Epic Fail 1: Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop

Okay, I'm no game developer or programmer, but I'm smart enough to know that Capcom's approach is all wrong here. So I was on Gamasutra, and Minoru Nakai, producer of Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop, had this to say in an interview. Please bear in mind these are only excerpts, and it is advised you read the entire interview.


Did you work on the original 360 version of the game?

MN: I did not participate in the original.

How in the world do you have someone produce a game that wasn't involved with it from conception. As a recording artist, that's comparable to having a songwriter giving their song to a stranger. Something will ultimately be lost in translation. That's mistake number 1, and this is why the game will likely to fail.

On one hand, a Wii game should have very Wii-like controls and be very fun to play -- but on the other hand, Dead Rising was originally designed to be played with button presses, which are more precise and faster. Can you talk about how you were able to change the controls and still make the game feel accurate and fun to play?

MN: Last time, with the Xbox 360, we had buttons, and it was very complex. Of course, you could do whatever you wanted at the press of a button, but the controls were very difficult, so they were really more for hardcore users.

For casual gamers, we wanted it to be easier to understand and easier to use, so of course, even hardcore gamers will be able to point and do whatever they want to do very quickly, but this also makes it more accessible for the casual users.

OMG. What don't you get about it Capcom? Now granted this is just my opinion, but if you really believe "casuals" are going to buy this title, you're wrong. You simply can't assume a tile which has hardcore and graphic themes will appeal to "casual gamers". I'm pretty Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition didn't move too many copies across that demographic. The people playing this are not the same folks buying Carnival Games. Despite sharing shelf space, basic marketing should have taught you enough about segmentation to know that the audiences are radically different. We don't need commercials of families sitting around in the living room playing Dead Rising...it's not real. Develop and market the game for its intended audience. If you pour enough love into it, maybe it will surprise you in sales. Stop downgrading existing titles in an attempt to find market share. EPIC FAIL!!!!

I really hope this game turns out better than I anticipate because right now, its future seems bleak.