What is the most iconic phrase in Capcom history? Although it’s easy to think of it as Shoryuken, you actually have to think of a certain lawyer…
Capcom has been with us for forty years. Forty years of making video games have resulted in many things, but above all, it has led to the creation of iconic moments that we all remember. Unique characters, unforgettable situations, and memorable songs. Of course, there are also catchphrases that we all repeat almost comically because they have stuck with us. That’s why Capcom has decided to discover the most iconic phrase in its history. And for its fortieth birthday, they have found it.
To discover it, they decided to conduct a survey on their website, Capcom Town, asking fans to vote for their favorite dialogue line – the one they felt best represented their games. Unfortunately, some very memorable lines were left out, such as Ryu’s “Shoryuken,” but the five nominees were:
“Objection!” from Ace Attorney
“Itchy. Tasty.” from Resident Evil
“So tasty” from Monster Hunter
“Let’s party!” from Sengoku Basara
“Tiun Tiun” (the sound effect when we die) from Mega Man
While the selection could have been better and less focused on Japanese culture, the result shouldn’t surprise anyone. With a massive 52% of the votes, the winning phrase was “Objection!” from Ace Attorney. A line Phoenix Wright shouted during trials, which has indeed become a meme and an extremely common catchphrase for an entire generation.
To celebrate the victory of this phrase, Capcom has created four wallpapers featuring characters from the other four games shouting “Objection!” as a tribute to the winner, in a heartfelt homage to the franchise. It’s a very endearing way to celebrate Capcom’s fortieth anniversary and, in the process, remind us that Ace Attorney is a great game that has recently arrived on Xbox Game Pass, in case you haven’t played it yet.
Devil May Cry will be the next video game to have an anime on Netflix, this time by the team behind the Castlevania series.
Netflix has found an unexpected goldmine in anime. It’s working well for them; they don’t have to halt productions due to strikes (for now), and the video game franchises to adapt seem to be endless. It’s true that some studios have performed better than others, and not all franchises have yielded the results the company hoped for. But overall, it’s been a success. A significant success in the case of Castlevania and the man behind it, Adi Shankar.
Netflix has released a brief trailer for its upcoming adaptation of a famous video game franchise, this time from Capcom, and it’s Devil May Cry. The studio behind it will be Studio Mir, a Korean studio that has previously worked on other Netflix series such as Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts and DOTA: Dragon’s Blood. As for the show’s creator, it will be Adi Shankar, who previously served as an executive producer and showrunner for Castlevania, one of the platform’s biggest animated successes.
Furthermore, the series still lacks a director and a confirmed release date. When we add to that the fact that the teaser only shows a few seconds of animation, it’s safe to assume that this project is still in the works, and it will likely take several months before it’s premiered on the platform. Even if expecting it before the second half of 2024 on Netflix seems unlikely, it’s always exciting to see these kinds of projects making their way.
The president of Capcom has said that video games are too cheap and the truth is that he is right; In this article we explain why.
The price of video games is a contentious issue that is rarely discussed in reconciliatory terms. They are a luxury product, but one with a value that has been extremely distorted by a series of questionable market decisions made over a decade and a half. That’s why every time an executive says that video game prices are too low, we react with surprise. But what if that were true?
All of this comes in the context of recent statements from Capcom’s president, Haruhiro Tsujimoto, who believes that the company’s video games are priced too low. He explains this by pointing out that the cost of development has grown exponentially, while the price of games has not followed suit, suggesting that increasing game prices would be a “healthy option” for the industry.
According to Tsujimoto, development costs are a hundred times higher than in the 80s, while software prices have hardly increased. And while it’s true that the recession is something to consider, he believes it’s not something that affects the industry, as demonstrated by the 2008 financial crisis.
