Capcom – Syndication Server

Dragon’s Dogma 2 looks brilliant in new footage

Capcom showed off 15 minutes of Dragon’s Dogma 2 footage in a new showcase, and the RPG is looking like one to keep an eye on

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Capcom showed off 15 minutes of Dragon’s Dogma 2 footage in a new showcase, and the RPG is looking like one to keep an eye on. Steam might have accidentally spoiled the big piece of news – that Dragon’s Dogma 2 launches on March 22, 2024 – but Capcom had plenty more to show off from the long-awaited sequel, including new classes, spectacular boss battles, and some very chatty Pawns.

If Dragon’s Dogma 2 seems a bit familiar, there’s a good reason for that. Capcom said it takes place in a parallel world to the original game’s setting, which means most of the basics are the same. You’re an Arisen, someone whose heart belongs to an evil dragon, and you want to get your heart back. Pawns are specialized warriors who serve the Arisen and accompany you on your quest, just like they were in the first game. That’s where the familiarity ends.

It seems like Capcom’s cooking up an even more interesting narrative than the dark tale of the original. You’re stuck in the middle of two kingdoms with clashing philosophies and plenty of ideas about what you should be doing with your life. Disa, queen regent of the human kingdom, wants to get her son on the throne and uses a fake Arisen to do it. The beast nation, led by empress Nadinia, thinks Pawns – yours and everyone else’s – are the source of the world’s misfortune, which is bound to cause problems once you stop by for a visit.

Whatever Nadinia thinks, Pawns are pretty useful to you. Outside of the roles they play in combat, they have special characteristics that help make adventuring easier for you and even some that unlock new opportunities. One example Capcom showed was a Pawn who speaks Elvish and can translate when you’re dealing with elves, opening new quests and other interactions you’d, apparently, just have to miss otherwise.

Finally is the combat, which looks like it might borrow a bit from Monster Hunter. Every part of an enemy is fair game. Want to jump on a dragon’s head, MonHun style? Go for it, and take a swipe at its neck spines while you’re there. You can climb giant stone monsters, get birds to fly you into advantageous positions, and influence the course of battle depending on where and how you attack.

Warrior and Sorcerer return as battle vocations, and Capcom showed off a new role as well – Trickster. This role is sort of like a Cleric, with several support spells that center on their censor. Tricksters use smoke to create illusions and confuse enemies, and they can cast some helpful buffs to power up Pawns as well.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 launches for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on March 22, 2024, and pre-orders are open now on all platforms.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Steam leaks Dragon’s Dogma 2 release date ahead of Capcom showcase

Capcom planned to announce the Dragon’s Dogma 2 release date during a showcase, but Steam apparently decided the time was now

Capcom planned to announce the Dragon’s Dogma 2 release date during a showcase, but Steam apparently decided the time was now. The Dragon’s Dogman 2 Steam page now lists a release date of March 21, 2024, and unlike the incident where Atlus accidentally launched Persona 5 Tactica early, Valve isn’t changing the page.

It doesn’t list much new information about Dragon’s Dogma 2 yet, so Steam hasn’t entirely stolen Capcom’s thunder, at least. Right now, the page lists the bare basics, which is pretty much all Capcom has said about the game since first showing it during a summer showcase.

You play as an Arisen, Dragon’s Dogma-speak for a no-name the fates chose to challenge the great dragon and reclaim their heart. DD2 probably won’t stray too far from that, though it seems like Capcom is placing more emphasis on the people and stories you encounter off the beaten path than the main narrative itself. One of the big points on the Steam page is how everyone – merchant, traveler, random peasant, literally everyone – goes about their own business with their own agendas, and interacting with them at the right time might unlock new quests and adventures.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a single-player RPG, but you can create Pawns who accompany you and act autonomously based on the commands you program into them. Capcom promises a deeper combat system this time, where positioning and making smart use of the environment play important roles in your success – or failure, since enemies are smart enough to plan well, too.

