INTERVIEW: MICHAEL PATTISON, CAPCOM Better the Devil you know?
Capcom has taken a risk with its fifth Devil May Cry game by rebooting the franchise and farming out development to UK studio Ninja Theory. The decision irked loyal fans – so ahead of the game’s January launch Christopher Dring quizzed US and European marketing boss Michael Pattison about winning over the die-hard fans
Why did you pick Ninja Theory to build the new Devil May Cry? Where Devil May Crywas lacking before was really character and story. And based on the work Ninja Theory has done on Enslavedand on other titles, we felt that is where they would be bringing something to the table. Japan was interested to see what another developer would do in terms of their interpretation of Devil May Cry. Ninja Theory’s first pitch to Capcom was very much what it thought Capcom wanted to hear; an extension of DMC 4. We said no to that and asked the team to come back with something fresh. It is a creative industry and it is our job to try and do some new things, even if it is a franchise that has been going for more than 12 years now.
There was a fan backlash to the new developer and the new direction, even the hero’s hairdo. Have you turned the tide on that extreme opinion? I’d never say we’ve turned the tide, because that would be too arrogant and presumptuous. There is always going to be a core fanbase that will question our intentions. Whenever you try and change an established franchise, you are always going to upset a few people. There will be concerns raised. And that’s completely understandable. We feel there is more confidence amongst people that have gone hands-on. We have had people going hands- on over the last few months, including Eurogamer Expo. And we have just released a demo.
Capcom’s Pattison says it was important to reboot Devil May Cry to keep the franchise fresh
22 December 7th 2012
How important was it that Devil May Cry got a reboot? The last Devil May Crysold well. But we felt like it had hit a ceiling in terms of where we could take it in its current direction. It was good on Capcom to take a risk with it. People are more comfortable with