Many hardcore gamers look forward to seeing new things, and indeed we applaud when we have variety in our gaming. However Christian Svensson explains the difficulty of bringing new franchises to the table in a way thats very understandable. He goes on to express that as console prices go down, the install base grows. These new consumers that buy into the market are mostly looking for already established franchises that they have enjoyed in the past.
My thoughts on it is that established franchises begin to get tired and watered down eventually, unless they take a hiatus like Street Fighter did for nine years. When they begin to get tired we need new IP’s to fall back on. My impression is that if developers put their all into the first game of a franchise, it will gain recognition and it will be ten times bigger when the next game rolls out. It is all about consistency.
Check out Christians thoughts on this below.
There is nothing more difficult in this business than launching new IP. Capcom is fortunate, and I think has a better track record than most – we do very few licensed properties. Look across our history, and our portfolio of products, and they are all things that we own and control. Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Devil May Cry, Lost Planet, Dead Rising, Okami, Megaman: these are all iconic brands.
And I would look at Okami, Dead Rising and Lost Planet as three of this generation’s(ish) successful new launches. We brought back Street Fighter to be relevant again, after a nine or ten-year hiatus of re-releases and rehashes. These are really hard things to do.
I think new IP is always hard. Three years ago, the difference is you’re at the beginning of a hardware cycle, where you have the most hardcore consumers who are the most accepting of fresh new ideas. Don’t get me wrong, they want their Modern Warfare 3, they love their franchises, but they are also guys who are on the lookout for, and want to evangelise, new playing experiences. We’re going to have a longer hardware cycle this time around, so it’s going to be a little bit different.
We have a broader audience than we had three years ago. Our new audience may have brought a USD 199 Xbox, or a USD 299 PS3, or a USD 199 Wii – that’s a slightly different consumer from the person who would put down USD 599 or USD 499 for a PS3 three years ago. This is a more brand-centric, price sensitive consumer than that earlier consumer, and they are less likely to be as informed about ‘that new IP from Capcom’ than those guys from three years ago.
Now, those guys from three years ago are still there, but they have a lot more choice in the market today, between what’s new and hot, and a slew of ‘greatest hits’ that are well known and great value for money. So you’re competing not just against what’s out on the market today, but what’s been out on the market for the last three years.
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