With news coming out that THQ is suffering some heavy losses and facing delisted status from NASDAQ, it seems like just another publisher falling to the wayside and dying off in the same way that Midway and others did.

However, reports are coming out that Capcom is reporting a...get ready for it...52.6% loss in profits. As if that weren't bad enough, overall revenue is down by almost 26%.

I remember reading an article from Game Informer a little while ago (I believe it was in the South Park issue) that talked specifically about Capcom and this sort of weird flux that they exist in. They are an old company (one of the originals in console development) that has all of these great franchises and characters...and fails to actually adapt them into either new games or games that can appeal to Western audiences. Bionic Commando didn't do well (despite the fact that I personally enjoyed the game). Mega Man has basically been treated like an abused stepchild thanks to Capcom's pissiness that Inafune left (which that article specifically stated that Inafune leaving is part of the reason Capcom is so fucking stale anyways).

Now that Capcom is essentially relying on "guaranteed" sales on things like Resident Evil games and off-shoots as well as fighting games in order to try and make any form of money, the question I have is this...

Is there any way that Capcom can actually come out of the crapper, or is it time that they handed off their IPs to another publisher who can give them the attention they deserve?

Sure, Capcom has been working pretty fervently as of late to appeal to the Western market (Dragon's Dogma, fighting games, Dead Rising 2 being developed by Blue Castle, Bionic Commando was developed by GRIN, etc). However, nothing seems to be breaching it for them. Are Capcom's games too "Eastern" to be received well in the West from a sales standpoint?

Source: http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/data/html/result/2011/3rd/1.html

Your game isn't titled Call of Duty? No Rockstar logo on the box? It doesn't have multiplayer? It isn't 'hardcore'?

No sales for you. (the sad thing is this sweeping statement is actually true quite often, I'm looking at you Rayman)

I blame Call of Duty, no really. This is no indication of that fanbase (ok it sort of is) but the amount of people I know or have crossed paths with that only play Call of Duty and FIFA until the next yearly instalment of those series comes out is crazy.

People don't want originality or anything different. It's all about the guns and persistent levelling, man.

Capcom will never sell off their IP's. In the very unlikely event Capcom went bankrupt, they would most likely be bought by a larger publisher. Then that publisher would continue to release games under the Capcom umbrella. Capcom as a brand will never disappear as long as their is people that are nostalgic about their franchises.

Despite Inafune's claims, it was never an east vs. west thing. The failures of Bionic Commando and Dark Void reflect that. Any company, wherever they are, will largely rely on what works for them in order to make money.

@Sooty said:

Your game isn't titled Call of Duty? No Rockstar logo on the box? It doesn't have multiplayer? It isn't 'hardcore'?

No sales for you. (the sad thing is this sweeping statement is actually true quite often, I'm looking at you Rayman)

I blame Call of Duty, no really. This is no indication of that fanbase (ok it sort of is) but the amount of people I know or have crossed paths with that only play Call of Duty and FIFA until the next yearly instalment of those series comes out is crazy.

People don't want originality or anything different. It's all about the guns and persistent levelling, man.

Pretty sure Rayman not selling had something more to do with coming out at the worst possible time. Literally looking at a calendar, you could not find a worse week to release that game.... just saying.

@UnrealDP said:

@Sooty said:

Your game isn't titled Call of Duty? No Rockstar logo on the box? It doesn't have multiplayer? It isn't 'hardcore'?

No sales for you. (the sad thing is this sweeping statement is actually true quite often, I'm looking at you Rayman)

I blame Call of Duty, no really. This is no indication of that fanbase (ok it sort of is) but the amount of people I know or have crossed paths with that only play Call of Duty and FIFA until the next yearly instalment of those series comes out is crazy.

People don't want originality or anything different. It's all about the guns and persistent levelling, man.

Pretty sure Rayman not selling had something more do do with coming out at the worst possible time. Literally looking at a calendar, you could not find a worse week to release that game.... just saying.

Oh yeah that too. Publishers still think the end of the year is a good time to release 'ALL THE THINGS'

I think I have a point with most of what I said though, it's pretty sad.

Your game isn't titled Call of Duty? No Rockstar logo on the box? It doesn't have multiplayer? It isn't 'hardcore'?

No sales for you. (the sad thing is this sweeping statement is actually true quite often, I'm looking at you Rayman)

I blame Call of Duty, no really. This is no indication of that fanbase (ok it sort of is) but the amount of people I know or have crossed paths with that only play Call of Duty and FIFA until the next yearly instalment of those series comes out is crazy.

People don't want originality or anything different. It's all about the guns and persistent levelling, man.

Maybe Capcom could stop shitting out games and start making some.

@Sooty said:

Your game isn't titled Call of Duty? No Rockstar logo on the box? It doesn't have multiplayer? It isn't 'hardcore'?