When Dragon’s Dogma 2 launches in March 2024, it’ll launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Capcom is giving out a free Exoprimal skin after player milestone

Capcom’s new multiplayer game Exoprimal launched on July 14, 2023, and the dinosaur game already has 1 million players

Capcom’s new multiplayer game Exoprimal launched on July 14, 2023, and the dinosaur game already has 1 million players. Capcom announced the news on Twitter and said that to celebrate the milestone, the team will add a free Skywave skin in the next Exoprimal update, which goes live on Aug. 18, 2023.

Skywave is a popular choice thanks to their exceptional support abilities that, while a bit lacking on the offense front, help the rest of the team deal with threats easily.

Over one million players have joined the wargames in Exoprimal! 🦖

To commemorate this milestone, a free Skywave skin will be included in the August 16 title update.

We're hard at work on improvements to the game based on player feedback. Thank you for your ongoing support! pic.twitter.com/TtsbztYKgr

— Exoprimal (@exoprimal) July 25, 2023

It sounds like another win for Capcom in a year of record-breaking successes, though the 1 million players isn’t a concurrent count. On SteamDB, Exoprimal has settled into a comfortable 1,200 to 1,800 players at any given time, down from a peak of nearly 5,000 when the game first launched.

Capcom didn’t provide any information about the player count split, but seeing as Exoprimal is on Xbox Game Pass, it seems reasonable to assume that quite a few of these 1 million players are coming to the Overwatch–like game from that route.

Exoprimal pits teams of five players against hordes of dinosaurs and other environmental hazards, though you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s simpler than it really is. For reasons unknown, Exoprimal hides most of its maps and modes behind several hours of basic missions, so it takes a while to get to the good stuff, as it were.

The team promised more updates over the coming months, so expect more modes, skins, and, hopefully, more players as Exoprimal finds even firmer footing in the back half of 2023.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Capcom teases massive open world in Dragon’s Dogma 2 trailer

Capcom re-showed the Dragon’s Dogma 2 trailer during the Capcom Showcase and said the open world is four times bigger than the RPG’s prequel

Capcom re-showed the Dragon’s Dogma 2 trailer from the PlayStation Showcase during the June Capcom Showcase with a few pieces of new information, including the fact that the open world is four times bigger than the one in the RPG’s prequel. Fans criticized the first Dragon’s Dogma for its small map compared to the likes of Skyrim and The Witcher, but a bigger world isn’t the only improvement Capcom touted.

The Pawns are back, and Capcom says they’re better than ever. They have new abilities and improved AI and can even help guide you to a new location or hidden secret – or just give you a high five after a tough battle. Everyone needs some extra validation sometimes, after all.

Capcom said that building Dragon’s Dogma 2 in the RE Engine lets the team create a dense, interconnected world and play with physics on a deeper, more immersive level. One example in the trailer involves destroying a bridge, which blocks your path across, but also means enemies can’t get to you. Capcom said you can even tug on monster legs in combat to see what happens, and the team hopes that spirit of curiosity helps push players to make new discoveries.

We won’t be making those discoveries any time soon, though. Dragon’s Dogma 2 still doesn’t have a release date.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Capcom announced Apollo Justice Ace Attorney trilogy is in the works

Capcom is making an Apollo Justice Ace Attorney trilogy for modern platforms, bringing the detective games back to life for new audiences

The Apollo Justice trilogy wasn’t as well received as the original Ace Attorney games, but now the detective games have a second chance at life with new audiences. Over a decade after the first Ace Attorney trilogy launched, Capcom is making an Apollo Justice Ace Attorney trilogy for modern platforms.

The trilogy will launch sometime in early 2024 on Switch, PS5 and PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

The three Apollo Justice games take place years after the original Phoenix Wright games and follow Phoenix’s new apprentice, Apollo, and Phoenix’s adopted daughter, Trucy. While the basic premise remains roughly the same – collect evidence in adventure-game style sequences and present evidence in court – the mood in Apollo Justice is significantly different.

After the events of the first three games, the public lost faith in the justice system. Lawyers and judges have adopted an unethical approach to courtroom proceedings and do whatever it takes to get what they want.

