News: Capcom: Support Your Franchises Page 1

mooojc 28.01.2009#1

The games business is filled with titles that people love that simply did not make money: Viewtiful Joe. Okami. Zack and Wiki.

Smilie

Modplan Man 28.01.2009#2

How about he actually does a better job of, you know, marketing them, and stops being a twat because people don't like the shitty port.

Mandown 28.01.2009#3

Once in a while great games do indeed go unnoticed by the masses, but this ultimately comes down to the failings of the developer, not the audience. These games he mentions are prime examples for me of where Capcom have failed miserably in respect to a few things.

Zack and Wiki, a fantastic game with high production values, despite that I said even before the game was released that this game is going to struggle. Zack and Wiki has fundamental unforgivable idiotic flaws.

The name. The idiot who conceived the title,\" Zack and Wiki: Quest for Babaros Treasure\" should be shot, with a musket. Secondly, there is also the terrible character design. Having a main protagonist that is going to be appeal to the masses is absolutely essential with any game. Both Zack and Wiki fail to do this. Both of the main characters are terribly ill conceived for the western market, and even Japan I can well imagine. Zack chews on chocolate bars for no apparent reason, and also has other lame childish animations which are simply not endearing. While Wiki on the other hand makes these very annoying baby noises every minute or so, and this when your trying to work out complex puzzles!.

Okami, they have failed this mighty god consistently. After the bad sales of the PS2 version you would think Capcom would have learned from their mistakes, sadly that was not the case. Capcom did everything wrong. After finally giving into fans of the PS2 game calls for a Wii version, and giving the game to Ready at Dawn, to supposedly sensitively port over the game to Wii. Ready at Dawn and Capcom actually did the complete opposite. They actually offended those fans of the PS2 game, who like me were actually ready to buy the game again for the want of Wii controls that would enhance the Okami experience.

According to the majority of fans of the original, they failed to do this. Fans still much prefer the original on PS2 for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is the saturation of colours. The colours on PS2 are far more akin to the brush paint art which the game is based upon. The vibrancy of the colours in the Wii version are far removed from the muted colours found in brush painting art from Japan and China. You simply do not find that level of neon like vibrancy in the real brush art!.

The removal of the Clover credits really stank for fans, it was amazing to see a Japanese company like Capcom, who you would think would be high on respect, actually remove all acknowledgment of the TEAM that made the beautiful original. Was this Capcom or was this Ready at Dawns decision?, either way it makes no difference in my eyes. Giving the game to a American developer was a bad idea imo, a Japanese developer would have done a far better job at realising a Wii version.

The controls, *ughh*, were simply annoying at times. All this crap from some Wii owners saying, ahh you must have shaky hands is BS. The game controls should have been composed so that there was room for error. They should have been so loose that anyone could pick up the game and play, instead there are moments of sheer frustration that diminish the quality of the experience you had on PS2. A one time GOTY.

In hindsight, if they waited it out longer for improvements to LiveMove and Motion + it may of given the developers what they needed to actually improve the game over the PS2 game.

The bigget failing of Okami on Wii is the lack of in your face advertising, on TV and other such media sources. When I heard Christian Svennson say they were not going to advertise the game in such a way I was truly gobsmacked,. I was like, wait a minute, your making another investment in the game in order to make the same crappy mistake again: ? It begs belief!.

Everyone knows how awesome Okami is, imo it should be a game that sells big time to parents who see the art aspect as positive. As well as how the game encourages and promotes the idea of nature being sacred and vital to all. That simple message could have come out to the masses in TV advertising, and if it did so, the game on Wii would have been fucking huge.

It was a case of bad advertising strategy with Viewtiful Joe also, it was practically non existent!. In my eyes all they had to do was to put a series of adverts in US cinemas that tied to the film element in the game. Something comedic that people would laugh at and think of as cool.

Don\'t believe this crap, Capcom are treating the Wii like sh*t ultimately, with bad strategy from people like himself. To see what they are capable of on Wii, with the required investment, you only have to look at games made primarily for the Japanese market, in games like Monster Hunter Tri and Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. But only games intended for the Japanese market primarily get this level of investment.

