DmC's forecast has been lowered yet again.

The explanation for missing targets leans heavily on a failure to properly market their titles and a "decline in quality due to excessive outsourcing"

We are never going to see a sequel to DmC, folks

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/04/18/capcom-announces-special-loss-along-with-changes-in-development-practices.aspx

http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/data/pdf/explanation/2012/full/explanation_2012_full_01.pdf

UPDATE:

"As a result of the figures below, Capcom has now confirmed that it has cancelled several overseas projects that it has deemed, “no longer compatible with the current business strategy”. We’ll update once we know which games have suffered the axe."

http://www.vg247.com/2013/04/18/capcom-year-end-profits-to-be-half-of-what-investors-expected/

The quality of DmC was fine. What was not fine was the expectation and marketing which I'm not sure is Ninja Theory's fault.

you guys can say how wrong i am, but whatever if ninja theory had just shut their mouth instead of badmouthing fans, that forecast and the sales would be better.

Seems like they've done well considering the sales guesses that are coming out for God of War: Ascension

They make good games and I'm looking forward to whatever Ninja Theory does next.

Also I seriously doubt that a Devil May Cry 5 (or whatever the next classic would be called) would sell well either where I suspect just like with RE6 it would be lower than previous games as well.

"As a result of the figures below, Capcom has now confirmed that it has cancelled several overseas projects that it has deemed, “no longer compatible with the current business strategy”. We’ll update once we know which games have suffered the axe."

http://www.vg247.com/2013/04/18/capcom-year-end-profits-to-be-half-of-what-investors-expected/

I'll add this to the OP

Anyone else think it's kind of funny the only other lunatic that posted in this forum was named Brighty and now we have a new one called Darkly...

Hey man, don't rope me into this. I'm not going to rest until I get to the bottom of this nefarious imposter

The problem with that list is each of those games are X many into a series, they need new IP's to keep the Capcom label strong because their business end with DLC's practices aren't helping any.

Shame. This is still one of the big highlights for me this year. I would have loved to see what they could have done with a sequel.

In the end, I guess the consumers spoke with their wallets and actually made an impact. I can't say that's an especially bad thing, regardless of the market or industry in question.

I don't give a *fuck all* about the original DMC's but I kinda like the new one. Bummer.

Sucks. I hope Ninja Theory can keep making games (and that people will buy them).

7 million RE6 units? Yeah right.

I think you people are focusing too much on DmC as being what they are referring too. Let's keep in mind the Western dev teams that are involved with Operation: Raccoon City, Lost Planet 3, and the fighting game re-releases. (I know LP3 isn't out yet, but come on? Who thinks that's actually going to be a hit for them?)

Also, they played a similar Western dev blame game in 2010 after Bionic Commando and Dark Void.

2013: the year Japanese publishers start blaming western developers they contracted for their own mistakes.

Is this about the wig thing? Please tell me there's more to this than "not in a million years".

I'm genuinely asking, because that's the only "insult" I've ever heard people reference, but people constantly reference being insulted.

i believe it was more than that, especially with what the Tameem guy has said over the course of Dev for this game that pissed off the diehards.

I did a little searching around, this link doesnt seem like the full story, but it still has stuff that pissed off the diehards,

http://devilmaycry.org/community/threads/why-ninja-theory-are-hated.9814/

its funny how that guy made so much digs on the diehard fans, and i believe it was the ps4 event they showed him with a bald head :P

Way, way, way more than that.

The vitriol that started was back during the initial 2010 TGS tease where instead of handling the backlash professionally NT went and attacked the fans, blamed them for poor sales on Enslaved, said the old Dante wasn't "cool" anymore and the those games were outdated, etc. etc..

Honestly its been explained and documented so many times before on a thousand different forums. There was a reason people wrote this game off out of sheer principle before it even shipped.

Okay, at least it's more than that one line, which was playful ribbing at the past. Something EVERY remake and reboot and reimagining does. Hell, even Bioshock Infinite did it. Underwater city? Ridiculous. Plus, it was kinda funny.