No sales for you. (the sad thing is this sweeping statement is actually true quite often, I'm looking at you Rayman)

I blame Call of Duty, no really. This is no indication of that fanbase (ok it sort of is) but the amount of people I know or have crossed paths with that only play Call of Duty and FIFA until the next yearly instalment of those series comes out is crazy.

People don't want originality or anything different. It's all about the guns and persistent levelling, man.

Pretty sure Rayman not selling had something more do do with coming out at the worst possible time. Literally looking at a calendar, you could not find a worse week to release that game.... just saying.

They have like 8 games this year so, no.

I really, really wanted this thread to be speculation about a new Dino Crisis game.

I sure hope so, that's what they should get for destroying my beloved RE games.

@Sooty said:

I blame Call of Duty, no really.

Capcom has its own set of problems and a track record of stupid decisions and pissing off its fans. and releasing stupid ultimate super marvel v capcom 7 for 10 bucks less than ultimate super marvel capcom 6 which came out like 2 days ago.

and if cod is stealing capcom's consumers, whose fault is that?

maybe capcom should be expected to release something that people want to play, rather than expect people that like cod to stop playing it because you don't like it.

i'm still pissed at them for turning RE5 into a retarded escort mission with an escortee with suicidal brain dead AI. and that has NOTHING to do with cod.

Buuuh buuuh buuuuhhh......Street Fighter?

Capcom i think i know what you need to do. Guile needs an M16.

@Hailinel said:

Despite Inafune's claims, it was never an east vs. west thing. The failures of Bionic Commando and Dark Void reflect that. Any company, wherever they are, will largely rely on what works for them in order to make money.

Despite Inafune's claims...and Ben Judd's...and Mark MacDonald...and many others in the industry who specifically say that it's because Capcom is not capable of fully appealing to the Western audience and it's virtually killing Capcom at the moment.

It's the biggest reason that Capcom is trying to make a Western-based RPG (Dragon's Dogma) as well as trying to shove Asura's Wrath down everyone's throat. There are even places that are saying that Resident Evil 6's announcement and release date are rushed because of Capcom falling flat on their ass from having to rely so heavily on Resident Evil and fighting games for any types of sales numbers in the West...

...and even those are shrinking because people are sick of the bullshit.

@kingzetta said:

They have like 8 games this year so, no.

They have eight games, but how many of them will be high profile sellers? I mean, if you look at the earnings call in general, they pointed out that DESPITE MONSTER HUNTER SELLING SHITLOADS OF COPIES, they are reporting a 52% PROFIT LOSS! It doesn't matter how many games are coming out, especially when...lo and behold...three of them are Resident Evil games that they NEED to have big numbers on and another one is...lo and behold...a Street Fighter X Tekken game that they are relying on getting some sales from.

In turn, they now have five games, two of which are original IPs and frankly look mediocre at best. Everything I've seen for Dragon's Dogma makes me think "I'd rather play Dark Souls or Skyrim" and everything I've seen and played of the demo for Asura's Wrath makes me think "I want to play a game, not watch one". With they appeal to Western audiences? We'll see, but I don't feel any type of marketing behind those games right now AT ALL.

_____________________________________

Also, let's not overlook the slaps in the face that Capcom has been issuing out to people, specifically when it comes to Mega Man. First, there's the cancellation of a game that people were genuinely psyched about - Mega Man Legends 3, and that is followed by an incredibly backhanded and insulting tweet to the community. After that, you have the fat cover art version of Mega Man showing up as a special character in Street Fighter X Tekken, which many have seen as a backhanded comment to those who want Mega Man in MvC games. Beyond that, you also have everything that was happening with Resident Evil Revelations (the price hike which finally got reduced, the "no used copies" thing, etc).

If anything, Capcom is doing everything they can to push fans AWAY right now. They are oversaturating the Resident Evil franchise, they are treating a treasured franchise like Mega Man as if it's just a piece of trash waiting to be taken out, and they are pushing new IPs that seem to have only a niche interest.

As for the idea of them merging, it wouldn't be with Square Enix. SE is already in pretty deep with the buyout of Eidos (or merge, whatever the fuck it was). If anything, I would expect someone like Konami to take a look at that portfolio, as they are a company with a LOT of "Just Dance" money sitting around to spend on something. They are a company that severely needs to expand their portfolio as well, since the only things that will give them almost any form of "guaranteed" sales are Just Dance, Castlevania, and anything with Metal Gear in the name. The problem in that, however, is that a Konami-Capcom merger would only be powerful IN THE EAST. One of the biggest reasons that Square Enix picked up Eidos was because it gave them a Western market share back which they had lost.

I mean, how many people even realize that Eastern appeal in Western market share has reduced down to about 10% over the last 10 years?

I could be talking out of my ass, but isn't Dragons Dogma supposed to be the most expensive game that they've made? If things like that are true, then yeah, Capcom could be in some trouble. Aside from their current situation.