Up to this point, it may seem like the discourse of someone completely disconnected from reality. However, he’s not saying anything that is untrue. Since 2004, the video game market, particularly on PC, has kept the base price of games practically unchanged. This means that prices have remained virtually the same for 20 years, even when there has been double-digit inflation that may well be approaching three digits rather than just one. This has recently changed for most AAA console games, increasing the price to 70-80 euros from the previous 60-70 euros, even though on PC, prices largely remain at 50-60 euros for base games.
How is it possible that these prices have remained until relatively recently? Essentially, it’s due to the constant influx of players. The increase in players over time has been exponential. Starting with the arrival of the PlayStation, but particularly with the PlayStation 2 and the complete democratization of the PC, the internet, and mobile phones, the number of players exploded. This allowed them to continue maintaining prices even as margins became increasingly marginal. They made less money, but they had more buyers.
That’s the problem. Big companies like Capcom, EA, Sony, Microsoft; they can afford to do this. But it creates a suffocating situation for small and medium-sized companies. A situation where it’s practically impossible to create games beyond a certain point without underselling your product.
Small companies, indies, have to sell their games well below their market value because between the prices set by big companies and constant sales, a too-high price would result in very few full-price sales. This makes the viability of a small studio entirely dependent on creating a game that sells in the six-figure range, something generally exclusive to large companies, or creating moderately successful games consistently, with none of them failing, to keep the company afloat.
In fact, this explains the near-complete disappearance of AA games, those medium-sized games leaning towards the larger side, and with it, the disappearance of medium-sized companies. As their production costs have increased but the perceived value remains the same, they must sell them well below their cost. Therefore, they must either be a resounding success or a failure that questions the viability of the company, essentially making it impossible to take such risks.
Is it better, then, to create a large game? Not necessarily. AAA games are so costly in terms of production and marketing that even at their price point, they need to sell millions to break even. The difference is that big companies could scale them down and create less expensive games, in line with the prices they charge, to balance the equation, instead of constantly scaling up, seeking an unsustainable limit — of people willing to pay whatever, of a constant influx of new players. Something they won’t do because that’s the ideological foundation of capitalism: the physically impossible perpetual growth.
That’s where the problem lies. Big companies keep scaling up, relying on an infinite market of potential new customers, creating an entirely unrealistic value scale. This makes medium-sized companies unsustainable, unable to compete, and forces small companies to devalue their product, forcing them to subsist to ridiculous levels or take insane risks that no one should take. Such as mortgaging their homes, betting that the game will be a resounding success, as many indie developers who have succeeded have done, and many more who have not and have ended up on the street, and we haven’t heard about them.
That’s why Haruhiro Tsujimoto is right. Games cost less than they should. Specifically, indie games, medium-sized games, cost less than they should. But not the big games from big companies. A new Resident Evil could simply scale down to fit a realistic value scale. 70, 80, or 90 euros for a video game is a lot of money. Raising it even further, as if people’s purchasing power were infinite, is a gamble they shouldn’t want to take.
Therefore, what’s healthy for the industry is not for AAA games to raise their prices. What’s healthy for the industry is for indie and medium-sized games to raise their prices, and for AAA games to become smaller and less grandiose. Have worse graphics. Be made by smaller studios. What’s healthy for the industry is for the difference between a blockbuster and an indie game not to be measured in numbers equivalent to the GDP of a medium-sized country. Because as long as it remains like this, no matter how much they raise or don’t raise the price of games from big companies, the industry will continue to be on the brink due to an economically unsustainable model.
Netflix is slowly becoming the home of quality anime, this time making room for an adaptation of Onimusha with a great director
Netflix continues to invest in anime, and it seems to be paying off for them. Not only was the live-action adaptation of One Piece a huge success, but they also keep bringing their own anime productions to the forefront. Especially, they are adapting famous video game franchises. This time, they have chosen a cult Capcom franchise, which may not be the first to come to mind when we think of Japanese anime, but it has great potential for an amazing series. After all, there’s nothing quite like feudal Japan to tell a compelling story.
