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Regarding conspiracy theories mine tend to be a little strange. It has included things as simple as online Gameboy Advance games via the GBA player to the ridiculous SEGA and Nintendo actually being the same company. The fundamental difference this time is that all the information your about to receive is 100% correct yet as unusual (in my eyes at least) as it maybe I cannot put my finger on what exactly is going on… So here begins my story of the growing friendship between Capcom and Nintendo and why it is so hard to believe.
Nintendo and Capcom have never disliked each other, even during the Playstation era when Capcom basically jumped ship there were never any harsh words between the two. Whereas Namco frequently slated Nintendo and Nintendo frequently slated Squaresoft there has nothing really been said between Capcom and Nintendo. It has always been a disappointment on Nintendo fans behalf, massive game series’ such as Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Dino Crisis, Megaman etc… etc… never really saw the light of day on a the N64. The phenomenal success of Resident Evil 2 saw a slight change of heart on Capcom’s behalf though, as great as it was to make loads of money on Sony’s money making machine they decided it would be worth porting the classic Resident Evil 2 over to the N64. Re-locate a few items and dumb down the FMV scenes and bam you have an N64 Resident Evil game. This had a double barreled problem, FMV’s couldn’t be done on the N64 due to size restrictions on carts and for consumers the Nintendo fans were finally getting a game that costs around £60 and released around the same time as Resident Evil 3 on the Playstation for half that price. Yet Capcom did it anyway to some sale success, but this led to the largest cart in gaming history, the 512 MB, and to get it… Capcom had to contact Nintendo… and this could well be the turning point in this story.
You see that was the first of loads of Nintendo deals and collaborations that followed… and the first involved the Nintendo mega hit Zelda. When Nintendo announced three new Gameboy Colour Zelda games to be released very quickly between each other it seemed unbelievable, but what made it peculiar is that they were to be developed by Capcom. Now to be fair Capcom are an excellent developer but hardly the greatest choice to develop these games, and yet they did… well. They worked along side Nintendo and those three games dwindled down to two, and were now released simultaneously. And have been cited as ‘The Greatest 2D Zelda games ever’. It didn’t end there though; the last generation also heralded the announcement of a Gameboy Resident Evil game (It was originally the stunning original but turned into the average Resident Evil: Gaiden) and also an N64 exclusive Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 0. To the skeptics that insist nothing strange is going on at this point may have been correct. All that it seems is that after awesome sales of Resident Evil 2 on the PS1, the game should be released on multiple platforms, the decent sales of the N64 and Dreamcast versions led to their own exclusive games, Resident Evil 0 and Code: Veronica. Also it isn’t all that strange that Capcom had an idea based around an RPG linking together and Nintendo loving the linking up concept may have suggested they would make it a Zelda game.
So it is hardly ground breakingly strange stuff, except this improved relationship grew dramatically during the life of the Gamecube. Merely days after the September 11th disaster and before the release of the Gamecube in Japan came the announcement that had thousands of Nintendo fans leaping out of their seats with disbelief. The fabled Resident Evil announcement. We all know the story but just so I don’t break up the post I’ll re-tell it anyway. Capcom revealed that other than the previously announced Resident Evil 0, a remake of the original Resident Evil game and the subsequent sequels Resident Evil 2,3 and Code Veronica X would all be making an appearance on the Gamecube exclusively. Other than that Capcom also announced that the originally multi-format Resident Evil 4 would now be exclusive to the Gamecube. Now people frequently point out that this was because Resident Evil wasn’t selling as well as before and the Nintendo market had been tapped with two games that sold very well. Those same people also point out that Resident Evil remake, Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 4 are essentially the only exclusive Gamecube games and that Resident Evil: Gun Survivor 2 and Resident Evil Online are exclusive to the PS2. Yet the fact remains, all die hard Resident Evil fans would have bought a Gamecube due to that announcement. It also showed Nintendo’s relationship improve even further with Capcom not only because of the announcement itself but also because of one other strange occurrence….
Shigeru Miyamoto was there.
On stage together were the figurehead of Capcom Shinji Mikami and the figurehead of Nintendo Shigeru Miyamoto standing side by side. Those who have attended previous press releases will tell you it isn’t unusual to see Nintendo officials there even at Sony announcements but Shigeru Miyamoto doesn’t even appear at Nintendo ones, he shows up at interviews and E3 but never anywhere else… so why here? Shigeru Miyamoto was they’re simply to praise Capcom and in particular Mikami… and no other reason was given. Something that happened slightly before the Resident Evil announcement as well but goes even today unnoticed is Nintendo’s Mickey Mouse license. It could have been the first clue to the loss of Rare, the license was handed to Rare for an N64 and GBC racing game, for the Gamecube it was handed to Capcom. Just like Zelda, Capcom were now developing yet another Nintendo owned and published product. Up until SEGA and Namco confirmed F Zero and Star Fox Armada respectively Capcom were the only third party company to make a Nintendo owned franchise other than Mario. And yet still people didn’t blink an eye.
Probably the most overlooked piece of information is Capcom’s increasing dislike over Sony. Relatively early on in the Playstation 2’s life Capcom repeatedly slated the system as complicated to work on, Shinji Mikami once said: “Making Resident Evil 4 on the Playstation 2 is like making a Snowman in Africa!” It was hardly uncommon for third parties to disapprove of the ease in which the PS2 was to work on, Namco and Squaresoft had both made similar comments although hardly as aggressive as that. But it doesn’t stop there, the same man was disgruntled after Kingdom Hearts on the PS2 outsold Resident Evil on the Gamecube in Japan saying on record: “I am shocked that half hearted simplistic rubbish like Kingdom Hearts can sell so well, it is what I have come to expect from Playstation games.” Ohhhh bitchy, despite later apologising for his comment it still was shocking to see a major player in Capcom attack the PS2 when he had supported the PS1 for such a long time. But nevertheless critics have cited this on Shinji Mikami’s friendship with Nintendo, it is his games that were turning up exclusively and he hasn’t always got on with the bosses at Capcom… a loose cannon so to speak. But it still doesn’t hide the fact that the PS2 lost the Resident Evil series to Nintendo, the Dino Crisis series to Microsoft and the exclusive rights to Onimusha. If Sony doesn’t keep hold of Devil May Cry they may lose that too. But there was one final comment made against Sony that Shinji didn’t make, one of the bosses of Capcom explained in an interview that “the reason why Sony sell so many PS2’s is due to the fact they keep breaking, and in Japan we tend to buy another one rather than get it fixed.” Strange if not a rather unorthodox argument to throw at Sony.