All their western divisions are making 360 -PS3- PC games, no Wii games, Wii development is not afforded the same resources. Capcom USA should have a development team based in the west focused on creating Wii gamers for the western markets, as they have now started doing with 360 and PS3.

( Edited 28.01.2009 16:33 by Linkyshinks )

Edit this post:

Once in a while great games do indeed go unnoticed by the masses, but this ultimately comes down to the failings of the developer, not the audience. These games he mentions are prime examples for me of where Capcom have failed miserably in respect to a few things.

Zack and Wiki, a fantastic game with high production values, despite that I said even before the game was released that this game is going to struggle. Zack and Wiki has fundamental unforgivable idiotic flaws.

The name. The idiot who conceived the title," Zack and Wiki: Quest for Babaros Treasure" should be shot, with a musket. Secondly, there is also the terrible character design. Having a main protagonist that is going to be appeal to the masses is absolutely essential with any game. Both Zack and Wiki fail to do this. Both of the main characters are terribly ill conceived for the western market, and even Japan I can well imagine. Zack chews on chocolate bars for no apparent reason, and also has other lame childish animations which are simply not endearing. While Wiki on the other hand makes these very annoying baby noises every minute or so, and this when your trying to work out complex puzzles!.

Okami, they have failed this mighty god consistently. After the bad sales of the PS2 version you would think Capcom would have learned from their mistakes, sadly that was not the case. Capcom did everything wrong. After finally giving into fans of the PS2 game calls for a Wii version, and giving the game to Ready at Dawn, to supposedly sensitively port over the game to Wii. Ready at Dawn and Capcom actually did the complete opposite. They actually offended those fans of the PS2 game, who like me were actually ready to buy the game again for the want of Wii controls that would enhance the Okami experience.

According to the majority of fans of the original, they failed to do this. Fans still much prefer the original on PS2 for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is the saturation of colours. The colours on PS2 are far more akin to the brush paint art which the game is based upon. The vibrancy of the colours in the Wii version are far removed from the muted colours found in brush painting art from Japan and China. You simply do not find that level of neon like vibrancy in the real brush art!.

The removal of the Clover credits really stank for fans, it was amazing to see a Japanese company like Capcom, who you would think would be high on respect, actually remove all acknowledgment of the TEAM that made the beautiful original. Was this Capcom or was this Ready at Dawns decision?, either way it makes no difference in my eyes.  Giving the game to a American developer was a bad idea imo, a Japanese developer would have done a far better job at realising a Wii version.

The controls, *ughh*, were simply annoying at times. All this crap from some Wii owners saying, ahh you must have shaky hands is BS. The game controls should have been composed so that there was room for error. They should have been so loose that anyone could pick up the game and play, instead there are moments of sheer frustration that diminish the quality of the experience you had on PS2. A one time GOTY.

In hindsight, if they waited it out longer for improvements to LiveMove and Motion + it may of given the developers what they needed to actually improve the game over the PS2 game.

The bigget failing of Okami on Wii is the lack of in your face advertising, on TV and other such media sources. When I heard Christian Svennson say they were not going to advertise the game in such a way I was truly gobsmacked,. I was like, wait a minute, your making another investment in the game in order to make the same crappy mistake again: ? It begs belief!.

Everyone knows how awesome Okami is, imo it should be a game that sells big time to parents who see the art aspect as positive. As well as how the game encourages and promotes the idea of nature being sacred and vital to all. That simple message could have come out to the masses in TV advertising, and if it did so, the game on Wii would have been fucking huge.

It was a case of bad advertising strategy with Viewtiful Joe also, it was practically non existent!. In my eyes all they had to do was to put a series of adverts in US cinemas that tied to the film element in the game. Something comedic that people would laugh at and think of as cool.

Don't believe this crap, Capcom are treating the Wii like sh*t ultimately, with bad strategy from people like himself.  To see what they are capable of on Wii, with the required investment, you only have to look at games made primarily for the Japanese market, in games like Monster Hunter Tri and Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. But only games intended for the Japanese market primarily get this level of investment.

