In an exclusive interview with GameDaily BIZ, Capcom producer Jun Takeuchi answers questions about why a global recession doesn't matter, how the publisher is "investigating other platforms" for Lost Planet 2, why we'll never see a platform as dominant as the PS2, lessons learned from Call of Duty 4, and the future of iPhone games in Japan.

BIZ: You've expressed an interest in the American and European market. Do the current economic conditions worry you?

Takeuchi: I agree with the theory that the game industry is far less susceptible to the current economic downturn, and the market appears to have proven the theory.

BIZ: What happens to Capcom if the U.S. market can't support your games, and they don't meet your sales expectations?

Takeuchi: Such situations can often occur in the gaming industry. What is important for Capcom is to learn from the experiences and to take a timely action to re-track ourselves.
We as Capcom have an established system to support that, and we can turn in any direction as needed. We have acquired such flexibility; that is Capcom's great vantage point.

BIZ: Isn't it safer to concentrate on a local market, rather than relying on worldwide sales for a hit game?

Takeuchi: Today's Japanese market is in a very difficult state. Capcom has made efforts and contributed to expanding the Japanese market with Monster Hunter. Unless other developers join in our efforts, greater success in our endeavor will become questionable.

Meanwhile, the markets outside Japan have fully matured and bore fruit; it is time to harvest them. It is not a matter of choosing from which tree to pick the fruits, but whether or not to wait for a green fruit to ripen. I believe we should give a time for the Japanese market to fully grow.

BIZ: This generation of consoles hasn't reached the size of the last generation. Besides GameCube and Xbox, Sony alone sold 140 million PlayStation 2 units. But this generation, even as games seem more widespread than ever, there are not as many units in as many homes. Does this sadden you?

Takeuchi: Multiple types of hardware coexist in the limited size-market, and they inevitably have to share the market. I suspect that this trend will continue for a while. I personally do not appreciate that the market is not dominated by a certain platform, like era of the PS2. However, I believe in the principle of market competition, and I believe it should be always welcome.

BIZ: Does it worry you, at least?

Takeuchi: Of course, I would have viewed it differently if we hadn't realized multiplatform development.

For smaller developers having difficulty with multiplatform development, they will be left with a slim chance of survival unless they conquer those problems, which will be one of the major obstacles of our time. If they can't, that will mean downsizing in the Japanese market, which will in turn pose a threat to the overall Japanese game industry.