Capcom and Nintendo’s friendship continued, the next beat ‘em up in their Street fighter Esq. games was announced, Capcom Vs. SNK: EO and then yet another important Capcom moment occurred at the E3 games show. Capcom and Nintendo were working together again in the first Zelda game that supports multiplayer capabilities. Capcom were hard at work, improving and porting the legendary 2D Zelda title A Link to the Past on the GBA. Last seen on the SNES, not only is this going to boast extra levels it also includes a surprising 4-player option! In addition this is the only Nintendo SNES port that has been given such large coverage mainly because Nintendo are screaming about it so much. Capcom’s relationship improves again. Rumours were soon persisting that Capcom was going to drop even more games into Nintendo’s lap but yet Nintendo fans were happy for the time being, that was until September 2002.
One of the most disappointing things to reach the ears of Nintendo fans was the news that Rare had indeed been sold to Microsoft. What seemed odd was that it wasn’t due to Rare’s desire for more money; it was because Nintendo didn’t want to buy them or be forced to support them anymore. It was as if all this third party support had meant that their legendary western developer that had sold the N64 in the west despite not selling dramatically software wise was no longer needed. Retro Studio’s were an ample replacement for Rare yet it didn’t feel quiet right… Nintendo fans would willingly give up Capcom just to see Banjo, Conker and Joanna return to their screens. That was until November 14th when Capcom struck again. At the heart of the next Capcom announcement that nearly put the Resident Evil announcement to shame, Capcom announced that five original system-selling titles would be coming exclusively to Nintendo Gamecube. They said five despite one being the already announced Resident Evil 4, although this game was unveiled for the first time. The other four went by the names of Killer 7, P.N. 03, Dead Phoenix and Viewtiful Joe. Despite Viewtiful Joe getting the most hype, all these games look like system selling beauties in their own right, all of them are mature games and all of them feature original and stylized graphics and gameplay. Killer 7 uses a special brand of cel-shaded graphics and features a crippled serial killer with 7 personalities; Dead Phoenix is supposed to make you feel like you are a bird and Viewtiful Joe is a 2D/3D game that features a super hero with the emphasis on looking good whilst saving the world. Product (rather than Project) number: 03 is a story driven third person blaster, something the Gamecube has been crying out for. The fourth production studio of Capcom is making all of these, the largest development studio of Capcom and the teams situated in this studio are only developing Gamecube games.
The leader of this studio is surprise, surprise Shinji Mikami and his specific game he is developing is Product Number 03. It is unsure if this is the secret ‘Project Devil’ game he was working on for the Gamecube or not so people were unsure if they were going to see more of Capcom still. This mixed with the ‘Megaton’ rumours meant the creation of a Nintendo-Capcom buy out rumour that viciously spread the Internet. Capcom responded stating that they did not intend to sell now or in the near future. Which makes this relationship even more strange, Whereas poor sales for SEGA has meant more of their games are going multiformat the poor sales for Capcom seems to mean more games are becoming exclusive to Nintendo.
It doesn’t end there though, Nintendo of America also put an massive amount of effort in pushing Resident Evil 0, Nintendo rarely push a non-Nintendo games so thoroughly even if this helps widen their adult demographic. Also despite not being on the scale of dramatic announcements Capcom have recently announced they are supporting yet another section of Nintendo, their Tri-Force Arcade boards. The announcement that came the other day simply stated that they are using Tri-force (the joint venture between Namco, SEGA and Nintendo that uses Gamecube hardware) and this time uses an established franchise in the form of a Gundam game, no other information on the game or on whether this will appear on the home console or not has been brought forward. Yet it seems Capcom and Nintendo will continue to share a close relationship, in the coming year, Capcom games will be as frequent as Nintendo ones… and this is after all Nintendo’s console.
And this is where I conclude, Capcom’s friendship with Nintendo is forever growing, whispers involving a Gamecube Megaman game are also going around the industry, a game that has recently been stuck on the Gameboy Advance and Onimusha is also rumored. What has exactly caused this dramatic change in Capcom is unknown; my only theory is that Nintendo are doing deals with Capcom behind close doors. Bloody Roar and Bomberman are appearing exclusively on Nintendo hardware from Hudson, it would appear Nintendo are not only assisting Hudson financially but of course the Mario Party series is generating a large amount of revenue for Hudson. It is highly possible that a bit of financial aid and the ability to make Zelda and Mickey Mouse games has meant Capcom will create many Gamecube-exclusive titles, and mature ones at that, something Nintendo are trying to improve constantly. Yet it is still a mystery, why release so many adult games on a console that attracts mainly the younger gamers? and more to the point why turn your back on a console that has helped make you the success that you are? What do you think?
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.
