By Nelson Schneider - 04/04/13 at 12:11 PM CT
Capcom has always been a company that was willing to take an idea and ride it into the ground. Six ‘Mega Man’ games on the NES? “Street Fighter 2,” “Street Fighter 2: Turbo,” AND “Super Street Fighter 2” all hitting the SNES? Yeah, Capcom has been playing this game for a while and has really developed the skills.
But just when you thought their mastery of lumber-on-horseflesh couldn’t go any further, Capcom has announced that they will be releasing a remake of the NES-era platformer, “DuckTales,” next month. Seriously. “DuckTales.” This is a remake of a 24-year-old licensed Disney game that was originally based on a TV show that hasn’t been on the air in 23 years. As far as I know, Disney has no intention of rebooting the show, nor is it currently being run in syndication on any popular channels. The most recent tie-in Capcom could possibly be milking here is a failed six-issue “DuckTales” comic that flopped in 2011. A FAILED comic, not a successful relaunch! Is this really a good idea? How is Capcom planning to sell a “DuckTales” game to kids who don’t know – or care – what a ‘duck tail’ is?
But that’s not all! Capcom has further plumbed the depths of their back catalog looking for something – anything – with a bit of desiccated horsemeat left on it. What they found were some of their old arcade games: Both D&D licensed Beat ‘em Ups, “Tower of Doom” and “Shadow over Mystara” are finally getting North American releases on a home gaming platform. Previously, Capcom had released these arcade classics in Japan on the Sega Saturn, but neglected to bring the compilation overseas due to the Saturn completely tanking in sales and name recognition. Why would Capcom suddenly decide that now, 14 years after they failed to bring these game overseas on the Saturn, is a good time to release them on every platform currently kicking? Maybe they feel like they need to put up some competition for “Dragon’s Crown” whenever that game finally releases? Maybe they want to educate gamers about the history of the Fantasy-themed Beat ‘em Up? No, I don’t think Capcom possesses an ounce of altruism, but are hoping to cash-in on the tiny niche audience who are feverishly awaiting “Dragon’s Crown” by giving that audience something to chew on while they wait for Vanillaware to get their act together.
Capcom may be a huge, evil company with questionable DLC practices now, but they have always been willing to crank-out nearly-identical sequels and endless remakes in order to make a quick sale. And that’s just what they’re doing with “DuckTales: Remastered,” “Tower of Doom,” and “Shadow over Mystara.”
The really awful thing about this whole situation is that… I’m so ashamed to admit this… but it’s working on me. I loved “DuckTales” as a kid. I even subscribed to “DuckTales Magazine!” And in an era during which every kids’ show known to man didn’t get a line of tie-in action figures, I drew pictures of the entire “DuckTales” cast and glued them to cardboard bases in a rough approximation of action figures. Around the same time “DuckTales” went off the air, I got into D&D. “Tower of Doom” was the first – and only – arcade game I was able to play from start to finish. These games have a powerful draw for 30-somethings. So yes, Capcom does indeed know exactly what they’re doing. They aren’t targeting these licensed games at today’s kids, who are more than happy to play “Angry Birds” and “Temple Run” on mommy’s iPhöne, but are targeting these remakes at US, the adults who grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s. It’s a calculated move to resell us our childhoods… and it’s working.
Who wants to bet that the first DLC for “DuckTales: Remastered” will be a $1 purchase that adds 10 dimes to Scrooge’s money bin?
Comments
Jonzor - wrote on 04/11/13 at 11:14 PM CT
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/11/ducktales-remastered-runs-on-more-than-nostalgia/
Apparently Bob Mackey disagrees with you?
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 04/07/13 at 07:46 PM CT
I never said it was a bad strategy. Hopefully in the process of remaking a game from 24 years ago, WayForward (the developer that Capcom has shackled to this particular oar) will rediscover the magic formula that Capcom used back then that allowed them to create licensed Disney games that didn't universally suck.
Chris Kavan - wrote on 04/07/13 at 12:03 PM CT
Nothing sells like nostalgia - just like movies getting remade - why not games (kind of the all these HD collections that keep coming out) - but at least in this example they are games that weren't released like five years ago - but games that actually deserve a remake or are so obscure they deserve to be seen. Is it evil? Maybe just a bit - but it's not a terrible strategy on their part.
