Capcom says its commitment to the PC as a gaming platform is actually strengthening as it looks to expand into online gaming and markets that aren’t dominated by consoles.
Broadly speaking, I don’t think Capcom is a publisher that’s really seen as a big player in the PC market. I don’t know much about the company, I’ll admit, but I do know a thing or two about PC gaming and I think those two facts combined are rather telling. But Capcom Vice President Christian Svensson says that although the PC market in Japan has historically been small, “our core technology for all of our platforms has been informed by and pushed by the PC, which is always at the bleeding edge.” And as the company expands into new markets, it’s also recognizing the need to embrace the platform at a consumer level.
“As we continue to expand our businesses in Russia, China, Korea and Brazil, the PC becomes increasingly important as it is the primary platform in those territories,” he said. “In our recent investor relations presentations, we’ve mentioned that our online efforts are aimed squarely at South Korea and China, focused around the PC.”
Svensson said the relatively small PC gaming market has translated into different “personal experiences” for Japanese developers than those in the West, but that producers “have continued to learn lessons about the PC gaming market and how it differs from that which they know well on the console side of the house.” But while the rapidly-growing online gaming market is a big part of its focus, traditional game releases aren’t being overlooked.
“PC gaming’s profile is growing at Capcom. Both the U.S. and our European teams continue to request PC SKUs for new titles. We’ve got more titles coming with PC versions than ever before (e.g. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, etc.). At green light meetings, our Japanese COO and the head of the consumer and online software business increasingly request a PC version if one is not being proposed at the outset of a project,” Svensson said. “So in short, while we’re still not yet where I’d like for us to be, the future is getting better for Capcom fans who are PC gamers all over the world.”