Nintendo and Capcom have never disliked each other, even during the Playstation era when Capcom basically jumped ship there were never any harsh words between the two. Whereas Namco frequently slated Nintendo and Nintendo frequently slated Squaresoft there has nothing really been said between Capcom and Nintendo. It has always been a disappointment on Nintendo fans behalf, massive game series’ such as Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Dino Crisis, Megaman etc… etc… never really saw the light of day on a the N64. The phenomenal success of Resident Evil 2 saw a slight change of heart on Capcom’s behalf though, as great as it was to make loads of money on Sony’s money making machine they decided it would be worth porting the classic Resident Evil 2 over to the N64. Re-locate a few items and dumb down the FMV scenes and bam you have an N64 Resident Evil game. This had a double barreled problem, FMV’s couldn’t be done on the N64 due to size restrictions on carts and for consumers the Nintendo fans were finally getting a game that costs around £60 and released around the same time as Resident Evil 3 on the Playstation for half that price. Yet Capcom did it anyway to some sale success, but this led to the largest cart in gaming history, the 512 MB, and to get it… Capcom had to contact Nintendo… and this could well be the turning point in this story.
You see that was the first of loads of Nintendo deals and collaborations that followed… and the first involved the Nintendo mega hit Zelda. When Nintendo announced three new Gameboy Colour Zelda games to be released very quickly between each other it seemed unbelievable, but what made it peculiar is that they were to be developed by Capcom. Now to be fair Capcom are an excellent developer but hardly the greatest choice to develop these games, and yet they did… well. They worked along side Nintendo and those three games dwindled down to two, and were now released simultaneously. And have been cited as ‘The Greatest 2D Zelda games ever’. It didn’t end there though; the last generation also heralded the announcement of a Gameboy Resident Evil game (It was originally the stunning original but turned into the average Resident Evil: Gaiden) and also an N64 exclusive Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 0. To the skeptics that insist nothing strange is going on at this point may have been correct. All that it seems is that after awesome sales of Resident Evil 2 on the PS1, the game should be released on multiple platforms, the decent sales of the N64 and Dreamcast versions led to their own exclusive games, Resident Evil 0 and Code: Veronica. Also it isn’t all that strange that Capcom had an idea based around an RPG linking together and Nintendo loving the linking up concept may have suggested they would make it a Zelda game.
So it is hardly ground breakingly strange stuff, except this improved relationship grew dramatically during the life of the Gamecube. Merely days after the September 11th disaster and before the release of the Gamecube in Japan came the announcement that had thousands of Nintendo fans leaping out of their seats with disbelief. The fabled Resident Evil announcement. We all know the story but just so I don’t break up the post I’ll re-tell it anyway. Capcom revealed that other than the previously announced Resident Evil 0, a remake of the original Resident Evil game and the subsequent sequels Resident Evil 2,3 and Code Veronica X would all be making an appearance on the Gamecube exclusively. Other than that Capcom also announced that the originally multi-format Resident Evil 4 would now be exclusive to the Gamecube. Now people frequently point out that this was because Resident Evil wasn’t selling as well as before and the Nintendo market had been tapped with two games that sold very well. Those same people also point out that Resident Evil remake, Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 4 are essentially the only exclusive Gamecube games and that Resident Evil: Gun Survivor 2 and Resident Evil Online are exclusive to the PS2. Yet the fact remains, all die hard Resident Evil fans would have bought a Gamecube due to that announcement. It also showed Nintendo’s relationship improve even further with Capcom not only because of the announcement itself but also because of one other strange occurrence….
Shigeru Miyamoto was there.
On stage together were the figurehead of Capcom Shinji Mikami and the figurehead of Nintendo Shigeru Miyamoto standing side by side. Those who have attended previous press releases will tell you it isn’t unusual to see Nintendo officials there even at Sony announcements but Shigeru Miyamoto doesn’t even appear at Nintendo ones, he shows up at interviews and E3 but never anywhere else… so why here? Shigeru Miyamoto was they’re simply to praise Capcom and in particular Mikami… and no other reason was given. Something that happened slightly before the Resident Evil announcement as well but goes even today unnoticed is Nintendo’s Mickey Mouse license. It could have been the first clue to the loss of Rare, the license was handed to Rare for an N64 and GBC racing game, for the Gamecube it was handed to Capcom. Just like Zelda, Capcom were now developing yet another Nintendo owned and published product. Up until SEGA and Namco confirmed F Zero and Star Fox Armada respectively Capcom were the only third party company to make a Nintendo owned franchise other than Mario. And yet still people didn’t blink an eye.
Probably the most overlooked piece of information is Capcom’s increasing dislike over Sony. Relatively early on in the Playstation 2’s life Capcom repeatedly slated the system as complicated to work on, Shinji Mikami once said: “Making Resident Evil 4 on the Playstation 2 is like making a Snowman in Africa!” It was hardly uncommon for third parties to disapprove of the ease in which the PS2 was to work on, Namco and Squaresoft had both made similar comments although hardly as aggressive as that. But it doesn’t stop there, the same man was disgruntled after Kingdom Hearts on the PS2 outsold Resident Evil on the Gamecube in Japan saying on record: “I am shocked that half hearted simplistic rubbish like Kingdom Hearts can sell so well, it is what I have come to expect from Playstation games.” Ohhhh bitchy, despite later apologising for his comment it still was shocking to see a major player in Capcom attack the PS2 when he had supported the PS1 for such a long time. But nevertheless critics have cited this on Shinji Mikami’s friendship with Nintendo, it is his games that were turning up exclusively and he hasn’t always got on with the bosses at Capcom… a loose cannon so to speak. But it still doesn’t hide the fact that the PS2 lost the Resident Evil series to Nintendo, the Dino Crisis series to Microsoft and the exclusive rights to Onimusha. If Sony doesn’t keep hold of Devil May Cry they may lose that too. But there was one final comment made against Sony that Shinji didn’t make, one of the bosses of Capcom explained in an interview that “the reason why Sony sell so many PS2’s is due to the fact they keep breaking, and in Japan we tend to buy another one rather than get it fixed.” Strange if not a rather unorthodox argument to throw at Sony.
