"Resident Evil 4 is no longer exclusive to the Nintendo Gamecube." With this announcement, keys of enraged Nintendo fans worldwide were battered with words and furious anger. And with tired predictability, the insults came flurrying in. Accusations of betrayal and treachery on Capcom's part were made, while other posters went with less articulate responses. "Capcom are fucking retards!" proclaimed one obviously intelligent, measured individual. How utterly, utterly selfish.

What some people fail to realise is that the games business is just that: a business. These publishers need to make money if they want to stay in business and keep making games. I know it's always dreary to reduce something as wonderful and magical as games to simple products, but when it comes to balancing the books that is what it comes down to. In any creative-based industry, we do need to usually look beyond these things and focus on the worth of what's being produced, but sometimes there's a limit. Sometimes it's about the numbers.

Is that the situation Capcom found themselves in? I don't know, but they weren't doing fantastic. Sales were done. The gaming industry is becoming increasingly hostile and risky, allowing some companies to prosper while others feel the pressure. Capcom were feeling pressure, so they had to do something to help themselves. They need higher profits, which means more sales, which means getting your titles to as many gamers as possible. Viewtiful Joe was the first to lose the GC exclusivity shackles and hop onto the PS2, now Resident Evil. It's not surprising really; the Resident Evil is probably the franchise most gamers identify Capcom with. The lickers and the shock moments have entered gaming lore, while the series practically made survival horror's success. It has spawned two films and the upcoming version looks to be something quite special indeed. So RE4 has the potential for success and, logically, you'd want as many people as possible to be able to play it. Why, then, would you limit it to the smallest current home console audience, when there's a whole sea of PS2 owners out there with disposable income? Really, it's just the smart thing to do.

Many of the complaints lodged against Capom revolve on the somehow going back on their words, lying to us Nintendo fans with their famous 'Capcom Five' press conference. Did they have the intention of keeping these titles exclusive to Gamecube, as they said they would? Perhaps, although one can never be totally sure. But it would be unfair to expect Capcom to straitjacket themselves with these words, when the business reality changes. Truth is, I think most people were feeling a buzz about Gamecube around that time. Nintendo looked like they were really fighting back, with big companies like Konami, Capcom and Square coming back, and big new titles on the way. But this vision has faded over time, leaving us with just broken bits of hope and a big empty sigh. Capcom are just reacting to this.

So they decided to bail, if only just in little bits. What would the complainers rather they do, linger onto the Gamecube as it passed by most gamers, unnoticed? Risk their financial stability just to appease a bunch of Nintendo fans? I'd rather the company piss off a few fans if that meant staying here for another day. Capcom are one of the bastions of the games industry, if not in terms of financial prowess then certainly with heritage and game quality. It was Capcom that produced Viewtiful Joe, one of the most refreshing and endearing games this generation, and easily one of the best in recent years. Poor business decisions jeopardise future Viewtiful Joes. So screw it, let the fanboys whine. Some things are more important.

Any anger over the situation should not be Capcom, but Nintendo. Quite simply, the onus isn't on developers to develop for Gamecube, it is on Nintendo to craft a console developers will want to make games for. They have failed to do so. After the initial buzz, Gamecube is, let's be honest here, floundering. It just passes by the massmarket, hindered by a kiddie image and infinitely more appealing competition. Truly killer games have, on the whole, failed to materialise. We've had some really impressive titles, yes (Metroid Prime, Resident Evil, Viewtiful Joe etc.) but nothing to stand out and grab the massmarket by the throat (see my last edition, Reaching Out, for more). There's a lot of recycling going on with Nintendo's flagship franchises, made worse by the disappointing quality of the latest iterations (Mario Kart Double Dash being the biggest offender). So much was promised, but relatively little was achieved. If anyone should feel cheated, it's Capcom.

As a recent great N-Sider editorial so rightly concluded, Nintendo's policies concerning their franchises is an intransigent one, and one which guarantees they'll only ever appeal to an increasingly shrinking audience. Their aversion to try things the massmarket might actually find attractive, to take risks with their games (unquestionably the source of the company's past prestige), to reach out beyond the loyal fanbase all diminish the Gamecube's hopes of paving a way into peoples' homes. And who wants to make a game only this small crowd will be able to play?

The counterargument is that the presence of RE4 on the GC would have persuaded people to buy the console, making these other problems irrelevant. It seems logical, but stands up to little scrutiny. Few games can sell a system on it's own, and I don't think RE4 is one of them. Halo sold the Xbox (heck, even I bought one for the shooter, and am glad I did) and Grand Theft Auto is selling the PS2 (according to anecdotal evidence). Yes, RE4 looks impressive, but not that impressive. And, arguably, the series' prowess has faded over the years. RE4 is one of those games that can sell the Gamecube, if only backed up by a system that people can warm to. GC doesn't seem to be that. Here's a conversation with my PS2-owning friend that I suspect isn't atypical:

"You should check out the new Resident Evil game."
"New Resident Evil game?"
"Yeah, Resident Evil 4. It looks really cool. And it's exclusive to Gamecube."
"Really? Ah, damn."
"What? You should buy a Gamecube for it, they're pretty cheap these days."
"Nah, I don't think so."
"Oh come on, why not?"
"Because."
"Because what?"
"It's, well�a Gamecube."
"So?"
"So, it's Gamecube. I'm not buying a kids console."

I doubted he would be persuaded; further conversing proved me right. A few gamers on the edge might've been swayed by RE4, but otherwise, it's hard to see it going crossplatform making a huge sales impact. Depressing, but true.

All this isn't to say I'm not as peeved by what's happened as the next Nintendo fan. The writing may have been on the wall for months, but it still stung. I'd say I'm angry but, truthfully, my anger is already spent. Anger at Nintendo for going after the Japanese big guns but leaving smaller developers in the cold, anger at a lacklustre marketing campaign, anger at the shoddy treatment of classic IPs and anger at another bloomin' Mario Party this Christmas. All I've got left is frustration, discontent and maybe just a smidge of bitterness.

The loss of RE4 brings Gamecube's list of worthy exclusives down yet another notch, leaving us with little to look forward to on the console for the next year, with only one, the stunning-looking Legend of Zelda, capable of hitting out at competitors. Will it do so? Well, that's a question for another day.

Right now all that's left to say is to remind the haters of why Capcom is, at its heart, so good: Viewtiful Joe, Killer 7, Zelda The Minish Cap, Oracle of Ages/Seasons, Street Fighter. Do they really deserve the spite they received? They are guilty of little besides buying into a dream propelled by Nintendo, and keeping an eye on the books. If you don't depart a drowning ship, rodent or not, you will drown.

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