All these sequels may seem like (relatively) safe bets, but what about something new? There was a time Capcom was known for experimental new concepts. The days of Viewtiful Joe and Killer 7 and Okami seem a long time ago.
"When we put out our strategy a couple of years ago, we said we were focusing on our core pillars - Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter and others," Turner reminds us. "Some people would point to the cultural thing of risk-avoidance, but we do take risks. RE7 could have gone horribly wrong. And with Monster Hunter World, you're potentially turning your back on a four million domestic market to chase the West."
Molant continues: "We are looking into the explosion in affordable digital-only titles. That is how we potentially see new IP being born, by testing the water with smaller titles that are less risky to develop. Maybe we could release a few of these and see if one takes off, and then you can take it further step-by-step, as opposed to doing a AAA with a £10 million marketing budget. That's never going to happen."
Turner again: "But it's not off the plans to do some new IP. We have titles lined-up. The development team doesn't want to keep working on the same thing over and over. They want to explore other areas. There is also a lot of scope in some of our universes where we can go and do something new, without having to leap into new territory.
"But new IP is certainly still on the radar, and discussed within the development offices at Osaka and Vancouver. It's just difficult to launch successfully in a global market."
Concludes Molant: "Especially as a boutique publisher."