Lucky for you and Apollo, you have a few tricks up your sleeves as well. In true Ace Attorney fashion, Apollo Justice blends heavy subject matter with a clever, quirky English script and a healthy dose of the ridiculous. Apollo’s bracelet helps him uncover the truth, while defense attorney Athena Cykes has a mood matrix that helps her catch out lying witnesses.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Capcom is hosting a second Exoprimal open beta soon

Capcom announced a new Exoprimal beta during the Capcom Showcase, featuring new features in the multiplayer game

Capcom announced a new Exoprimal beta during the June Capcom Showcase, featuring new features in the multiplayer game. The beta will run for only a short time – June 16, 2023, through June 18, 2023 – but it includes a new mode and several improvements Capcom made based on feedback from the game’s first beta in March 2023.

One of those is awarding points based on how quickly you finish a mission, rather than on how much combat you engaged in with other players.

The new Exoprimal trailer introduced an Exosuit variant called the Deadeye Alpha, with a slightly different set of attack abilities and a shotgun-style weapon. Capcom said more variants are planned for future seasons, along with other modes, cosmetics, and battle passes.

One new mode is a five-player mission called the Savage Gauntlet that changes weekly and pits you and your team against waves of the toughest dinosaurs. This and other multiplayer modes are meant to keep the game going for long after the dino-hunting campaign mode ends.

As for the campaign, Capcom seems to have gone all-in on a wild sci-fi story, complete with rogue AI, conspiracies, crews of daring mech pilots, and of course, scores upon scores of dinosaurs.

Expoprimal launches for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, and PC via Steam on July 14, 2023.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Monster Hunter and Resident Evil 4 gave Capcom record-breaking sales

Capcom reported a strong year of sales, led by Monster Hunter and Resident Evil 4, even though the horror game only had one week of sales

Capcom reported a record-breaking year of sales, led by Monster Hunter Rise and Resident Evil 4 remake (thanks, GamesIndustry.biz). The publisher reported net sales equal to approximately $940, which is a 14 percent increase from the previous year, and even recorded sizeable increases in sales of older games.

Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak led the charge with 5.45 million copies sold, helped no doubt by the RPG expansion’s release on several platforms following a period of Switch and PC exclusivity. The base Monster Hunter Rise, which originally released in 2021, sold an additional 3.7 million copies.

Resident Evil 4 remake sold 3.75 million copies, which is particularly impressive considering the horror game launched in the last week of Capcom’s fiscal year. Considering how it shattered Steam concurrent player records and sales for the series, though, perhaps such strong sales aren’t too surprising.

Six games reached or surpassed the million-selling mark, and Resident Evil 2 remake and Resident Evil 3 remake even saw increases in their sales. In total, Capcom said it sold 41.7 million games in its last fiscal year.

The publisher expects fewer unit sales in the current fiscal year, but an increase in dollar sales boosted in part by forecasted growth in its mobile content. Meanwhile, Capcom is gearing up for Street Fighter 6, which launches on June 2, 2023, for current-gen platforms and PC.

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Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Capcom Spotlight recap: Exoprimal beta, Jill Valentine, and more

The March Capcom Spotlight announced an Exoprimal beta, Resident Evil 4 demo, Ghost Trick, and much more

The March Capcom Spotlight has come and gone, bringing with it sprinklings of news about Street Fighter, Exoprimal, and more, along with a demo for March’s hotly-anticipated survival horror remake, Resident Evil 4. Capcom has a busy few months in store, with an open beta for Exoprimal, a beloved puzzle game making a comeback, and the Blue Bomber’s tactical return to modern platforms. Jill Valentine is also showing up in some unlikely places and plays a role of some kind in quelling a zombie threat alongside Resident Evil 4 star Leon S. Kennedy.

Here’s everything you might have missed from the Capcom Spotlight.

Capcom Tokyo Games Show 2022 stream: 5 biggest announcements

Capcom has given us loads of news about Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Monster Hunter, and more in the Tokyo Games Show showcase.

Tokyo Games Show is currently happening, and we’re seeing huge announcements from some of the biggest publishers in the world. Capcom’s stream just wrapped up, and it included a blowout of information for some of the publisher’s biggest franchises, including loads of information on the upcoming Street Fighter 6.

If you want the essential information as fast as possible, just take a look at our breakdown of the biggest announcements below.