All their western divisions are making 360 -PS3- PC games, no Wii games, Wii development is not afforded the same resources. Capcom USA should have a development team based in the west focused on creating Wii gamers for the western markets, as they have now started doing with 360 and PS3.

Save Changes Cancel Full Edit

ohm 28.01.2009#4

Okay then, thats a fine point about Zack and Wiki. But how about Okami. In a lot of ways, taking a lot of things that don\'t appeal to mainstream would detract from the game itself. It takes away from what makes the game unique and different. Its a truth we can\'t ignore, things that are different don\'t appeal to the general public. The casual audience want something that\'s familiar, something they can understand and appreciate straightaway, not have to tough out the odd learning curve or grow accustomed to the odd style of a game.

( Edited 28.01.2009 11:05 by iCAME )

RudyC3 28.01.2009#5

Linkyshinks said:

I said it from the start with Zack and Wiki, this game is going to struggle because it has fundamental unforgivable flaws.

Depends on what you expect to find in a game. I didn't find Wiki's squeals that annoying. it's KAWAI ! But i can understand that if you're not in that kind of thing, it can be pretty annoying. It's precisely the "appealing to the japanese market" side of the game that appealed to me in particular. I really LOVED this game as a whole, even though i agree that it has major flaws which prevented it to appeal to a wider audience than i actually did. Especially in the West.

Cubed3 Limited Staff :: Review and Feature Writer

Glenjamin 28.01.2009#6

The games business is filled with titles that people love that simply did not make money: Viewtiful Joe. Okami. Zack and Wiki.

Horseshit, that's what that is...

How many games did Viewtiful Joe have? A Wii game/sequel would be awesome. Even Okami II would be great seeming how it came to the Wii.

Uhhh... I swear sometimes...

Mandown 28.01.2009#7

Kafei2006 said:
Linkyshinks said:

I said it from the start with Zack and Wiki, this game is going to struggle because it has fundamental unforgivable flaws.
Depends on what you expect to find in a game. I didn't find Wiki's squeals that annoying. it's KAWAI ! But i can understand that if you're not in that kind of thing, it can be pretty annoying. It's precisely the "appealing to the japanese market" side of the game that appealed to me in particular. I really LOVED this game as a whole, even though i agree that it has major flaws which prevented it to appeal to a wider audience than i actually did. Especially in the West.

I edited my above post to explain further. I am referring to a few things.

E-Dracon 28.01.2009#8

I have a few words for him. ADVERTISE!!!! and no crappy ports please! Okami was a good port in my opinion, but DR:CTYD looks terrible beyond belief.

( Edited 01.02.2009 21:54 by edracon )

jb 28.01.2009#9

edracon said:
I have a few words for him. ADVERTISE!!!! and no crappy ports please! Okami was a good port in my opinion, but D:CTYD looks terrible beyond belief.

Exactly. I barely see any advertising for Wii games from Capcom, and when I do it's usually only online and very rarely where it can really count - in public - TV, films, billboards.

I hate when games are blamed for lack of good advertising and promotion.

Cubed3 Admin/Founder & Designer

Glenjamin 28.01.2009#10

I hate when games are blamed for lack of good advertising and promotion.

I second that. First/second party games are the only ones that get the best advertising period.

Wolvesgod 28.01.2009#11

Thats true i never see anything from capcom with advertisements for any of Nintendo's console. in fact, the only advertising i see are for shitty party games. And no "true" games like No More Heroes had no advertisements in the United States.

When all is bad don't look for a easy way out. Because you wont know what to do once your out

JoshSL 28.01.2009#12

Boy am I glad that Ace Attorney has done well enough to carry on. I'm not sure I could live without it Smilie

Surely Viewtiful Joe has done well enough though? There are 4 titles in the series, and though not instant, the game's fanbase has gotten big enough. Let's not forget the anime was pretty popular and was even dubbed for western audiences.

I think Crapcom have no idea what they're talking about sometimes.

