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[tetrisgrammaton]

well, thts hardly surprising.

good for him.

and good for capcom.

 

[Ravidrath]

all your babbling doesn't explain how Capcom is more relevant than any other big Japanese publishers?

If they're indeed more relevant, DR2 would be a stunning success, instead it just did 2 millions across 3 platforms.
If they're indeed more relevant, DmC news would be widely accepted, instead it's nothing but a mockery
Then we had Lost Planet 2

All those 3 franchises are part of so-called Capcom westernization process.

The ones that are doing good, like MH or SF, are the ones that stick to the old formulas

Countering you point-by-point is babbling? OK.

And since when was I ever talking about "relevance?" What does that even mean? Clearly they're not as relevant to you anymore, but that's hardly a useful measure of anything.

And since when is 2 million in a month a failure? Most publishers, especially in Japan, would kill for that kind of "failure" these days. That game probably cost $25M or so to develop, so they've probably made a nice profit on it already.

Also, it's a little early to say the DmC redesign is a failure, too. Just because you and a bunch of fans don't like the new direction doesn't mean it'll do poorly. DMC3 and 4 didn't do well, so trying to reboot it is not irrational. I don't agree with them, but I have friends that like the redesign quite a bit, for example, and they liked the series before. Judging anything based on internet fan reaction is basically the worst possible way to judge anything.

And just because a company messes up one game doesn't mean anything. I didn't care for Lost Planet 1, and felt Lost Planet 2 was even worse, but it may still end up making a profit.


Edit: Haha, I love how everyone else chimed in with similar points while I was writing my reply.

 

[Proven]

I don't want to support his claims, but by Capcom's standards, selling 2 millions isn't a success! That's what Inafune told us in regards to DMC4, anyways!

Exactly. Capcom wants to be the Japanese equivalent of Activision or EA, i.e. they have multiple big selling franchises. Two million is hardly worth anything to then, especially considering the amount of time and money they put into this stuff. They want to be selling like Nintendo and Blizzard.

 

[Ravidrath]

Exactly. Capcom wants to be the Japanese equivalent of Activision or EA, i.e. they have multiple big selling franchises. Two million is hardly worth anything to then, especially considering the amount of time and money they put into this stuff. They want to be selling like Nintendo and Blizzard.

Sure, they can want that, but that doesn't mean it's a failure.

As I said before, I'd be surprised if Dead Rising 2 cost more than $25M to make, and 2M copies would be a pretty great return on that investment.

If Capcom wants Activision-sized successes, it's going to have to start ratcheting up their budgets, for both development and marketing.

I think this is unrealistic, though. I think Call of Duty, etc. are more cultural phenomena than exacting business strategy.

I don't see Capcom ever making a military shooter series, which is basically what they'd have to do to approach that level of success just from the popular accessibility point-of-view, let alone pulling it off better than any of Activision's various FPS-focused teams can.

 

[Lain]

DMC3 and 4 didn't do well, so trying to reboot it is not irrational.

How much did DMC4 sell? Wasn't it 2.7 millions or something? 2.4? I thought that was rather good. I mean, sure, for Inafune it was a failure, but as you said:

[...] since when is 2 million [...] a failure? Most publishers, especially in Japan, would kill for that kind of "failure" these days.

So I'd say the reboot is rather irrational, as the series was doing well.

 

[Haunted]

Capcom is practically swimming in money, largely due to Monster Hunter, but they also have a number of next-gen games that have sold millions around the world. They announced more big games at TGS than anyone else, and they were recruiting extensively there, too. Their booth was also the largest, most opulent and well-attended at TGS - they were showing off, basically.

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/07/29/capcom_earnings_drop/ - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=402519

Not quite as rosy as you paint it.

If they're indeed more relevant, DR2 would be a stunning success, instead it just did 2 millions across 3 platforms.

That's why people need to pay attention when PR statements are released.

Shipping 2 million copies (although upgraded from an initial shipment plan of 1.8 million, thanks ducky) is not selling 2 million copies.


The only (incomplete) number we have is 770k first month in UK+US+Japan.

 

[Ravidrath]

How much did DMC4 sell? Wasn't it 2.7 millions or something? 2.4? I thought that was rather good. I mean, sure, for Inafune it was a failure, but as you said:

It's a fair point.

