Article : How a haircut changed the path of DmC: Devil May Cry

[trickSTAR]

they say episodic is a way to make more money, and with how capcom is doing now, i verily agree, if they should go that way to save title and help the company then i'm on board.. RE : revelations did that anyway..

oh and for the secret project, i read somewhere that more of the info will be released on january, so keep an eye guys.

with that, i'd like to keep my hopes up that it'll be DmC2, but at the same time i doubt it, if it's DmC2, they won't release new info that soon, i mean imagine the let down to original fans.. unless ofc DMC5 will still come to the scene and that it's more in secrecy

Episodic is a disaster unless it's a stand-alone story. I guess Dead Rising did the stand alone games/DLC the right way. Revelations 2 was a mess. Most waited for the disc version at the end which had extras anyway. I guess it would net Capcom more $$$ due to impatient people wanting the piecemeal games at launch.

Square Enix is trying the episodic thing with the new Hitman game. It looks amazing, but I am waiting for the implosion once it's "released." Pay $60 now and you'll have the full game by next year...probably.

 

[Sparda's Rebellion]

You know a lot of people don't realise that Capcom were aiming to western Devil May Cry before DmC. They tried it already with Devil May Cry 4. I remember seeing this video a long time ago where Capcom discussed how they were aiming to bring Devil May Cry a lot closer to Hollywood movies:

A lot of the fans and non-fans pretty much ignored anything the previous games did wrong and just outright denied that Devil May Cry was a mixed series. With DMC1 and DMC3 considered the better games in the series, and DMC2 and DMC4 being more mixed.

While I don't think there will be a DmC 2, Capcom are still going to be doing this Hollywood stuff, like what we've seen with how Resident Evil has nose dived since RE4, and I doubt anything will change with other games they make. I haven't seen anything from Capcom that looks promising, even Deep Down was promising until they said it would be pay to play. Unfortunately because the fans keep denying these problems exist and point the finger at the new kids on the block, nothing changes. And unfortunatly I think DMC5 could suffer from it.

While I still agree that DmC was not quite as spectacular as I think it should've been, I think they did a fine job and the mistakes they made were not too bad. It was a solid game in the end.

The other thing is they did a really dumb thing releasing for PS3 and 360 in January 2013 when the consoles were dead and X1 and PS4 were released in the same year.

Had they have used their heads, they should've released on PS3 and 360, and prepared a PS4/X1 version ready as new the consoles launched. Thats what other developers did, like Ubisoft with Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag.

A lot of games were ready to launch for the PS4/X1 and similtaneously come out for the PS3/360. To release a reboot at that time, with no release ready for the PS4/X1 was a mistake. There was DmC DE, but it came out too late, 2015 was way too late, 2014 would've been acceptable. Your releasing an updated PS3 game with the likes of Bloodborne, Batman and the Witcher. It should've come out as a PS4/X1 launch title and have a release similtaneously on the PS3/360.

My view is that this was a time critical product and they got the timing and the release window all wrong.

I'm not sure about DMC4 being Westernized because Itsuno admits that Nero would be looked at as "cool looking" in Japan but he was really worried about how we would see Nero and if we would think that he looked too much like a "pretty boy". Also the story of 4 does seem a lot like the usual awesome Japanese stuff I watch and play so I'm not too sure. As far as the release of DmC in January 2013, I don't know enough about what was going on at Capcom with that decision making to be able to comment on that but I do know that I was glad that they released it on the PS3 because I didn't have a PS4 and I wouldn't have been able to play it so it worked out for me I guess.

 

[absolitude]

Episodic is a disaster unless it's a stand-alone story.

stand alone like Vergil's downfall? sounds excitingly good.. sure wish we have studio/devs spies lurking on forums to know what the fans think and actually implement them..

 

[trickSTAR]

stand alone like Vergil's downfall? sounds excitingly good.. sure wish we have studio/devs spies lurking on forums to know what the fans think and actually implement them..

Yes, Downfall would be a good example, but in that you wouldn't need a full $60 game to play it first. $10-$15 for a mini-story and some extra modes/costumes for replay.

There are more and more games releasing DLC that you don't need the full game for in order to play. I'd much rather have that than episodic mess like Revelations 2 where you are pretty much forced to buy the whole thing anyway.

 

[Judge]

Really? If DMC4 is a "western" game, I'm Santa Claus (ignore my avatar).

You lost me right then and there.

