Revolution Leaves Capcom in the Dark News

TVG was recently fortunate enough to attend a meeting with Capcomâ??s Tatsuya Minami, Vice Chairman of R&D and the head of Capcomâ??s Production Studio 1. While the demonstration focussed around Minami-sanâ??s forthcoming PS2/Xbox beat-em-up, Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance, he was only too eager to talk openly about other aspects of Capcomâ??s business.

When questioned about his thoughts on the next-generation of formats, and where creativity will come from when the general consensus is â??more of the sameâ?, Minami-san agreed that game developers cannot count on enhanced HD graphics to continue pushing the boundaries.

Asked to expand upon this and whether the Nintendo Revolution would provide a better platform for creativity, Minami-san suggested that one dominant leader would not be ideal for the industry and that the Japanese publisher would support all three formats. Again we asked specifically about the Nintendo Revolution and the ties between Nintendo and Capcom; despite both companies sharing a firm sense of loyalty, it appears that nobody outside of Nintendo knows exactly what the Revolution will bring, as Mikami-san confirmed that his teams have yet to be informed of what to expect. Given the 2006 timeline pencilled in for the Nintendo Revolution, Mikami-san agreed that this was a concerning issue and could leave little time for launch titles to be developed.

The conversation quickly moved onto past Capcom franchises and whether or not we would see the return of Streetfighter anytime soon; recognising the recent success of Streetfighter 2 Anniversary Compilation cross North America and the strength of the franchise, Mikami-san noted that the series is never far from their minds but claimed that work had yet to begin on a fourth title.

TVG would like to thank everybody at Capcom for the opportunity; weâ??ll have a closer look at Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance very shortly...