I honestly don't know what DMC4 did, sales-wise. If 2.7M is right, that's likely over the life of the product, and it's too soon to see how DR2 will compare in the longer term. They might also just think the game should be able to reach a larger audience than was able to.

Any idea what DMC 1, 2 and 3 did? Might be possible that it was a failure for the series, based on sales expectations from previous games. My thought was that DMC3 was fairly niche, though?

I mean, DMC4 is generally considered a failure as a game, isn't it? And not just by die-hard DMC fans? That probably limited its sales, too. Inafune's comment could just be generalizing and amalgamating sales/quality/potential.

And if they think it's a "failure," that's what motivates their decision-making, even if it's not objectively one. So, hey, we may never see a DR3.

Any idea what DR1's sales were like?

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/07/29/capcom_earnings_drop/

Not quite as rosy as you paint it.

They still made a profit, which not many publishers have been able to do lately. They're still hiring, acquiring and expanding, too.

 

[Proven]

Sure, they can want that, but that doesn't mean it's a failure.

As I said before, I'd be surprised if Dead Rising 2 cost more than $25M to make, and 2M copies would be a pretty great return on that investment.

If Capcom wants Activision-sized successes, it's going to have to start ratcheting up their budgets, for both development and marketing.

I think this is unrealistic, though. I think Call of Duty, etc. are more cultural phenomena than exacting business strategy.

I don't see Capcom ever making a military shooter series, which is basically what they'd have to do to approach that level of success just from the popular accessibility point-of-view, let alone pulling it off better than any of Activision's various FPS-focused teams can.

At the end of the day, failure is subjunctive. It's based on the standards on the person commenting. By Capcom's standards, it's a failure. They want to do better.

Nintendo can spend less than $25M (assumption) making New Super Mario Bros. Wii and sell much more than just 2M copies.

I do somewhat agree about Call of Duty possibly being a cultural phenomena, but I'm biased against it.

 

[Green Biker Dude]

he should've quit before ruining devil may cry. now he's gonna try to escape the blame once it bombs too. arhfgagfsghfagfa fucking inafune, always getting away with it

 

[MrMephistoX]

Agreed. Seeing how frustrated he seemed to be paints some of his comments in a different light.

Certainly does: he will be missed.

I think this is unrealistic, though. I think Call of Duty, etc. are more cultural phenomena than exacting business strategy.

The rise of the FPS genre and PC centric devs turning to consoles kind of put Japanese centric genres in an unfair posistion from a sales parity standpoint.

Shooters are as popular as Madden where a hit means 10 + million copies. I think Capcom like hits are probably selling just as well as they ever have (2-5 million range) but they shouldn't expect Joe six pack who buys Madden and COD every year to jump on board. Japanese devs should be satisfied with their business and strive to be the best at what they do.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

It's a fair point.

I honestly don't know what DMC4 did, sales-wise. If 2.7M is right, that's likely over the life of the product, and it's too soon to see how DR2 will compare in the longer term. They might also just think the game should be able to reach a larger audience than was able to.

Any idea what DMC 1, 2 and 3 did? Might be possible that it was a failure for the series, based on sales expectations from previous games. My thought was that DMC3 was fairly niche, though?

I mean, DMC4 is generally considered a failure as a game, isn't it? And not just by die-hard DMC fans? That probably limited its sales, too. Inafune's comment could just be generalizing and amalgamating sales/quality/potential.

And if they think it's a "failure," that's what motivates their decision-making, even if it's not objectively one. So, hey, we may never see a DR3.

Any idea what DR1's sales were like?

DMC4 is the highest selling game in the series. It also is considered a "minor disappointment", not a "failure". Hell, many people consider it their favorite in the series. 2 is what's considered the failure.

Honestly, anyone who thinks DmC will sell anywhere close to 4 needs a reality check. Alienating fans in favor of new ones hardly ever works. The game will sell sub-20k in Japan and probably barely break 1 mil worldwide.

 

[Green Biker Dude]

DMC4 is the highest selling game in the series. It also is considered a "minor disappointment", not a "failure". Hell, many people consider it their favorite in the series. 2 is what's considered the failure.

Honestly, anyone who thinks DmC will sell anywhere close to 4 needs a reality check. Alienating fans in favor of new ones hardly ever works. The game will sell sub-20k in Japan and probably barely break 1 mil worldwide.

let's not make the numbers any less than what they indicated. they wanted it to sell 5 million, not 4. let us set our expectations accordingly

 

[Ravidrath]

At the end of the day, failure is subjunctive. It's based on the standards on the person commenting. By Capcom's standards, it's a failure. They want to do better.