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery

dartmonkey 28.01.2009#13

Although I agree with LS in principle, I think the Okami Wii port is a fine job given the circumstances of its making. The controls work admirably in every part except combat. You could work-around it to some extent by only using rosaries, but it stripped the strategy and elegance from the system, turning it into a frustrating button-masher.

Apparently Okami Wii didn't underperform. They hoped to match the sales of the PS2 version and they overtook them by a good few thousand. It's still depressing that they're suffocating these games' potential by not advertising, and that is a failing of Capcom, nobody else. They give the impression that the fate of these titles is passed while they're still in development - they're labelled 'niche' and the sales target is lowered accordingly. These titles obviously needed nurturing and Capcom should evaluate how they allocate their budget.

But people who accuse them of just doing it for the money are missing the point. The only reason we've had games like Okami and Viewtiful Joe is because Capcom have enough cash in the bank to take risks with more off-beat ideas and material. That they don't choose to support these games once they're out the door is highly questionable, but the fact is that if they didn't do the cash-cow games we wouldn't have seen any of these smaller ones.

Less posty, more gamey.

Darkflame 28.01.2009#14

\"The controls, *ughh*, were simply annoying at times. All this crap from some Wii owners saying, ahh you must have shaky hands is BS. The game controls should have been composed so that there was room for error. They should have been so loose that anyone could pick up the game and play, instead there are moments of sheer frustration that diminish the quality of the experience you had on PS2. A one time GOTY.\"

Sorry, but your talking utter rubbish here.

It is FAR FAR easier to do brushsrokes on the Wii version the the PS2 version.

If anything, this unbalances the game and makes it too easy. (in boss fights particularly..I rarely had to use any items whatsoever).

I dont think you played it, frankly, as there is pretty huge room for error.
Which, indeed, is to be expected when the original was designed to be controlled with a stick.

The only problems in the whole game I had with brushstrokes was a few times when they didnt make it very clear what stroke you were actualy supposed to do.
(eg, fish-cutting).

That isnt the fault of a Wii, or the Port, but rather bad design in the original.

\"In hindsight, if they waited it out longer for improvements to LiveMove and Motion + it may of given the developers what they needed to actually improve the game over the PS2 game.\"

No, it would not.

Okami use\'s the sensor bar, which is pretty much 100% accurate.
It dosnt actualy use motion or gesture sensing at all. (well, ok, in one small case with one move).

Basicaly the whole game is \"cursor\" based.
And for that the sensor bar is actualy more accurate then the TV res the Wii can output.

MP/Livemotion is about gestures, which WiiOkami dosnt use at all.

Sorry, but your off your trolly if you think that controlling it with an analogue stick even gives you 1/10th the speed and accuracy as a pointer.

The only problem with Wii Okami was the lack of advertising.

( Edited 28.01.2009 14:13 by Darkflame )

http://www.fanficmaker.com <-- Tells some truly terrible tales.
Last update; Mice,Plumbers,Animatronics and Airbenders. We also have the socials; Facebook & G+.

WP-Final 28.01.2009#15

Linkyshinks said:
Zack and Wiki, a fantastic game with high production values, despite that I said even before the game was released that this game is going to struggle. Zack and Wiki has fundamental unforgivable idiotic flaws.
The name. The idiot who conceived the title,\" Zack and Wiki: Quest for Babaros Treasure\" should be shot, with a musket. Secondly, there is also the terrible character design. Having a main protagonist that is going to be appeal to the masses is absolutely essential with any game. Both Zack and Wiki fail to do this. Both of the main characters are terribly ill conceived for the western market, and even Japan I can well imagine. Zack chews on chocolate bars for no apparent reason, and also has other lame childish animations which are simply not endearing. While Wiki on the other hand makes these very annoying baby noises every minute or so, and this when your trying to work out complex puzzles!.

