Why Capcom Keeps Digging Into Their Vaults for New Releases
The world-iconic Japanese video game company Capcom is well-known for having produced some of the most popular video game franchises of all time, such as Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Monster Hunter, to name a few.
However, in recent years, when it comes to releasing new content, it seems as though they keep digging into their vaults for fresh inspiration, meaning that players can pretty much guess what the next new game will be even before its inception.
They are not the only online game development studios to do this. Like so many others, they are simply cashing in on their biggest titles.
The problem is that some players are becoming bored with the classic favourites and want to try something new. Let’s dive straight in to discover why Capcom and other companies keep on using their blockbuster games to create future releases.
Why do so many companies like Capcom base games on original blockbuster titles?
The reason why so many video game development studios (and other companies that produce content for the online gaming sector) is that remakes and sequels are often just as popular, if not more popular, than the originals.
In other words, they dig into their vaults for inspiration when creating new titles purely for financial reasons.
Companies like Capcom may not even have enough money or the creative minds to try new gaming ideas, so they stick with what they know works and release content that will most likely sell, focusing their attention on creating better games than the prequels but with the same characters, themes, landscapes, audio/visuals, and features.
A similar thing happens in the live casino industry. For example, market-leading iGaming software providers and game development studios like Playtech, Evolution Gaming, and Pragmatic Play have similar back catalogues and series of games.
Take the Age of the Gods jackpot slots from Playtech, for example. The first instalment was so successful that Playtech went on to release over 15 Age of the Gods progressive jackpot slots. There’s even a live dealer online slot in this series called Live Age of the Gods: God of Storms.
Evolution Gaming has done a similar thing with its live dealer games. Their original Live Crazy Time and Live Dream Catcher games were so successful they spawned a series of TV game show-themed live dealer games with similar themes, hosts, bonus features, graphics, sounds, and animations.
Examples include the following:
- Live Funky Time
- Live Monopoly Big Baller
- Monopoly Live
- Live Lightning Storm
- Live Mega Ball
- Live Crazy Coin Flip
Pragmatic Play and Playtech have created similar hit titles and sequels/series, such as Live Boom City, Live Sweet Bonanza Candyland, Live Mega Wheel, Live Mansion Heist, Live Spin-a-Win, and Live Mega Fire Blaze Roulette.
That’s not forgetting Everybody’s Jackpot Live, Jumanji – The Bonus Level Live, Live Gonzo’s Treasure Map, The Money Drop Live, and Live Deal or No Deal: The Big Draw, to name a few.
What are Capcom’s biggest hit titles players can’t seem to get enough of, and will they keep producing more sequels?
Some of Capcom’s biggest-selling titles of all time that we will likely see more sequels of over the coming years on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/X and PC are Monster Hunter: World (released: January 2018, sold 20.50 million units), Monster Hunter: Rise (released: March 2021, sold 15.40 million units), Resident Evil 2 (released: January 2019, sold 14.20 million units).
Final thoughts
Over the coming years, Capcom and many other major studios will likely play it safe and release sequels based on previous hit titles rather than taking a risk and spending millions of dollars on a completely new game that players might not like.
In other words, we probably haven’t heard the last Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, and Street Fighter.
