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OK Capcom, Enough with the Ports!

OK Capcom, Enough with the Ports!

When you think about certain companies, certain topics, genres, or concepts can come to mind. I think we all consider EA the face of microtransactions at this point. Square Enix always calls RPGs to mind. Capcom’s getting a reputation too, and it isn’t the best one. It is fast becoming the company that keeps porting older games to newer platforms to make some quick and easy money.

It is something the company has always been up to, but especially recently has been ramping up. Instead of offering a steady stream of only entirely new games, lots of titles we have seen before keep coming back. Worse, sometimes it happens with really no alterations to the formula. Some might even consider it a bit of a problem.

There have been so many Capcom ports released and announced that don’t do anything new. Rather, they just put an existing game on a new platform. Okami HD is a big one. It is essentially a direct port of the PlayStation 3 game to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, only with 4K support and loading screen minigames. So is Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen. It is pretty much identical to the PC game, which was identical to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. And the upcoming Devil May Cry HD Collection brings the first three games to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC after being on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, All of these are examples of Capcom waiting a few years and, instead of doing something new with the properties, bringing them back again.

Resident Evil is another series that just keeps coming back. While we did get the stellar Resident Evil 7 , revitalizing the IP, we keep seeing older games again and again. In 2017, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One both got their own versions of Resident Evil: Revelations for the first time. The Switch even got a Resident Evil: Revelations Collection with both games. At least with the latter, it added amiibo support and motion controls to the adventure to offer a little something new and worthwhile. But even then, before that we saw ports of games like Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5, and Resident Evil 6 .

OK Capcom, Enough with the Ports!

And then there are Capcom’s portable games. In 2017, Capcom rereleased so many Mega Man games on Android and iOS devices again. Mega Man 1-6 all showed up again. The Ace Attorney games started reappearing again, with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice showing up on phones, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney coming to the 3DS, and Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth on phones. Instead of taking time to bring the newest Ace Attorney games to the west, Dai Gyakuten Saiban 1 or 2 , the company is recycling things we have seen before. At least all of the Mega Man recycling is building up to Mega Man 11 in 2018!

Capcom is a company that has made amazing games. We can credit it with entirely new and original games like Monster Hunter: World, Monster Hunter Stories, Dead Rising 4, Resident Evil 7, and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. We know the company can provide us with new and enjoyable experiences. It is disappointing that it resorts to ports so often and easily in an attempt to get funds and attention.

Image Credit: Kasane, Lewo Saito

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