You know you actually did exactly what I've said in my post. Rather than watch the video and look at the facts, you ignored anything that sounded negative towards Devil May Cry 4. How about you watch the video and tell me I'm wrong by saying Capcom have tried to westernise Devil May Cry with DMC4. Capcom explictly say thats what they were aiming for, whether you deny it or not, thats what they admitted in the video.

 

[Foxtrot94]

you ignored anything that sounded negative towards Devil May Cry 4

Excuse me? What would that negative thing you said about DMC4 that I ignored be? You said they tried to westernize it. Well I didn't perceive that as a negative thing, so there was nothing for me to ignore in the first place. What are you even talking about, dude.

Capcom explictly say thats what they were aiming for, whether you deny it or not, thats what they admitted in the video.

I merely denied the result. They might have tried, but the game sure as hell doesn't scream "westernized" at all, by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think anybody would ever guess they were trying to westernize the game after playing DMC4. It doesn't have that vibe at all. So you can't really blame anybody for "not realizing", as you said in your original post.

 

[absolitude]

You know you actually did exactly what I've said in my post. Rather than watch the video and look at the facts, you ignored anything that sounded negative towards Devil May Cry 4. How about you watch the video and tell me I'm wrong by saying Capcom have tried to westernise Devil May Cry with DMC4. Capcom explictly say thats what they were aiming for, whether you deny it or not, thats what they admitted in the video.

i actually watched the video just now.. and my, that is a weird view on 'western'.. i don't even know which hollywood movie they're referring to with how dmc4 is directed..

but if we talk about the teaser with that weird dante in it, that teaser did kinda have the western vibe.. i got a feeling the interview is made in early stages of the development and released later when the game is looking like the one in the footage..

same case with DmC i think, capcom intervened while on the process..

oh my, capcom is seriously a big bad

 

[Judge]

Excuse me? What would that negative thing you said about DMC4 that I ignored be? You said they tried to westernize it. Well I didn't perceive that as a negative thing, so there was nothing for me to ignore in the first place. What are you even talking about, dude.

I merely denied the result. They might have tried, but the game sure as hell doesn't scream "westernized" at all, by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think anybody would ever guess they were trying to westernize the game after playing DMC4. It doesn't have that vibe at all. So you can't really blame anybody for "not realizing", as you said in your original post.

This is what you said:

"Really? If DMC4 is a "western" game, I'm Santa Claus (ignore my avatar).

You lost me right then and there."

That is ignoring anything negative said about DMC4.

If you watch the video they talk about how they were trying to bring DMC4 a lot closer to Hollywood style production. So that did show itself in the final product. With an over abundance of cutscenes of style over substance, then you have Lady and Trish as pornstar like characters, rather than Lady or Trish. I can defintely see where they've tried to Hollywoodwise Devil May Cry with DMC4.

Which is besides the point anyway. In that video they admit thats what they were aiming to do. Which explains to me why DMC4 dosen't have the traditional Japanese style of DMC3. If you look at Dante he has a much bigger psyique than DMC3 Dante, his face looks less tradtionally Japenese and looks more westernised with facial stuble and smaller eyes, and a hard jawline. Those things are very evident in DMC4, and you did exactly what I said and ignored anything negative about it.

The point was Capcom tried to westenise Devil May Cry before, Capcom are westernising everything in their library. Resident Evil is not exactly survival horror anymore, even Dragon's Dogma, probably Capcom's best game in recent memory played more like a WRPG than a traditional JRPG.

 

[Foxtrot94]

That is ignoring anything negative said about DMC4.

LOL sorry but I don't follow. Will you answer me and tell me what those negative things are specifically? How is that even ignoring negatives to begin with. It's a neutral statement, merely saying that DMC4 doesn't feel westernized. I didn't touch on any pros and cons of the game so I don't get where you're coming from with that statement, really.

And I can kinda see what you said when it comes to westernizing DMC4 now that you explained, but I feel those points are pretty weak.

Dante's face? Really? That's a point you wanna bring up? Well you're right about it but look at Nero. His face is pretty anime looking. It doesn't stray too far away from DMC3 Dante, except far more detailed as it's in a better engine. Same for Kyrie.

Dante being bigger. Why, you never seen bulky characters in Japanese media? Wut?

Sexualized women. Oh yeah cause that's not a Japanese thing at all, right?

Style over substance. Mah, that's always been considered the Japanese style as far as I know. Being over the top and all that.

Couple all that with the fact that the game as a whole feels very much like a shonen anime (which is what a lot of people always say about the game) and yeah, you've got a pretty western vibed game alright.

