14 DAY TRIAL // Apparently, a game has to sell 2 million copies in order for publisher Capcom to greenlight a sequel, which would explain the lack of news concerning many popular franchises.
The reveal comes from Street Fighter series Producer Yoshinori Ono, a figure popular with the gaming community, who explained why great games such as Street Fighter X Tekken weren't getting a follow-up, in spite of all the demand from fans.
During a recent interview with Japanese video games magazine Famitsu, translated by EventHubs, Ono was asked why some popular Capcom games didn't see a continuation, in spite of the fact that fans loved them and were always asking about them.
If games don't reach their sales target, the franchise halts
"That's what I've always been telling the company too. But at the end of the day, there are just some brick walls that a salary-man can never overcome," Ono stated.
"For instance, if a game doesn't sell over two 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," he continued.
He explained that this was the reason that Darkstalkers didn't get a sequel, and emphasized that it wouldn't get one anytime soon, as the franchise failed to hit its sales target with Darkstalkers Resurrection.
There is still hope for Street Fighter X Tekken
In the particular case of the hugely popular SFXT, a sequel is not that far off, as the title has managed to sell over 1.7 million copies since its release in 2012.
The crossover fighting video game banks on the popularity of both the Street Fighter and Tekken series, but due to the fact that it was created by Capcom, the core gameplay experience is very similar to that of the Street Fighter games, with Super Combos and EX Attacks and all that.
Tekken X Street Fighter, Bandai Namco Games' answer to Capcom's creation, only delivering an experience more in line with the regular Tekken one, is still in the works, still moving forward.
The latest news regarding the video game dates from July this year, form the San Diego Comic Con, when Tekken Producer Katsuhiro Harada assured fans that the game hadn't been canceled.
"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 on some other title," Ono concluded the interview.