Oh no you didn\'t! Smilie

I loved the character design. They\'re colourful, unique and full of character. Wikis baby noises puzzled me at first but I soon came to love him as it just adds to the original nature of the game. Smilie

I agree with you about the subtitle. It\'s way too messy. Smilie

This message from Capcom is quite depressing as it means no Zack and Wiki 2. Smilie

I don\'t think I saw any advertising for the game outside of the internet and even then there was little there also. Smilie

( Edited 28.01.2009 16:15 by wAyNe - sTaRT )

Laurelin 28.01.2009#16

I agree with Linkyshinks and jb in general, only divert in a few minor things.
Darkflame, I think he has a point with the controls, but I didn't play it as long as you. Brush stroking with cursor actually is more free and there is more room for errors then a stick fixed at the controller with only rotation to be made. it would be too simple if the made brushstroking faster then doing it with the stick. But that's not entirely true imho. The smashed some control schemes on a game that changes it's gameplay and balancing a bit with doing so.

Okay, but I wanted to agree with the advertising and research of target groups. they changed a great name (I don't recall it at the moment) into a bit too silly name like Zack and Wiki. Wiki is laughingly funny, very sarcastic imho. Zack's stupid eating is hilarious and his sounds are mostly great. But the don't get an instant hit with such a specialised target group. Installing a new brand is actually not an easy thing to do. I wonder that Capcom doesn't get it.

But 80 % of the great Wii games are marketed wrong. A catastrophy.
I agree with the inability of Capcom and other companies to detect the right audience for Wii. The Conduit actually nails a pretty great Wii audience not anyone seemed to think about. The just don't nail it. Therefore I give a star to Linkyshinks. He actually wrote an open letter to Capcom and they should read it! Honestly!

I find your lack of faith disturbing!

Mandown 28.01.2009#17

@Darkflame

I have both versions of the game and am a huge fan of Okami.

The game was always going to be made easier on Wii, but the intended trade off would have meant it should have been more fun. Which I found not to be the case. Some moves simply do not register as well as they should have causing a lot of frustration for many owners of the game on Wii.

I know the game uses IR! Smilie

Besides, even the slightest lag in IR response times can effect the accuracy, as this game shows at timnes. The masses of Okami fans have already spoken on Capcommunity, you are the minority who think the game is perfect.

I bet you have not even played both versions as I have, to know what\'s lacking and has been lost.

If they had Motion + they could have tied the dodge, which I loved using in the original, to a realtime Wii Remote gesture. Not the inaccurate Nunchuk. Losing that dodge in the game ruined the way I enjoyed playing the game. The Wii version actually forces you not to use that move because it implemented so badly. That\'s bad design plain and simple.

And this..

Dartmonkey-

You could work-around it to some extent by only using rosaries, but it stripped the strategy and elegance from the system, turning it into a frustrating button-masher.

That\'s what I felt like I had to do with the Wii version after playing the original. Having to make do, knowing the inadequacies of the control scheme.

EDIT:

\"Sorry, but your off your trolly if you think that controlling it with an analogue stick even gives you 1/10th the speed and accuracy as a pointer.\"

Where did I say that in my post above?!?.

All I am saying is that the Wii controls were a major disappointment for many fans of the original game, which was perfect. It\'s analogue control worked very well and became enjoyable to use. Wii\'s controls may be speedy but certainly not accurate all the way through.

@Wayne

Didn\'t like them both Wayne, it has nothing to do with any dislike for something typically Japanese, not at all. I love heavily styled games with strong Japanese influences. This was just bad character design from the very start imo.

( Edited 28.01.2009 17:17 by Linkyshinks )

Edit this post:

@Darkflame

I have both versions of the game and am a huge fan of Okami.

The game was always going to be made easier on Wii, but the intended trade off would have meant it should have been more fun. Which I found not to be the case. Some moves simply do not register as well as they should have causing a lot of frustration for many owners of the game on Wii.

I know the game uses IR! :roll:

Besides, even the slightest lag in IR response times can effect the accuracy, as this game shows at timnes. The masses of Okami fans have already spoken on Capcommunity, you are the minority who think the game is perfect.

I bet you have not even played both versions as I have, to know what's lacking and has been lost.

