October 16, 2002
Capcom's Mikami blasts Sony/Square

In a recent off-the-cuff outburst, famed Capcom mastermind Shinji MIkami (Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, Devil May Cry) railed against Sony and Square during an interview with a Japanese radio station. He criticized the console manufacturer for its problem-prone Playstation 2 and PS-X consoles, stating that the frequesnt breakdowns were partly responsible for the system's good sales. He said that he himself had to buy two sets of each because of the poor quality of the CD lens.

Consumers here and abroad have experienced this problem with Sony products before the debut of the Playstation. Mikami even went so far as to say that the company has intentionally not corrected the problem in order to force people continually to buy the platforms - a practice known as "planned obsolescence."

Game Informer contacted Sony of America regarding Mikami's comments, but it stood by its product, saying, "The Playstation family of products are some of the best examples of Sony's commitment to quiality and excellence." As for the Resident Evil maker himself, Sony stated diplomatically, "Mikami-san from Capcom is one of the best creators our industry has ever produced and we highly respect his opinion." We wonder if, behind the scenes, this will have any effecton which console Capcom and Mikami turn to for future titles.

Finally, he expressed frustration that Square's "Kingdom Hearts" on the PS2 sold better than his Gamecube remake of RE in Japan. He blamed this on the fact that people bought "Kingdom Hearts" because of the hype surrounding the game. One has to wonder what hype had to do with Makami snaring Gamecube fans with the re-release of a title that's already five years old.


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[Thanks to Game Informer Magazine for the above information]