Capcom's annual financial report has been released, and it contains some interesting information concerning how the company will make games going forward.
In the report, Capcom president and COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto said:
"We launch sales of popular series titles held by the Company approximately every 2.5 years. This is because the development of a single major title usually requires 3-4 years; in the event that there are few hits, it will be difficult to create a series title every year and earnings will be adversely impacted.
"For this reason, it is important either to maintain a large number of popular titles or shorten the sales cycle to ensure stable earnings. Among the multitude of major titles held by Capcom - such as Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Lost Planet, Dead Rising and many others - we will promote shortening of the sales cycle in pursuit of further earnings stabilisation and growth."
Tsujimoto went onto to describe how this increased productivity will be achieved. Firstly, Capcom will limit development teams to 100 members, with "multiple sequel titles [being] developed at the same time". The Japanese publisher will additionally strengthen its in-house development, increasing its staff by 100 graduates each year. It will also attempt to increase the number of titles released in a single year, "using a hybrid development model whereby the core portions of the project aredeveloped in-house by Capcom and the process-work is outsourced to outside development companies".
While he didn't have much to say about the next generation of home consoles, Tsujimoto did say that Capcom will be allocating around "20 per cent of development investment " into creating new products, including a "new popular next generation franchise".
So we'll get more Capcom games each year, and there will be less time between sequels for its more popular titles.
Are these announcements something to be happy about or do they inspire a creeping fear that quality standards could slip? Capcom seems to be making the right noises, reassuring fans that's its strengthening in the areas it needs to in order to execute this new strategy. But let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer. His development cycle was roughly nine months. Follow him on IGN and Twitter.
Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com
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