Capcom at the E3 2017, or why were people hating?

Howdy friends, I hope your summer of games is off to a good start. This year Street Fighter celebrates its 30th Anniversary. You can bet that I have something planned to celebrate the occasion. Until that is ready I do want to say a big THANK YOU to Capcom for everything they’ve done for audiences this year. There has been a lot of negativity coming from some members of the fighting game community in the past few weeks. People have been critical of Capcom for the Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite footage. Most feel that the game seems lackluster and missing a number of characters and even features. It’s a big concern to fighting game fans because Street Fighter V got off to a rough start as well. Other games like Tekken 7 and King of Fighters XIV seemed to be better planned out and had more polish and features when they were released. Not to mention that the footage of Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball FighterZ looks amazing, allegedly the game is only 20% complete. Despite all of this I want to remind FGC members that Capcom is one of the few studios that believes in the fighting game market, and more important, if it weren’t for Capcom reigniting the spark with Street Fighter IV almost a decade ago then chances are none of the revivals would have happened. Even with EVO setting the foundation for fighting game e-sports there wouldn’t be pro players without constantly evolving titles.



I’ve managed to make a lot of friends and meet plenty of cool and interesting people thanks to Capcom. Without Capcom-Unity and the older 1UP site chances are I would have never crossed paths with a lot of good men and women. The E3 was a chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones. We should be grateful that the company cares enough to not only provide fun games year after year but that they believe enough in social media to host Capcom-Unity and provide a forum for the company and fans to interact. Critics don’t have to wait for a convention to get face time with the employees or other FGC members. If you have something to say you have a place to do it. You have a place to put together a thread, start a discussion and raise ideas that Capcom employees will actually read.

 

I’m upset that people do not appreciate how much time, money and energy is spent creating their online community. I’m just as upset how many people completely ignore what goes into making convention booths. Capcom doesn’t have to create life-size Monster Hunter creatures or Resident Evil houses. They do not have to broadcast live from the floor of the show. They do not have to give audiences dozens of kiosks to try out new games before the general public. They could set up a few monitors and only show video, which is what some publishers do at the E3. Or they could cut down on the demo stations and rely on press-only demos to get the word out. But they don’t do that. They create amazing displays for audiences to enjoy, to immerse them into the worlds they love and support. Still some people have the nerve to complain.



Capcom is not obliged to go above and beyond for the community. They could be like other companies and simply show off what they are working on and ignore any and all feedback. When the E3, or any big convention rolls around it is their time to shine. They create enormous booths, filled with consoles and arcade cabinets not just for press and vendors, but so fans can try out games a few months if not years ahead of release. I’m glad that the company has celebrated the milestones of the various IP. From Mega Man, Ace Attorney, Resident Evil to Street Fighter, every 5 or 10 years they do something to honor their legacy. Think about it, how many companies that were around 30 or more years ago are still around and still creating sequels for their titles? How many have made successful toys, animated shows and comics out of their property?



Those that were mad about what was or was not revealed at the E3 have to realize that the company cannot make everyone happy. The E3 is first and foremost a trade convention. This is one of the big chances in the year that the publisher gets to meet directly with retailers. They have to convince toy chains, game stores and boutiques that they want to order Capcom games as well as merchandise in time for the holidays. Every legacy title with their own following deserves to have quality merchandise released, and not only Street Fighter. Then again Street Fighter is one of the rare games that has street cred. It is an important title with urban youth, the cultural trendsetters. These people want clothing and collectables that reflects the FGC. Later on this year Capcom will build a temporary store and take the exclusive products with them on the road. Again, how many other companies do the same for their fans or community?



Some people online have the audacity to complain about the lack of goodies and giveaways that Capcom was providing visitors. Almost every publisher has scaled back on giveaways at the E3. They wanted the focus to be on the games and not the goodies. As if playing free games wasn’t a good enough reason, what about being able to take pictures with or on expensive set pieces? I mean did anybody even bat an eye at the life-size Ultron-Sigma figure seated at his throne? It was as if people walked off the streets of LA and onto the set of a Marvel film. Visitors could walk right up to the figure and take pictures with him in the background. Capcom has done this type of enormous photo-op at previous conventions and yet people still complain. For those that want a physical reminder of the show they can always get in line for a FREE exclusive goodie.

 

The Capcom giveaways are always worth the wait. They are often exclusive posters signed by a creator. The E3 2017 poster was certainly a collectable. I’ve met Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono many times. He is always, kind, enthusiastic and happy to meet fans of the series. He signed one of two exclusive posters at the E3, either the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary one, which was modeled after the Street Fighter II Turbo poster. Or he was signing the Marvel vs Capcom: Infinity poster. You can imagine which one audiences were more eager to get.



