Capcom to produce multiplatform games only

  • Posted September 15th, 2008 at 05:05 EDT by
  • 2,409 views
  • 30 Comments

With the hardware market fiercely divided and videogame budgets swelling into the hundreds of millions, many publishers have been focussing on multiplatform development to maximise sales. Few, however, have done so as baldly as Capcom.

"All major titles launched during the next fiscal year or thereafter will be developed as multi-platform games," reads Capcom's fiscal year 2008 shareholder report.

Many future projects, the report goes on, will be developed using the company's in-house MT Framework technology, "an integrated development environment built to provide common development tools for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC platforms." The idea is to "to increase revenue and dramatically increase the number of users by launching, for example, Resident Evil 5 ... Street Fighter IV ... and Bionic Commando [on multiple platforms]."

Capcom has taken steps to reassure predictably infuriated console loyalists. "I think the materials pretty much speak for themselves and we’re continuing to support all consoles with appropriate content,” commented Christian Svensson, Capcom’s Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Planning.

“It just means things that in the past would have been timed exclusives to a single platform will no longer be exclusive to a single platform. It’s just better business decisions at play."

"I don’t think fans have anything to worry about," Svnesson breezed. "That said, I know nothing I say will keep people from freaking out, screaming ‘the sky is falling, OMG!’ So feel free to carry on assuming the worst. I suspect you’ll be pleasantly surprised if you do so."

You heard the man - assume away!

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Comments

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What are your thoughts?

  1. MercRecon | MercRecon

    • 5:15am BST - September 15th, 2008

    Well, it isn't like we didn't see that coming!!! lol That's why in-house development will be the key to a consoles success in the future.

  2. VEGAZ5

    • 5:34am BST - September 15th, 2008

    no big surprise, wonder how many more will follow suit?

  3. Aphexman

    • 5:35am BST - September 15th, 2008

    that means more crap games like dmc4

  4. hitman8062 | hitman8062

    • 5:48am BST - September 15th, 2008

    i hope not,dmc4 sucked

  5. supergem

    • 5:49am BST - September 15th, 2008

    @Alexman... not crappy games themselves, but the engines they run on. I guess with that multiplatform policy there won't be cutting-edge technologies (like Resident Evil 4 on gamecube) from capcom anymore...

  6. princevegeta1980

    • 6:09am BST - September 15th, 2008

    Just as long devs try to make the best with thier game for each platform instead of cr@ppy ports, I don't mind!

  7. PS3-The Ultimate Machine

    • 6:12am BST - September 15th, 2008

    Did anyone ever tell Capcom that their supposedly highly praised MT Framework engine su cks?I mean,they've been making good games like DMC and Lost Planet,but they're just not upto the standards others have set.But obviously,Capcom doesn't realize this and wants to keep on using it becuz by creating a new game engine,they might lose that last $1000 they wanted to save for that Ferrari.

  8. rexdeath | rexdeath

    • 6:57am BST - September 15th, 2008

    Soooo that means Dead Rising 2 is on PS3. If they don't take advantage of the PS3 and improve it over 360, I see no reason to buy their games.

  9. rycexboi

    • 7:21am BST - September 15th, 2008

    Sigh, capcom has went down the drain, another company that is taking the easy way and going all for the money.

  10. Odium_Generis_Humani

    • 7:41am BST - September 15th, 2008

    THEY ARE IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY!  Stupid kids.  The world doesn't run on love and clouds.  You should be happy they are up front about it.  This is the way it should be.  Sony's 1st party stuff is the most varied (from MLB The Show baseball to LBP to GranTurismo to Uncharted to Eye of Judgement) and solid of all.  Not worried. 

  11. Solid_Squirrel | ZeroTheSquirrel

    • 7:42am BST - September 15th, 2008

    Yay Usher in the the era of games that have to play to the weakest console and can't be too big because certain consoles don't have a large enough storage mediums!

    My decision to stop supporting these idiots was made up when they made the genius idea of making Monster Hunter 3 exclusive to the Wii and pretty much removing all exclusive games for the PS3

     

    The sky isn't falling but there is dirt in my eyes

  12. IONIXX | IONIXX

    • 7:57am BST - September 15th, 2008

    assume so? i KNOW so,..........

  13. buffalothc | buffalothc

    • 8:00am BST - September 15th, 2008

    Odium you said what I was thinking. How do people expect devs to keep putting out exclusives when they're not making enough money back to cover their development cost. If anybody's been paying attention, you would have noticed that the ps3 is getting easier to develop for. And since it has better capabilities than the box, pretty soon it will be the leading platform to develop for meaning better games. What idiot would start a business without moneymaking as it's goal.

  14. buffalothc | buffalothc

    • 8:00am BST - September 15th, 2008

    Odium you said what I was thinking. How do people expect devs to keep putting out exclusives when they're not making enough money back to cover their development cost. If anybody's been paying attention, you would have noticed that the ps3 is getting easier to develop for. And since it has better capabilities than the box, pretty soon it will be the leading platform to develop for meaning better games. What idiot would start a business without moneymaking as it's goal.

