Bionic Commando Devs Fear The Japanese

Swedish developer GRIN, working on Capcom's new Bionic Commando title as well as the PSN/XBLA update of the original one, were entertainingly forthcoming during an industry conference in the Netherlands where they talked about the tough path for an independent developer.

Managing director Bo had some blunt language for the harsh reality of game development as a business, something the audience may occasionally lose track of when levying certain accusations at development studios:

“Really, to get started, you’re not making a game for a gamer, you’re making a game for a publisher," he said. "And that’s how it is. They know the product, they are paying for the product, and they want you to pull through... on time.”

Also, apparently working with the Japanese is scary:

Bionic Commando Action Figure Spotted

Bionic Commando Multiplayer In Action

Capcom's big-budget revitalization of its Bionic Commando intellectual property has the potential be outshone by its classic remake, Bionic Commando Rearmed, as far as hardcore fans are concerned, but the new-gen update, the one starring Nathan Spencer, shouldn't be overlooked. Both are graphically gorgeous in their own ways, with Rearmed presenting a tight, clean and colorful 2.5D re-skin, with the all-new Bionic Commando appearing to be an impressive visual achievement, stuffed with attention to detail and smart level design.

Bionic Commando's move into the third dimension looks to potentially present challenges on par with the original NES classic, bringing a rather complex mechanical arm-swinging mechanic (plus jumping!) into a more freely navigable 3D space. Add to that camera control that's totally up to the player and Bionic Commando could be seen as overly complex, a potentially rough 2D to 3D transition.

We're still hopeful despite that, for reasons we'll hopefully make clear.

Capcom To Announce "Or Something Like That" Soon?

Bionic Commando Wii? Unannounced. Lost Planet Wii? Ditto. "Or Something Like This?" Will be announced soon. Via a Q&A with Capcom's Christian Svensson. Read on:

Question: Are we going to see Bionic Commando, Lost Planet or something like this on the Wii?

Svensson: Possible... the "or something like this" part we could talk about in a couple weeks perhaps.

We cannot wait to learn about "Or Something Like This." It sounds like a fantastic game.

Capcom To Announce New Wii Game [N-Europe via Infendo]

You Can Buy The Bionic Commando Rearmed Soundtrack

Even though Bionic Commando: Rearmed has been delayed, the soundtrack hasn't! The music is available for purchase on places like iTunes and Sumthing Digital. Money-hating Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd, who allowed gamers to chose a cheaper price point for BCR, once again explains why he hates money:

Bionic Commando Rearmed Misses May Launch

This is MA-1. Sir, we know you've been waiting to get your hands on the finished Bionic Commando Rearmed, but it appears we've run into a few problems in the closing stages. I regret to inform you that we have received confirmation that the game won't be making its scheduled May release.

Capcom Looks Into Crystal Ball, Makes Resident Evil 5 Sales Prediction

The future! According to insiders, Capcom is forecasting 2.3 million global sales for Resident Evil 5 this year. Keep in mind, Devil May Cry 4 has moved around 2.3 units — "record" sales for that franchise. But, seeing how RE is a bigger series, Capcom's estimate for Resident Evil 5 does seem rather conservative. Maybe the company is just lowballing it! Like if the game says better than it originally predicted, well, Capcom would look pretty good. What I wonder: has Capcom forecasted how many people the game will piss off?

In other crystal ball news, the published is gaging Bionic Commando to move 1.5 million copies worldwide.

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Bionic Commando, Lost Planet Comic Books Comin'

Capcom has partnered with Devil's Due Publishing—apparently I'm out of the comic book publisher loop—to introduce a series of comic book titles based on properties like Bionic Commando and Lost Planet. The video game publisher already has a line of comics based on the Street Fighter universe published by Udon, who in turn is providing artwork for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

The press release, via the official Capcom blog, hints that additional and unannounced Capcom books will be revealed at the San Diego Comic Con this July. It does not, however, indicate if we'll get backstory that explains why Bionic Commando has sausage-filled limbs. My own theory is that he was bitten by a radioactive hot dog while on a field trip, giving him the proportionate strength and speed of a frank that plumps when you cook it. That's totally speculative, though.

Press release follows.

How To Bring The West to Japan

Fact: There are differences between Western and Japanese games. Intrinsic differences that sometimes make it hard to bring Western games to Japan. The words, the phrases, the idioms — they're familiar to you. It's English, and chances are if you are reading this, the language is either your mother tongue or a second tongue or neither and you've happened on this page by accident. But for a segment of Japanese gamers, Western games are just not playable no thanks to the language barrier. But some of those differences arise from the background of developers.

