When the new DmC game was announced I was shocked. I never thought Capcom would reboot Devil May Cry and neither did a lot of other people. However, after looking at the situation more closely I found that there were warning signs as to Capcom deciding to go with a reboot.
When the first Devil May Cry game came out it was innovative. It offered a gameplay experience not found anywhere else at that time. Gamers who are interested in innovation and do not settle for playing the same game over and over were drawn to Devil May Cry. Capcom was pleased by the success and created a sequel. However, the sequel lacked the complexity, originality, and spirit of the original causing the fans to become angry. Quite simply, the fanbase was made up of people who wanted and so expected a high quality experience from the new game and Capcom did not deliver.
This is most likely because 80% of the young adult population (the age group that plays Devil May Cry) follow the herd and like something because it’s “cool” and not because they really like it, or because the thing has merit. The first DMC game was considered cool and so Capcom tried to make a game that pleased gamers within the 80% of the population that would be more likely to blindly love it, but what Capcom didn’t realize is that DMC’s fans existed in the other 20%. This caused DMC2 to backfire.
Basically, Capcom thought they could get away with a half-baked sequel because they didn’t understand just what kind of fanbase they had gained with the first Devil May Cry.
Some years later and Capcom put out Devil May Cry 3. This game took the over the top action of the first game and amplified it while also adding in a style system. The game went over well with fans and is even considered the best in the series by the majority of fans. This game worked because it played to the fanbase. It offered something new and different, which is what the DMC fanbase wants out of a game.
Then in 2008 Capcom released Devil May Cry 4. While the game is technically sound with tight gameplay and gorgeous graphics and despite it being the best selling game in the series it still did not go over well with the fans. The reason being is Nero. Capcom read the Devil May Cry fanbase wrong again. While the fanbase demanded new ideas with each game a level of attachment to Dante also grew. So, when Capcom tried something new by creating Nero and his Devil Bringer arm, doing what it thought would please the fans, it backfired again.
Quite simply, the reboot is the easy way out.
It had become clear to Capcom that the Devil May Cry audience had very high standards and expectations for each new game in the series. In order for a game to go over well it had to be spectacular and bursting with new ideas. However, considering the fact that DMC2 sold very well despite being considered the worst and DMC3 selling the least despite being considered the best, even if Capcom spent the time and money to create a truly amazing Devil May Cry 5 it probably wouldn’t sell very well. Meaning they would have to also make a great DMC6 in order to regain the fans support and money. And then keep the trend going by always coming up with new ways to push the genre to its limit and then beyond it. Even if they did make a DMC5 and even if it was amazing, how long could Capcom, or anyone, keep it up before they exhausted themselves of ideas, and lost the fans support again; putting them right back in the spot they were in after DMC4?
Or, they could reboot now and gain a new, easier to please, fanbase. By creating something the vast majority of the original fanbase dislikes Capcom, and now Ninja Theory, has a good chance of appealing to a new group of people with a different way of thinking and gaining a new group of fans who hopefully won’t be so demanding. Yes, they would be alienating much of the original fans in the process, but if down the line they were bound to do it anyway why bother putting in extra effort if it will get them to the same place? Instead Capcom decided to alienate now and save themselves from having trouble later.
However, by giving the game to Ninja Theory Capcom is freed from a lot of the hate the new game is getting by the original fans, giving them the chance to make a Devil May Cry 5 down the line if DmC fails to do what its supposed to. This allows Capcom to still look somewhat favorable to many fans while using Ninja Theory as a scapegoat.
------------
Please share your thoughts on this! ^^ However keep in mind that while all opinions are welcomed only opinions that agree with everything I said may be posted because opinions of any other kind are rude and selfish and will not be tolerated.
Nah, please share all thoughts!
Note: Everything I said is my opinion based on what I read from fans and Capcom over the past couple years.
When the first Devil May Cry game came out it was innovative. It offered a gameplay experience not found anywhere else at that time. Gamers who are interested in innovation and do not settle for playing the same game over and over were drawn to Devil May Cry. Capcom was pleased by the success and created a sequel. However, the sequel lacked the complexity, originality, and spirit of the original causing the fans to become angry. Quite simply, the fanbase was made up of people who wanted and so expected a high quality experience from the new game and Capcom did not deliver.
This is most likely because 80% of the young adult population (the age group that plays Devil May Cry) follow the herd and like something because it’s “cool” and not because they really like it, or because the thing has merit. The first DMC game was considered cool and so Capcom tried to make a game that pleased gamers within the 80% of the population that would be more likely to blindly love it, but what Capcom didn’t realize is that DMC’s fans existed in the other 20%. This caused DMC2 to backfire.
Basically, Capcom thought they could get away with a half-baked sequel because they didn’t understand just what kind of fanbase they had gained with the first Devil May Cry.
Some years later and Capcom put out Devil May Cry 3. This game took the over the top action of the first game and amplified it while also adding in a style system. The game went over well with fans and is even considered the best in the series by the majority of fans. This game worked because it played to the fanbase. It offered something new and different, which is what the DMC fanbase wants out of a game.
Then in 2008 Capcom released Devil May Cry 4. While the game is technically sound with tight gameplay and gorgeous graphics and despite it being the best selling game in the series it still did not go over well with the fans. The reason being is Nero. Capcom read the Devil May Cry fanbase wrong again. While the fanbase demanded new ideas with each game a level of attachment to Dante also grew. So, when Capcom tried something new by creating Nero and his Devil Bringer arm, doing what it thought would please the fans, it backfired again.
Quite simply, the reboot is the easy way out.
It had become clear to Capcom that the Devil May Cry audience had very high standards and expectations for each new game in the series. In order for a game to go over well it had to be spectacular and bursting with new ideas. However, considering the fact that DMC2 sold very well despite being considered the worst and DMC3 selling the least despite being considered the best, even if Capcom spent the time and money to create a truly amazing Devil May Cry 5 it probably wouldn’t sell very well. Meaning they would have to also make a great DMC6 in order to regain the fans support and money. And then keep the trend going by always coming up with new ways to push the genre to its limit and then beyond it. Even if they did make a DMC5 and even if it was amazing, how long could Capcom, or anyone, keep it up before they exhausted themselves of ideas, and lost the fans support again; putting them right back in the spot they were in after DMC4?
Or, they could reboot now and gain a new, easier to please, fanbase. By creating something the vast majority of the original fanbase dislikes Capcom, and now Ninja Theory, has a good chance of appealing to a new group of people with a different way of thinking and gaining a new group of fans who hopefully won’t be so demanding. Yes, they would be alienating much of the original fans in the process, but if down the line they were bound to do it anyway why bother putting in extra effort if it will get them to the same place? Instead Capcom decided to alienate now and save themselves from having trouble later.
However, by giving the game to Ninja Theory Capcom is freed from a lot of the hate the new game is getting by the original fans, giving them the chance to make a Devil May Cry 5 down the line if DmC fails to do what its supposed to. This allows Capcom to still look somewhat favorable to many fans while using Ninja Theory as a scapegoat.
------------
Please share your thoughts on this! ^^ However keep in mind that while all opinions are welcomed only opinions that agree with everything I said may be posted because opinions of any other kind are rude and selfish and will not be tolerated.
Nah, please share all thoughts!
Note: Everything I said is my opinion based on what I read from fans and Capcom over the past couple years.