Yeah, I try to look at things more from the objective "Did it make a profit? And how much?" point of view, because of how subjective "success" is.

I'm pretty sure everybody WANTS to always make more money all the time, so I guess everyone is a failure forever and ever, unless they decide not to be.

Nintendo is also cultural phenomenon, too. They're more or less the Disney of games, largely because they are amazing at marketing to a wide audience.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Also, it's a little early to say the DmC redesign is a failure, too. Just because you and a bunch of fans don't like the new direction doesn't mean it'll do poorly. DMC3 and 4 didn't do well, so trying to reboot it is not irrational.

DMC 4 is best selling game in the series so far .
Not to mention it sold more than LP , LP2 , DR , DV , BC , SSF4 so why would it need a reboot.
It should also be noted that action games don't do huge numbers the biggest one being GOW i think.

 

[gogogow]

It's a fair point.

I honestly don't know what DMC4 did, sales-wise. If 2.7M is right, that's likely over the life of the product, and it's too soon to see how DR2 will compare in the longer term. They might also just think the game should be able to reach a larger audience than was able to.

I mean, DMC4 is generally considered a failure as a game, isn't it? And not just by die-hard DMC fans? That probably limited its sales, too.

Imma let you finish, but DMC4 was one of the best selling Capcom games of all time, OF ALL TIME! (no.9 best selling game in Capcom's history)

 

[cosmicblizzard]

let's not make the numbers any less than what they indicated. they wanted it to sell 5 million, not 4. let us set our expectations accordingly

Of course :lol . How foolish of me.

Spoiler

I meant selling as much as DMC4, but I assume you realized that.

 

[Coxswain]

If they're indeed more relevant, DR2 would be a stunning success, instead it just did 2 millions across 3 platforms.

If you're going to say that moving two million copies in a month of a game whose design sensibilities are like maybe a notch and a half under Demon's Souls in terms of being unorthodox and unmarketable isn't an unqualified success I think you're gonna have to elaborate a little there

 

[The Bookerman]

UPDATE

Jun Takeuchi replaces Inafune

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-10-29-keiji-inafune-quits-capcom

I called it!

 

[L00P]

He must be in a very bad state to leave Legends 3 development like that. Like, seriously.

 

[Femmeworth]

He must be in a very bad state to leave Legends 3 development like that. Like, seriously.

True, but he got it produced which is all he really needed to do.

 

[Eteric Rice]

Jun Takeuchi?

Capcom is boned.

 

[Femmeworth]

I'm not quite understanding what's so bad about Jun Takeuchi. Wasn't he only a producer?

 

[Vamphuntr]

I'm not quite understanding what's so bad about Jun Takeuchi. Wasn't he only a producer?

Lost Planet 2...

 

[Why would you do that?]

That's so sad.

He produced so many great games, including The Minish Cap, Mega Man Zero and Legends series, Dead Rising, etc... And he was involved in so many others.

This is an end of an era.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Hopefully Takeuchi is a much better business man than we was game producer. Yeesh.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Lost Planet 2...

He also directed the first Onimusha, so he can't be all bad. Seems like he's only producer on most of the crap games recently.

 

[[Nintex]]

I'm not quite understanding what's so bad about Jun Takeuchi. Wasn't he only a producer?

Jun Takeuchi was awesome as Resident Evil 4's tech guy, but he's just not very good at designing games when we look at Lost Planet 2 and Resident Evil 5. Now he seems to have control over all of Capcom's development stuff, they could've put forward Ono as a creative director or something or have the guy that made the Monster Hunter series get more influence but no they pick Jun Takeuchi.

 

[x3sphere]

Whoa!

Well I guess it wasn't totally unexpected... I hope he gets interviewed so we can find out his complete motivation. Like why exactly does he now hate game development?

Saying he hates game development isn't a fair assesment at all. Most of the quotes I've read indicate that he was losing his creative drive at Capcom over a lack of challenge. Infaune is clearly motivated still. I think he'll end up starting his own studio or possibly join a Western publisher like THQ or Bethesda.

