In what has to be seen as a concerning situation, Capcom’s USA office is in the position of having what many feel are two of the most desirable releases in the amusement sector, but is unable to sell them themselves! Industry sources have revealed that Capcom needs to find outside manufacturers to actually sell their games in the States!
The amusement satellite distribution and sales divisions have found themselves less than well served regarding information concerning the Japanese head office's future plans. It is fair to say the internet and BBS sites have revealed more of the Capcom coin-op R&D team’s current enterprises than executives in certain offices were aware. The depletion of the Capcom amusement offices, now supported jointly by the offices already focused on the more profitable consumer releases, has confounded the situation. Capcom U.S. has been unable to jump into action regarding the games and has passed on the responsibility of starting U.S. location tests, painfully clear that they could be easily overwhelmed by actual market interest needing a helping hand.
What has been revealed by a number of agitated American operators and sources is that the immanent release of Capcom vs. SNK 2 will have a production way below the numbers that will be needed to support all of the operators wanting to get their hands on the game, as Capcom U.S. offers minimal staff to support the effort. Regarding Gun Survivor 2: Biohazard Code Veronica, the prognosis looks worse with the game actually bypassing the U.S. due to indifference within Capcom unless a "sugar daddy" can be found. The situation seems to stem from the neglect that the coin-op division within the predominately console fixated facility has suffered.
In the time remaining before the games are officially released, a panic has swept certain U.S. operators regarding how they can get their hands on one of the three "hot-ticket" fighting games to hit the arcades. It is surprising that these games, via Internet coverage, have achieved a surge of interest amongst fighting coin-op fans. This interest has been missed completely by the executives at the American offices. These same executives were privately caught by surprise when the beta version of Capcom vs. SNK 2 commanded strong attention in their booth at E3. Though they were familiar with the game, salivating at the prospects of the PS2 release, the continuing support of an amusement route was alien to many originating from a console software development background.
It was privately assumed that Capcom would capitalize on a favored route similar to their European division and save the situation at the last minute. The Capcom Germany offices have continued to support arcade investment while the States have declined and orchestrated the company's "farming-out" of amusement development. Sources finally revealed during the last days of June that SEGA America would in fact take charge of CvS2's distribution and support.
However, the complexity of the Biohazard shooting cabinet could lead to a different option. Namco's American satellite could add the gun game to their line-up, similar to the agreement that Gaelco has with the Japanese giant. No confirmation from either party concerning this possibility was available at the time of writing this story.
For the operator, they are less worried about who distributes the game as long as they can profit from the release within their facilities. SEGA Europe has already made it clear that they will be relying on more third party manufacturing, using the French mega distributor and manufacturer Avranches Automatics S.A., to handle a percentage of their expected machine runs. A similar situation exists with Konami, and even Taito, who has actively sought support of their Stunt Typhoon Plus driving game outside Japan, with cabinets already turning up in England, manufactured by a third party, while the USA is left out regarding this interesting driver.
At a time when amusement seems to be hot news (those once writing the market off as dead are now filling articles with CvS2, Tekken 4 and Virtua Fighter 4 news) attempting to redefine its new shape, the supportive relationships between the remaining Japanese amusement manufacturers are becoming a common factor in the mix. This even more important due to the interest for the latest releases from these manufacturers. <IMG SRC="smilies/veryangry.gif" border="0">
source: http://www.eventgaming.com/stingerreport/6.html
The amusement satellite distribution and sales divisions have found themselves less than well served regarding information concerning the Japanese head office's future plans. It is fair to say the internet and BBS sites have revealed more of the Capcom coin-op R&D team’s current enterprises than executives in certain offices were aware. The depletion of the Capcom amusement offices, now supported jointly by the offices already focused on the more profitable consumer releases, has confounded the situation. Capcom U.S. has been unable to jump into action regarding the games and has passed on the responsibility of starting U.S. location tests, painfully clear that they could be easily overwhelmed by actual market interest needing a helping hand.
What has been revealed by a number of agitated American operators and sources is that the immanent release of Capcom vs. SNK 2 will have a production way below the numbers that will be needed to support all of the operators wanting to get their hands on the game, as Capcom U.S. offers minimal staff to support the effort. Regarding Gun Survivor 2: Biohazard Code Veronica, the prognosis looks worse with the game actually bypassing the U.S. due to indifference within Capcom unless a "sugar daddy" can be found. The situation seems to stem from the neglect that the coin-op division within the predominately console fixated facility has suffered.
In the time remaining before the games are officially released, a panic has swept certain U.S. operators regarding how they can get their hands on one of the three "hot-ticket" fighting games to hit the arcades. It is surprising that these games, via Internet coverage, have achieved a surge of interest amongst fighting coin-op fans. This interest has been missed completely by the executives at the American offices. These same executives were privately caught by surprise when the beta version of Capcom vs. SNK 2 commanded strong attention in their booth at E3. Though they were familiar with the game, salivating at the prospects of the PS2 release, the continuing support of an amusement route was alien to many originating from a console software development background.
It was privately assumed that Capcom would capitalize on a favored route similar to their European division and save the situation at the last minute. The Capcom Germany offices have continued to support arcade investment while the States have declined and orchestrated the company's "farming-out" of amusement development. Sources finally revealed during the last days of June that SEGA America would in fact take charge of CvS2's distribution and support.
However, the complexity of the Biohazard shooting cabinet could lead to a different option. Namco's American satellite could add the gun game to their line-up, similar to the agreement that Gaelco has with the Japanese giant. No confirmation from either party concerning this possibility was available at the time of writing this story.
For the operator, they are less worried about who distributes the game as long as they can profit from the release within their facilities. SEGA Europe has already made it clear that they will be relying on more third party manufacturing, using the French mega distributor and manufacturer Avranches Automatics S.A., to handle a percentage of their expected machine runs. A similar situation exists with Konami, and even Taito, who has actively sought support of their Stunt Typhoon Plus driving game outside Japan, with cabinets already turning up in England, manufactured by a third party, while the USA is left out regarding this interesting driver.
At a time when amusement seems to be hot news (those once writing the market off as dead are now filling articles with CvS2, Tekken 4 and Virtua Fighter 4 news) attempting to redefine its new shape, the supportive relationships between the remaining Japanese amusement manufacturers are becoming a common factor in the mix. This even more important due to the interest for the latest releases from these manufacturers. <IMG SRC="smilies/veryangry.gif" border="0">
source: http://www.eventgaming.com/stingerreport/6.html