Capcom and Nintendo’s friendship continued, the next beat ‘em up in their Street fighter Esq. games was announced, Capcom Vs. SNK: EO and then yet another important Capcom moment occurred at the E3 games show. Capcom and Nintendo were working together again in the first Zelda game that supports multiplayer capabilities. Capcom were hard at work, improving and porting the legendary 2D Zelda title A Link to the Past on the GBA. Last seen on the SNES, not only is this going to boast extra levels it also includes a surprising 4-player option! In addition this is the only Nintendo SNES port that has been given such large coverage mainly because Nintendo are screaming about it so much. Capcom’s relationship improves again. Rumours were soon persisting that Capcom was going to drop even more games into Nintendo’s lap but yet Nintendo fans were happy for the time being, that was until September 2002.
One of the most disappointing things to reach the ears of Nintendo fans was the news that Rare had indeed been sold to Microsoft. What seemed odd was that it wasn’t due to Rare’s desire for more money; it was because Nintendo didn’t want to buy them or be forced to support them anymore. It was as if all this third party support had meant that their legendary western developer that had sold the N64 in the west despite not selling dramatically software wise was no longer needed. Retro Studio’s were an ample replacement for Rare yet it didn’t feel quiet right… Nintendo fans would willingly give up Capcom just to see Banjo, Conker and Joanna return to their screens. That was until November 14th when Capcom struck again. At the heart of the next Capcom announcement that nearly put the Resident Evil announcement to shame, Capcom announced that five original system-selling titles would be coming exclusively to Nintendo Gamecube. They said five despite one being the already announced Resident Evil 4, although this game was unveiled for the first time. The other four went by the names of Killer 7, P.N. 03, Dead Phoenix and Viewtiful Joe. Despite Viewtiful Joe getting the most hype, all these games look like system selling beauties in their own right, all of them are mature games and all of them feature original and stylized graphics and gameplay. Killer 7 uses a special brand of cel-shaded graphics and features a crippled serial killer with 7 personalities; Dead Phoenix is supposed to make you feel like you are a bird and Viewtiful Joe is a 2D/3D game that features a super hero with the emphasis on looking good whilst saving the world. Product (rather than Project) number: 03 is a story driven third person blaster, something the Gamecube has been crying out for. The fourth production studio of Capcom is making all of these, the largest development studio of Capcom and the teams situated in this studio are only developing Gamecube games.
The leader of this studio is surprise, surprise Shinji Mikami and his specific game he is developing is Product Number 03. It is unsure if this is the secret ‘Project Devil’ game he was working on for the Gamecube or not so people were unsure if they were going to see more of Capcom still. This mixed with the ‘Megaton’ rumours meant the creation of a Nintendo-Capcom buy out rumour that viciously spread the Internet. Capcom responded stating that they did not intend to sell now or in the near future. Which makes this relationship even more strange, Whereas poor sales for SEGA has meant more of their games are going multiformat the poor sales for Capcom seems to mean more games are becoming exclusive to Nintendo.
It doesn’t end there though, Nintendo of America also put an massive amount of effort in pushing Resident Evil 0, Nintendo rarely push a non-Nintendo games so thoroughly even if this helps widen their adult demographic. Also despite not being on the scale of dramatic announcements Capcom have recently announced they are supporting yet another section of Nintendo, their Tri-Force Arcade boards. The announcement that came the other day simply stated that they are using Tri-force (the joint venture between Namco, SEGA and Nintendo that uses Gamecube hardware) and this time uses an established franchise in the form of a Gundam game, no other information on the game or on whether this will appear on the home console or not has been brought forward. Yet it seems Capcom and Nintendo will continue to share a close relationship, in the coming year, Capcom games will be as frequent as Nintendo ones… and this is after all Nintendo’s console.
And this is where I conclude, Capcom’s friendship with Nintendo is forever growing, whispers involving a Gamecube Megaman game are also going around the industry, a game that has recently been stuck on the Gameboy Advance and Onimusha is also rumored. What has exactly caused this dramatic change in Capcom is unknown; my only theory is that Nintendo are doing deals with Capcom behind close doors. Bloody Roar and Bomberman are appearing exclusively on Nintendo hardware from Hudson, it would appear Nintendo are not only assisting Hudson financially but of course the Mario Party series is generating a large amount of revenue for Hudson. It is highly possible that a bit of financial aid and the ability to make Zelda and Mickey Mouse games has meant Capcom will create many Gamecube-exclusive titles, and mature ones at that, something Nintendo are trying to improve constantly. Yet it is still a mystery, why release so many adult games on a console that attracts mainly the younger gamers? and more to the point why turn your back on a console that has helped make you the success that you are? What do you think?
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.
Capcom games seemed to fit in with the PS2's reputation of minor hardcore games, whereas it wouldn't have been expected to adjust to Nintendo's stereotypical image of kiddyness.
But now the GameCube is showing Nintendo's brand new maturity and even Capcom have recognised this change, which I think caused them to remake a more juicier version of the very first Resident Evil as well as other Nintendo-Capcom linked games.
There's definitely something going on with these two dark horses.
Well spotted Dringo and good post.
But now the GameCube is showing Nintendo's brand new maturity and even Capcom have recognised this change, which I think caused them to remake a more juicier version of the very first Resident Evil as well as other Nintendo-Capcom linked games.
There's definitely something going on with these two dark horses.
Well spotted Dringo and good post.
Sorry for it being too long, guess I had a lot to say :D
*13,000 characters (including spaces) later*
Indeed the relationship between Nintendo and Capcom is a very advantageous stroke of fortune for the Gamecube owner. Not only are Capcom a well known and respected software house, but they are also comitting all of their original titles to the Gamecube hardware.
I think that perhaps it is the renown for originality that Nintendo is synonymous with that has won it Capcoms prowess. As we know the PS2 in particular is a really corporate driven console, using tried and trusted instead of throwing caution to the wind.
Perhaps Capcom felt like its ideas were slaves to bondage on the PS2, and as such have gone to where they know it will be appreciated, a Nintendo audience.
But, good post, even if it was REALLY long.
