The game has sold much better than expected (over 2.5 million units in eleven days), which has allowed, of course, investing it in new games… Just kidding! In giving more money to investors and shareholders! Scary, right?!
I remember with great affection the time when the word “investors” was only part of a boring adult vocabulary that I would never have to understand. But the world has insisted that, if we want to understand even the slightest bit how the film or video game business works, we embrace the concept: investors happy because movies are destroyed, investors happy because people are fired, investors happy because they get what they want… Well, those things. The key to the matter: the happiness of gentlemen who are already millionaires when they earn more millions.
For Capcom investors, happiness has had a name: Dragon’s Dogma 2. And it’s because the game has sold much better than expected (over 2.5 million units in eleven days), which has allowed, of course, to invest it in new games… Just kidding! In giving more money to investors and shareholders! What a scare, huh?!
Capcom also highlights the success of ‘Street Fighter VI‘ and, in general, the benefits that the programmers’ work has brought (who, by the way, will not receive this bonus). The good news in this obscene capitalist party is that they are probably already preparing to make DLC for ‘Dragon’s Dogma 2’ with the intention of entertaining the players… No! So that next year the investors can earn even more! This is the dynamic now!
Street Fighter is already a worldwide icon in the video game industry, to the extent that a Japanese city has dedicated a statue to Chun-Li.
Capcom is famous worldwide for its video games. In particular, if it is currently in mind, it is because of the importance of its fighting games. And among them, none is more important than Street Fighter. A franchise that achieved global success as early as its second installment in 1991 and has remained one of the most relevant games in history, 33 years later.
To celebrate the success of the franchise, they have erected a 70-centimeter statue of Chun-li in Kashihara, Nara prefecture, 150 centimeters including its pedestal. But why was it erected in Kashihara? Because that is the hometown of Capcom’s founder, Kenzo Tsujimoto. The choice of Chun-li is because, in addition to being the most beloved female character in the franchise, she is also the most well-known and distinctive, serving as its unofficial mascot. Although they could have also chosen Akuma, due to his significance and being the next downloadable character in the game.
Of course, the collaboration between Capcom and the city of Kashihara doesn’t end here. According to NHK, other activities include displaying Street Fighter-themed manhole covers, a space to play Street Fighter II and VI for free, giving away Street Fighter stickers, and even a martial arts exhibition by the local institute. Even more interesting, on January 26th, Kashihara students were able to enjoy a lunch inspired by Chun-li, and on March 8th, another lunch inspired by Guile, showing how seriously they take this tribute.
RPG players want maximum freedom, and Dragon’s Dogma 2 has set a limit that is unpopular: romancing their Pawns.
If there’s one thing the video game doesn’t do well, it’s romances. For most video games, love is some kind of commercial procedure. If we spend enough time with someone, give them gifts, and do things for them, they will end up falling in love with us. This is not only not how romance works, but it also presents a somewhat problematic view of it. It doesn’t help that we are rarely allowed to choose who we really want to romance.
Despite its many virtues, one of the flaws of Dragon’s Dogma 2 is that it doesn’t do romance better than most video games. To make the characters fall in love, we will have to talk to them, give them gifts, and not talk to other characters, creating a very artificial way of relating to them. This is especially frustrating when, in addition, the available romances are very limited. So much so, that it is impossible to enter into a romantic relationship with the characters we will spend the most time with: our Pawns.
This has been a constant complaint from players, so much so that they have joined together on Reddit to show mutual solidarity. Since we create a character at the beginning that will accompany us throughout the adventure, and that character is not the one we control, it would be logical to be able to have a romantic relationship with them. Something that Capcom seems to have overlooked. Except that everything indicates that they did consider it.
When we finally have a house, the only Pawn that enters our house when we go to sleep is the main one. If your affinity with that Pawn is high enough, they will start blushing when you talk to them, just like with the characters you can have romances with in the game. And in the Sphinx’s riddles, one of them asks us to introduce the person we love the most, giving us the possibility to choose our main Pawn. At some point, the possibility of having a romance with them was suggested, but they decided to change it for some reason.
