CAPCOM LEAVING ARCADE BIZ?

I'm not one for bombastic posts, but I just read this on the Magic Box:

Capcom of Japan mentioned that they are planning to cease the development of arcade business, therefore all the current arcade projects are halted or canceled, including Capcom Fighting All-Stars. It is uncertain whether Banpresto and Capcom's co-developed sequel of Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation Vs Zeon has also been canceled or not.

www.the-magicbox.com

Usually, they post rumors with a clearly marked "Rumor" tag, but this appears to be no rumor.

Wow, if this is true, it seriously alters the face of videogames. Capcom is the last company I'd expect to fold the arcade dept. While their fighting games certainly have refused to evolve with the times (with the exception of 3rd strike IMO), I'd figure their US bussiness alone could float their arcade boat.

can this be true?

Spotlite

 

Capcom did indeed mention that they were planning to pull out of the arcade business years ago. They have also had a bad year on the home console front, so of course they"re going to cut something back - just a bit sooner than expected.

 

The Japanese arcade business has been dying for years. This is a bit surprising, but not without expectation. We'll still get Street Fighter and Versus games, they will just be made by someone else.

 

well, they have'nt really done much this generation anyway... so there will be no more character clash fighting games and endless sequels..

well, their 4 new console titles seem more promising anywayz (minus another bio hazard to the collection). their less annoying sequels to look forward to are rockman X7 and breath of fire. (also the GC rockman game)

to be honest, i'm not even that bothered.. *shrugs*

 

I guess my main point is te implication of something like this. I rank Capcom up there with Sega, and well above Namco, as one of the top arcade market producers. To see a company like this bow out of the bussiness that defines their roots, it's just sad. It's just more and more of the same pattern: the people who defined this industry being driven out of it and forced to sell their wares to mega-corporations like Sony, Microsoft etc.

It bums me out. This kind of trend is the same thing that causes stuff like the war that the US is pushing right now, and people are just so apathetic, like "well, I don't play capcom games, so I don't give a shit... ". First SNK, now Capcom, don't you think there'll be more to come? What will people say if Sega announces it's leaving the arcade biz?

This isn't directed at BareKnuckle per se, just in general. Sega's already been forced out of the home console market, and we're feeling the pinch from Sony as we speak with the hold up of a US release of Evo...

does anyone besides me have fond memories of hundreds of hours spent in convenience stores, bodegas, arcades, bowling alleys, people's rooms, playing Street Fighter 2 with total strangers day after day for years? Capcom's why I started playing fighting games. Not to mention Commando, Alien vs Predator, D&D, puzzle fighter, 1942... tons fo cool games over a LONG time. That's all just ended.

Oh well

 

I feel the same way. SF2 is the game that got me started with the whole fighting game genre, and it's sad to see a major company like Capcom bowing out. Unfortunately, this might be the final nail in the coffin for the arcade business. Hopefully this forces them to seriously evaluate the SF franchise. 1000000000000 SF2 sequels gets redundant after a while, and indicates their reluctance to evolve with the times. When 3rd strike finally came out, I barely noticed. Why couldn't they improve on what they started with "Street Fighter EX"? It seemed like a (very refreshing) step in the right direction at the time. I wish them the best of luck in the future.

 

[ QUOTE ]
spotlite said:
does anyone besides me have fond memories of hundreds of hours spent in convenience stores, bodegas, arcades, bowling alleys, people's rooms, playing Street Fighter 2 with total strangers day after day for years? Capcom's why I started playing fighting games. Not to mention Commando, Alien vs Predator, D&D, puzzle fighter, 1942... tons fo cool games over a LONG time. That's all just ended.

Oh well


[/ QUOTE ]

I can still remember playing SF2, .... at the Arcades, Convenient stores, Gas stations, etc.. back in the day. Playing all the different players with different styles. The annoying Throwers, Guile players, Ken, Ryu experts, the one Zangief or Dhalsim player in the whole arcarde. Boy, it really was an exicting time for us Gamers. Because although Fighting Games did exist before SF2, they never had that level of depth. I do agree that Capcom unfortunately milks a lot of their games but, im still sad that its Arcade division has to end now. And even though VF is my fav. fighting series right now , I've prob. spent more money on the SF franchise than any other game.

