14 DAY TRIAL // What do you know, Steam (Valve's digital distribution service) is taking its first Japanese developer on board: Capcom. Devil May Cry's developer will, from now on, distribute its titles through Valve's service, as more and more developers and publishers are doing the same thing, to ease costs.
Just a little while ago, Eidos was jumping aboard the "Steam engine," placing Lara Croft and her 10 year Anniversary among other Eidos titles already there. Now that Capcom's throwing Dante in, we should expect some beautiful kids from him and Lara. They'd make a great pair, wouldn't they? They'd have that Brad Pitt - Angelina Jolie thing going on, I reckon.
Capcom of America executive VP, Mark Beaumont stated that the move was a natural one, given that the company wants to play a more prominent role in the PC market, as NextGeneration reports.
"With the PC market becoming a larger part of our business, we're naturally focusing our attention on digital distribution. Steam is the right place for us to go with our titles. Valve has created a huge installed base of gamers who naturally fit with the profiles of the titles that Capcom develops," said Beaumont.
Capcom's first games to hit Valve's digital distribution service will be the PC versions of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Onimusha 3, Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, while all other future Capcom PC releases will also be made available through Steam.
We're witnessing the beginning of a trend here, but a necessary one, no doubt. You see, it's not only developers and publishers that have something to gain out of the whole digital distribution and pre-order deal, but us gamers too. Gameplayer took on this topic and reckoned that game preorders may lead to making them cheaper, and you know what? It sounds quite possible:
"Three major changes are stirring beneath the surface, all of them with the potential to change the face of the market. They are the growth in the sale of pre-owned games, the expansion of online retail and the emergence of a centralised global currency. Together, they could pressure the local industry to reduce the price of video games," the site posts.
Wouldn't make any difference. Future gaming systems will be even more expensive.