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Creator / Capcom

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Capcom is a leading third-party game developer based in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. Kenzo Tsujimoto founded Capcom in 1979 as a publisher of electronic games. In 1984, Capcom (originally the name Capcom was a contracted form of its official name at the time, Japan Capsule Computers) released its first Arcade Game, a scrolling shooter entitled Vulgus. They would go on to make several more shooters like that, including the famed 1940 series, before hitting it big with games like Mega Man and Street Fighter II.

Capcom also briefly entered the arcade Pinball industry in the mid-ninties, hiring Mark Ritchie from Williams Electronics to be their Director of Engineering. Williams sued, claiming Ritchie violated his contract's non-competition clause; the case was rendered moot when Capcom closed its pinball division in 1996.

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Several Capcom alumni would later go on to launch their own careers in the industry. Keiji Inafune founded Level-5 Comcept shortly after his departure from the company in 2010. Hideki Kamiya, Shinji Mikami, Atsushi Inaba and Tatsuya Minami co-founded PlatinumGames in 2007.

Likes to challenge other companies to Fighting Game crossover showdowns.

Trope Namers of Capcom Sequel Stagnation.

Games and franchises started by Capcom:

Western Developed

Licensed games developed by Capcom:

Capcom games that were cancelled:

  • Capcom Fighting All Stars: Code Holder
  • Dead Phoenix
  • Final Fight: Seven Sons
  • Galum Pa!
  • Ghosts N Goblins series
    • Ghosts N Goblins Online Zero (A 2003 MMORPG meant for PC and Xbox)
    • Ghosts N Goblins Match Fight
    • Maximo 3
  • The Magical Ninjya Jiraiya Kenzan!
  • Major Damage
  • Mega Man series
    • Mega Man Anniversary Collection (Game Boy Advance)
    • Mega Man Legends 3
    • Mega Man Universe
    • Rockman Online
    • Maverick Hunter (2010 FPS)note 
  • Red Dead Revolver note 
  • Resident Evil (Game Boy Color)
  • Sammy vs. Capcom (it was supposedly going to feature characters from Guilty Gear and Darkstalkers)
  • Strider (unnamed 2009 remake/reboot developed by GRIN)
  • Talisman (a game licensed by Games Workshopnote )
  • Titan Warriors (a sequel to Vulgus. It was originally named Neo Vulgus)
  • War of the Grail
  • Werewolf: The Apocalypse (a game licensed by White Wolf Publishing)

Pinball Games developed by Capcom:

Outside games and franchises published by Capcom in a set region:

Japan:

North America:

Europe:

Worldwide:

  • Gunbird 2note 

Other media produced or licensed by Capcom:

Anime

Comic Books & Manga

Films, live action and animated

Western Animation

Tropes associated with Capcom:

