Report: Capcom Looks To Widen Paid DLC Offerings

Paid downloadable content is becoming an increasingly important part of game industry revenue streams, but Japanese publishers have been lagging behind their Western counterparts in achieving that particular kind of aftermarket monetization. Now, Capcom -- which in this generation has been seen as one of the most progressive Japanese publishers -- says it plans to boost its paid DLC output to increase revenue per title and to "get players playing for a long time." "Once a game has been purchased, it's not the end," said CEO Haruhiro Tsujimoto, as reported in an Andriasang translation of a Fuji Sankei Business Eye interview. "It's essential that we create a system to get players playing for a long time," he added. To that end, Tsujimoto said Capcom is looking at ways to take salable content to multiple platforms. According to the report, he was referring in particular to chunks of downloadable content; Capcom already has experience with subscription-based online models like the one it employs for Monster Hunter Frontier on PC and Xbox 360. The company has already announced Dead Rising: Case Zero, a paid downloadable "prologue" chapter to Dead Rising 2. While Dead Rising 2 itself is a full-priced game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, Case Zero is a $5 standalone download set to launch only on Xbox 360 later this month.