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Capcom Lobby Vs. Nintendo Lobby - California Edition

Posted 10/24/08 3:30 pm EST by in capcom, nintendo


Back from my magical mystery tour of San Francisco I present the following blurry Blackberry-photographed photo essay. It is the visual battle between the out-of-the-elevators entryway to Capcom's San Mateo office and the top-of-the-stairs reception desk at Nintendo of America's Redwood City office.

I was so excited that I couldn't focus!

Vs.

Where would you rather be???

(Note: EA lobby not featured because I went in via the back entrance and then was mocked by EA "pals" for being a real man and ordering a box of apple juice at the in-studio Starbucks.)

Why Giant Chun-Li Fireballs And Other Fan Requests Aren't In New 'Super Street Fighter II Turbo' Remake

Posted 10/23/08 11:00 am EST by in capcom, Fighting Games, PSN, Street Fighter, Superfans, Xbox Live Arcade

It's clear that Capcom listens to its "Street Fighter" fans.

That's the main reason why "Super Street Fighter II Turbo" is being remade at all.

"The game wouldn't exist if it wasn't for this fanboy interest," Capcom community manager Seth Killian told me yesterday during a demo in a Manhattan hotel. "It's a reboot of quite an old game."

He explained that longtime fans were also involved in working on the game's design, art, music and network system. And there were even more fans offering feedback for how their favorite game should be remade. But Killian said they could only do so much. Some of the things that fans wanted just had to be left out. Read More...

How To Buy A 'Street Fighter IV' Arcade Cabinet (It's Not Easy!)

Posted 8/26/08 5:07 pm EST by in Arcade, capcom, Fighting Games, Street Fighter, Top Entries


With reports popping up on the Internet about "Street Fighter IV" arcade cabinets appearing in a handful of arcades across the United States, I began to wonder:

How can I get one?

I asked my man in Capcom PR how to obtain an official arcade unit. He confirmed to me that "technically, the average gamer probably could" get one -- if they can navigate the following hurdles:

1) Spend A Lot Of Money: Capcom won't divulge the price. All I could find out is that the 2,349,400 Yen cost I found on a website from March is a re-seller's price. Capcom is selling for less. But considering that re-seller price amounts to $21,802, I guess we're talking about an actual price that is still greater than what I usually spend on a PS3, a year's supply of socks or a honeymoon.

2) Buy In Bulk: Want a "Street Fighter IV" arcade cabinet? Too bad, you can't get one. You have to get four of them. So be ready to write a really big check. Capcom won't take orders for single units. The company requires a purchase of four units of "Street Fighter IV." I wonder how many "Street Fighter V" units they'll require when that game comes out? (Apparently Bungie Studios inquired about buying one -- but do even they have money for four?)

3) Live In Japan: Capcom isn't selling "SFIV" arcade cabinets in the U.S. yet. So how is the game already in some American arcades? It appears that U.S. arcade-owners have imported their units, in some cases just having imported the boards and stuck them into non-"SFIV" cabinets. The units in the U.S. now are gray-market and not approved by Capcom.

4) Wait: Capcom U.S. pr man Chris Kramer tells me that there's no official date for when the ""SFIV" cabinets will ship to the U.S. But the company wants to make it happen. "We're still talking with a few people here, but the arcade business outside of Japan is tough," he told me today. "There are at least two companies seriously interested in purchasing 'SFIV' machines from us, but no done deals at the moment."

If any of this discourage you for some reason, GameStop indicates that a slightly cheaper version of "Street Fighter IV" will be shipping for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in February.

Related Posts:

‘Legend of Chun-Li’ Screenwriter Dismisses Old ‘Street Fighter’ Movie, Not Going For Laughs
‘Street Fighter IV’ Producer Perplexed By America’s Choice For Favorite New Character
Is Capcom Already Thinking “Street Fighter V”?

[Image Credit: Capcom Unity]

Capcom Checking eBay To See Which Games To Port

Posted 6/12/08 11:05 am EST by in capcom, Fighting Games, Ports, PSN, Xbox Live Arcade


At a Capcom demo earlier this week, I saw updated versions of classics like "Bionic Commando" and "Street Fighter II Turbo" on Xbox Live Arcade.

I wondered how the company decides which games to port over to XBLA and PSN. "We go to our community to see what games should be brought back from the library," said John Diamonon, Associate Product Manager at Capcom. They look at the poll results on GameSpot, among other things.

