Phantasy Star Cave Message Board

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69FFgYyD68Y

This is a video rant regarding the new DMC5 game.

For those who don't know about it, it's a reboot of a 10 year old franchise. Fans of the series, like my good friend PSP, are righteously pissed off by it.

So give the video a view and have your say here on the matter. I'm interested to see what opinions we'll have here.

So basically it's a different development team from a different culture telling a different story about a different Dante with a different look in a different atmosphere with a different plot direction because as some has said "there's not much left one can do with Devil May Cry after the end of 4's plot".

Why the hell isn't this just a different series entirely? Why shoehorn Dante/DMC into it? Why does the art director think Dante should look like him?

The whole thing seems kinda dumb and pointless. This is their answer to whats-his-face leaving and making Bayonetta? Really?

I'm honestly disheartened by entertainment in general as of late. There's not really a lot that's "new," it's mostly rehashes and remakes and reboots. Generalization? Yes. Probably full of holes? Yes. Genuinely how I feel at the moment? Yes.

Limiting that to games though, what the hell is wrong with these companies? I can understand if you're doing a game series like Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, or any other that has a standalone feel but merely has common elements that link them together loosely (I thought Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter was brilliant, for instance, and am sad it did so miserably). However, a series that uses the same characters and so on (and is massively successful, both critically and commercially)...why fix what isn't broken?

In this case, it just feels idiotic. The DMC series has a passionate fanbase, one which loved all the games wholesale aside from DMC2. And why is that? Because they changed Dante a little bit. The backlash was so powerful that Capcom, in a roundabout way, basically pretended the game never happened (DMC3 was a prequel, DMC4 was an interquel, etc). Now they're completely rebooting a series that doesn't need a reboot (unlike Sonic, DMC hadn't hit rock bottom or even close) and changing him radically (plus, adding the cliche of smoking...which, come on...how insulting, considering originally he was created as a non-smoking badass on purpose).

My feelings on this? I'll wait. I haven't seen one positive remark yet. I wouldn't be surprised if Capcom backpedaled, depending on how far development has gotten. Or, better yet, let them release it and bury the franchise I suppose. I don't see this game being successful, unless the public's reaction takes a whiplash-inducing turn.

-Corey

I ain't waiting. Capcom's literally spitting on the fans for allowing a reboot of the DMC franchise. Sales won't be very good and the reviews are likey to range from average to above-average.

Amusingly enough, Capcom is apparently in damage control mode already. If this is a genuine reply, then that means the outpour of negativity is already at critical mass:

Capcom Rep wrote:Isn't judging a game and character by a very short announcement, damning it to failure, making it about you? As fans (as we are too at Capcom), it's our job to be critical. Constructive criticism is absolutely welcome. But understand that we here at Capcom are doing what we love doing: making games. DmC is a passion of ours, and giving us a chance to give the series new life and a new take.

As I've asked since the complaints have arisen, please be patient. Bare with us as we take our time to reveal more about this new Devil May Cry game. If we weren't wholeheartedly dedicated to our fans and our products, we would have stopped making DmC games a long time ago. But we are still making games, and seeking out new ways to innovate and change so we're not just simply appealing to nostalgia.

We <3 you guys, but all this rage about this seems like you're not giving us a chance to show you what we have in store. There's many, many things you do not know yet, including the decisions in story, character design, and everything else. I'd love to reveal it all now, but I can't. I know as fans instant gratification is a hard thing to overcome. Even I myself have that same problem. But, please, have patience. Don't judge it until you've actually seen what we have to offer, instead of simply judging an entire game on an announcement teaser.

<3
Snow

Personally, I think this might be a genuine reply, but "Snow" is full of shit. "If we weren't wholeheartedly dedicated to our fans and our products, we would have stopped making DmC games a long time ago"? Wow, I thought they kept making DMC games because they were commercial and critical successes. I mean, DMC4 was the fastest selling installment in the series after all.

What horseshit. If they're already getting pounded with the negativity (which seems almost universal), maybe it's not too late. This kind of reminds me of when Microsoft did a ShadowRun game that was a FPS and ignored that continuity...and it bombed so horribly that it made their heads spin.

-Corey

There was nothing wrong with the current DMC canon, and I don't see why it needs a overhaul.

Snow, even if you are a representative, you don't get it, you ditzy American bint. Capcom fans are the ones who keep your company afloat. A figurative two-finger salute to all the diehard DMC fans by making these unecessary overhauls isn't the way to go about it - unless you're 4chan in disguise.

You're just repeating DMC2 that way.

Well, I can understand why people are pissed about it. If they've spent 10 years with a character some find nice (not my case, but eh...), a shitstorm was only bound to happen.

This is a major blunder on Capcom's part.

I'm only somewhat familiar with this series, but what I took away from the rant is that they're rebooting the series without a clear close to the original canon, right? That would leave me feeling very bitter as a fan, too. Plus, if the last game came out only a couple of years ago, it seems way to soon to reboot the series.

I'm not totally against reboots. The new/old Star Trek was actually entertaining to me. But, the original Star Trek came out in the late 1960s and the last movie that featured the original cast (not just cameos) came out, when? 1993 or so? That's plenty of time to say, "Hey, this was cool, and it's still cool but more in a retro way. What if we did it [this] way?"

Taking a series that's still active and rebooting it seems pointless. I guess it's easier than coming up with ideas to finish the original canon, and that's sad. It also shows a serious lack of marketing talent.