That’s why many players now ask for what, in any case, they seemed to discard in the past. That we can have a romance with the character, which in fact, we have created to be our faithful companion throughout the adventure. Something that would not only be out of place in Dragon’s Dogma 2, but would be tremendously appropriate both for how the game is and for its narrative. That’s why, Capcom, if you’re listening, listen to the good people of Reddit. Allow them to have a beautiful romance with those characters who have saved their lives so many times and without whom they would never have been able to complete the game.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a game designed with unimaginable delicacy, to the point that it even works to prevent players’ worst habits.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is an RPG that knows that, due to open worlds and certain Western RPGs, players have become accustomed to optimizing everything to points incompatible with enjoyment. It is a common occurrence to take all possible side quests. Use fast travel even to go to the next village. Seek to maximize resolving everything as quickly as possible, even at the cost of fun. And Hideaki Itsuno’s new game is designed with exactly that in mind.
One of the ways it does this is by completely removing fast travel. Although in Dragon’s Dogma 2 it is possible to fast travel between points, it is limited to a series of stones, very scarce, that we have to place ourselves. This means that, even if it is possible to use fast travel, we always have a specific awareness of what we are doing: when we use it, it is because we have carefully planned its usefulness in advance. We cannot abuse the mechanic.
Another way in which this idea has been implemented is by introducing missions with a limited time. Once we accept them, we have to complete them within a predetermined amount of time that, although generous, is not infinite. This means that we cannot stack all the missions we want to solve them all at once, but rather we will have to address them individually with the importance they deserve.
Something that works because Dragon’s Dogma 2 has an extremely well-crafted world and missions. If this were the typical open world with inane missions and endless kilometers where nothing happens, it would be terrible. But being full of quality content, by doing this, it forces the player to approach the game in the most fun and satisfying way for themselves.
Now, many people could confuse this with the idea that they want to make the game more realistic. Forcing us to do things as we would in the real world. Something that it’s not. Because the interesting thing is that it does it so that we have to actively involve ourselves in their world. So that we can’t, even if we want to, ruin the fun for ourselves.
A video game is not a job or a task. It is something we do to enjoy. That’s why it doesn’t make sense to try to optimize it, trying to achieve as many objectives as possible all at once whenever we have the opportunity. If you feel the urge to do so, maybe it’s because the game is not designed in an interesting way or you are not considering it from the right perspective. Something that Capcom has understood and that, fortunately, Dragon’s Dogma II knows how to communicate.
The character creator in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is absolutely fabulous, allowing for extensive customization, but it has one unforgivable major flaw.
Part of the charm of Western-style RPGs is creating our own character. Shaping it according to our preferences, seeking to create the protagonist we want to embody. The problem is that this means different things to different people. For some, it means being able to choose their race, class, attributes, and skills. For others, it means being able to customize every last detail of the character’s appearance. The fewest enjoy both equally. And when one of them takes on excessive prominence, it can put off some players.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 has received fabulous reviews, declaring it as one of the contenders for game of the year. One of the reasons for this is an excellent character editor. So good that it even had its own demo. In it, we can create practically any character that we have in mind, with a level of precision in editing that is overwhelming. And it is no coincidence that we use the word overwhelming to define what happens with its character editor. Because it is precisely its only flaw: the impossibility of making it less excessive.
Many players have already pointed out that the editor is missing a very important feature: a button that allows us to randomize the appearance of our character. Something that saves us from the laborious exercise of designing a character, which can be enjoyable for many players, but tedious for many others. Especially when we not only have to do it with our character, but also with our pawns.
Of course, there will be those who believe that this measure is necessary. But in reality, it is an excellent compromise on the part of Capcom. If they introduce a button that allows something as simple as giving us a character with their appearance completely randomized, no one would be obliged to use it. Those who want to use it could do so, and those who want the experience of fine-tuning every detail of their characters could continue to do so without any problems.
