A representative of Capcom recently disclosed how the company gauges which of their past titles are still hot enough to market through online services like Xbox Live Arcade. After sifting through the usual suspects, Capcom will turn to the various online communities to see what games are being most discussed. What’s drawn the most attention toward the the interview is that he also acknowledged that Capcom will scope out eBay listings to see what gamers are willing to pay to play past titles. Most significant (naturally) is the fan-favorite, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, of which either Dreamcast or PlayStation2 versions can easily be sold for hundreds of dollars.

I am so completely in favor of this practice! If those words read as though dipped in sarcasm, I assure you they are not. I’ve often complained in the past about how video game companies seek council with its fanbase, but that was in the context of culling ideas for new titles. Most gamers tend to be unimaginative and have always asked for more of the same, except to make it bigger, faster, and flashier. Not necessarily “better”. That being the case, using their input to determine what titles of olde to revive into ports on next generation platforms is perfect.

I encourage more game publishers to do this. It’s the same argument that finally brought Final Fantasy Tactics back from the grave…first by receiving a second print run through PlayStation’s “Greatest Hits” line, then earning a complete remake on the PSP. Not to mention Konami’s masterpiece, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which gamers can once again enjoy either through XBLA or as an unlockable feature in Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles.

Alas, some titles that involve outside properties like Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 may be forever lost in the legal ether. Chances are it would be far too expensive to acquire the licenses required to publish them. Since Marvel is a hot brand right now (thanks mostly to their line of successful films), the price to use their characters is guaranteed to be steep. Capcom has shown an impressive amount of loyalty to its community in recent years, but they’ve never been fool-hearty enough to wager that much coin on a title that would only appeal to a limited, niche audience.

Now if only Square-Enix and crew would consider similar auctions to finally give us that new port of Chrono Trigger that fans have been demanding…

This entry was posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 4:06 pm and is filed under Games. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.