Uh-huh. I would have respected them more if they just took the loss as is and didn't try to make excuses. It makes them look like a weak company.

I definitely agree which is why I don't completely blame Ninja Theory. Although NT did do some very bad things, Capcom is still handled it wrong from release timing to media to messaging. This is the first DmC in awhile I was "wow!"-ed by and actually enjoyed finishing where the more I look at how it was handled it seems like a "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" thing.

This sucks. That was a really fun game, dang it!

yea that dig in the game was kinda funny, but yea it was much more than that. it was also ironic they did that and that they have dlc that makes him look like the classic guy

but its also not all the way their fault though, there is credible blame to be leveled a ninja theory also.

Sure. But does it really need to be said out in the public? I mean, from my perspective as an enthusiast, it just makes them look like they are throwing developers under the bus (Ninja Theory included). They are the big company here, they made the decisions to put these developers in these positions, and so on. At some point you just got to take it on the chin and move on. Any other move besides that makes them look like they are looking for sympathy and to put the blame off on others whether blame should be shared or not. As the bigger company they just need to take the loss and bite their tongue. Anyway, if I were in their position I would do that publicly because I would assume that would be the only good option I would have and still have a respectable standing with consumers and developers.

I don't see it, Ninja Theory made an excellent game, they fulfilled their side of the bargain, if the game's sales didn't meet Capcom's expectations the blame lies mainly with Capcom for either not promoting the game properly or more likely not having reasonable expectations. Seems like the only games that are exceeding expectations anymore are either Call of Duty or free to play.

I don't know they could make a sequel or spiritual successor but just do it right this time and not actively try to split the fan base with aggressive marketing that pits old fans and new fans at each other.

Your right they made the decisions to put ninja theory to helm devil may cry so there is blame to level at capcom no question there,

but Capcom is a company that is very oriented towards their fanbase (with the exception of megaman) ,

as the bigger company putting your money towards the other company to develop the next game in a beloved franchise imo you would also expect the company you employed to not badmouth the fans of said game series you employ the company to work on,

which they clearly pissed off fans. (quoted @darkly's post below the link)

http://devilmaycry.org/community/threads/why-ninja-theory-are-hated.9814/

The vitriol that started was back during the initial 2010 TGS tease where instead of handling the backlash professionally NT went and attacked the fans, blamed them for poor sales on Enslaved, said the old Dante wasn't "cool" anymore and the those games were outdated, etc. etc..Honestly its been explained and documented so many times before on a thousand different forums. There was a reason people wrote this game off out of sheer principle before it even shipped

as someone thats studying aspects of Business, its an underestimated factor that people take for granted, the power of enough vocal fans that creates enough toxic air around a product that just sinks it. (Ben Judd, the creator of the failed reboot of bionic commando blames himself not capcom for not making the right tweaks to satisfy fans)

Then they shouldn't have hired Ninja Theory. They need to learn from their mistakes. But dragging developers through the mud doesn't do anything of value for Capcom. Plus, if I were a western developer, I wouldn't want anything to do with Capcom now. They did something similar to this when that Bionic Commando reboot you mentioned failed (the statement came out around the time when Dead Rising 2 was about to come out which was yet another Western developed game). If I were a developer I would think that Capcom only appreciates our relationship as long as that relationship brings money and if it doesn't I need to watch my ass before Capcom tries to ruin my reputation.

I guess I would like to think that a big company like Capcom would weigh the costs versus benefits of making statements like this. I don't see many benefits from this statement. But I sure as hell see a lot of costs.

It seems more likely than not that voting with their wallets killed the franchise and severely crippled the genre. Mission successful?

I read through that and man, what a shitshow. The scant bits of criticism that might have been valid were quotations given with absolutely no context. You can't take any of that at face value when the poster clearly had an agenda. And given how the rest of the post is the most ridiculous grasping at straws I have ever seen, it's much more likely that those quotations were specifically taken out of context to help vilify NT.