That’s why Netflix has announced that it will premiere an anime adaptation of Onimusha on November 2nd. This Capcom video game released its first installment in 2001 for PlayStation and is a hack and slash game where players control a samurai who must confront the forces of Oda Nobunaga. With eight installments and a remaster released in 2018 under the name Onimusha: Warlords, it’s a fairly successful franchise in Japan and reasonably successful in the West, although it doesn’t have the massive popularity of Resident Evil.
In the anime, we will follow Miyamoto Musashi, who has been modeled after the famous actor Toshiro Mifune, the favored actor of Akira Kurosawa. Although the synopsis doesn’t provide many details about the story, we do know that it will take place during the Sengoku period, and Musashi will have to carve his path while facing the evil that has engulfed a poverty-stricken Japan. It’s expected that we will see the formidable Nobunaga orchestrating all sorts of mischief in the series.
While the number of episodes for the anime and the studio responsible for it haven’t been specified, it has been highlighted that the series is directed by Takashi Miike. He is a prolific Japanese director who has previously worked on masterpieces such as Ichi The Killer, Lesson of the Evil, and the remake of Hara-Kiri. Therefore, Onimusha is one of those series that we absolutely can’t miss this autumn.
Capcom has its next big release coming up in the next few days, but despite its current good run, it risks being the big underdog of the year.
Capcom has an excellent run of good games under its belt. It’s easy to have faith in what it does. Also, in part, because almost everything it does is stuff we already know from genres that already work. While it’s true that not so long ago a new Resident Evil or a new Devil May Cry weren’t necessarily signs of quality, it’s never been a dangerous gamble to put money on them. However, this week they release Exoprimal, a multiplayer team-based shooter that isn’t making waves on the interwebs. Yet. But we’re going to tell you everything you need to know about it here, including why it may end up being the game of the year.
In an indeterminate future, a sinister AI called Leviathan has created a series of deadly games in which humans must battle virtually generated dinosaurs for the pleasure of an unknown audience. A group of humans, the Exofighters, decide to join this circus to, in the process, find a way to destroy Leviathan while surviving massive attacks by hordes of NeoSaurians.
Gameplay
The game is a third-person shooter PvPvE where we will have to fight two teams of five to meet the objectives that Leviathan will set in each mission. The team that accumulates the most points wins and, since there are different types of missions and they can be combined throughout the scenario, there may be situations where we do not have to interact at all with the other team, we have to fight against them, or we have to fight alongside them. All while fighting insane amounts of dinosaurs that will try to prevent us from achieving our goal.
Each player can choose between three types of classes: the Roadblock, the Witchdoctor and the Barrage. Tanks, support and dps, respectively. The combination of these different roles within the team will determine the success, or not, of each mission, adding a strategic team component to the game, in the style of games beloved by the community such as Overwatch. To add an extra layer of customization, players can add “rigs”, which allow them to add skills from the other classes, allowing them to flex both the role of their characters and the composition of their own team.
Platforms and distribution
Exoprimal will be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and PC. In addition, it will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass.
Game duration
Being a multiplayer game, the potential length of the game is infinite. In addition, Capcom has already confirmed that the game will have battle passes, which will unlock new skins and cosmetics, as well as being divided into seasons, of which at least three have already been confirmed. On the other hand, the game has already confirmed two future DLCs: one for Street Fighter 6 and another for Monster Hunter Rise.
With multiplayer games of this kind it’s practically impossible to know when something is going to be a hit. What is certain is that Capcom is giving it publicity and it has two specific aspects in its favor: it comes out on Game Pass and it has had several open betas. By coming out on Game Pass, testing it is easy and does not involve an extra expense to find out if the game is interesting. Having had several open betas, we know that those who have tried it say that it is a much more interesting game than it seems at first glance, with controls and a much smarter design than it seems from its trailers. Something that, added to the good work of Capcom in recent times, could make it the little big surprise of the season.