  15. NateDrake | Tornado_200

    • 9:13am BST - September 15th, 2008

    PS3 exclusive titles are much more better than multiplatform's

    look at Uncharted:Drake's Fortune , MGS4 & the highly anticipated Heavy Rain

  16. Excelryu | Falryu

    • 9:55am BST - September 15th, 2008

    Good. Now get me Monster hunter multiplatform!

  17. RocManX | RocManX

    • 10:01am BST - September 15th, 2008

    None of Capcom's upcoming titles really interest me much. Except for RE5, and that's only if it has spilt-screen co-op. Me and my fiancée are really hoping for that : )

  18. gingo | gingo

    • 10:21am BST - September 15th, 2008

    psn id: gingo.... i'm all for this type of multiplatform releasing where its spread out between ps3 and xbox 360, what i hate is when companies like EA try and release a game for ps3, 360, wii, ps2, xbox, ps1, atari 2600... ok maybe gone a bit too far there :P but i hate companies trying to release a game on every platform ever made

  19. solbaid | Solbaid

    • 10:24am BST - September 15th, 2008

    i understand the multiplatform idea as up and coming designer myself but im sticking to one console when i get to that point cause its as 11 said some systems arent as powerful as others or have space so they have to cut crap out for some ppl so yeah exclusives r better and i refuse to buy crapcom stuff since MH3 wasnt on ps3 anymore cause thats bs that the system it sold awesome on they take it away from them so yeah cya crapcom

  20. markwesker

    • 10:32am BST - September 15th, 2008

    shame, i would of liked to see them take advantage of the ps3 power n make some exclusives,.i guess they must need the cash if everything is going multi plat.

  21. Free_Agent

    • 12:08pm BST - September 15th, 2008

    This is good news. 1st party titles are always going to be the best anyway(in most cases) and this just means the PS3 will be getting more titles. I hope by now that Capcom has increased it's ability to develop on the PS3, and we shouldn't see too many more crappy ports.Now they need to bring dead rising to the PS3.

  22. Intervention

    • 12:46pm BST - September 15th, 2008

    Why not just make good controllers for the PC and do away with all these BS consoles. I'm sick of this, thinkin about just selling mine, been nothing but letdown since I bought it.

  23. FatherOfOne

    • 1:28pm BST - September 15th, 2008

    A few quick points.  The first is the myth that it takes near 0 development dollars to go multi-platform.  This is ridiculous!  You have to spend time with EACH platform and then test for that platform.  You then have to do an overall game design that has the constraints of each of those platforms.  So this means (for Sony) no game will assume that you have a HD, it will NEVER use more than what can fit on a 9GB drive and it will probably NEVER use HOME unless mandated by Sony.  Good news if you are Microsoft with a console with less built in stuff, but bad for Sony.  So again, it takes time to test, debug and develop for a multi-platform game and even if you have some cross platform engine this will still take some serious time. 

    Is this bad?  Well that depends?  If you are developing a simple puzzle game and the Wii, PS3 and 360 crowd would justify the extra cost then this makes sense, but "if" you are making a game like say MADDEN, and put a ton of resources in to a Wii version and it sells like crap then it doesn't make sense.  (Not that the Wii version sold like crap, but I am using this as an example). 

    Lastly, look at Halo and MGS4.  Both sold great and are exclusives.  To get a game like Halo or MGS4 to be cross platform would be a MAJOR pain and would have made either one less of an experience. 

    As far as Capcom not doing exclusives, that probably makes sense for them, but at the end of the day we the gamers will get less of a product. 

  24. edward_moffet | edd

    • 3:19pm BST - September 15th, 2008

    they said this like almost two years ago

  25. G.I. Chameleon

    • 4:11pm BST - September 15th, 2008

    so by saying this does it mean the next monster hunter will be back on ps3??? Cause if it's not i will never buy another capcom title, and i mean it i havn't bought a single title of theirs since they did that bulls*** giving it to the wii exclusively

  26. RagingStorm | RagingStormX

    • 6:40pm BST - September 15th, 2008

    I just want a Breath of Fire 6.....and go back to the fun turn base like BoF3 & 4.....none of that BS like BoF5.

  27. Rolovis | Rolovis

    • 7:06pm BST - September 15th, 2008

    Haha their loyalty should be described as "Not PS3". I think we're the only ones w/o an exclusive game, right?

  28. Kinnson

    • 11:33pm BST - September 15th, 2008

    So we are basically gonna get last gen games for our next gen console. Sounds like a stupid move on capcoms part.

  29. jphuff | jhuff

    • 11:36pm BST - September 15th, 2008

     This is nothing surprising.  It's also one of the reasons that Sony has quietly geared up their 1st party acquisitions over the past years.  Now, no one can match the volume of exclusives that Sony can produce for the PS3.  And yes, THAT is where you'll see the cutting edge games, etc.  Microsoft nor Nintendo have the ability to put out even a third of the games that Sony will.  This is where you'll see the PS3 shine.

  30. Uncool | Admodistrator

    • 11:58pm BST - September 15th, 2008

     RE5 and SFIV were inevitable to eventually become multiplat, DMC4 was the one many truly believed to be exclusive. And yes obviously this generation the companies saw that it wasn't the right time to stay exclusive to any one platform due to rising costs and intense decisions makings on revenues marks. 

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