Capcom now prioritizing 'completeness,' even if that means delays
After Street Fighter 5's struggles, Capcom has a new plan in store.
Following Capcom's recent acknowledgment that Street Fighter V had a "lack of content" and "needed more polish," the company outlined a plan to work on games longer to ensure they are ready for launch. Now, CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto has shed more light on that new process.
Capcom is prepared to delay games if they need more time, Tsujimoto said as part of a Q&A session at the company's latest earnings report. The English translation of this session was published today [PDF] on Capcom's website.
"For games to be hits at the global level they must be high quality," he said. "To this end, as a result of judging it necessary to spend a little more time on the development and operation of titles that are not yet up to that standard, we have revised the development periods for a small number of titles.
"Rather than absolutely holding to sales periods or development deadlines, in the pursuit of quality that wholly satisfies our users we will carry out development that prioritizes completeness even if it requires some scheduling adjustments."
Tsujimoto warned investors and analysts that taking this approach might mean diminished sales in the short-term. However, he still expects an annual growth rate of at least 10 percent, and stressed that taking more time to make a great product will eventually result in the "strengthening" of core titles.
Street Fighter V sold 1.4 million copies across PlayStation 4 and PC for Capcom's fiscal year ended March 31. This was 600,000 copies below the 2 million figure that the company was expecting.
Street Fighter V faced server issues during its beta and at launch, though those problems have now largely been fixed. Additionally, people criticized the game for its perceived lack of content and missing features, including the nonexistence of penalty program for rage-quitters.
Looking ahead, Street Fighter V will receive a free story expansion in June.
Outside of the Street Fighter franchise, Capcom has three "major" unannounced games in the works and scheduled to launch by the end of March 2017. One of these games is from the Monster Hunter franchise, but there are no details at all on the other two.