Giant Bomb Video Game News

March of 2007 sticks in my head as one of the saddest, most embarrassing moments ever to be a fan of video games. That's when Capcom innocently announced Devil May Cry 4 would be rolling onto other platforms--Xbox 360 and PC--and not just the PlayStation 3, version of which being all they'd shown off up to that point. That wasn't the embarrassing part! Oh no. It was the public outcry from people who are apparently worried about what platforms other people are playing a game on. Remember the God-awful ludicrous online petition that popped up days later?

To:  Capcom

We (The people that have signed this petition) feel very left out in your decision to make Devil May Cry 4 a Multi-Platform title, and hereby agree to boycott your sale of Capcom affiliated games. This is due to your decision to turn your back on your most faithful gaming company. For years we have enjoyed games, we have reaped the benefits of your committment to Sony. We find it absolutely demoralizing for not only the gamers, but also Sony itself. We want you to know that will not, and should not stand for your actions, and therefore withold our option of buying your product.

ARGH. Not surprisingly, there's a similar effort going now for Final Fantasy XIII. What's the big deal here? Who's stopping you from playing the game on your platform of choice? I'd like to think your hormones will settle down as your adolescence wanes and you'll gain some perspective and realize, hey, WHO CARES.

Anyway, Shacknews has word from Capcom's fiscal '08 shareholder report that the company has taken the logical next step and declared all future games will be on multiple platforms, ensuring we never have to suffer such a deplorable blight on the game industry's collective permanent record again. Capcom's really been holding it down the last year or so, becoming maybe the best current example of what a likeable third-party publisher should be. They're putting out some excellent, risk-taking downloadable games, they're reviving beloved old franchises with the sort of TLC those games deserve, and they've got some rad community outreach going full-tilt. This everybody-gets-to-play policy is yet another step in the right direction, and hey, it has the added bonus of keeping the company in business. That's how they get to keep making games. Game development is getting super expensive these days and you need to sell as many copies as you can so you can afford to keep turning out new titles with such lavish production values. See how this works?

Remember kids: multiplatform releases -- they make good business sense!