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…

When “Myst” came out in the ’90s, it was the best-selling PC title of its time.

So introducing the game to a whole new generation of gamers on a popular handheld platform would be a no-brainer, right?

Not exactly.

When industry veteran Manny Granillo decided to acquire the license and make a DS port of the game, he had trouble finding a publisher. “You’d be surprised,” Granillo told Multiplayer at a demo of the game last month. “The problem is you get doors closed from publishers because they’re so focused on ‘What’s my next quarter? Where’s my sequel to whatever game?’ They’re not seeing the bigger picture.”

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To Whom It May Concern at Ready At Dawn and Capcom,

I am but a games reporter. You work at a quality game development studio and/or a mighty Japanese game publisher.

You bring joy to people’s lives. I bring something else.

Nevertheless, I hope you will read my request.

My fears have been confirmed. And I believe it is too late for you to do anything about it. But I need to get this out there. On the record. And while I might be the only person saying this in public, I’m sure I’m not the only gamer thinking it.

See, studio president Didier Malenfant of Ready At Dawn, the American outfit porting PS2 critical favorite “Okami” to the Wii, did an interview with IGN UK that was published earlier today, and I read something I was really dreading.

IGN: What new content appears in the game, compared to the PS2 version?

Didier Malenfant: The game on Wii is going to be an exact port of the PS2 version and I think that’s what fans of the franchise want to see. This game has such a huge following throughout the world that people would probably send us death-threats if we messed it up by trying to add things that don’t have their place in the Okami universe. Being huge fans of the franchise ourselves, we made sure that Capcom also wanted to stay true to the original before signing on to do this.

Just what I didn’t want to hear, but not for the reason you may think. I wasn’t hoping you would add content. I was hoping you would show the gaming industry something more gloriously progressive.

I was hoping you would be bold, that you would make the first video game port that cut content, that trimmed the fat.

See, I completed “Okami” on the PS2, and I have a few suggested cuts.

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