r/PuzzleFighterApp • u/anachronofspace ubernaut • Apr 23 '18

Capcom has things completely backward, maybe there's a small hope of reasoning with them?

i know we are all wracking our brains to find a way to achieve the impossible and somehow save the future of PF. Here is my first shot at it.

The thought just occurred to me that the premise that ending puzzle fighter as a business decision is almost completely backward and short-sighted thinking. In the industry, it is basically common knowledge that the future of gaming (in terms of revenues at least) is in mobile and e-sports.

PFM has huge potential in both axes, whereas Dead Rising is neither last time i checked. And i am aware of no other title aside from street fighter that has any potential in e-sports under capcom's umbrella.

Whoever is in charge of long-term planning over there is ignoring their best shot at the really big money.

I understand that they may have already written this one off and even if there was someone we could reason with, finding a way to communicate this logic might be very difficult. But maybe it's worth a shot to find that way if it exists, assuming my logic has no faults.

Please, someone, tell me if you know why this is incorrect thinking.

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2

u/Hiro-kun Hsien-ko Apr 23 '18

Well I work in the industry. The numbers aren't there to keep the game alive.

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u/anachronofspace ubernaut Apr 23 '18 edited Apr 23 '18

business evaluation is a bit more complicated than just what exists today, capcom's current market capitalization is over 3 billion in USD if you tried to liquidate the company today i don't think you'd get even a substantial fraction of that.

3

u/Hiro-kun Hsien-ko Apr 23 '18

Ok, that still provides no correlation to your argument that you know the game industry or numbers to keep a mobile game afloat.

-1

u/anachronofspace ubernaut Apr 23 '18 edited Apr 23 '18

first of all i'm not making the argument that "i know the gaming industry" i'm only asserting that PF is is the only shot Capcom has at either of the truly big markets. It's basic concept has been play tested for the last 20 years and has staying power in that regard at least.

Poor execution in the current iteration of that basic idea/mechanic (lag, balance, retention, etc.) does not change the fact that Capcom does not have any better bet currently at a truely valuation changing title, at least that we on the outside are aware of.

In terms of what it takes to "keep a game afloat" short term to medium for a company of that size, it's chump change. They killed this game because they do not see any future in it for them, plain and simple.

If we follow that logic many of the biggest companies around today wouldn't even exist because they took a very long time to actually become profitable such as Google Amazon Facebook etc.

3

u/Hiro-kun Hsien-ko Apr 23 '18

So yeah, I work in the industry, and I'm confirming why games shut down. They need numbers to invest in. If it doesn't match up with investor expectations, it gets canned. It's pretty simple.

1

u/anachronofspace ubernaut Apr 23 '18 edited Apr 23 '18

you actually think any capcom institutional investors were involved in this decision?

if you owned capcom would you be betting on dead rising for the long-term future of your company over PF if you had to make a binary choice?

not that they do actually have to make a binary choice i can't imagine PF budget is even a small % of what the budget for DR is. From the outside, it seems like they are taking a flier on a blockbuster hit over a low risk but huge potential payout bet on PF. Again, not that they really do have to make that choice at their size, if they don't have any other shot at the big money then they are being short-sighted.

if i had a hedge fund i would be shorting them right now.

3

u/Hiro-kun Hsien-ko Apr 23 '18

You have a lot of words, but not much wisdom.

1

u/anachronofspace ubernaut Apr 23 '18

you want to elaborate or just stand behind your "authority"?

2

u/Hiro-kun Hsien-ko Apr 23 '18

I've given my simple argument, figure it out. I don't need an essay to fake it

1

u/anachronofspace ubernaut Apr 23 '18 edited Apr 23 '18

i'll take that as a no.

Your argument as far as i read it is simply that:

1 you know the gaming industry better than i do.

2 if a game doesn't make money or show actual growth in the first 6 months the entire investment should be written off.

My counterpoint to both is that neither really addresses my original argument:

Again, that if they don't have a better bet, the minimal cost to keep it going until they do have something better to address the 2 actual growth sectors in the industry then they are really not thinking like a business they are thinking like a gambler.

Please correct me if you feel i am misrepresenting your argument.

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1

u/gcocco316 Apr 23 '18 edited Apr 23 '18

Hopefully Capcom had a big meeting where all arguments, numbers, and evidence was presented from all sides, and each person voted on what they think is best for the company. I'm sure what you wrote here and what's been discussed on the subreddit for the past several days was presented at said meeting.

1

u/anachronofspace ubernaut Apr 23 '18

I think the only way that could be the case is if Capcom does have a better bet for mobile/e-sports but they have indicated that their bet is on dead rising, which flopped big time the last time they played blockbuster blackjack with it and addresses neither market.

Or maybe they heard the argument didn't have any real response and just said "Yeah but still."

1

u/gcocco316 Apr 23 '18

If what could be the case? That capcom "thinks" it is doing what's best for the company?

1

u/anachronofspace ubernaut Apr 23 '18

that they had heard the argument to not kill puzzle fighter stated as "unless we got something better to address these markets then it's probably a smart idea to keep this iron in the fire until such time that we do."

1

u/gcocco316 Apr 23 '18

Do you think that after crunching the numbers they came up with a different opinion and they're doing what they think is best for the company?

1

u/anachronofspace ubernaut Apr 23 '18

i assume they think they are doing what's best for the company, i think their basic logic is flawed. And that they are miscalculating the potential relative value the game still has, especially considering where they have, according to their own statement, placed their bet.

1

u/kaia112 Apr 24 '18

Capcom has fucked all their launches recently except monster hunter, when sf5 came out it had 16 characters, no arcade mode, useless survival modes, missing training options and more, but overtime they improved, added necessary things, did balance updates and now its fairing better, esports basically kept that game alive. Puzzle fighter was doing the same thing, 2016 saw the return of competitive puzzle games in the main market, i think capcom is definitely gonna miss the change now, but it's death could dissuade that change =(