Wednesday, December 26, 2012

In Video Games, Capcom Needs Reputation Management.

By Rob Sutter


I enjoy being a gamer but even I have to call shenanigans when I see price gouging on select video games. While I understand that games today typically cost a great amount, I'm not so much upset with the retail costs. What gets to me, more than anything, is the idea that certain companies continue to nickel and dime their consumers in any way possible. Capcom is the company with the most guilt on the issue and reputation management may have to be put to use in this regard.

I cannot believe that I once thought of Capcom as one of the greatest developers within the video game world. Brand names such as Mega Man and Resident Evil are brought up constantly and the company appeased every type of gamer. It didn't matter if you enjoyed run-and-gun games or horror titles; every single person was acknowledged. Where exactly did a company such as this take a turn for the worst, however?

The uprising of downloadable content was perhaps the greatest influence on the matter, too. DLC was supposed to be used to grant finished games even further content like levels. However, it appears as though DLC has been abused more so these days and Capcom had, quite strangely mind you, sold alternate costumes and added difficulty modes, to name a few, as DLC. If you think that these two should have been in games to start, you are not the only one.

It's clear that Capcom needs reputation management above just about anything else now. Organizations like fishbat can assist the video game mogul and if any one company needs it, it's the one that originated Mega Man. Perhaps statements could be released to the public, stating that the release dates of games that fans desperately want. These sought-after titles could potentially bring former fans back but one has to wonder if it's a matter of it being too little, too late for such people.

Gamers, in my mind, have a greater presence of mind than I feel like society credits them with. Too many of them are aware of whether or not they're being had and once that feeling surfaces, chances of purchases go down. Capcom is a company that has to work on itself because faith has been lost thanks to countless DLC situations and cancelled games left and right. Gamers may very well accept Capcom if things get better, but who can truly say?




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