Tuesday, September 26th 2023

Capcom Not Open to Potential Microsoft Takeover

Haruhiro Tsujimoto, Capcom's chief operating officer, spoke to Bloomberg during last week's Tokyo Game Show. The discussion touched upon several subject matters, but the key takeaway was his refusal to accept any outside bid for complete ownership of Capcom's development and publishing arms. Sony and Microsoft have been hoovering up studios over the past three years, but the COO stated that any approach or bid for Capcom would be "gracefully declined." Tsujimoto was presented with a hypothetical situation: "How would Capcom respond to an acquisition offer from Microsoft?" A continuation of their existing relationship was his preference going forward: "I believe it would be better if we were equal partners."

He revealed that offers were made in the past: "There was a time (when) we were a target." Capcom desires internal "organic growth," rather than rapid expansion through acquisitions. It will occasionally rely on the third parties to develop games: "I also believe we can utilize external partners...but we have no intention of acquiring companies." Returning to the subject of growth—Capcom has not yet implemented a major price hike for its AAA titles, unlike other (rival) publishers—gamers are now paying up to $70 for (base/standard edition) big-budget interactive experiences on the latest-gen consoles and PCs. The house of Resident Evil and Street Fighter is seemingly ready to follow suit—as reported by Nikkei; Tsujimoto-san stated: "Development costs now are about 100 times more than they were during the Famicom era, but software prices haven't gone up to that extent...There's also a need to raise wages in order to attract talent. Seeing as wages are rising in the industry as a whole, I think raising unit prices is a healthy business model."
Sources: Bloomberg Video News, Eurogamer #1, Eurogamer #2
Add your own comment

8 Comments on Capcom Not Open to Potential Microsoft Takeover

#1
Hyderz
Don’t sell! Resident evil is doing well
Posted on Reply
#2
Makaveli
HyderzDon’t sell! Resident evil is doing well
Smart move for Capcom. A Microsoft take over would destroy the FGC!
Posted on Reply
#3
scottslayer
Capcom is being positively tsundere about a potential acquisition if you read all the statements.
Posted on Reply
#4
Blaeza
Leave Street Fighter alone Microsoft!!!
Posted on Reply
#5
Minus Infinity
Good, must not allow the giant parasite to destroy another company.
Posted on Reply
#6
umeng2002
Microsoft is turning into EA with their ability to kill developers.
Posted on Reply
#7
Frick
Fishfaced Nincompoop
umeng2002Microsoft is turning into EA with their ability to kill developers.
The massive difference is of course that EA never had a console, or an operating system, or an entire ecosystem set up for streaming/cloud gaming.
Minus InfinityGood, must not allow the giant parasite to destroy another company.
Oh yeah Obsidian, Double Fine and Bethsoft are done for!
Posted on Reply
#8
FierceRed
Minus InfinityGood, must not allow the giant parasite to destroy another company.
Never forget Westwood.
Never forgive.
:shadedshu:
Posted on Reply
Jun 2nd, 2024 21:06 EDT change timezone

New Forum Posts

Popular Reviews

Controversial News Posts