Indeed the relationship between Nintendo and Capcom is a very advantageous stroke of fortune for the Gamecube owner. Not only are Capcom a well known and respected software house, but they are also comitting all of their original titles to the Gamecube hardware.
I think that perhaps it is the renown for originality that Nintendo is synonymous with that has won it Capcoms prowess. As we know the PS2 in particular is a really corporate driven console, using tried and trusted instead of throwing caution to the wind.
Perhaps Capcom felt like its ideas were slaves to bondage on the PS2, and as such have gone to where they know it will be appreciated, a Nintendo audience.
But, good post, even if it was REALLY long.
Dringo wrote:
> It doesn’t end there though, Nintendo of America also put an massive
> amount of effort in pushing Resident Evil 0, Nintendo rarely push a
> non-Nintendo games so thoroughly even if this helps widen their adult
> demographic.
I think you've answered your own question there, they were so keen to push it because they are so keen show that it isn't a kiddies console.
Good post :D Who needs to pay all that money for a buy out when 80% of their games are GC exclusive anyway?
Don't forget, there are rumours of another 5 exclusive games from Capcom as well.
> It doesn’t end there though, Nintendo of America also put an massive
> amount of effort in pushing Resident Evil 0, Nintendo rarely push a
> non-Nintendo games so thoroughly even if this helps widen their adult
> demographic.
I think you've answered your own question there, they were so keen to push it because they are so keen show that it isn't a kiddies console.
Good post :D Who needs to pay all that money for a buy out when 80% of their games are GC exclusive anyway?
Don't forget, there are rumours of another 5 exclusive games from Capcom as well.
Regarding conspiracy theories mine tend to be a little strange. It has included things as simple as online Gameboy Advance games via the GBA player to the ridiculous SEGA and Nintendo actually being the same company. The fundamental difference this time is that all the information your about to receive is 100% correct yet as unusual (in my eyes at least) as it maybe I cannot put my finger on what exactly is going on… So here begins my story of the growing friendship between Capcom and Nintendo and why it is so hard to believe.
Nintendo and Capcom have never disliked each other, even during the Playstation era when Capcom basically jumped ship there were never any harsh words between the two. Whereas Namco frequently slated Nintendo and Nintendo frequently slated Squaresoft there has nothing really been said between Capcom and Nintendo. It has always been a disappointment on Nintendo fans behalf, massive game series’ such as Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Dino Crisis, Megaman etc… etc… never really saw the light of day on a the N64. The phenomenal success of Resident Evil 2 saw a slight change of heart on Capcom’s behalf though, as great as it was to make loads of money on Sony’s money making machine they decided it would be worth porting the classic Resident Evil 2 over to the N64. Re-locate a few items and dumb down the FMV scenes and bam you have an N64 Resident Evil game. This had a double barreled problem, FMV’s couldn’t be done on the N64 due to size restrictions on carts and for consumers the Nintendo fans were finally getting a game that costs around £60 and released around the same time as Resident Evil 3 on the Playstation for half that price. Yet Capcom did it anyway to some sale success, but this led to the largest cart in gaming history, the 512 MB, and to get it… Capcom had to contact Nintendo… and this could well be the turning point in this story.
You see that was the first of loads of Nintendo deals and collaborations that followed… and the first involved the Nintendo mega hit Zelda. When Nintendo announced three new Gameboy Colour Zelda games to be released very quickly between each other it seemed unbelievable, but what made it peculiar is that they were to be developed by Capcom. Now to be fair Capcom are an excellent developer but hardly the greatest choice to develop these games, and yet they did… well. They worked along side Nintendo and those three games dwindled down to two, and were now released simultaneously. And have been cited as ‘The Greatest 2D Zelda games ever’. It didn’t end there though; the last generation also heralded the announcement of a Gameboy Resident Evil game (It was originally the stunning original but turned into the average Resident Evil: Gaiden) and also an N64 exclusive Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 0. To the skeptics that insist nothing strange is going on at this point may have been correct. All that it seems is that after awesome sales of Resident Evil 2 on the PS1, the game should be released on multiple platforms, the decent sales of the N64 and Dreamcast versions led to their own exclusive games, Resident Evil 0 and Code: Veronica. Also it isn’t all that strange that Capcom had an idea based around an RPG linking together and Nintendo loving the linking up concept may have suggested they would make it a Zelda game.
So it is hardly ground breakingly strange stuff, except this improved relationship grew dramatically during the life of the Gamecube. Merely days after the September 11th disaster and before the release of the Gamecube in Japan came the announcement that had thousands of Nintendo fans leaping out of their seats with disbelief. The fabled Resident Evil announcement. We all know the story but just so I don’t break up the post I’ll re-tell it anyway. Capcom revealed that other than the previously announced Resident Evil 0, a remake of the original Resident Evil game and the subsequent sequels Resident Evil 2,3 and Code Veronica X would all be making an appearance on the Gamecube exclusively. Other than that Capcom also announced that the originally multi-format Resident Evil 4 would now be exclusive to the Gamecube. Now people frequently point out that this was because Resident Evil wasn’t selling as well as before and the Nintendo market had been tapped with two games that sold very well. Those same people also point out that Resident Evil remake, Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 4 are essentially the only exclusive Gamecube games and that Resident Evil: Gun Survivor 2 and Resident Evil Online are exclusive to the PS2. Yet the fact remains, all die hard Resident Evil fans would have bought a Gamecube due to that announcement. It also showed Nintendo’s relationship improve even further with Capcom not only because of the announcement itself but also because of one other strange occurrence….
Shigeru Miyamoto was there.
