Capcom and Mega Man for Sale!

[NonSpecificGuy]

News broke recently that Capcom has decided not to renew their take-over protection policy!
What does this mean?
It means Capcom and all it's assets are for sale to whoever can buy them out. (Nintendo Anyone?)
Western investors are prevented from buying out Japanese companies. (which means no MIcrosoft or EA)
This also means that games such as Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, and Mega Man are for sale too.
So the queestion is will Nintendo buy Capcom? Is it a smart move? And what will this mean for the future of the company?
Should Nintendo buy Capcom? Let me know in the poll.

 

[Banjodorf]

The only options on this poll should be "Yes" and "Yes".

But in all seriousness, yeah, Nintendo really should pick him up, if for no other reason (even though there are many) than "If we want to see him in Smash Bros. again, don't let Sony get him."

Granted, there are other options, but Nintendo is the best by far for him.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

It seems at the moment Nintendo is the popular opinion.
And most people believe that they should buy them out and get them back on track.

 

[HeavyLobster]

Nintendo would most likely be the buyer best for the quality of Capcom games, (except maybe some of their fighters which would benefit from better online) but might not be the best for Capcom's sales, or Nintendo's bottom line. Nintendo already has the best exclusives, but their main problem is not having popular Western 3rd party games, which they won't get at least until they release a new system, which won't happen sooner than holiday 2017. The added IPs and dev teams could certainly help get more games out, drive sales, and encourage 3rd parties to hop on for the ride, but this move would only work if Nintendo either solves their larger hardware and 3rd party problems, or becomes a 3rd party themselves. Since the shareholders are breathing down Iwata's neck to restore the company to profitability now, he probably won't make a move that will likely take years to pay off. Sony definitely won't buy Capcom given their financial state, and Microsoft might have some reservations about buying a company that appears to be on the decline, lest they end up with Rare 2.0. Sadly, Capcom is most likely to be bought out by a non-gaming company that will go all in on whatever's "hot" at the moment, whether it's mobile or VR or whatever, and probably ruin all of their great IPs. Another possibility is that no one buys them out and they go bankrupt, in which case their assets get auctioned off piece-by-piece THQ style, and in this situation Nintendo probably would buy up Megaman. I hope all of Capcom's IPs find loving homes, but I'm not optimistic given the nature of the gaming industry today.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

and Microsoft might have some reservations about buying a company that appears to be on the decline

I should have also mentioned that Japanese law prevents a buyout from a foreign investor.

 

[Banjodorf]

I at least hope Nintendo gets the message that it would be a smart move to buy Mega Man. Given the reactions to Mega Man in Smash Bros., Mega Man at the Invitational, etc. and the popularity of the character in general as well as Nintendo's willingness of late to try to listen to their fans, I have high hopes.

 

[Knight Dude]

Well, there's no guarantee that Capcom is going to be bought out. If anything, it just means that they'll be open to the idea I guess. Still, if I had to pick one company to hold ownership over the Megaman series, other than Capcom itself, it'd be Nintendo. Namely, because Megaman fits so well with Nintendo as a whole. I guess Phoenix Wright too.

It would be cool to have either Megaman X or Zero in Smash Bros. as well.

I actually don't want Capcom to be bought out that much. It could bring some good things, but it'd be strange to see any of their series separated.

I'm sure there's other companies that are fit to manage the Megaman series though.

 

[---]

If you wish to discuss this please take it to the Mega Man Social thread, as this thread warrants itself more in the Light House forum than it does here.

 

[KuroganeHammer]

seeing as it's in the Light House, I'll unlock it.

 

[Minato]

I locked it since I figured it was unnecessary since it sort of overlaps with the other thread containing the same news. The only difference is the poll talking about if Nintendo should buy it. To answer the questions though

So the queestion is will Nintendo buy Capcom? Is it a smart move? And what will this mean for the future of the company?
Should Nintendo buy Capcom? Let me know in the poll.

1) I don't see it happening. The situation isn't saying that anyone can snipe/buy Capcom. It's saying that investors won't be fully protecting them, but it's not saying they're abandoning Capcom either. In a way, it's sort of like a threat, but investors will still be picky on who gets Capcom if they really want it to be bought out. Being bought out by Nintendo who's already suffering its own problems might not sound nice to those investors.

2) For Capcom bosses, not really. If anything the employees might get some projects greenlighted and some funds from Nintendo. Nintendo does gain access to a mobile division, so they could use Capcom as a gateway to that market if they want.

3) I don't see it changing anything in the immediate future. Just means that Capcom needs to tread things a bit carefully. However, I think their management hasn't been too great lately, and they've been making some rather poor decisions. What the news brings about the possibility of being bought out might lead Capcom to make ever more dumb decisions down the line.

4) No. Nintendo's current situation of funding and publishing games haven't been too bad, imo. I don't think they're in a real need to buy Capcom.

 

[KuroganeHammer]

I locked it since I figured it was unnecessary since it sort of overlaps with the other thread containing the same news. The only difference is the poll talking about if Nintendo should buy it.

Then when closing threads you need to leave a post letting people know why it was closed.

 

[Minato]

Then when closing threads you need to leave a post letting people know why it was closed.

Will do. I accidentally forgot this time.

 

[theeboredone]

It's interesting to note how Capcom got into this mess in the first place. I'm no expert on such subjects, but I imagine the following reasons played into Capcom's decline...

1. DLC/Micro-Transactions: Especially if it's locked on the disc or made prior to the game's release. It just reeks of corporate greed, and causes fans to lose faith in the company.

