I wish more video game publishers were like Capcom – Reader’s Feature

Following major announcements for Resident Evil and Monster Hunter at Summer Game Fest, a reader explains why he thinks Capcom is doing so well at the moment.

I’ve just finished watching this year’s Summer Game Fest and the biggest takeaway I have is that Capcom’s run is not slowing down. They opened the show with Resident Evil Veronica and even by the end I think it was the most exciting thing shown. It wasn’t a bad show, with lots of interesting games, but thanks to leaks there were not many surprises and nothing was shown for long enough to really get a feel for it.

A remake of Code: Veronica leaked as well but nobody knew what it was going to be like, so it didn’t really matter. I didn’t even realise that’s what the trailer was for until they said the name Claire Redfield. I should’ve guessed though, not just because of the clues but the fact that their graphics have a certain look to them.

Even though Code: Veronica is a tricky game to remake, since it’s got lots of bits taken from the other games, I’m sure they’ll do a great job, given they’re not only on fire in general at the moment but doubly so when it comes to Resident Evil.

Before I go any further, I’m well aware that companies are not your friend and the only thing Capcom is interested in is money. But there’s clearly a world of difference between how they make that money and someone like EA or Activision or even Xbox. Capcom’s current evil plan for world domination is to… make high quality games, give gamers what they want, and experiment with new IP. Also, they haven’t laid off anyone in any great number, as far as I’m aware.

The plan is working better than they could ever have imagined and everyone is rushing to copy them. Oh no, wait… nobody is copying them at all. Well, that’s not quite true. Quite a few companies have got into remakes, because Capcom’s Resident Evil ones have been so successful. But things like Dead Space haven’t been as successful because the original game wasn’t as beloved and EA seemed to have expected it to sell a billion copies.

When it didn’t they instantly lost interest and that was it. Needless to say, they didn’t suddenly try making new IP or put a new emphasis on quality, but they did start laying people off for no particular reason.

It’s been obvious for a while now that Japanese publishers are handling the current gen very different to American companies, but I don’t think any publisher, including Nintendo, has had such an obvious focus on quality. Capcom aren’t magic, as they’ve had problems with Monster Hunter Wilds and personally I didn’t particularly like Dragon’s Dogma 2 much, but in this case I think it really is the thought that counts.

Capcom has realised they can make more money if their games are good, which you’d think was so obvious it’s pointless to say but I don’t think it’s obvious to some of these companies, especially the Americans one, at all. What do you think Activision started blaming when Call Of Duty sells started to drop?

All sorts of complicated excuses I expect, about targeting demographics and fine-tuning microtransaction prices. I’ll bet you anything no one just said, ‘Maybe we should just make sure the next one is good?

Unlike Capcom, I don’t think Nintendo is having a particularly good run at the moment, but their entire existence is down to one thing: they make good games. And no matter what happens in gaming, including them making dumb decisions or having dud consoles, that always ensures they survive.

But the thing that really separates Capcom from Nintendo is that Capcom is much more interested in trying out new IP and not caring if it doesn’t work out. Dragon’s Dogma, Exoprimal, Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess, Pragmata… only two of those were hits and yet they keep trying, whereas the only big budget new IP Nintendo has put out in the last generations is Splatoon.

Capcom is also a lot less nervous about bringing back old franchises that might not be popular. It takes Nintendo (or Sega or Bandai Namco, I’m not trying to single Nintendo out here but to me they’re the next closest to Capcom) ages to get around to bringing back an old series and when they do they make such a song and dance about it. Most companies would never bring back Onimusha, but Capcom is just getting on with it and doing it.

I don’t mean to glaze a company, and they’ll probably immediately prove me wrong and do something horrible now (I’m already worried about their attitude to AI) but this isn’t really about Capcom it’s about the idea that the best way to make money in gaming is to… make good games.

That’s been made to seem like a naïve and simplistic point of view, but Capcom is showing that it’s just good business sense.

By reader Monson

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