"To choose titles to revive, we see if we can give old franchises the modern touch, and we evaluate the fanbase and see if there's a market for it," he said.

One way of checking up on "the market"? Looking up Capcom games on eBay. Read More...

Capcom: Nintendo Controls 'Virtual Console' Fate Of Our Game Library, Including 'Bionic Commando'

Posted 4/29/08 11:00 am EST by in bionic commando, capcom, Virtual Console, Wii


Bionic CommandoA rash of reports appeared this weekend after "Bionic Commando Rearmed" producer Ben Judd said "Bionic Commando" can't come to Wii's Virtual Console service.

The confusion escalated when Capcom VP of strategic planning and business development Christian Svensson followed up complaints by pointing people to Nintendo. "This is NOT, repeat NOT, a Capcom issue," he said.

That's true, but not the whole story. There is no reason "Bionic Commando" can't appear on Virtual Console, Capcom head of public relations Chris Kramer told MTV Multiplayer last night, but it is true that it's entirely up to Nintendo.

Capcom does not control what appears on Virtual Console, Nintendo does, explained Kramer. Capcom licensed the rights to their games to Nintendo. Effectively, Nintendo has complete control over Capcom's library's appearance on Virtual Console. Whenever a Capcom game appears on Virtual Console, Nintendo's made that decision independent of Capcom.

Kramer said they aren't the only publisher who has this agreement with Nintendo.

In essence, there's no reason "Bionic Commando" can't show up Virtual Console, but Kramer has no idea when -- or if -- that might happen. Whereas Capcom is developing and publishing "Bionic Commando Rearmed," they only take a cut of the profits on Virtual Console releases. Nintendo handles the scheduling and technical work involved.

At least now I know who to get upset at for not having access to "Mega Man 2."

***
Have a hot tip? Is there a topic that Multiplayer should be covering and isn't? Maybe you have some more insight into the mind of Nintendo. Drop me an e-mail.

'Resident Evil 5' Is Set In Africa After All

Posted 4/11/08 5:01 pm EST by in capcom, resident evil


re5-281.jpgI was so busy reading all the comments today about N'Gai Croal's reaction to the "Resident Evil 5" trailer that I didn't get a chance to pass on the info that the game is now confirmed as taking place in Africa.

Joystiq and Kotaku have done the work for me, here and here, respectively. Both point to the Capcom blog entry that includes the announcement.

Here's the how game's producer Jun Takeuchi put it:

When we first started out to make ["Resident Evil 5,"] we had a lot of discussions within the team as to where we should set the game. Some felt that we should create something with the traditional dark, foreboding atmosphere we are used to.

As a next-gen game, others felt we needed to do something completely new. So we had these two completely opposing opinions. And on top of that, there was the story to follow.

We settled on the fact that we really wanted to show the origins of the virus. So for the setting we thought how about using the place where humankind was born?

Well, I'm not a scientist, so I don't know how things might change in the future, but we thought we should use Africa, which is now called the birthplace of humanity, as the model.

Takeuchi then explains how themes and use of light and darkness should set this "RE" game apart from the others.

So, no, the game is not set in Haiti. It's in Africa. Just like the first "Metal Gear," the next "Far Cry" and the beginning of "Halo 2."

I do believe I said months ago that this game looks like it was set in Africa. That's back when people were yelling at me on the Internet, instead of yelling at N'Gai.

Newsweek's N'Gai Croal On The 'Resident Evil 5' Trailer: 'This Imagery Has A History'

Posted 4/10/08 11:00 am EST by in Black Professionals in Games, capcom, Race, Race In Games, resident evil, Top Entries


residentevil5-02-2811.jpgEarlier this week, I posted an interview with gaming journalist N'Gai Croal of Newsweek.

During our conversation about the portrayal of black people in games, we talked about the controversy surrounding the "Resident Evil 5" trailer that debuted at last year's E3.

It depicts a white protagonist going into an apparently poverty-stricken village (the location is unspecified) and killing throngs of black zombified men and women (see the trailer yourself).

Croal's reactions were so detailed and thoroughly-described that we decided to highlight them in their own post.

Multiplayer editor Stephen Totilo wrote about his uneasiness upon viewing it, and commenters from other outlets discussed whether or not the trailer was racist. Some agreed with Totilo, but quite a few people disagreed. Earlier this week, developer Morgan Gray explained that he didn't have a problem with it either.