On stage together were the figurehead of Capcom Shinji Mikami and the figurehead of Nintendo Shigeru Miyamoto standing side by side. Those who have attended previous press releases will tell you it isn’t unusual to see Nintendo officials there even at Sony announcements but Shigeru Miyamoto doesn’t even appear at Nintendo ones, he shows up at interviews and E3 but never anywhere else… so why here? Shigeru Miyamoto was they’re simply to praise Capcom and in particular Mikami… and no other reason was given. Something that happened slightly before the Resident Evil announcement as well but goes even today unnoticed is Nintendo’s Mickey Mouse license. It could have been the first clue to the loss of Rare, the license was handed to Rare for an N64 and GBC racing game, for the Gamecube it was handed to Capcom. Just like Zelda, Capcom were now developing yet another Nintendo owned and published product. Up until SEGA and Namco confirmed F Zero and Star Fox Armada respectively Capcom were the only third party company to make a Nintendo owned franchise other than Mario. And yet still people didn’t blink an eye.
Probably the most overlooked piece of information is Capcom’s increasing dislike over Sony. Relatively early on in the Playstation 2’s life Capcom repeatedly slated the system as complicated to work on, Shinji Mikami once said: “Making Resident Evil 4 on the Playstation 2 is like making a Snowman in Africa!” It was hardly uncommon for third parties to disapprove of the ease in which the PS2 was to work on, Namco and Squaresoft had both made similar comments although hardly as aggressive as that. But it doesn’t stop there, the same man was disgruntled after Kingdom Hearts on the PS2 outsold Resident Evil on the Gamecube in Japan saying on record: “I am shocked that half hearted simplistic rubbish like Kingdom Hearts can sell so well, it is what I have come to expect from Playstation games.” Ohhhh bitchy, despite later apologising for his comment it still was shocking to see a major player in Capcom attack the PS2 when he had supported the PS1 for such a long time. But nevertheless critics have cited this on Shinji Mikami’s friendship with Nintendo, it is his games that were turning up exclusively and he hasn’t always got on with the bosses at Capcom… a loose cannon so to speak. But it still doesn’t hide the fact that the PS2 lost the Resident Evil series to Nintendo, the Dino Crisis series to Microsoft and the exclusive rights to Onimusha. If Sony doesn’t keep hold of Devil May Cry they may lose that too. But there was one final comment made against Sony that Shinji didn’t make, one of the bosses of Capcom explained in an interview that “the reason why Sony sell so many PS2’s is due to the fact they keep breaking, and in Japan we tend to buy another one rather than get it fixed.” Strange if not a rather unorthodox argument to throw at Sony.
Capcom and Nintendo’s friendship continued, the next beat ‘em up in their Street fighter Esq. games was announced, Capcom Vs. SNK: EO and then yet another important Capcom moment occurred at the E3 games show. Capcom and Nintendo were working together again in the first Zelda game that supports multiplayer capabilities. Capcom were hard at work, improving and porting the legendary 2D Zelda title A Link to the Past on the GBA. Last seen on the SNES, not only is this going to boast extra levels it also includes a surprising 4-player option! In addition this is the only Nintendo SNES port that has been given such large coverage mainly because Nintendo are screaming about it so much. Capcom’s relationship improves again. Rumours were soon persisting that Capcom was going to drop even more games into Nintendo’s lap but yet Nintendo fans were happy for the time being, that was until September 2002.
One of the most disappointing things to reach the ears of Nintendo fans was the news that Rare had indeed been sold to Microsoft. What seemed odd was that it wasn’t due to Rare’s desire for more money; it was because Nintendo didn’t want to buy them or be forced to support them anymore. It was as if all this third party support had meant that their legendary western developer that had sold the N64 in the west despite not selling dramatically software wise was no longer needed. Retro Studio’s were an ample replacement for Rare yet it didn’t feel quiet right… Nintendo fans would willingly give up Capcom just to see Banjo, Conker and Joanna return to their screens. That was until November 14th when Capcom struck again. At the heart of the next Capcom announcement that nearly put the Resident Evil announcement to shame, Capcom announced that five original system-selling titles would be coming exclusively to Nintendo Gamecube. They said five despite one being the already announced Resident Evil 4, although this game was unveiled for the first time. The other four went by the names of Killer 7, P.N. 03, Dead Phoenix and Viewtiful Joe. Despite Viewtiful Joe getting the most hype, all these games look like system selling beauties in their own right, all of them are mature games and all of them feature original and stylized graphics and gameplay. Killer 7 uses a special brand of cel-shaded graphics and features a crippled serial killer with 7 personalities; Dead Phoenix is supposed to make you feel like you are a bird and Viewtiful Joe is a 2D/3D game that features a super hero with the emphasis on looking good whilst saving the world. Product (rather than Project) number: 03 is a story driven third person blaster, something the Gamecube has been crying out for. The fourth production studio of Capcom is making all of these, the largest development studio of Capcom and the teams situated in this studio are only developing Gamecube games.
The leader of this studio is surprise, surprise Shinji Mikami and his specific game he is developing is Product Number 03. It is unsure if this is the secret ‘Project Devil’ game he was working on for the Gamecube or not so people were unsure if they were going to see more of Capcom still. This mixed with the ‘Megaton’ rumours meant the creation of a Nintendo-Capcom buy out rumour that viciously spread the Internet. Capcom responded stating that they did not intend to sell now or in the near future. Which makes this relationship even more strange, Whereas poor sales for SEGA has meant more of their games are going multiformat the poor sales for Capcom seems to mean more games are becoming exclusive to Nintendo.
It doesn’t end there though, Nintendo of America also put an massive amount of effort in pushing Resident Evil 0, Nintendo rarely push a non-Nintendo games so thoroughly even if this helps widen their adult demographic. Also despite not being on the scale of dramatic announcements Capcom have recently announced they are supporting yet another section of Nintendo, their Tri-Force Arcade boards. The announcement that came the other day simply stated that they are using Tri-force (the joint venture between Namco, SEGA and Nintendo that uses Gamecube hardware) and this time uses an established franchise in the form of a Gundam game, no other information on the game or on whether this will appear on the home console or not has been brought forward. Yet it seems Capcom and Nintendo will continue to share a close relationship, in the coming year, Capcom games will be as frequent as Nintendo ones… and this is after all Nintendo’s console.