That’s why, even if we have to celebrate the work and care they have put into making their excellent character creator, it is undeniable that it would be even better if the game itself could decide for us. That we didn’t have to go through the paralyzing process that is for many people to create a character from scratch. Making an already excellent game even better.
Or maybe a certain sector of players won’t. Because the latest game screenshots show that, in fact, some characters are going to start judging us in front of other players.
In Dragon’s Dogma, one of the main mechanics is that of the Pawns. Non-playable characters that accompany us on the adventure, which we create from scratch, and that other players can summon when we are not playing. The thing is, in Dragon’s Dogma 2 they are going to make an appearance again.
The grace of this is that, from now on, the Pawns will make comments in relation to the things that use them. Something we know from screenshots where one of these Pawns claims that one of their teachers only hired women. Ahem. For some reason. And another pointing out the interest that an old teacher had in removing the armor from female characters without any apparent purpose. At least for her.
While this is not going to prevent the behavior of certain individuals, it will certainly give us hilarious moments in Dragon’s Dogma 2 matches. In addition to demonstrating that the developers have been paying attention to player behavior, particularly that the majority of Pawns are female. Something that will surely add an interesting touch of comedy to the, well, interesting behavior of some players.
The new video game from Capcom is an advertisement for a clothing store? Yes and no exactly, because it’s a way to celebrate its 40th anniversary… also.
Capcom has a close relationship with the clothing store Uniqlo. Having done several collaborations together, with a collection of Street Fighter-themed t-shirts for sale, both companies have fed off each other well in the past. Only this time, they have decided to take it a step further.
Uniqlo has decided to produce a video game. Named UT Adventure, it is a tribute to Capcom’s 40 years, who have supervised the development of the game. Here we will embody a person in a Uniqlo store, destroying aliens who have stolen the store’s t-shirts. With only two buttons and a directional pad to move, it is a remarkable retro side-scrolling action game, with multiple references to one of Capcom’s most beloved games: Street Fighter.
In addition, it has already been confirmed that it will not end here. For March, the idea is to release a second phase, this time based on another beloved but somewhat forgotten franchise of the company: Mega Man. In the future, they also plan to release a third and final phase, whose theme will be revealed through a mini arcade machine of which only 40 will be produced worldwide. Although we still don’t have details on how to get one of these machines, they have hinted that it will be through some kind of raffle or contest.
Although UT Adventure is nothing more than a curiosity, it is a curiosity made with love and care. A demonstration of the care shown by Uniqlo and Capcom, which shows the strong bonds that unite these two companies. And also, of course, a very fun game to spend a couple of hours with.
Capcom announces million-dollar sales for Street Fighter 6, breaking records both for the individual title and the franchise as a whole over the decades.
Although it may seem that fighting games are part of the mainstream market, nothing could be further from the truth. They are niche games that rarely manage to appeal to the general public. Or not at the level of big AAA productions. That’s why, when they achieve high sales figures, it always comes as a surprise. Because, in principle, fighting games don’t have that kind of audience.
In that sense, Capcom is celebrating today. Because Street Fighter 6 has sold three million copies. A tremendous figure for any game, but especially significant for a fighting game, which usually doesn’t reach these numbers. Not even the game of the year nominees.
In fact, we hadn’t had any news about the sales of Street Fighter 6 for quite some time. Released for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC on June 2, 2023, the only figure we had so far is that it had sold one million copies by July 6, 2023. A high-profile release for a fighting game, even for a veteran like Street Fighter, which has put Capcom in a good position this year.
In fact, this is not the only sales information we have about Street Fighter. With these sales, Street Fighter also surpasses the 50 million copies sold of its games among all the installments of the franchise throughout its history. To be specific, they have sold over 52 million Street Fighter games over 36 years, since the debut of the first game of this historic franchise, which today seems further away than ever from ending.
But soon Capcom will have competition. Tekken 8 will be released on January 26th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. This can serve as a boost for Capcom’s game sales: nothing better for a game to continue selling than the release of a similar, yet different game. Something that Capcom knows well.