 

Hear, hear. Any so-called "gamer" who sticks their nose at Atari Games, SNK, Capcom, or Sega should have their joypads taken from them. We really are in the process of losing the best of the videogame world, and I'm not so sure the replacement is up to snuff.

The arcades have traditionally been the source of the best games; there's an immediacy that is never copied anywhere else. All these polygon Barbie dolls playing kiddie Shakespeare may seem fun for your average computer nerd, but here in the real world, it's boring.

Ugh. This decade is sure turning out to be a stinker, eh?

 

yes, SF2 was clearly a revolutionary event, but i'm afraid what i enjoyed stopped at SSF2T, i turn my head away from the SF which i look at today... such as most games and companies.

what you are looking at now is an issue which has grown since home entertaiment technology became equalized to arcade technology (mostly which is why i dislike the naomi board all together, it's more or less a dreamcast, but with the ability to upgrade by duplicating).. although it seems to be all sony's fault in which games are marketed and targeted, it is also down to technology increasing, which means more expense, and more pressure to impress the audience by emphasised visuals over raw gameplay.... also it is to do with the increasing companies which are entering the market (i.e microsoft) which means that staying alive is near impossible due to A) limitations of game design, if you are not succesful in trying new (and expensive) ideas, you are finished, just take one look at sega (i.e shenmue project, or even the idea of a Visual Memory System). B) a crowded market means too much competition and not enough money comming to you unless your games are break throughs, but break throughs = money. This is a primary reason for SOOO many sequels, prequals and re-hashes of old "famous" games, and game characters brought up to date leik each year, it is the only way to survive, and make it look like classic gamimg is still flowing through the industry.

if you can observe what companies are doing today, alot of them are merging, infact, sega going third party probably did a good thing for the industry because it litteraly is getting out of hand.. major companies are joining in projects (nintendo, sega and namco with tri-force, also squre & enix as a company) so capcom pulling out of the arcade industry is only a result of that it is probably obsolete to their plans in which they are surviving..

well, what i mean in the first paragraph about SF is the quality of games today also, there is hardly a company in which people prefer nowadays rather than a time or event earlier down the line... sonic team of sega used to be my favorite development team after nights and burning rangers (and samba) but today, their latest is a re-hash of phantasy star games of which i see almost every console generation (actually, it might be another part of sega, overworks? if i am mistaken), and the undless versions of phantasy Star Online.. it is the way the industry is holding up by thin wire, gamers are becomming less interested, and sooner or later it will probably crash like in the early 80s..

oh well....

 

Yeah... not a few of us grew up on SF... man, those were the days. Staying until the sun literally rises at the arcades, and even then, there were lines. Popping the leftover change into the SF machine at the pizza place against some stranger, and finding good competion even at places as such. All those nameless faces that you knew... whom you knew simply as "that guy that plays a wicked Gief", or something to that effect.

Heck, I even married Cammy. Really, I did. Well, Kammie, actually, short for Kamelia- but she goes by Kammie. /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

Yes...you just struke a super fond memory of the late 80's, early 90's - steady, competition. In the maryland/dc area, I would even say it was almost like Japan. At every arcade or place that had a street fighter II machine (or one of its many revisals), I could always find someone who was at least compitent to play against. Man...

 

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agios_katastrof said:

Heck, I even married Cammy. Really, I did. Well, Kammie, actually, short for Kamelia- but she goes by Kammie. /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

It's funny that you mention that. I knew someone who was a rabid fan of Tomb Raider, and married a girl who had an uncanny resemblance to Lara Croft. Even her name was eerily similar -- Laura Crawford.

 

EGM :


Gamers.com: News:

Capcom Fighting All-Stars Still Alive And Kicking

By: Axel Strohm March 5, 2003 5:15 PM PST
Earlier reports stating that Capcom Fighting All-Stars was cancelled have been confirmed to be false, according to Gamespot. Capcom's 3D answer to SSBM is still in development and will run on the System 246 arcade board, though Capcom has not yet specified which consoles will receive ports. The PS2 would be the best bet, as it is the home equivelant of the 246 board.

 

So what does this mean???...are they going to continue making more arcade games???

And with the better hardware for home systems the arcade industry will grow even smaller...it's a sad cruel world... /versus/images/graemlins/frown.gif