Capcom and its lose-lose DmC conundrum

Resident Evil 6 is the major Q4 game, but Capcom is hard at work on two other returning hit brands – Lost Planet 3 and Devil May Cry – both of which are heading in different directions.

The latter game is being developed in the UK by Cambridge-based studio Ninja Theory and will launch in January. The title acts as a reboot for the franchise, and although the media is optimistic, hardcore fans have been less pleased about the new direction.

There was an intention to try and bring Devil May Cry a little bit more up to date and make it more contemporary,” explains Capcom’s SVP for marketing in Europe and North America Michael Pattison.

We wanted to do something fresh and interesting with it as opposed to just doing a ‘Devil May Cry 4+’.

Obviously we got criticised for certain decisions along that way but I think we hold true to the fact that we want to freshen up our franchises. The funny thing is, we get criticised if we stay the same way or if we make changes. I think the important thing is to maintain the DNA and maintain the assets of the franchise and that’s there for all to see, for those who play it.”

In contrast, the third game in the Lost Planet series is going the other way – right back to the sort of gameplay found in the first game.

Lost Planet was extremely important for us at a time where we looking to approach the Western market with content that would meet their needs but always with a Capcom twist. When we launched Lost Planet 2, we tried to do something different, we wanted to bring multiplayer in there and it still sold reasonably well. It didn’t necessarily get the critical acclaim we would have necessarily liked and that’s why we took the decision to bring it back to it’s heartland with Lost Planet 3 and do, for want of a better world, a prequel.”

Devil May Cry arrives on Tuesday, January 15th. Lost Planet 3 is due in 2013.