 

[Lard]

Originally Posted by miladesn:
UPDATE

Jun Takeuchi replaces Inafune

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...e-quits-capcom

Every time I see that smug grin of Takeuchi I just want to clock him. Something about that guy just rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Still focused on making some games appeal to the west.

http://kotaku.com/5676855/capcom-explains-how-they-will-carry-on-without-mega-man-creator

...

Capcom also stated that the departure of Inafune would not lead to any change in creative focus for the developer.

"We will continue to follow our previously stated policy that calls for collaboration with leading domestic and foreign studios in order to create new titles," they said.

...

 

[Kenka]

So, what is the final word : is Inafune an asshole or a hero ?

 

[Fimbulvetr]

So, what is the final word : is Inafune an asshole or a hero ?

Take a third option.

 

[Fuu]

So, what is the final word : is Inafune an asshole or a hero ?

Neither. It doesn't work like that.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Jun Takeuchi was awesome as Resident Evil 4's tech guy, but he's just not very good at designing games when we look at Lost Planet 2 and Resident Evil 5. Now he seems to have control over all of Capcom's development stuff, they could've put forward Ono as a creative director or something or have the guy that made the Monster Hunter series get more influence but no they pick Jun Takeuchi.

I don't want to derail, but many, many people thought that Resident Evil 5 was an extremely good game. That game was a critical and sales hit. By those categories Takeuchi is just as valid for promotion as the Monster Hunter guys or Ono.

I know that RE5 turned off some fans, but negativity around the title is an outlier opinion.

 

[Kenka]

I mean, he's been said to steal the work of other people and to take credit of other people's work too.

http://www.game-web.fr/public/article.php?ID=156&page=1

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=408867

Did he just leave the boat knowing that all upcoming software he was directing or producing would eventually suck ?

 

[[Nintex]]

I don't want to derail, but many, many people thought that Resident Evil 5 was an extremely good game. That game was a critical and sales hit. By those categories Takeuchi is just as valid for promotion as the Monster Hunter guys or Ono.

I know that RE5 turned off some fans, but negativity around the title is an outlier opinion.

Well, it was impossible to turn RE5 into a really bad game since he mostly just copied Resident Evil 4. All 'Takeuchi' stuff however sucks and Lost Planet 2 is even more evidence of that.

 

[FrostuTheNinja]

I don't want to derail, but many, many people thought that Resident Evil 5 was an extremely good game. That game was a critical and sales hit. By those categories Takeuchi is just as valid for promotion as the Monster Hunter guys or Ono.

I know that RE5 turned off some fans, but negativity around the title is an outlier opinion.

Well, it was impossible to turn RE5 into a really bad game since he mostly just copied Resident Evil 4. All 'Takeuchi' stuff however sucks and Lost Planet 2 is even more evidence of that.

I think Lost Planet 2 is miles better than the original. :shrugs:

 

[TGO]

I guess he saw the latest build of DmC at NT and bailed.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Well that about does it for Resident Evil 6.




FUCK THIS SHIT

 

[To Far Away Times]

End of an era. Even if Inafune didn't hit a homerun every time he stepped up to the plate, he was still responsible for some of gaming's best moments.

 

[B.K.]

Well, there goes my hope for Mega Man Legends 3.

 

[jett]

Well, there goes my hope for Mega Man Legends 3.

He didn't direct or design the previous two, who cares if he's gone.

 

[Brazil]

I think Lost Planet 2 is miles better than the original. :shrugs:

That's not saying a lot.

 

[Barakov]

He sounded absolutely miserable where he was. It was the best move for him and Capcom.

That being said, perhaps we can get a new Onimusha now?

 

[Y2Kev]

Failure is subjunctive

 

[HK-47]

Dont forget that also tied in with DR2 is the massive success of Case Zero. And also dont forget that it could have been more massive if Case Zero and possibly a budget rerelease of DR had been put out on PC and PS3 to generate more interest (and money) and Case West was multiplat.

 

[DeVeAn]

I think he has said some dumb shit but, he has helped create some amazing things. Where will he go?

 

[a Master Ninja]

I fear for Dead Rising 3.

 

[Krev]

He must be in a very bad state to leave Legends 3 development like that. Like, seriously.

After all those years hoping to get it into production...it's bizarre.
At least it's being made. Maybe quitting now is wise; his last big act will be something he'd like fans to remember his time at Capcom by.

 

[Oblivion]

So, what is the final word : is Inafune an asshole or a hero ?

Both. SIMULATANEOUSLY, even.