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A
2002 prognosis focusing on the 3rd party of 3rd parties ...Capcom
(cue cheers and stage rushing)
"..what allows Capcom to flourish as it does is its lack of
allegiance to any specific hardware while maintaining a total allegiance
to the gaming community."
"..about a Devil May cry sequel. the fact that they are Capcom
gives it away. There will be a sequel and it will be on PS2."
"The PS2 has the best line-up coming out of Capcom country, yet..
there will be much quality to spread round"
When considering the future prognosis of the gaming industry one can
only flutter with glee, and when lining up to kiss the toes of those
developers responsible for such an optimistic outlook, make your first
stop Capcom. As prolific as a third party can get, Capcom has released
nothing but gold since it began to gain notoriety with Fighting Street
a.k.a. Street Fighter in '88. Since then Capcom has redefined what
it means to "waste time" (what insolence my mother had to
define gaming as such) with classics from Strider to Resident Evil to
Street Fighter 3: 2nd Impact, in fact searching the Capcom library will
turn up nary a turd (all games developed with the Spawn engine
notwithstanding). Surely, what allows Capcom to flourish as it
does is its lack of allegiance to any specific hardware at a given time,
while maintaining a total allegiance to the gaming community. Case
in point, the public expresses warm fuzzies for a title, Capcom will overload the market with sequels and
off shoots, better too much than too little (take a hint Treasure).
As we have
rounded the corner into true next generation status following the
Japanese launch of the Xbox (sorry, sorry ..and the South Korean launch
of the PS2), third party developers like Capcom will be more crucial
than ever to determine the success of a platform. As we look at
the upcoming titles from Capcom notice how spread they are across all
platforms, and rejoice that they love you, the gamer, so much.
PS2: Of course the PS2 is the bane cum darling of every
development house out there. Though its hardware is tricky, its
installed user base is about as large as the population of California
and so it has plenty support (plus it's my favorite). Capcom has
supplied the PS2 with it's first million seller in Onimusha: Warlords,
and has continued its frantic pace of hits with Resident Evil: Code
Veronica X, Devil May Cry and most recently, Maximo. Sequels are
in order for all of these, though we'll have to wait awhile for the
Resident Evil series to play the prodigal child. First up will be
Onimusha 2 featuring the same development cast responsible for the
first, including
Keiji Inafune as producer. Onimusha 2 is looking a March 7 release
date in Japan, thus add 2-3 months for localization and that's when
we'll see it.
Capcom has
spoken briefly and sporadically about a Devil May Cry sequel, yet the
fact that they are Capcom gives it away. There will be a sequel and it
will be on PS2, more info will be garnered at E3. Same goes for Maximo,
though Capcom took nearly a decade to provide any semblance of a sequel
to Ghosts and Goblins it won't
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be as long a wait this time, though 2002
will not be the year. Auto Modellista is Capcom's first venture
into the racing genre and will be exclusive to the PS2. Combining
simulation style game play and cel-shaded graphics, Auto Modellista will
most likely continue Capcom's knack for flawless innovation, and will be
one of the first PS2 triple-a titles to feature online play.
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As far as fighters go, traditionally Capcom's bread and butter, the only
title on the radar is Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Whirlwind of Gold set
for a late spring release. Though Capcom is no doubt working
feverishly on Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as well as the rumored Capcom v.
Dragon Ball Z, these will certainly hit arcades first.
Xbox: Xbox, that dastardly device, is getting what is perhaps
Capcom's most intriguing title this year in Tekki (formerly BrainBox).
The game features a total mech sim atmosphere, complete with an
in-the-cockpit viewpoint plus a forty-button behemoth of a joystick.
Interesting what Capcom is going for here, a total departure from their
standard arcadey fare, yet it will be a sight to behold nevertheless.
Aside from Tekki, there is not much nailed down on the Xbox. Genma
Onimusha was recently released, and Xbox will most likely get Onimusha 2
as well, yet nothing is
certain. However, Capcom has pledged full support and the Dino Crisis
series to the Xbox, so we can be certain of things to come.
Gamecube: Though the only definite support Capcom has given to the
Gamecube is the exclusive rights to the Resident Evil franchise, this is
no shallow speech. First, the popularity and powerful nature of the
Resident Evil series must be weighed before we can discern the gravity
of this agreement between Nintendo and Capcom. The Resident Evil
series has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide, and a movie is on
the way. That's big time stuff in this lowly gaming world of ours. Thus,
expect more from Capcom on the Gamecube in the future.
As we can see, Capcom has big plans, new paths to traverse and three
different pieces of hardware to toy with. Given their history,
they will support the system with the largest user base the most
readily. However, as the Dreamcast can attest, they support the down and
out as well. Not so arguably, the PS2 has the best lineup coming
out of Capcom country, yet because of their genuine allegiance to the
gamer,
there will be much quality spread round.
Tolkiemingway
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