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Capcom Fighting Collection review – “The fighters time forgot”

Is the Capcom Fighting Collection worth your money? Here’s our full review.

Let’s get this out of the way first: when people think of classic Capcom fighting games, Street Fighter is usually at the top of the list, but only Hyper Street Fighter II is included here. If you’re a Street Fighter die-hard, then you should be looking at 2018’s Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. Instead, the Capcom Fighting Collection is a celebration of the Capcom fighters that time forgot.

The full Darkstalkers series is included, which means it is the first time that the sequels Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalkers’ Revenge and Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire have ever been released outside of Japan. In addition to that, this is Red Earth‘s first-ever port from the arcades onto consoles, and even Cyberbots is having its first home console port outside of Japan. When it comes to Capcom fighting games, these are the prodigal sons, missing for decades, not just another repackage of games we’ve seen in collections a dozen times already.

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Red Earth might be the most interesting of the bunch. Instead of being a traditional fighting game with a large roster of characters, this took the fighting game formula and turned it into an RPG. There are four distinct playable characters to choose from, and you’ll be taking on huge bosses. This feels more like the boss monsters you fight against in later Marvel VS. Capcom games than a 1v1 fight with a real opponent. But that’s no bad thing – it makes Red Earth stand out as unique among all of Capcom’s arcade games. Plus you can skip to the max level as long as you know the password. Thanks, internet!

For some players, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Super Gem Fighter Minimix will take up more time than the other games combined. Super Puzzle Fighter is a classic color-matching game in the same vein as Puyo Pop. Super Gem Fighter Minimix takes the same chibi sprites and pits them against each other in actual combat, with heavily simplified Street Fighter controls and mechanics, combined with a gem collection system that makes it feel a bit closer to Super Smash Bros. than any other Street Fighter.

The rest of the games in the package are more traditional fighters, but that’s what we’re here for. Cyberbots is a bit closer to what we might expect, but still offers a unique take on mech combat. You’ll select a playable character, and then you’ll select one of three playable mechs, the combination you choose resulting in entirely different playstyles. The options can feel overwhelming at first, but once you settle into a mech and character combination you like, you’ll soon be dashing around the stage, poking at enemies, and executing command grabs. This is a solid, quick fighter which is pretty traditional once you get past the options.

The Darkstalkers series is where a lot of the action is, of course. The later games missed out on an arcade release outside of Japan before, and that’s probably down to health not regenerating after you win a round, leading to shorter games, and therefore less gameplay for your quarter when down at the arcade. That’s not a problem when you have infinite credits, and while the later Darkstalkers games are broadly similar, they each include unique characters and stages that make them worth visiting. If you’re playing some games locally with a friend, it’s worth having a go on each.

Hyper Street Fighter II is considered by some to be the definitive version of the fighting game that changed everything. While it doesn’t carry the same level of nostalgia that playing Street Fighter II on a SNES does, HSF2 does include gameplay modifiers that make it feel very similar to your favorite version of the game, and the version based on Super Street Fighter II Turbo even adds Akuma, just to make it even more appetizing. Fighting game fans will already have a dozen ways to play Street Fighter II, but if any version is missing, this is probably the one you need for your collection.

Away from the games, Capcom has given the Capcom Fighting Collection the same treatment as other recent arcade compilations. Some lovely original artwork, a catchy soundtrack for the menus, options to play both English and Japanese versions of the games, if available, and a library of concept art for the hardcore fans to gawk at. Each game is emulated well, and there are several scanline filters and scaling options for people who want a pixel-perfect representation of the games.

If there’s a problem, it’s that there isn’t a definitive collection of Capcom arcade games. There will soon be two Capcom Arcade Stadium compilations, a Street Fighter collection, and now Capcom Fighting Collection. Heck, Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium is even due to feature both Hyper Street Fighter II and three of the Darkstalkers games from this collection. If you want access to all the Capcom arcade titles, you’ll need to buy them all, but you’ll quickly find a few of them entirely redundant unless you’re going back for a single game unplayable elsewhere. Capcom Fighting Collection is a solid package with great options, including precious online play, but Capcom’s arcade bundles are bringing the value of the games into question.

Written by Dave Aubrey on behalf of GLHF.

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