I want the critics to remember that Capcom has always done more for their fan base than almost any other publisher. Do you remember any role-playing game organizing a release party for the public? Or creating a secret club event for their online fans? It would be nice to give Capcom, Namco, SNK and the other studios a nice thank you from time to time. It would let them know that despite the criticisms and concerns there are still people that believe in the company. Let them know what they do right just as often as what they do wrong. I’ll get off my soapbox now. If you have something you’d like to say about this please let me know. As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The Tekken 7 reveal, superb fighting game storytelling...

The Tekken 7 trailer released last year was one of the greatest video game trailers of all time. It turned out to be only half of the story that was planned for the game. There were things spoken of in the original trailer that explained a lot about the main characters, Heihachi and his son Kazuya. It also introduced us to Kazumi, the mother of Kazuya. She narrated the trailer and we could see that was leaving a message to someone. Thanks to some well placed edits the audience assumed that the mysterious person in the background was Heihachi Mishima. When he opened the door to the dojo viewers assumed that this was the night that Heihachi had had killed his wife. It was great framing, we could sense the tension as if Kazumi were trapped in some sort of domestic hell.

Through every version of Tekken the audience knew that the father and son hated each other. Heihachi was afraid that his son would turn on him and take over the family business. Heihachi had done that to his own father after all. There was reason to be afraid of Kazuya but it was more than just a jealousy that caused this. Kazuya had a "Devil Gene" which allowed him to turn into a powerful monster. Audiences assumed that this was a gene that skipped a generation. It turned out however that Kazumi was the one that passed the "Devil Gene" down to Kazuya.

Kazumi had actually planned on killing the leader of the Mishima clan herself. However she also left some specific instructions, if she could not stop Heihachi then she was leaving the task to someone else. The trailer immediately cut to Kazuya and Heihachi staring at each other from within an erupting volcano. Audiences assumed that she was leaving instructions for Kazuya. They assumed that some day he would be strong enough to avenge her death.

Father versus son, a wife betrayed, a mother assassinated. This was something right out of a Shakespeare play! Even the setting featured in the trailer was important. The volcano was used again and again throughout the history of Tekken. Both Heihachi and Kazuya had taken turns trying to kill each other over the past 20 years by throwing each other into an active volcano. I had actually talked about the volcano and the origins of the characters on an earlier blog. If this were indeed the last battle then it had to be one for the history books!

The ending of the trailer, where Kazumi revealed that despite everything she loved Heihachi and he loved her was one of the most powerful moments of any game cinema. The team at Namco wanted to make sure that audiences were paying attention. All of the loose ends created in every sequel would be tied up and they even promised that this would be the end of the Mishima Saga. Kazuya would kill Heihachi or the other way around and the story would be concluded. Those that hadn't seen trailer could watch it below. 

 

It turned out that Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada had something even greater in mind for the game. The second half of the story arc was unveiled on the heels of the Capcom Cup and EVO fighting game tournaments. Tekken 7: Fated Retribution would be the name of the new expansion. The trailer for the game completely blew away everything that fans of the series thought they knew.

It began very similarly to the previous trailer and we could hear Kazumi leaving instructions. Except that this time it was obvious that she was telling someone they had to kill Heihachi, but Kazuya was only a child at this point. So she was talking to someone else.

The mysterious figure in the doorway spoke. It wasn't Heihachi as many gamers had assumed. Instead it was the person tasked to kill him. As soon as he spoke the long-time Street Fighter fans had a reason to freak out. The baddest character in all fighting game history had returned. This character was absent in all known footage of Street Fighter V. He was indebted to Kazumi, how would certainly have to be explained!

This martial arts assassin had killed his master and brother in canon. If Kazumi could not kill her husband then rest assured that the mysterious figure would. But this reveal was not enough for the producer of the series. At the end of the trailer Kazumi left a very specific instruction. After killing Heihachi he would be tasked with killing her son.

It now made sense that the Mishima Saga would really be concluded. An outside fighting game character universally recognized as powerful enough to actually be able to kill both Kazuya and Heihachi was brought in. It was possibly the only way that Tekken fans would have believed the outcome.



Katsuhiro Harada pretty much dropped the mic on the critics with this reveal. The new trailer was pretty much a knockout punch to everyone that wasn't already on board with the game. He hid in plain sight one of the greatest fighting game villains of all time and tied this character masterfully into the series. It was something that Street Fighter IV and V producer Yoshinori Ono seemed incapable of doing. It demonstrated a certain level of planning and design that required both patience and maturity. These were things that I cannot say Ono possessed. But don't take my word for it, watch the first and then second trailers and tell me what you think. Did the trailers for Street Fighter IV or V give you the same level of anticipation? Do you think that this approach is something that Capcom is lacking? Or will Street Fighter be fine without the heavy-handed drama? Let me know in the comments section. I’d like to hear about it on the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!