At an investor Q&A conference call following the release of their first quarter fiscal report, Capcom were asked to detail their plans for Nintendo 3DS development in the future. One investor began by asking if any of Capcom’s 3DS products would be released this fiscal year.
Do you plan to release any titles for the Nintendo 3DS this fiscal year?
A. We broke the news at E3 2010 that development is underway for “Resident Evil: Revelations (tentative title)” and “Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition”, but we do not expect these titles to be ready for release this fiscal year.
Resident Evil: Revelations and Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition are the only two 3DS games Capcom have announced so far, and the company declined from naming any more. Furthermore, they clarified that no 3DS games will be released during the current fiscal year, so we’ll have to wait until after March 2011 for both.
Next, 3DS game production costs were discussed. Since their 3DS games are powered by the MT Framework — the engine used for the majority of the company’s more significant titles, like Resident Evil 5 and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 — Capcom were able to streamline the development process just as they’d done for other consoles.
Since the MT Framework also represents Capcom’s multiplatform publishing strategy, this brought up the question of whether the 3DS would be seeing portable versions of the company’s big releases. A reply followed:
“The “MT Framework” is tailored to the unique features of each individual platform, and we upgrade it as needed. The Nintendo 3DS is one of the platforms for which the “MT Framework” is compatible. This doesn’t mean that we necessarily adapt a title to each console when we release it; rather the company comprehensively considers all the game elements when choosing which platform to develop the game for.”
Perhaps the 3DS could present Capcom with a safer way to experiment with new I.P. Bionic Commando, Dark Void and Lost Planet 2 failed to achieve their projected sales, and development costs for the last one were quoted as being one of the reasons behind Capcom’s recent drop in profits.