They are idiots. In my opinion they are this decade's EA just making one stupid decision after another trying to maximize profit all the while driving away the customers they need to make a profit. From the charging for the multiplayer component of Resident Evil 5 and in all honesty general shittyness of all their DLC to the one file save on Resident Evil Mercenaries. To not listening to the fans enough and then swinging too far the other direction and listening too much. Seriously I don't look forward to anything Capcom does anymore until I hear that it is actually good. I think they can turn it around though because I used to feel the same way about EA after a long run of stupid decisions but they started turning things around about 4 or 5 years ago and now I enjoy a lot of their games.

@CounterShock said:

I could be talking out of my ass, but isn't Dragons Dogma supposed to be the most expensive game that they've made? If things like that are true, then yeah, Capcom could be in some trouble. Aside from their current situation.

I don't know about most expensive, but from what I understand, the development team is among the largest they've had on a single project.

@LMFAOGuy

I agree with everything you said. Don't forget to add on the crappy PC support they have despite them agreeing to support all platforms that they could. Releasing SFIV 6 months after release of the console version, same with their Arcade Edition (even their 2012 PATCH is 3 months late). No DLCs for Resident Evil 5 PC owners (I know many hate it, but I love it. I do understand where everyone is coming from though and wish it wasn't a main numbered series.). A delay on Raccoon City, RE6, and SFxT for the PC development section as well as DRM being considered for SFIV Arcade Edition at start.

Comon guys, really? You wonder why people are jaded about your shit?

Capcom is my favorite developer... So I hope not.

If they are a buyout target at some point, maybe one of the big 3 console makers would look at it. It would give them some very nice exclusives. Personally, I hope Nintendo buy them then maybe Sony, but not Microsoft. Nintendo should have bought up Sega at the time of their troubles, it would have suited them perfectly and Sonic would have been better for it.

Breath of Fire VI.

That wouldn't help them much, but I'd love to play it.

@BoG said:

Breath of Fire VI.

That wouldn't help them much, but I'd love to play it.

Same here.

They didn't put Megaman in UMvC3, you really think they'd do that if they were in trouble?

Hey man- dinosaurs are makin' a comeback!

Capcom makes good games, they just have to be more careful of their social image I feel. All these DRM issues, new versions of games in the same year, and spending money on developing games like Dark Void to appeal to the west. I think Capcom needs to stick to games that they're good at, which to me is, crazy Japanese shit. Fighting games, RE games, new IPs that aren't trying to be overly western. They should play to their strength rather than trying to gain new ones, at least until they start making a profit again.

Capcom needs to treat it's fans better, and Capcom fans need to demand it. Between the MvC3 bait and switch, the Mercenaries debacle, and the gigantic middle-fingers it's given the Mega Man community, I'm not surprised to hear they're hurting.

@kingzetta said:

@jakob187: NIS had a 90% loss two years ago and they are still a company, don't worry.

NIS is also a much smaller niche company. Recovering from a 90% loss for a smaller company like them is much different than an international, globally-recognized publisher that ranks within the top 10 in the world. Therefore, let's make a much fairer comparison...

@Hailinel said:

@jakob187 Except Inafune left Capcom, screwing over a project he had his heart set on, and Ben Judd hasn't been heard from much since Bionic Commando tanked.

It doesn't matter. The point is that they know the inner workings of Capcom, and what they are spitting is truth. It's not like they are saying "YO FUCK CAPCOM DAWG I'MA BEAST THIS SHIT WORD UP RAY-RAY". They are hoping and wishing for the best out of Capcom, and they can easily look into their own experiences much better than some fucking analyst and say "look, shit's kind of fucked up over there and they are driving themselves into the ground, and I hate seeing it happen".

Therefore, I don't think it matters who left and what tanked. If anything, I think people give Bionic Commando WAY MORE shit than it honestly deserves. I will NEVER understand the hate for that game.

@jakob187: It's not an Eastern vs Western thing...

If they focused on just making one thing that worked that didn't feel like they were bleeding consumers and made the controls not shit they would be raking in money.

I thought this was going to be about Dino Crisis.

Lets get this straight ... they lost 52% overall or they are not making those 52% but still making profit? If they still are making cash out of their investments well they are not in red numbers , altho it is a huge loss they still are getting money so I dont see the big drama. The stuff with Capcom is that they always had a small portfolio just like Konami or can you guys list anything more than the usual from these studios? Also lets remember that games in the 90s were a lot cheaper to make , so their small portfolio wasnt a bad thing. They should stop trying to "cater" to western audiences , they will never make a good "westerne" type of game so why bother? They should stop doing all the Resident Evils (they stoped being good games since Veronica) and try to make new IPs , japanese ones. Also they should lower their scopes , like someone mentioned , they wont make an COD hit , as sad as that is.