And this is where I conclude, Capcom’s friendship with Nintendo is forever growing, whispers involving a Gamecube Megaman game are also going around the industry, a game that has recently been stuck on the Gameboy Advance and Onimusha is also rumored. What has exactly caused this dramatic change in Capcom is unknown; my only theory is that Nintendo are doing deals with Capcom behind close doors. Bloody Roar and Bomberman are appearing exclusively on Nintendo hardware from Hudson, it would appear Nintendo are not only assisting Hudson financially but of course the Mario Party series is generating a large amount of revenue for Hudson. It is highly possible that a bit of financial aid and the ability to make Zelda and Mickey Mouse games has meant Capcom will create many Gamecube-exclusive titles, and mature ones at that, something Nintendo are trying to improve constantly. Yet it is still a mystery, why release so many adult games on a console that attracts mainly the younger gamers? and more to the point why turn your back on a console that has helped make you the success that you are? What do you think?
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.
Nintendo and Capcom have never disliked each other, even during the Playstation era when Capcom basically jumped ship there were never any harsh words between the two. Whereas Namco frequently slated Nintendo and Nintendo frequently slated Squaresoft there has nothing really been said between Capcom and Nintendo. It has always been a disappointment on Nintendo fans behalf, massive game series’ such as Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Dino Crisis, Megaman etc… etc… never really saw the light of day on a the N64. The phenomenal success of Resident Evil 2 saw a slight change of heart on Capcom’s behalf though, as great as it was to make loads of money on Sony’s money making machine they decided it would be worth porting the classic Resident Evil 2 over to the N64. Re-locate a few items and dumb down the FMV scenes and bam you have an N64 Resident Evil game. This had a double barreled problem, FMV’s couldn’t be done on the N64 due to size restrictions on carts and for consumers the Nintendo fans were finally getting a game that costs around £60 and released around the same time as Resident Evil 3 on the Playstation for half that price. Yet Capcom did it anyway to some sale success, but this led to the largest cart in gaming history, the 512 MB, and to get it… Capcom had to contact Nintendo… and this could well be the turning point in this story.
You see that was the first of loads of Nintendo deals and collaborations that followed… and the first involved the Nintendo mega hit Zelda. When Nintendo announced three new Gameboy Colour Zelda games to be released very quickly between each other it seemed unbelievable, but what made it peculiar is that they were to be developed by Capcom. Now to be fair Capcom are an excellent developer but hardly the greatest choice to develop these games, and yet they did… well. They worked along side Nintendo and those three games dwindled down to two, and were now released simultaneously. And have been cited as ‘The Greatest 2D Zelda games ever’. It didn’t end there though; the last generation also heralded the announcement of a Gameboy Resident Evil game (It was originally the stunning original but turned into the average Resident Evil: Gaiden) and also an N64 exclusive Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 0. To the skeptics that insist nothing strange is going on at this point may have been correct. All that it seems is that after awesome sales of Resident Evil 2 on the PS1, the game should be released on multiple platforms, the decent sales of the N64 and Dreamcast versions led to their own exclusive games, Resident Evil 0 and Code: Veronica. Also it isn’t all that strange that Capcom had an idea based around an RPG linking together and Nintendo loving the linking up concept may have suggested they would make it a Zelda game.
So it is hardly ground breakingly strange stuff, except this improved relationship grew dramatically during the life of the Gamecube. Merely days after the September 11th disaster and before the release of the Gamecube in Japan came the announcement that had thousands of Nintendo fans leaping out of their seats with disbelief. The fabled Resident Evil announcement. We all know the story but just so I don’t break up the post I’ll re-tell it anyway. Capcom revealed that other than the previously announced Resident Evil 0, a remake of the original Resident Evil game and the subsequent sequels Resident Evil 2,3 and Code Veronica X would all be making an appearance on the Gamecube exclusively. Other than that Capcom also announced that the originally multi-format Resident Evil 4 would now be exclusive to the Gamecube. Now people frequently point out that this was because Resident Evil wasn’t selling as well as before and the Nintendo market had been tapped with two games that sold very well. Those same people also point out that Resident Evil remake, Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 4 are essentially the only exclusive Gamecube games and that Resident Evil: Gun Survivor 2 and Resident Evil Online are exclusive to the PS2. Yet the fact remains, all die hard Resident Evil fans would have bought a Gamecube due to that announcement. It also showed Nintendo’s relationship improve even further with Capcom not only because of the announcement itself but also because of one other strange occurrence….
Shigeru Miyamoto was there.
On stage together were the figurehead of Capcom Shinji Mikami and the figurehead of Nintendo Shigeru Miyamoto standing side by side. Those who have attended previous press releases will tell you it isn’t unusual to see Nintendo officials there even at Sony announcements but Shigeru Miyamoto doesn’t even appear at Nintendo ones, he shows up at interviews and E3 but never anywhere else… so why here? Shigeru Miyamoto was they’re simply to praise Capcom and in particular Mikami… and no other reason was given. Something that happened slightly before the Resident Evil announcement as well but goes even today unnoticed is Nintendo’s Mickey Mouse license. It could have been the first clue to the loss of Rare, the license was handed to Rare for an N64 and GBC racing game, for the Gamecube it was handed to Capcom. Just like Zelda, Capcom were now developing yet another Nintendo owned and published product. Up until SEGA and Namco confirmed F Zero and Star Fox Armada respectively Capcom were the only third party company to make a Nintendo owned franchise other than Mario. And yet still people didn’t blink an eye.
