Capcom says the sales failure of Bionic Commando led it to rethink its strategy for Western developers, and that it will now handle major new IP/reboots itself and only outsource established series.
Capcom says the sales failure of Bionic Commando has taught it to rethink how it works with Western studios in its effort to globalize. Bionic Commando, made in conjunction with now-defunct Swedish developer GRIN, sold just 27,000 units at launch, an experience Capcom says "demonstrated the difficulty of outsourcing the development of new [titles] to overseas companies." Speaking to analysts as part of a Q&A session alongside its most recent financial results, the company said that working with overseas studios remains a key part of its strategy. "We cannot develop a sufficient number of titles without using the resources of these companies. This is why we plan to continue using these alliances," said Capcom. "We are considering ways to separate the roles of activities in Japan and overseas," the company continued. "We plan to develop new titles primarily in Japan." Going forward, Capcom says it is likely to outsource only existing properties "with well-established characters and universal themes" to Western developers. "Overseas companies will also handle certain parts and/or lineups of such games," the company concludes. It's worth noting that Bionic Commando was, in fact, an established brand -- beginning with a 1987 arcade title and appearing on NES and Game Boy until the 90s. GRIN's 2009 installment was aimed as a next-gen franchise reboot; the studio also developed the better-received NES remake Bionic Commando: Rearmed for Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and PC.
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