Devil May Cry 1 Remake Go To Market Strategy

*note this is not a real GTM deck for Devil May Cry or Capcom. This is created purely as an example of strategic thinking. Any similarities to upcoming games are purely concidence

Marketing Strategy and Franchise Narrative

A mysterious woman enters the Devil May Cry shop and attacks Dante to test his skills. An impeding demon known as Mundus is coming to destroy the human world. He is a demon that Dante’s father sealed in the past and is now coming for his revenge. Can Dante gain the strength to defeat Mundus and the demon army that he is bringing to destroy the human world? Play as Dante, a cool Devil Hunter, as he journeys into the Demon World to face off against demons, gain awesome weapons, and save the world!
Tie to upcoming Headlining event or Capcom showcase during the Summer time period. Ex: Tokyo Game Show
- Teaser: Return to the game started this epic franchise. Showcase descending order from DMC5 ->DMC4 ->DMC3-> DMC2 ->DMC1

Why remake Devil May Cry 1?

The Devil May Cry franchise has become one of biggest hallmark. With the popularity of the new Devil May Cry Netflix show and the massive success of Devil May Cry 5 (over 10 million units sold) means fans are very invested in the series. With the original game being a PS2 title, a remake 3 generations later would appeal to newer and older fans of Devil May Cry. source: https://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/news/html/e250613.html

What was great about Devil May Cry 1 to consumers? What category is it?

Devil May Cry is one of the original character action games (Bayonetta, Nier Automata, Metal Gear Rising: Revengence). There were many weapons, fun bosses, fun gameplay, and interesting character designs. The combo style systems have become more popular than ever. In addition, the world and level layouts are similar to Resident Evil which is a popular franchise. The Story is easy to understand and introduces Dante and Trish to players although the personality traits become more defined in later titles.

Target Audience

	Devil May Cry Fans	Action Player Fans	Fans of the Show
Psychographic	– Fans want a new DMC experience – DMC 1 is an old game and would like a modern version of the game – More DMC games	-People want a more active game that requires more focus but wants a single player experience – More skill combat type of game where they can express themselves	– Fans want to experience the games after watching the show – Playing a modern version of DMC1 with an easier experience than the PS2 original
Demographic	– Millennials and Boomers who started the franchise from the PS2 era – Male: 80% Females: 20%	– Primarily male demographic	– Male and female fans of the show
Behavioral	– highly engaged with video games – Buys merchandise or similar games to DMC – Most likely X and YouTube	– highly engaged with video games – Most likely X and YouTube – More likely to share their content with others	– likely to game once a week – Listens to metal music – More often using Instagram and Tiktok
Comp Titles	– Monster Hunter – Final Fantasy – Dark Souls	– Street Fighter – Guilty Gear – Sekiro – Elden Ring	– ZZZ

What can be improved for the remake?

The fixed camera angles should be fixed for a more free movement camera similar to Devil May Cry 5 and 4. Players would often have difficulties fighting enemies when the perspective would change suddenly. We can also increase the weapon changing speed. The Devil Trigger form can also be added into the original game as it was not the same color scheme but rather weapon based. With the story more defined later, it can add more clearer connections to later series.

Strengths

Devil May Cry is an incredible popular and more relevant than ever thanks to the anime and DMC5.
Character actions are more common so it’s easier for newcomers to try out the game
Easier to remake a title than a new DMC now that Itsuno has left
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/devil-may-cry-dragons-dogma-director-hideaki-itsuno-explains-why-he-left-capcom-and-whats-next/

Weakness

The story is lacking in comparison to the later series
Experienced players may finish the game too quickly. Some people will not want to pay full price since the game is short
Story structure may be confusing as DMC 3 is the starting point

Opportunity

If it sells well, perhaps we can remake the other PS2 Devil May Cry games
Continue to build a strong IP for Capcom

Threats

Depending on the price, people may avoid purchasing the title
People expect a slower price for Devil May Cry now that the titles are older

Marketing Challenges and Mitigations

Core fans may not want to return to DMC 1 as it’s more sparse than current modern DMC 5/ Ensure fans that there is more content than the original PS2 version

DMC1 is available on all consoles, why would they buy a remake? Market new features and QoL improvements for the game itself
Fans of the show may find the game too difficult to enter/ market accessibility features that ease the game/skill barrier
Fans of the story may not want to start on DMC 1/ Ensure story beats are connected more to the franchise than the original DMC1 now that the story is more streamlined

THANK YOU!

