Capcom cancels 18 (!) games.

[Charlie]

Capcom has annouced a loss of 19.5 billion yen for the 2002 fiscal year, or about $163 million in American currency. Nearly every major title on every platform sold under expectations. As a result, Capcom has cancelled 18 undisclosed games. Yikes!

So what are the mystery 18? I'm assuming that Mega Man and Resident Evil games are unaffected. But some obscure titles are in danger... Steel Batallion 2 is toast I would bet.

[Sylentwulf]

Holy hell, if they're really cancelled for good that would be pretty amazing, maybe Sega needs to merge with Capcom, lol.

[brandver3]

In the article Capcom said it doesn't feel they are in need of a merger, thank god.

I'm sure Steel Battalion 2 is still in development. SB was about the only thing Capcom put out that sold way above expectations.

It's been on backorder since it came out. And as far as I have seen, ever time a store around here gets one it.s gone in a hour or two.

I would like to know what those 18 games were, I hope the Onimusha fighting game is still in the works.

[lionforce]

Wow that news is a bit of a surprise, I thought Capcom was running on an invincible streak but apparently even one of the best in this crazy industry has faultered a little. Hmmmm as far as those 18 titles do they mean titles that have been released in Japan and now have no chance of US release or do they mean games that are still in development :/

[Six Switch]

This sucks,I hope those new GCN games were not some of the 18.Viewful Joe looked so cool! :( x_x

[Sylentwulf]

I'm sorry but if you need to cancel developement on EIGHTEEN GAMES, then YES, you ARE in need of a merger, and DESPERATELY.

[Hamsnibit]

I had to respond to this because the the discussion is very misleading. Yes they canceled 18 games, but they still have 80 games in developement. Do you guys have any idea how many times this happens? Most likely alot. Anyway, I'm sure they chose to cancel new ideas that were very early in the developement stages, probably nothing major.

[Sylentwulf]

Oh good, they only stopped making 20% of the games they currently had in development. I was worried <sarc>

[zmeston]

Oh good, they only stopped making 20% of the games they currently had in development. I was worried <sarc>

Games are ALWAYS being canned in various stages of (in)completion; this is just an occasion in which the snuffings were made public. It's likely that most of those 18 "games in development" were nothing more than a design document or a rough 3D demo.

That being said, yeah, Capcom's hurting, but so is every Japanese videogame company. The Japanese economy has been in the toilet for years, and the videogame sector is really feeling it. After the no-fuckin'-way merger of Square and Enix, truly anything could happen over there.

And the American sector isn't in the greatest shape, either, unless you're EA or Rockstar. The economics of modern videogame production are getting more and more out of whack...

-- Z.

[Kid Fenris]

I'm praying that the 18 canceled games didn't include Shantae Advance or the GameCube Shantae game.

[brandver3]

Kid, as much as i would hate to say this, I can almost garuentee that both of those got the ax. Since the GBC game did not quite so good.

[Charlie]

The total loss for the 18 games canned is $41 Million. So scratch the idea of crude 3-D wireframes and concepts, because at least some of these games had to be at least months into actual production.

[zmeston]

The total loss for the 18 games canned is $41 Million. So scratch the idea of crude 3-D wireframes and concepts, because at least some of these games had to be at least months into actual production.

I didn't say ALL of 'em were design docs or early games, just the majority. The $41 million likely includes R&D, payroll costs, etc., etc., and the many other costs of development in categories other than actual production. Making a game costs a LOT of money these days, so 18 games/$41 million indicates none of them were too far into development, unless it was a few games that were really far along, and everything else was in the earliest stages.

-- Z.

[digdug]

Hope they didn't cancel Resident Evil Football. heheh



Just Kiddin.


Dig Dug

I have a afeeling that some of the games that were cancelled were multi-platform titles that may have begun the crossover, i.e. onimusha 2 on x-box etc.

[Sylentwulf]

i.e. Almost everything on the gamecube is more like it :)

[Charlie]

Well seeing how Devil May Cry 2 and other key PS2 titles were under, I don't think owners of any one paticular system should be worried.

[buttasuperb]

Did they release a list of the games?

I hope no fighters were canned, especially any 2D ones.

[WiseSalesman]

The article I read regarding this specified that they were not any games that anyone would have heard of, that they were all games that had not yet been publicly announced.

[IntvGene]

So what are the mystery 18? I'm assuming that Mega Man and Resident Evil games are unaffected. But some obscure titles are in danger... Steel Batallion 2 is toast I would bet.

Magicbox (http://come.to/magicbox) is reporting a rumor that Steel Battalion Online (2?) is dead. I've also heard similar rumors on other messageboards. I wouldn't be surprised... Capcom doesn't give a damn about its fan base. But, can anyone confirm or deny this?

It looks like this kills any hope of Chaos Legions coming to the U.S too. :(

But, just last week, they announced a sequel to Maximo! (A game that was ok, but hardly great)

[bargora]

Dear Capcom,

U better not cancel the Tekki Online thing, or I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger. Ditto for the Shantaez.

Yours truly,
bargora

[chocobokick]

Whaaa? Brian really wanted that Viewtiful Joe or whatever and aren't they making a fun looking game where you draw a creature and battle it?? I hope those still come out

[Kid Fenris]

Whaaa? Brian really wanted that Viewtiful Joe or whatever and aren't they making a fun looking game where you draw a creature and battle it?? I hope those still come out

Viewtiful Joe is alive and well. Capcom just released new preview footage, which you can see at The Magic Box (http://mb.vgdirectory.com/gaming.htm). The game ships in Japan this June, in fact.

I sort of remember that drawing RPG, but I don't recall the title.

[brandver3]

I appears that things we have never heard of got canceled. Since we have heard and seen Choas Legions, Veiwtiful Joe, SB2, and Shantea, none of those have been cancelled, or Capcom already would have told us other wise.

[IntvGene]

Magicbox (http://come.to/magicbox) NOW reports:

"Capcom of Japan mentioned that the Xbox Live tank battle game Tekki Online (Steel Battalion Online) has not been discontinued, instead the game has been renamed to Tekki Taisen, and first details of the game will be available in mid-May."

Good news! :-D