I'm a diehard DMC fan, and the first thing I'd tell anyone getting pissed off by the stuff posted in that thread is "Grow the fuck up".

They were expecting the reboot to reinvigorate sales into the franchise and bring in new people.

when it pissed off the diehards that stuck with the series and created a toxic air around this game, and this game was the worst selling DMC game. ( i know Vg chartz isnt the most accurate source, but its the only public source we have, DmC sold 0.69 million total between ps3 and 360, versus the 2.76 million that DMC4 sold between the 2 systems)

im not saying the diehards are the definitive factor, there are a bunch of factors why it didnt sell,but the internet rage for this game was most certainly a factor.

DmC sequel? Not in a million years.

Or you know, they're a publicly traded company with an obligation to inform their shareholders why they just lost money?

People can choose words more carefully as it turns out.

@mrfluke: I just think those declines in sales numbers are common in the industry right now across pretty much every franchise, how do the numbers for Resident Evil 6 compare with 5 or 4?

Actually the guys that developed bionic commando, Grin, said they really liked working with capcom they said they were one of the best companies that they worked with, that they were one of the few that actually stuck to their commitment on paying them on time,, it was more the character design of the main guy and the overall Brown color scheme that was shown in the beginning was the "poison narrative" surrounding that game and they never recovered from that.

also by saying they shouldn't hire ninja theory, then was it a known thing with ninja theory that they were so egotistical and pretentious and also have poor communication skills with fanbases? (the dude Tameem, who looked like the dante in this game, shaved his head after all this internet rage) or was it known at the glance that they are able to tell a very quality story in character action games? (something that would benefit the DMC series as that is the franchise weakest point)

it was a right risky move in the beginning to reboot the series with these guys as there could have been a lot of benefits with having these guys do the reboot, but their poor interactions with fanbases imo costed both those Companies reputations to go down as the diehards were vocal enough to be considered a factor to this games failure.

but ultimately as much as im saying this, the vocals weren't the definitive factor, it was ultimately a bunch of factors that sunk this game (the usual factors that are plaguing games right now)

But this isn't a press release, it's from an earnings call. This is supposed to be raw data for investors, not sugar coating for the fans. It's quite simply Capcom stating how they fucked up and how they intend to fix that.

your right, as there is a slump in interest that is plaguing games right now, but i dont deny the Fanbase factor when it comes to sales though.

resident evil 6 also had super divisive review scores, and resident evil 5 was also plagued with a narrative for being too "actiony", also the head guy that made resident evil 4 also left capcom before RE5 so there is also that.

then there wasn't enough of diehards like you to battle the diehards that were pissed off. and yea that post isnt the full story, but ive seen that narrative about that game, that company and that guy on other websites,

The people that are blaming Ninja Theory with this need to stop. It's not their fault (aside from a few slight PR missteps). They did exactly what Capcom hired them to do. All the blame for DmC and it's misguided direction/shunning of former fans lies entirely with the Capcom leadership.

Yeah honestly, reading through that gave me some insight as to why some DMC fans were pissed off, and a ton of insight as to why people were belittling the angry DMC fans. I mean, I didn't like Other M but I thought ignoring it worked out alright.

DMC fans should really stop making themselve look so needy and selfimportant by digging around for every single article showing DmC didn't sell. Hey guys, it sold better than both GoWs and Xcom. You didn't do shit, people are just tired of buying games for this gen and aside from shooters, nothing as been meeting sales goals for about a year now.

It's funny you say that while trying to sound self important yourself. GoW is a one platform game and Xcom is a sequel to a nitch game that was on pc so not known to many current consoles gamers which means it could be a new IP to most.

If anyone here hasn't played any DMC game before, do yourself a favour and get the HD collection, the new game is shite compared to DMC3

Man I'll be really disappointed if there isn't a sequel to DmC, I thought it was excellent. That thread on why they hate Ninja Theory is quite possibly the most pathetic thing I've ever seen and I really don't think an actual sequel to Devil May Cry 4 would of sold any better.