Why The Game Awards Impact Game Sales

It’s another year of The Game Awards hosted by the host, Geoff Keighley, to see who will receive awards voted by gamers across the world. The Game Awards has always been a great fan voted show but for gaming companies, it’s a great time for sales and marketing. Every company hopes their games are nominated in some sort of fashion; not for clout or prestige, but rather the influence it has on gamers to purchase their titles. With over 10 million viewers and growing each year, The Game Awards are a chance for bigger sales, especially so close to the end of the quarter.

If you notice on the Gaming Consoles and PC, you’ll notice The Game Award Sales now. Companies are happy to set their title on sale to align with their nomination. If anything, these nominations help viewers know what game is actually “good” and worth spending their hard earned money on. Obviously, opinions will differ from person to person but to the gaming companies, they are just happy to earn a thousands of dollars.

For the gamers/viewers, The Game Awards are a good chance to speak their opinions and nominate their own personal GOTY. Even open discussions on social media like X, Facebook, Reddit or whatever is great because it allows people to discuss their feelings and what may have ignored or their overall excitement and hope that their favorite may win. Developers like Kzutaka Kodaka, saw the amount of discussion regarding his title: The Hundred Line, and how people felt it should have been nominated. Their happiness of the discussion is always nice and while their titles may not have been nominated, the amount of discussion can lead to more sales for games.

While some will criticize The Game Awards for just being a trailer push for Developers and awards that “don’t matter,” it’s one of the biggest sale times for Game companies and every one of them are hoping you spend your dollars on them.

The Last of Us Part 2 will have no Multiplayer Mode

Naugthy Dog announced that The Last of Us Part 2 will not feature multiplayer. Although the previous title had it, the developers wanted to focus more on the single player narrative for Ellie. You can see their official statement below.

An update regarding multiplayer: https://t.co/CUd98LgJGC—
Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) September 27, 2019

While this may be disappointing to fans who enjoyed the multiplayer, single player games are having a huge resurgence in popularity; especially PlayStation exclusive games. While some people complained the multiplayer exclusion was Naught Dog being lazy, some people also complained the 1st games multiplayer felt tacked on.

There will be some multiplayer in the future, it just won’t be for the game. Perhaps a cheaper multiplayer Faction mode in late 2020?

The Last of Us Part 2 comes out Feb. 21, 2020.

Shenmue Backers Won’t Get a Refund if You want the PS4 Version

Shenmue 3 kickstarter backers received news that they will not receive their refunds if they changed which version of the game they wanted. People who wanted the PC version of the game were unhappy about Shenmue 3 being an Epic Game Exclusive. The Epic Game store has many controversies among the gaming community for its poor interface, failing to launch the game, and security issues regarding purchases.

Backers who were frustrated could apply for a refund if they no longer wanted to receive the PC copy of the game. However, if they switched from the PC copy to the PlayStation 4 copy of the game, they will receive no refund according to Ys Net.

This has angered fans as the instructions for refunds weren’t clear until this last weekend. The full refund option wasn’t available until the weekend as well so backers were forced to wait or change their Epic Copy to a PS4 copy.

If backers wanted, they could have waited a year after the game’s release on the Epic Game store to receive a Steam Code for Shenmue 3. However, Ys Net is unable to guarantee backers will receive the code due to negotiations with Valve. There is also a possibility there will be no Steam version depending on negotiations.

Shenmue 3 comes out on November 19th for the Epic Game Store and PlayStation 4.

Source

Kickstarter