Release date
Exoprimal will be launched on Friday, July 14, 2023.
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Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is the newest from Capcom, a third-person action game that seems to return to the Onimusha formula
Capcom has been on a winning streak for quite a few years, and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Their newly announced game, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, looks absolutely stunning. In what appears to be a third-person action game, reminiscent of their former franchise Onimusha, they have showcased a world inspired by Japanese folklore, filled with demons and boasting breathtaking art direction.
No release date has been confirmed yet, but it has been announced that Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess will be available on Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Game Pass. We will have to wait until Capcom’s conference to learn more details. For now, we can be impressed by the initial trailer, which promises something different and brings a touch of Japanese aesthetics, a departure from what Microsoft usually offers in its lineup.
Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat is the new iteration of Devil May Cry, this time exclusively for mobile phones, which is coming to the West after being successful in China.
Devil May Cry is a beloved franchise among action game fans. Since its first appearance on PlayStation 2, it has served as a benchmark for nearly all action and hack ‘n’ slash games. Led by the iconic Dante, this Capcom saga has evolved over the years, consistently remaining at the forefront as one of the most powerful franchises in the action game genre. That’s why the announcement of a new mobile installment, Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat, is so promising.
Originally released in China on June 11, 2011, by Yunchang Games under strict supervision from Capcom, Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat delivers everything we would expect from a game in the franchise. It features weapon switching, puzzles, and character design that fans are familiar with, along with the need to play skillfully and stylishly to maximize our combo meter. Taking inspiration from Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening, it incorporates stages from Devil May Cry 4 and DmC: Devil May Cry, enemies like Fantom and Beowulf from Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 3 respectively, and even includes nods to the latest installment in the series, Devil May Cry 5.
The gameplay in Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat closely resembles the main series but has been adapted to the limited screen space of mobile devices. This means that while we still have a style rank system that rewards us for utilizing different combos, weapons, dodges, and taunts to increase it, there are also some limitations not found in the original games. Each character can only have up to four weapons, there is no automatic mode, and Dante only has two styles: Trickster and Royalguard.
All of this is not a problem because if there’s one thing that Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat does well, it’s overcoming those limitations while still capturing the essence of Devil May Cry. The other two styles of Dante are integrated into his move set through specific inputs. There are four playable characters to choose from: Dante, Lady, Vergil, and Nero. And although there are initially only two difficulty modes, they only apply to the enemies, as the campaign mode has its own gameplay mode that unlocks upon completion: the Memory Corridor. Here, we unlock the two highest difficulty modes: Son of Sparda and Dante Must Die, two classic difficulty modes that couldn’t be missed in a Devil May Cry game.
All of this makes Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat a very interesting game with great potential. Having already been successful in China, it’s now a matter of spreading the word about this game destined to succeed under the name of the action king that is Devil May Cry.
Street Fighter 6 triumphs at its launch, managing to sell more than a million copies in just three days, meeting Capcom’s expectations
Street Fighter 6 is one of the most anticipated fighting games in recent years, so it’s expected that its launch would generate noteworthy numbers, whether positive or negative. Street Fighter V had a disastrous launch, but Capcom managed to fix it with an excellent roadmap that improved the game, and they seem to have learned from that experience for this new installment. Because the numbers speak for themselves, Street Fighter 6 is indeed a resounding success.
— ストリートファイター / STREET FIGHTER (@StreetFighterJA) June 5, 2023
To start with, in just three days, Street Fighter 6 has managed to surpass one million players according to the official Japanese account of the game. Additionally, they have mentioned that the Street Fighter franchise has now surpassed 50 million copies sold, making it one of the best-selling franchises in Capcom’s history. To put it into context, the previous installment of the series, Street Fighter V, took three months to sell 1.4 million copies.