If they had Motion + they could have tied the dodge, which I loved using in the original, to a realtime Wii Remote gesture. Not the inaccurate Nunchuk. Losing that dodge in the game ruined the way I enjoyed playing the game. The Wii version actually forces you not to use that move because it implemented so badly. That's bad design plain and simple.

And this..

Dartmonkey-

[i]You could work-around it to some extent by only using rosaries, but it stripped the strategy and elegance from the system, turning it into a frustrating button-masher.[/i]

That's what I felt like I had to do with the Wii version after playing the original. Having to make do, knowing the inadequacies of the control scheme.

EDIT:

[i]"Sorry, but your off your trolly if you think that controlling it with an analogue stick even gives you 1/10th the speed and accuracy as a pointer."[/i]

Where did I say that in my post above?!?.

All I am saying is that the Wii controls were a major disappointment for many fans of the original game, which was perfect. It's analogue control worked very well and became enjoyable to use. Wii's controls may be speedy but certainly not accurate all the way through.

@Wayne

Didn't like them both Wayne, it has nothing to do with any dislike for something typically Japanese, not at all. I love heavily styled games with strong Japanese influences. This was just bad character design from the very start imo.

<p/>

Save Changes Cancel Full Edit

EdEN 28.01.2009#18

Pure bull. Look, I'll probably buy Dead Rising at Comic Con in July since at the Capcom booth you almost always get a little extra with your purchase (such as the Thank You note with the seeds with Okami).

Okami has sold 350,000 copies worldwide between the PS2 and Wii version, so I say they broke even on that one.

Zack and Wiki has sold 550,000 copies worldwide, at an average of $20 per copy (since the MSRP was changed again and again after launch) that comes to $11,000,000 from sales. You're telling me there is no profit on a Wii game that made THAT amount of money in sales?

Viewtiful Joe had several games, but that HAD to make a profit since there were so many SKUs of each.

If No More Heroes can get a sequel with 300,000 copies sold worldwide what is Capcom waiting to give us a sequel to Zack and Wiki... or at least an episodic Wiiware release?

Now God Hand...

meowthemouse 28.01.2009#19

maybe capcom need to re-think their strategy and hype good games instead of crappy ones

"Sony always wins baby.. Sony always wins.." - Chad Warden on pstripple
Brawl FC : 2191 - 6919 - 2772

Jump_button 28.01.2009#20

Dead Rising look shit and boring i have the others XD

My ART Gallery la la la la!

satsubatsu347 29.01.2009#21

Perhaps we can condense this into something that we can all chew through really fast (or moderately so):

He is the VP of marketing. He is pointing at his own failure to inspire consumers to buy and then blaming the consumer for HIS failure (formerly of Sony?).

Viewtiful Joe: Failure? If it was it was because it looked crazy to casual gamers (read: less than up their own asses type gamer) and kiddie to hardcore gamers (read: greater than or equal to up their own asses type gamer)

Okami: Most did not hear of this one until it was already in the grave.

Zack and Wiki: See Viewtiful Joe.

Final Analysis: The people who take what is a perceived chance on these or similar titles can and often do become part of a legion of rabid fans, but are these legions enough? Not always. Further, word of mouth on video games is not directly proportionate to other media forms. It requires much more investment, both of time and money. Often times leaving worthy games behind do to this vast gap we all seem to see between "casual" and "hardcore." This gap only exists because both sides buy into the communities self inflicted and reinforced stereotypes. Tear the walls down and mindless pap will eventually disappear as "casual" and "hardcore" melt into a unified "gamer" label.

I shall relinquish the soap box for now.

Super Sonic 29.01.2009#22

SuperLink said:
Boy am I glad that Ace Attorney has done well enough to carry on. I'm not sure I could live without it
Surely Viewtiful Joe has done well enough though? There are 4 titles in the series, and though not instant, the game's fanbase has gotten big enough. Let's not forget the anime was pretty popular and was even dubbed for western audiences.
I think Crapcom have no idea what they're talking about sometimes.

I am also glad that the Ace Atterny series have done well and also Viewtiful Joe. All of the Joe games have been awsome.