I'm sure of this. That's why we need to support AA5 as much as possible.

Yeah as long as the series is ensured a future (even a digital-only one) in the west then I'm cool, but I think for that to happen we have to ensure good sales of AA5. (one of the few series being put out by Capcom that I even care about anymore given how many others they have either laid out to pasture or bastardized)
 
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