2. High Budget + High Expectations: These days, AAA games can run a super high budget, which requires super high sales to meet the requirements. A perfect example is how Square-Enix (or whatever they are called now) were disappointed in the sales of Tomb Raider and Hitman, despite selling really well. The obvious solution would be to scale back on team size + high budget titles, focusing...not necessarily on "indie", but a more creative and efficient approach.

3. Not being smart with their game library: From abandoning projects like Megaman Legends for the 3DS, releasing Super Duper Street Fighter - Awesome Edition every year...which I imagine requires some money to be spent and is not offset by their primary audience's (competitive gamers) purchases. The controversies surrounding the approach to Resident Evil. All of these things result in losing fans, loyalty, and of course money. I don't know who their leadership, executives, and etc are...but they seem to be losing touch with their fans.

With all that being said, they can slowly work their way back up, but it would require some changes on several levels. From the work process, employees, to the company culture. I don't think anyone is going to buy them yet. Nintendo, Sony, whatever knows that they aren't going to be making bank anytime soon...so why not let their value continue to lessen in the meantime?

 

[Oracle_Summon]

I think Nintendo would be better off buying Capcom's IPs, since Capcom has about 55 million dollars in debt. Though, they should try to hire the talented employees and add them to their league of talented employees.

 

[Knight Dude]

It's interesting to note how Capcom got into this mess in the first place. I'm no expert on such subjects, but I imagine the following reasons played into Capcom's decline...

1. DLC/Micro-Transactions: Especially if it's locked on the disc or made prior to the game's release. It just reeks of corporate greed, and causes fans to lose faith in the company.

2. High Budget + High Expectations: These days, AAA games can run a super high budget, which requires super high sales to meet the requirements. A perfect example is how Square-Enix (or whatever they are called now) were disappointed in the sales of Tomb Raider and Hitman, despite selling really well. The obvious solution would be to scale back on team size + high budget titles, focusing...not necessarily on "indie", but a more creative and efficient approach.

3. Not being smart with their game library: From abandoning projects like Megaman Legends for the 3DS, releasing Super Duper Street Fighter - Awesome Edition every year...which I imagine requires some money to be spent and is not offset by their primary audience's (competitive gamers) purchases. The controversies surrounding the approach to Resident Evil. All of these things result in losing fans, loyalty, and of course money. I don't know who their leadership, executives, and etc are...but they seem to be losing touch with their fans.

With all that being said, they can slowly work their way back up, but it would require some changes on several levels. From the work process, employees, to the company culture. I don't think anyone is going to buy them yet. Nintendo, Sony, whatever knows that they aren't going to be making bank anytime soon...so why not let their value continue to lessen in the meantime?

Yeah those are definitely some of the biggest reasons for Capcom's current situation. I don't think I've seen such a negative reaction to DLC since the Street Fighter X Tekken fiasco. There was what, 12 DLC characters whose data was on the disc. That definitely didn't help the sales of that game.

The budget thing is probably the biggest issue of the three. Despite selling 6 million(if I'm not mistaken)or so copies of RE6, it was still considered in the red, again, if I remember correctly. They clearly didn't manage their funds correctly. It's kind of funny too. Megaman 9 was apparently the opposite of RE6. It was a lower budget game for Capcom, but it's sales were "Surprisingly good".

I think that these attempts to match AAA titles in sales is why they are ignoring some series and sticking mostly to 3 or 4 that make could make cash fast. If they were to manage their budget better, they could give more attention to other franchises.

 

[Minato]

I think Nintendo would be better off buying Capcom's IPs, since Capcom has about 55 million dollars in debt. Though, they should try to hire the talented employees and add them to their league of talented employees.

Is there a source for this? Last I remember, they had 152 million, but I don't remember them being in debt.

 

[Oracle_Summon]

Is there a source for this? Last I remember, they had 152 million, but I don't remember them being in debt.

Actually it is much worse than I thought.

Source:

http://www.macroaxis.com/invest/ratio/CCOEF--Total-Debt

 

[Minato]

Hm... interesting. I never really used the site before, but if that's the case, that's not good for Capcom.

 

[Oracle_Summon]

Hm... interesting. I never really used the site before, but if that's the case, that's not good for Capcom.

It is not. They would have to use the majority of their money to fight off the debt and that would put the company in the wringer. Capcom is between a rock and a hard place.

 

[HeavyLobster]

Capcom's current financial situation is what happens when you combine Sony's money management with Microsoft's attitude towards the consumer. At any rate, as great as it would be for Nintendo to get Capcom's IPs, it would probably be more cost-effective to get Platinum or perhaps a western studio to fill the role Rare once did, since Nintendo needs a few titles geared towards older audiences, and it seems pretty clear EAD has no interest in going in that direction. Capcom is the bigger name, but as a company has a ton of deadweight that needs to get sorted out. Also, Nintendo's biggest problems as a company are on the hardware side, and if they don't solve those and get the major western 3rd parties on board, they're guaranteed to be ignored anyways by a large part of the gaming community.

 

[Booster]

If Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft buy Capcom the purchaser will win every following generation for the rest of time.

 

[Sahfarry]

All I really care for is Megaman, Phoenix Wright, Monster Hunter and Power Stone. Those would be great on Nintendo consoles. So would Street Fighter and Dead Rising, but I don't see too much of that happening.

 

[κomıc]

I think that it is so interesting that they've been on sale for quite a while and it sounds like no one purchased them and their IPs. Is it because the buyer would incur the debts?