Capcom
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher founded to design, create, and sell video games. The company was created under the name I.R.M. Corporation in 1979 by Kenzo Tsujimoto, who was also president of Irem at the time. I.R.M. formed a subsidiary called Japan Capsule Computers Co., Ltd. In 1981, I.R.M. changed names to Sambi Co., Ltd., and in 1983, Japan Capsule Computers was shortened to Capcom. In 1989, Sambi and Capcom merged and kept the name Capcom.
Capcom really had a problem with figuring out the correct level of difficulty. Even many of their games target toward children, like Little Nemo: The Dream Master were obscenely hard, even for veteran gamers. Occasionally the designers would go the other route and make a particularly easy game like Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers, but only very rarely were able to dial the difficulty in just right and make a game that is challenging, but not ridiculous, like DuckTales. Capcom also had a problem with their early NES games where they made horrible manuals.
Personal
During the NES era, Capcom had, in my opinion, had the system's best graphic work and most advanced sound engine. Also, unlike most companies, Capcom consistently released solid games, even when making 3rd party titles, which was rare. However, despite having superior art and sound, Capcom ranks as my second-favorite game designer of the era, falling short to Nintendo. There are two main reasons why Capcom isn't my favorite: their games were usually plagued by obnoxious difficulty levels, and their games were more formulaic and less intriguing than Nintendo's. I'm less familiar with Capcom's work after the 16-bit era. One of the things I definitely have to give Capcom credit for is, like Tecmo, when they ported their arcade games to home consoles, they changed them to be more conducive to home play. Examples include Bionic Commando, Section-Z, and Willow. The first four games Capcom released for the NES were ported by Micronics, which produced lack-luster conversions. Thankfully, Capcom wised up and produced all their subsequent games in-house.
Games
These are the games Capcom worked on that are important to me. For all Capcom games, see the categories for games developed or published.
Media
Box Layouts
During the NES era, Capcom released all of their North American games with a standardized box design which was redesigned a couple times.
1986-1987. The neon grid just screams 1980s. It's actually quite good looking for action games, which accounted for every game that used this layout, but it reduces the amount of visible art.
1988. This was only used for two games. It shows more art, but it's rather dull.
1988-1993. The purple border is probably the most iconic Capcom NES box because it was used for the longest period and included their biggest hits. The layout is simple, but it's instantly recognizable.
1993-1994. The purple layout was redesigned at the end of 1993 when Nintendo of America demanded all games be published through them and required a red "Nintendo Entertainment System" line at the top of each box. I think this is the best layout.
Documentation
Arcade flyer for Final Fight and 1941.
Videos
Staff
These are people who worked at Capcom whose work I appreciate.
Links