  • Batman Gambit: Capcom managed to pull this off on Sony in the late 90's. To clarify, Capcom wanted Mega Man 8 on the PlayStation. However Sony declined due to 3D games gaining prominence. Capcom then decided "Well, I guess you don't want Resident Evil 2 then". Yes, Capcom pulled a gambit by refusing the eventual popular sequel title on the PlayStation just to allow 2D games in, by allowing them in.
  • Capcom Sequel Stagnation: Trope Maker and Trope Namer. Commonly seen in the Street Fighter franchise.
  • Cash Cow Franchise: Capcom has two of them: Street Fighter and Resident Evil. Monster Hunter too has established itself as a huge moneymaker, although this is mostly limited to Japan. In the past, Mega Man used to be this, but in recent years, a steady decline in sales for this series made Capcom cancel several of its entries and put it on the backburner.
  • Creator Backlash:
    • Many people that have been fired, have at one point collaborated or quit from the studio, like PlatinumGames (formerly Capcom's Clover Studios), Suda51, and Keiji Inafune have come to despise a lot of Capcom's policies. A lot of them were especially upset when Mega Man Legends 3 was cancelled, to the point where CyberConnect2 wants to take over said project.
    • Averted however, with PlatinumGames founder Hideki Kamiya, who despite issues with Capcom back when he was there, has gone on record saying that he would love the opportunity to work with Capcom again, with him considering it his old home and having a lot of respect for the company.
  • Creator Killer: Python Anghelo's rumored Zingy Bingy project (which never made it past the prototype stage) was this for Capcom's pinball division. According to Mark Ritchie, and composer Bryan Hansen, Zingy Bingy was a pornographic-themed pinball game.
  • Creator Thumbprint: Fans like to joke about the "Capcom Asexual." It's extremely rare for Capcom's major characters to have any kind of romantic relationships, and of those who do (Ken, Guile, Barry Burton), their significant others tend to be conveniently offscreen most of the time.
  • Cut Short: The Minna to Mobile Phone Game series was discontinued online.
  • Demoted to Extra: A number of their former flagship series have seen very few releases in recent years, the most apparent of these being the Mega Man, Breath of Fire and Ghosts 'n Goblins franchises. They've gone from console games, to handheld games, to downloadable titles, to, in the case of Mega Man, freeware and mobile titles.
  • Iconic Item:
    • The Yashichi, a shuriken or pinwheel-like object that has seen itself in many of the company's games. Originally an enemy, it could also be an Easter Egg that may benefit the player in other games.
    • Capcom has used several other items as well during their Arcade days in this form, including the Holstein (a small white cow), a bamboo sprout (from SonSon) and Mobi-chan (the 1P character's chibi/1UP form from Side Arms).
  • Iconic Logo: Capcom's logo uses ITC Korinna, the same font used for Jeopardy!'s clues during the Alex Trebek era.
  • Mascot:
  • Rule of Cool: Capcom can make compelling stories when they want to, but in many cases, they put storytelling in a lower priority compared to the cool factor or how much they can make a compelling, fun gameplay first.
    • Their crossover games tend to have VERY minimum storytelling or at least pretty basic ones. The Capcom vs. series is a great example of this, with very minimum plot, but the sight of crossover between Capcom characters and other companies are already a crowd-pleaser that Capcom was aiming for.
    • Games Japanese history/mythology backgrounds like Onimusha, Sengoku Basara or Ōkami tend to have historical/mystical accuracy or nuances glossed off or not touched that deeply as long as Capcom can make super cool design or concept out of it, making them more like an Alternate Universe Fantasy Japan where things go off the rail for the sake of cool. So don't worry too much on how they give out Historical Villain Upgrade to the point of Saturday morning cartoon villainy as long as you get to control the Ink-Suit Actor of some famous actors to kick ass, or how a certain general in Sengoku Period looks like a frickin' Gundam as long as you can kick ass with it, or how in Japanese mythology, the big bad Serpent is kicked out by a dog with godly paint brush as long as you're the one doing it and feeling awesome while you do so.
  • Shared Universe:
    • Many of Capcom's in-house titles are implied through cameos and crossovers to be in one centered around Street Fighter.
      • Final Fight is outright confirmed to be this through a number of playable character and stage appearances across the Street Fighter series. In fact the first Final Fight was supposed to be called Street Fighter '89, which would leave no question what universe it was in, but had its title changed due to the dev team catching on late to how differently it played than previous SF games.
      • Captain Commando is set in a future version of the same city as Final Fight, cofirming its place in the 'verse by proxy.note 
      • Saturday Night Slam Masters was first tied through its Final Fight connection and a number of minor Street Fighter cameos. Its characters has since been referenced in the backstory of the Street Fighter series, most recently the appearance of the "Capcom Wrestling Association" during "A Shadow Falls".
      • Rival Schools and Street Fighter's fighting schoolgirl were first confirmed part of the same universe in a Tweet from director Takayuki Nakayama, and later firmly established by character cameos and the inclusion of Akira as one of the Season 5 characters in Street Fighter V.
      • Mega Man would have to be in the future in order to work, but the Signature Move of Street Fighter is hidden as an Easter Egg that can be used by the Player Character in a lot of the games.note 
      • Two.P (one of the Mooks from Final Fight) was designed after the 2P Unknown Soldier from Forgotten Worlds, but his Street Fighter V website profile heavily implies they are the same character, who somehow ended up at the side of some road, shirtlessnote  and with no memories of his past.
      • Making his return since Street Fighter Alpha 2, Guy's master Zeku appears in Street Fighter V. He is an elderly ninja that can shift his age at will. In his younger form, his garb resembles that of Strider Hiryu. This and several other nods and references indicate Zeku will have a hand in the creation of the Strider organization Hiryu will be a part of in the distant future.
    • In an unrelated universe, Ace Attorney and Ghost Trick take place in the same universe.
    • Resident Evil and Dino Crisis takes place in the same world.
    • Several games are tied together by the Red Arremer Clan from Ghosts 'n Goblins, including its Spin-Off Gargoyle's Quest, the platform Arcade game Black Tiger (which in itself is connected through one boss character to The King of Dragons) and the NES/MSX Zelda-style Higemaru Makaijima, this one including a whole island of enemies from the first game, Arthur in a cameo appearance to warn Momotaru and a Red Arremer as the Big Bad!
  • Short-Runners: The Pinball division.
  • Thanking the Viewer: The majority of their games has them thanking the player for playing the game after the credits are done.

Alternative Title(s): Capcom Pinball

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