TGS: Capcom Unveils Ninja Theory's Devil May Cry, Blue Castle Acquisition

At a Gamasutra-attended Tokyo Game Show press event, major publisher Capcom unveiled three new projects -- most notably, a new Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 installment of its Devil May Cry franchise as reimagined by UK Enslaved developer Ninja Theory. At the same time, the publisher said it'd trail the upcoming release of Blue Castle's Dead Rising 2 with Xbox 360-exclusive add-on content entitled Case West -- but this isn't the only continuance of Capcom's relationship with the studio. In fact, Capcom announced at the event that it will acquire Blue Castle, and work together with it to create a new studio. "Needless to say there are still details to work out, and the paperwork hasn't been signed, but we've reached an agreement on it and we're moving forward," said Capcom's Keiji Inafune at the publisher's TGS presentation. "We will call this new part of the Capcom family Capcom Games Studio Vancouver." Case West will feature co-op play with characters Frank West and Chuck Greene. "We were able to forge a very good relationship with Blue Castle through this process, and I think that will come through when you play the game -- and we'd like to move forward and continue the global strategy," said Inafune. Its intention to work with Western developers and pursue globalization is a strategy line that Capcom has been vocal about for some time now, after closing 2009 with a 70 percent profit drop and continuing to struggle in its first quarter of 2010. "We're really honored that Inafune sees such potential in us, and we take this responsibility very seriously as well," said Blue Castle president Rob Barrett. "... Capcom games have a flavor, and we made sure that was in this game." Ninja Theory's trailer for the new Devil May Cry, presented simply as "DmC" without a franchise installment numeral, is considerably different in visual style and tone than previous entries; the company says the game will "retain the series’ signature mix of sword and gunplay but add additional weapons, all new powers and a revitalized gameplay system." The game will star, but also reimagine, central figure Dante. Finally, Capcom revealed that it's teaming with Japanese developer CyberConnect2 on Xbox 360 and PS3 title Asura's Wrath, described as a dramatic, dynamic action title inspired by a blend of Asian mythology and science fiction.