Numerosos creadores japoneses dejan caer posibles proyectos sin anunciar para 2024, prometiéndonos un año especialmente jugoso para los videojuegos
End of the year is the time to talk about our expectations for the coming year. Our wishes, our goals, and everything we hope to achieve. It’s a tradition, it’s something we all do to some extent, and it’s normal. One year ends. It’s normal to feel like it’s a moment of reset and starting over with a new year.
Japan is no different in that sense. They also make their New Year’s resolutions, even when we talk about Japanese creators in the video game industry. The difference is that they don’t just do it privately. Because the 4gamer magazinetakes care of collecting every year the comments of dozens of Japanese creatives about what they have enjoyed the most in 2023 and what they expect for 2024. Including their own projects. And this year, more than one has let slip some exciting information.
Eiji Ishida, who works at Atlus and is particularly known for being the mastermind behind the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei franchise, has hinted that they are already working on a new game. Something that Suda51 has also done, stating that they are working on another game in addition to Shadows of the Damned Remastered, which will be released in 2024. And Kotaro Uchikoshi, creator of AI: The Somnium Files and the Zero Escape trilogy, true to his style, has declared that he is making a very crazy game that will go down in history.
They are not the only ones working hard. On the other hand, we have Hiroyuki Kobayashi. You may not recognize his name or his studio, GPTRACK50, but he has been involved in major Capcom franchises such as Dragon’s Dogma, Resident Evil, and Devil May Cry. And he has confirmed that he is working on an action RPG as only possible with the team he has assembled. Similarly, Yukinori Kitajima, from Synthese, a studio that has written scripts for games like Final Fantasy, has confirmed that a very ambitious title that he has been wanting to talk about for a long time will finally be announced this year.
To top it off, another great news is something we were expecting, but that doesn’t make us any less happy. Keiichiro Toyama, from Bokeh Game Studio, has confirmed that they will start showcasing their first game, Slitterhead, in 2024. This is huge news, considering that the game has former creators of Silent Hill and Siren among its ranks.
All of this promises us a 2024 full of surprises, if expectations are met. So we will have to be aware of everything these developers do, because it seems that we have some very good years ahead in the Japanese video game.
Capcom confirms that they are already working on the next remake of Resident Evil, although our question is, exactly what game?
When a story is long and complex, it’s difficult to guess what the next step will be. After all, life isn’t like fiction. Unexpected, crazy, unthinkable things happen. That’s why we often say that life is stranger than fiction. Hence, when Capcom confirmed that after Resident Evil 4 they plan to continue making remakes of the franchise, we found ourselves asking, “But which game?”
Speaking with IGN, Resident Evil 4 director Yasuhiro Anpo has confirmed that more Resident Evil remakes are on the way. Following the success of the remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4, Capcom will continue remaking more games from the franchise, but one thing remains unclear: which game will be next.
When asked if Capcom intends to continue making game remakes, Anpo replied, “Yes. We have released three remakes so far, and all of them have been very well received. Since this allows modern audiences to play these games, it’s something that makes me happy as someone who loves making these games, and I want to continue doing so.” However, regarding which game will be remade next, he stated that “what game we will remake in the future is something we will announce in the future, so please stay tuned for that.”
What will be the choice for this remake is not at all evident. The logical choice would be Resident Evil 5, but its mixed reception, drastic departure from Resident Evil 4, and the controversy surrounding its African setting could cost it that privilege. Another popular option could be a remake of Resident Evil – Code Veronica. A fabulous Dreamcast game that would greatly benefit from a remake treatment. Although the possibility of remaking Resident Evil 1, when the previous one dates back to 2002, is something we shouldn’t overlook either. Even if it remains a delight by today’s standards.
At the end of the day, as Anpo says, we’ll have to wait to know more. Especially because Resident Evil has a broad, rich history filled with games worth rescuing. That’s why, whether it’s one of these three or another we haven’t even considered, we’ll be delighted to experience the terrifying adventures of Capcom’s zombies once again.
