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Ask HN: How did Capcom go from fallen giant to premier gaming studio again?
I played a lot of Capcom games back in the day. Then there was a time where they produced nothing but stinkers.
Recently they have been hitting nothing but 10's for me. RE2 remake, RE3 remake, RE Village, RE 7, devil may cry 5, these are all solid games with great innovative mechanics. Not to mention their engine is so premium and incomparable to anything else out there, even Unreal.
So how did they turn it around? How did they come back so hard with such fire?
- smt88 5y agoYour premise seems flawed to me. When were they "fallen"? They seem to have consistently released 1-2 hits per year for decades, and their biggest hits seem to come out every 2-3 years. These aren't just hits, either. They're mostly critically-acclaimed as well. https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Best_selling_Capcom_games https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Best_selling_Capcom_games
- muzani 5y agoThat puts it into perspective. Their best hits are Monster Hunter World (2018) and Street Fighter II (1991). So it gives this perception of a fallen giant that took 27 years to break their record. But in between, Resident Evil is actually the best selling franchise. RE doesn't really feel like an AAA game to me, it's just sort of third best in the genre.
- Maven911 5y agoIt's a good question and like most things I would think hiring the right management with the right strategies had a big part in it
- blondin 5y agowait, did capcom stop making street fighter and the bazillion universe crossovers? those were unreal too right?
- ArtWomb 5y agoClassic IP Licensing: RE, Castlevania, Contra, MGS. And new mobile recurrent streams from hits like Yu Gi Oh Duels. It's a lesson throughout the industry. Those that have been successful at re-spawning have thrived, like Nintendo, Sony, Konami. I often say it: in 100 years time, Mario Bros will be more important than Hamlet ;)
- muterad_murilax 5y ago> Castlevania, Contra, MGS. Those are Konami IPs, though.
- ArtWomb 5y agoThnx, murilax. I always get Konami and Capcom IPs mixed up ;) Interestingly, looking at Japanese gaming majors by rev: Bandai (¥600B), Square (¥300B), Konami (¥280B), Sega (¥250B), Capcom (¥95B), I think it roughly tracks with value of IP warchests. Capcom, if it can get Disney to sign off on a Marvel v Capcom re-boot, may have an ace in the hole. https://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/finance/million.html https://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/finance/million.html