Croal's first reaction to the trailer was, "Wow, clearly no one black worked on this game." He explained his thoughts on the trailer and how he would have preferred Capcom to treat it:

"It's like when you engage that kind of imagery you have to be careful with it. It would be like saying you were going to do some sort of zombie movie that appeared to be set in Europe in the 1940's with skinny, emaciated, Hasidic-looking people. If you put up that imagery people would be saying, 'Are you crazy?' Well, that's what this stuff looks like. This imagery has a history. It has a history and you can't pretend otherwise. That imagery still has a history that has to be engaged, that has to be understood. ... If you're going to engage imagery that has that potential, the onus is on the creator to be aware of that because there will be repercussions in the marketplace."

Here are more of his thoughts on the matter...

(As with all of the articles in this series, we strongly suggest you read the piece in full before commenting.)

Read More...

Why 'Bionic Commando' Is Finally Back In 2008 - And How The PSP Played Two Key Roles

Posted 2/25/08 6:51 pm EST by in bionic commando, capcom, PC, PS3, PSN, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade


Bionic CommandoSan Francisco -- Ben Judd, a producer at Capcom, is sympathetic to many an online complaint about the two "Bionic Commando" games he is producing -- the first major new ones in 20 years -- perhaps because he too can be a pest.

In fact, if Ben Judd wasn't good at being a pest, there probably wouldn't be anything for anyone to complain about. When I asked him last week at the Game Developers Conference why the "Bionic Commando" series was coming back after so many years on hiatus, he told me it was because he kept nagging his bosses about it, for the last four years.

So, those "BC" fans complaining about the new PS3/Xbox360 game's hot dog arm?

Judd has nagged worse, but does feel bad enough about the complaint that the color of the tubes on the hero's arm are now "more like snake skin."

Those "BC" fans not happy with the main character's hair cut?

He's impervious, saying "when you try to re-do a game that's 20 years old, that nostalgia has crystallized." The crew cut isn't coming back, though maybe it could be an unlockable.

Those Nintendo fans feeling left out and aggressively petitioning Capcom to bring some sort of "Bionic Commando" to the Wii?

He's reasonable, saying, "I understand where they're coming from." But he's also realistic about the suggestion that it should involve swinging the remote to make the game's hero swing his bionic arm: "If we did a Wii version it would not be with one-to-one swinging… you couldn't do [that] for more than 10 minutes."

So what about Judd's own nagging? And how does the PSP -- a system the new "Bionic Commando" is not being released on -- play two key roles? You read about one of them earlier today.

For the rest, read on...

Read More...

Marvel vs. ??? Who Should Make The Next Marvel Fighting Game

Posted 1/31/08 8:01 am EST by in Arcade, capcom, Culture, Fighting Games, Street Fighter


marvel1.jpgSome of you may remember when Multiplayer pondered the question of who should make "Halo 4". We're pondering a new hypothetical today.

With the news that EA and Marvel have parted ways after the closing of the EA's Chicago studio, it means that the license for Marvel inspired fighting games is now up for grabs.

That leaves the question that is near and dear to my heart … who will step up to make the next fighting game worthy of starring Marvel's super heroes?

Once held by the 2-D fighting kings, Capcom, the license is not only a lucrative, but one that has spawned some of the greatest fighting games of all time. While the perfection that is "Marvel vs. Capcom 2" may never again be achieved, there are a variety of other publishers that could do the license justice.

I consider the top candidates -- and some longshots -- below.

Read More...

Capcom Explains 'Dead Rising' Achievements, Zeigarnik Effect, Possibilities For 'Dead Rising 2'

Posted 12/17/07 5:53 pm EST by in achievements, capcom, Japan, The Achievement Chronicles, Xbox 360


deadrising.jpgRemember "Dead Rising"?

How could you not: Capcom's zombie action-adventure title was one of 2006's bestsellers, enamoring gamers with its classic storyline and everything-is-a-weapon, sandbox-style gameplay.

Another thing the Xbox 360 exclusive had were amusing and fun-to-get Achievements. How did they come up with them?

Game designer Goda Hidehiro gave us his answers via e-mail (which were translated from Japanese). Here's an excerpt about the easiest Achievement in the game:

Hidehiro: It would be "Freefall" or falling 16 feet. I imagine that those Achievements are achieved without the player knowing about them. I'm glad that [one] serves as a good hook to draw people's attention, so that the player might think, "This game has some weird Achievements."

Read on to learn about Hidehiro's favorite Achievements, why he thinks gamers are obsessed with Achievements and what he'd like to see in "Dead Rising 2."

Read More...

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