Nonetheless, Street Fighter 6 faces a challenging road ahead. Capcom’s President, Haruhiro Tsujimoto, stated in an interview with Famitsu that they expect to sell ten million copies of Street Fighter 6. This would place it in the same sales range as each new installment of the Resident Evil franchise, which typically sells around ten million copies throughout its lifespan, and half of what the Monster Hunter series aspires to achieve, which is around twenty million copies. This makes Street Fighter an integral part of Capcom’s commercial strategy.
Considering all of this, Street Fighter 6 can already be considered a tremendously significant success. Whether it will achieve the sales numbers that Capcom anticipates remains to be seen, but given the game’s excellent reception and initial sales, it seems unlikely that the company will struggle to meet their, based on what has been observed, realistic sales expectations.
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Street Fighter has a troubled history that confuses even fans of the saga, but well explain its timeline so you don’t get lost.
Street Fighter is a real chaos in terms of narrative. If we try to understand its story, follow the lives of its characters and follow what happens to them, it is not as simple as following from the first to the sixth of the games. Among the different sagas, sub-sagas and numbered installments, only a handful are considered canonical and well established in time, making it difficult to know how to get into all of them to have a clear perspective of the whole Street Fighter story in chronological order. But that’s what we’re here for today. To show you the chronological order in which all the Street Fighter games occur.
Street Fighter is the first game published in the franchise and also the first chronologically speaking. While it’s true that it doesn’t delve too deep in terms of story, here are all the basics: Sagat, a muay thai master, challenges Ryu to see who is the best fighter in the world in a tournament. Something that ended with a feud for posterity and Sagat with a huge scar on his chest.
Street Fighter Alpha: Warrior’s Dreams (1995)
The first installment of the Alpha sub-series tells the story of the creation of Shadaloo, the organization of the franchise’s main villain, M. Bison, as Sagat seeks revenge against Ryu. Ryu, in turn, seeks revenge against Akuma, a warrior who murdered his and Ken’s master, to close the most convulsive plot in Street Fighter history.
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996)
Basically an extension of the previous installment, adding more characters and extending the ambitions of the villains, focusing on the power of Akuma, who destroys his own island with a single punch, and Shadoloo, who seeks Ryu’s (theoretically) lifeless body to experiment on it. A narratively transitional installment.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 (1998)
M. Bison and Shadaloo gain control of Ryu, turning him into Shadow Ryu, a more powerful and evil version of Ryu himself. Sagat fights against Ryu, Guile, Chun-Li and Charlie seek to take down M. Bison, and while they don’t succeed, they manage to bring Ryu back to his senses.
M. Bison returns and sets up a martial arts tournament to recruit soldiers for Shadaloo. While everyone tries to defeat him, it is finally Akuma who manages to assassinate him in one of the most absolutely unexpected twists of the franchise.
Street Fighter IV (2008)
In spite of everything, M. Bison is still alive, and one of his creations has escaped. Seth is a being capable of genetically copying the abilities of others and, seeking to be the ultimate warrior, creates a new world tournament to copy the skills of the best warriors in the world. Meanwhile, Gouken, Ken and Ryu’s master, turns out to be alive, and seeks revenge against Akuma.
Street Fighter V (2016)
Shadaloo is back and seeks to dominate the world by launching seven satellites capable of launching an electromagnetic pulse to the earth. While several heroes from previous installments seek to stop them, a mythical figure named Necalli seeks to feed on the souls of the fighters, with Ryu in charge of stopping him.
Street Fighter III: New Generation (1997)
With Shadaloo gone, but with a new organization called The Illuminati taking over, a group of new heroes will have to oppose a new main antagonist, Gill. Only Ryu and Ken will return in this installment, serving as mentors rather than the true protagonists of the story.
What’s coming up for Street Fighter now?
Street Fighter 6 comes out today, June 2. Taking place after the events of Street Fighter III, it will hopefully develop more about what has happened to all the classic characters we knew nothing about after the events of Street Fighter V. While we know more, we’re always left to enjoy this franchise that, while best known for its punches and kicks, has an incredible history that’s worth revisiting.