The vast majority of Japanese devs have an arcade background, and if an arcade game is going to be a hit, it needs to work, it needs to be tight and snap. If you put in a coin in a buggy game that locks up or freaks out, you'll complain to the arcade manager, who will then complain to his boss, who will then complain to his boss, who will complain to that game's publisher. Shit's gotta work. While the arcade scene is very much alive in Japan, it's not in the States, and most developers are coming in with a strong PC gaming background. If shit's broken, patch, patch, patch! "Japanese games have very few collision problems — hands, arms going through walls, etc," says Capcom producer and former localization head Ben Judd. "When western gamers see in-game collision issues, they don't care as long as they're having a good time. That's just not acceptable for the Japanese." Things like A.I. and programming is where Western devs really shine, while Japan picks up the slack on things like textures.

Other things that separate Western and Japanese games, points out Judd, include such seemingly small things like "Japanese player typically don't like controlling two thumbsticks are once — they get sick" and "Japanese players like a strong tutorial." Japanese players, says Judd, prefer that characters are skewed slightly younger and have more anime-style qualities, while Western gamers favor 30 year-old bald men. "RPGs are popular," says Judd. "Players don't typically like the first person point of view and want to see their character. It makes it easier for them to support that character." No wonder Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto has found a welcome audience in Japan.

Where Bionic Commando And Nintendo Stand

Bionic Commando Rearmed, Shipping Soonish

Good news! XBLA and PSN title Bionic Commando Rearmed seems like it's getting one step closer to digital shipping. On developer GRIN's official site, the game's Creative Director Simon Viklund blogs:

The final date for completing Bionic Commando Rearmed is closing in - we're stabilizing the game and polishing all the details now, and soon this product of almost a year of late nights and hard work will ship to a digital distribution channel near you!

...Within weeks we will see with sad eyes how it leaves to enter the approval process, and I'm sure that just days after things have calmed down here at the office and our schedules say "wait and see", the team and I will already start longing to get back to the backbreaking work we've gotten used to during the project.

Bionic Commando: Restitched

For the love of Bionic Commando, and in the spirit of it's soon-to-be rearmed release on Xbox Live, I made this and wanted to share it with you guys.

Hahahah. Oh, Capcom, we were just joking about the hot dogs! You didn't need to go and actually get rid of them! Then again, maybe they're just making good on their side of a bet with Ashcraft, whose spelling has come along leaps and bounds since January. Either way, as you can see, the "new" arm cables look much nicer, and much less like a tightly-woven string of frankfurts, than the originals.

[there were a] huge number of user comments that we received, where a majority were suggesting they would pay $15 or even $20 for the game.

Western games are really starting to come into their own. No wonder some think that Japan's place in the gaming sun has set. Japan-based-Capcom producer Ben Judd disagrees! While his Bionic Commando title is being developed by a buncha Swedes, he hasn't given up on The Land of the Rising Sun. According to Judd:

I mean, don't make any mistakes: The Japanese guys know that the west is starting to kick ass and take names, and they are studying those games. And from what I know of Japanese motivation and business practices is, if they ever feel that there is something that they're not staying on track with, or on target, then they study it, see what's great about it, then they learn how to do it better.

A lot of people talk about the Japanese industry being, you know, on the way out, in terms of design and stuff like that. I don't think that they're out yet. I think that they'll come back.

Bionic Commando Producer Chimes In About XBLA Limits

Microsoft's willing to bend the rules! As we posted earlier, the 150 MB file limit that's standard for Xbox LIVE Arcade titles has been ditched for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Bionic Commando Rearmed. This ensures that Xbox 360 owners and PS3 owners don't get vastly different games. Does this mean Microsoft is setting a new policy? That the 150 MB limit is a thing of the past? For now, probably not. Though, Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd does think it's important for Microsoft to look at each Arcade title individually, and apparently Microsoft is doing just that. Says Judd:

It would be nice if they would adapt a policy of determining what the size limit would be based on the concepts submissions they are getting in. With BCR it features 20 different levels, 20 enemies, multiple attacks, next-gen shadows, scripting, 50 challenge stages, lots of sound effects, hi-res art from CJ's best artist, etc, etc. If you put that much in you just need more space if you are shooting for HD quality graphics as well. On the other hand, I don't think a game like Tetris (even if it is HD) would require as must space as say an MGS game due to it's huge amount of voice.

I think standards are good for maintaining consistancy across a brand image. Sony, Nintendo, and MS all have policies concerning naming, icons, and features but still you need to be able to take a case by case approach on occasion if you see a title that you think really needs to bend the rules a bit.

Bionic Commando Gets Remote Play