When speaking with Famitsum, Yoshinori Ono – producer of the Street Fighter series – stated that unless a game makes 2 million sales, Capcom will not consider making a sequel.
When asked why fan favorite games such as Darkstalkers and Street Fighter x Tekken never received sequels he exclaimed, “That’s what I’ve been telling the company too.”
He admitted that there are certain hurdles that must be jumped at Capcom in order to make a sequel. “But at the end of the day, there are just some brick walls that a salaryman can never overcome. For instance, if a game doesn’t sell over 2 million copies, then we’d have to put the brakes on any plans for a sequel. All that means is that we weren’t capable enough. And all we can do after that is to reflect on the experience, take what we can learn from it, and try to apply those lessons to some other title.”
It’s sad to hear that cult classic games that may even be just a few thousand short of breaking the 2 million copy sales barrier will never see sequels, however from a business perspective I can somewhat understand Capcom’s motivation behind the decision.
Do you think Capcom is being too rigid with their sequel making process? Are you one of the many fans who’d love to see a Street Fighter x Tekken sequel? Feel free to drop a comment below, and happy gaming!