As I said, I'm not denying they tried, but they failed. DMC4 doesn't feel like a western game at all. Which is what I said in my original comment.

Now you keep bringing up the fact that I ignored those things which are apparently negative to you, but that argument is invalidated by the fact that... I simply don't consider them negatives. They're just there to me. You know what I mean? So I think you're mislead at this point.

 

[LordOfDarkness]

0_o

Drop it you two, and just agree to disagree. Judge, you put up a video showing how they tried to westernise DMC before DmC, that was your point. Foxtrot, you didn't think that it worked out very well, but aren't denying that they at least made attempts. Where exactly is the problem here?

 

[absolitude]

lemme just get this straight, @Judge you come up with the post saying capcom actually meant for a western looking game in DMC4, and here @Foxtrot94 replied with "DMC4 western?? yeah right".. but that sentence wasn't meant for you judge, it was meant for capcom's effort..

 

[Foxtrot94]

Where exactly is the problem here?

In the fact that he accused me to ignore negative things about DMC4 when all I did was making a neutral statement about how the game doesn't feel westernized (despite the apparent attempt which again, I'm not denying), which is something that doesn't have anything to do with ignoring negatives of the game in the first place. His statement confused me because of that.

I'm aware of the game's negatives, but how saying that it doesn't feel westernized is tied to ignoring those negatives, is beyond me.

 

[V's patron]

I thought the artist meant more "cinema-like" whenever they mentioned "Hollywood" and I just thought the translator used creative license to come up with an analogy people would understand. Like how this interview for PlayStation UK (or something like it) asked tameem if we will see any rebooted characters a la The Dark Knight (Heath ledger Joker etc)

 

[absolitude]

I thought the artist meant more "cinema-like" whenever they mentioned "Hollywood" and I just thought the translator used creative license to come up with an analogy people would understand. Like how this interview for PlayStation UK (or something like it) asked tameem if we will see any rebooted characters a la The Dark Knight (Heath ledger Joker etc)

i think you're right on that part since the vid kept talking about hollywood, tho imo DMC3 nailed the cinema-like much better..

but i think it's safe to say capcom is confused on the western/hollywood part which led them to gave it to a western studio --NT-- hoping that it would nail better.. well DmC did nail the western part better, but no so much on the financial gain..

 

[mrrandomlulz]

I'm Santa Claus (ignore my avatar).

We need to talk about a few breaking and entering and not leaving Mrrandomlulz a kitten charges

 

[sssensational]

I gotta say, I liked Rahni Tucker's story. Packing up her bags, stepping on a plane to England, only to hear that you'll be working on a Devil May Cry title? What a life.

I hope she really did learn a lot from working on DmC. I know she's occasionally lending a helping hand on the Hellblade team, but I'm curious to see what this secret project is that she's working on. If I can't get my DmC2, I'd be okay with a game that plays similarly, I suppose.

 

[absolitude]

If I can't get my DmC2, I'd be okay with a game that plays similarly, I suppose.

and characters with the similar appeals too.. nope, ditch that, they need to top DmC at all fields if it's going to be the same genre, they have too..

 

[V's patron]

i think you're right on that part since the vid kept talking about hollywood, tho imo DMC3 nailed the cinema-like much better..

but i think it's safe to say capcom is confused on the western/hollywood part which led them

It wasn't a bad idea to try to appeal to a western audience, just Capcom didn't know what to do or how to sell it to the core audience.

@Judge was right about the release window but the debut window also killed this game. They should waited till Captivate 11 or E311 or TGS11 instead of TGS10. That would given them enough time to build an adequate defense rather than just tossing out trailer by trailer. They got their stuff together eventually but Tgs10-tgs11 was painful to watch.

Hopefuly Capcom learns from these mistakes with their next DMC projects if any.

 

[absolitude]

It wasn't a bad idea to try to appeal to a western audience, just Capcom didn't know what to do or how to sell it to the core audience.

it never was a bad idea, DmC nailed the western part right, but like you said, it's missing some important parts to the core audience.. that part is the failure when they're aiming for bigger audience..

and it's a bad when they say they're going western but showing DMC4 as a result, well more like confused idea..

 

[corrnata]

Getting this back on top of NINJA THEORY TOP SECRET GAME i will present this quote

Expect another Ninja Theory staple – that blend of story, character and combat – but this time with a less controversial haircut."

Lets look closer

less controversial haircut

DmC2 with fully long white hair Dante or DMC5 with Nero
or even a spiritual successor to DmC in the same way hellblade is to heavenly sword