Probably the most overlooked piece of information is Capcom’s increasing dislike over Sony. Relatively early on in the Playstation 2’s life Capcom repeatedly slated the system as complicated to work on, Shinji Mikami once said: “Making Resident Evil 4 on the Playstation 2 is like making a Snowman in Africa!” It was hardly uncommon for third parties to disapprove of the ease in which the PS2 was to work on, Namco and Squaresoft had both made similar comments although hardly as aggressive as that. But it doesn’t stop there, the same man was disgruntled after Kingdom Hearts on the PS2 outsold Resident Evil on the Gamecube in Japan saying on record: “I am shocked that half hearted simplistic rubbish like Kingdom Hearts can sell so well, it is what I have come to expect from Playstation games.” Ohhhh bitchy, despite later apologising for his comment it still was shocking to see a major player in Capcom attack the PS2 when he had supported the PS1 for such a long time. But nevertheless critics have cited this on Shinji Mikami’s friendship with Nintendo, it is his games that were turning up exclusively and he hasn’t always got on with the bosses at Capcom… a loose cannon so to speak. But it still doesn’t hide the fact that the PS2 lost the Resident Evil series to Nintendo, the Dino Crisis series to Microsoft and the exclusive rights to Onimusha. If Sony doesn’t keep hold of Devil May Cry they may lose that too. But there was one final comment made against Sony that Shinji didn’t make, one of the bosses of Capcom explained in an interview that “the reason why Sony sell so many PS2’s is due to the fact they keep breaking, and in Japan we tend to buy another one rather than get it fixed.” Strange if not a rather unorthodox argument to throw at Sony.
Capcom and Nintendo’s friendship continued, the next beat ‘em up in their Street fighter Esq. games was announced, Capcom Vs. SNK: EO and then yet another important Capcom moment occurred at the E3 games show. Capcom and Nintendo were working together again in the first Zelda game that supports multiplayer capabilities. Capcom were hard at work, improving and porting the legendary 2D Zelda title A Link to the Past on the GBA. Last seen on the SNES, not only is this going to boast extra levels it also includes a surprising 4-player option! In addition this is the only Nintendo SNES port that has been given such large coverage mainly because Nintendo are screaming about it so much. Capcom’s relationship improves again. Rumours were soon persisting that Capcom was going to drop even more games into Nintendo’s lap but yet Nintendo fans were happy for the time being, that was until September 2002.
One of the most disappointing things to reach the ears of Nintendo fans was the news that Rare had indeed been sold to Microsoft. What seemed odd was that it wasn’t due to Rare’s desire for more money; it was because Nintendo didn’t want to buy them or be forced to support them anymore. It was as if all this third party support had meant that their legendary western developer that had sold the N64 in the west despite not selling dramatically software wise was no longer needed. Retro Studio’s were an ample replacement for Rare yet it didn’t feel quiet right… Nintendo fans would willingly give up Capcom just to see Banjo, Conker and Joanna return to their screens. That was until November 14th when Capcom struck again. At the heart of the next Capcom announcement that nearly put the Resident Evil announcement to shame, Capcom announced that five original system-selling titles would be coming exclusively to Nintendo Gamecube. They said five despite one being the already announced Resident Evil 4, although this game was unveiled for the first time. The other four went by the names of Killer 7, P.N. 03, Dead Phoenix and Viewtiful Joe. Despite Viewtiful Joe getting the most hype, all these games look like system selling beauties in their own right, all of them are mature games and all of them feature original and stylized graphics and gameplay. Killer 7 uses a special brand of cel-shaded graphics and features a crippled serial killer with 7 personalities; Dead Phoenix is supposed to make you feel like you are a bird and Viewtiful Joe is a 2D/3D game that features a super hero with the emphasis on looking good whilst saving the world. Product (rather than Project) number: 03 is a story driven third person blaster, something the Gamecube has been crying out for. The fourth production studio of Capcom is making all of these, the largest development studio of Capcom and the teams situated in this studio are only developing Gamecube games.
The leader of this studio is surprise, surprise Shinji Mikami and his specific game he is developing is Product Number 03. It is unsure if this is the secret ‘Project Devil’ game he was working on for the Gamecube or not so people were unsure if they were going to see more of Capcom still. This mixed with the ‘Megaton’ rumours meant the creation of a Nintendo-Capcom buy out rumour that viciously spread the Internet. Capcom responded stating that they did not intend to sell now or in the near future. Which makes this relationship even more strange, Whereas poor sales for SEGA has meant more of their games are going multiformat the poor sales for Capcom seems to mean more games are becoming exclusive to Nintendo.
It doesn’t end there though, Nintendo of America also put an massive amount of effort in pushing Resident Evil 0, Nintendo rarely push a non-Nintendo games so thoroughly even if this helps widen their adult demographic. Also despite not being on the scale of dramatic announcements Capcom have recently announced they are supporting yet another section of Nintendo, their Tri-Force Arcade boards. The announcement that came the other day simply stated that they are using Tri-force (the joint venture between Namco, SEGA and Nintendo that uses Gamecube hardware) and this time uses an established franchise in the form of a Gundam game, no other information on the game or on whether this will appear on the home console or not has been brought forward. Yet it seems Capcom and Nintendo will continue to share a close relationship, in the coming year, Capcom games will be as frequent as Nintendo ones… and this is after all Nintendo’s console.
And this is where I conclude, Capcom’s friendship with Nintendo is forever growing, whispers involving a Gamecube Megaman game are also going around the industry, a game that has recently been stuck on the Gameboy Advance and Onimusha is also rumored. What has exactly caused this dramatic change in Capcom is unknown; my only theory is that Nintendo are doing deals with Capcom behind close doors. Bloody Roar and Bomberman are appearing exclusively on Nintendo hardware from Hudson, it would appear Nintendo are not only assisting Hudson financially but of course the Mario Party series is generating a large amount of revenue for Hudson. It is highly possible that a bit of financial aid and the ability to make Zelda and Mickey Mouse games has meant Capcom will create many Gamecube-exclusive titles, and mature ones at that, something Nintendo are trying to improve constantly. Yet it is still a mystery, why release so many adult games on a console that attracts mainly the younger gamers? and more to the point why turn your back on a console that has helped make you the success that you are? What do you think?
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.