Capcom was established by Kenzo Tsujimoto in 1979 as a manufacturor and distributor of games machines. You probably don't know this but the name "Capcom" derives from "Capsule" and "Computer". Be sure to amaze your friends with this uselss bit of gaming trivia :) Anyway, back to Capcom. The company really started to get noticed 5 years later, in 1984 with arcade games Vulgus (vertical scrolling shooter), Son Son (2-player action game) and 1942 (classic aircraft shooter). They continued success in the arcades through the next year with hits like Exed Eyes and Gun Smoke, a Wild West game.

But in 1987, gaming history would be changed forever with the birth of 2D fighting as we know it. Street Fighter debuted in the arcade, beginning one of the most-loving series which would go on to sell over 500,000 arcade units and 24 million games. In fact, I believe the series holds the record for highest number of games with over 30 incarnations of the game released in its 15 year life (and counting!). As if starting one successful series wasn't enough, 1987 also saw the debut of Megaman via his NES game. The blue star has kind of a cult following, despite recent not-so-good steps into 3D.

For the next years Capcom stayed pretty quiet by their standards, although they begun scrolling beat-em-ups with the release of Final Fight, a classic. But in 1991 they once again made headlines. And those headlines screamed "Street Fighter 2!". The sequel remains one of the great beat-em-ups in gaming history, considered by many to bo the pinnacle of 2D fighting. Over the next two years two refined versions of the game were released, adding new gameplay bits and characters. And of course there was the movie in '94. In 1995 Capcom released Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness, a popular 2D fighter with mech robots that reled haevily on a storyline.

And then, in 1996, survival horror came of age. Although many argue PC game Alone In The Dark created the genre, there's no doubt Resident Evil refined it and popularised it beyond anyones expectations. With 20 million copies of the games sold worldwide, no-one would argue against survival horror "being" Capcom. And while Resi did the rounds in'96, Capcom also released the first proper 3D fighting game, Star Gladiator. The next year saw the first of the Marvel vs Capcom games released, pitting Spiderman and his mates against Capcoms own. The game was very popular. Mega Man also shoke off his 2D reigns with his 3D debut on the Saturn.

The sequel to the classic Resident Evil, RE 2, was released. It was a smash-hit of epic poportions, sowing the seed for many further sequels. The Playstations Rival Schools also saw a release that year, as good a 3D fighter as ever. Jurassic Park meets Resident Evil was on the cards for 1999, in the form of Dino Crisis, a more story-driven survival horro that had you battling raptors rather than zombies. It was intended as a filler between Resi 2 & 3 but was so good it started a series of its own. That year was also the year that proper 3D fighting got the recognition it deserved with the Dreamcasts Powerstone.

The millenium year was a year of sequels for Capcom. The third Resi game came out on the PS, the fourth on Dreamcast, and Marvel vs Capcom got its sequel. The two Resident Evils, Nemesis and Code Veronica, strengthed the series both rousing success'. Having done survival horror with zombies and dinos, Capcom did it for 16th century Chinese medievil with Oniushu Warlords. Yet another series was born. Street Fighter also got tooled up for the next generation with EX3 on the PS2. This year has seen the superb Maximo, a kind of 3D Ghosts and Ghouls, Onimushus sequel on Xbox, the latest Capcom vs SNKs on PS2 and GameCube. Oh, and there's a certain GameCube Resident Evil.

And you can be sure that with a legacy like that, Capcom will go from strength to strength, further establishing themselves as publishing and developing giants.

Track History
Capcom are one of the biggest games companies, especially in Japan. One of their many strengths has always been games franchises. Series' like Street Fighter, Resident Evil and mega Man have been around for ages, joining newer franchises like Dino Crisis, Onimushu and Powerstone. But while other companies like to milk franchises for all they're worth, ignoring quality, choosing to pump the games out as fast as possible *cough*EA*cough*, Capcom take a more respectable approach. Like Nintendo, each game must pass quality-control tests, Capcom would never let a bad Resi Evil through the net. In fact, Resident Evil 2 was about 70% complete when it was ordered to be scrapped and started over from scratch. Apparently, it wasn't shaping up too good, and instead we got the brilliant game we know as the sequel.

And while reinforcing their franchise, they create new ones that maybe start as a one-off or a filler but spawn a whoel new series. They're that good. It's that commitment to qualty that makes sure revered and loved franchises always keep loyal fans happy, and loved characters are never dragged through the mud. They also are masters of certain genres. They popularised and refined survival horror with resident Evil and continue to branch the genre out with games like Dino Crisis and Onimushu. They are also masters of 2D fighting, no-one does it like Capcom. Street Fighter started it and continued to perfect it, while other games like Marvel vs Capcom and Capcom vs SNK pull in different characters and scenarios that offer something slightly different with fighting.

Capcom are miles ahead of most of their rivals, focusing on game quality as much as the business side of things. By paying equal attention to both side of the industry they have ensured their top-quality games will continue to grow and expand. Top stuff.

GameCube Releases
The brilliant remake of the original scarefest, Resident Evil, has been highly acclaimed and is sure to become on of, if not the, best GameCube games out over here. The fighting situation on GC has got a whole lot better with the arrival of the superb Capcom vs SNK EO too. Not much mind you, only two games, but both are the best at what they do.

Capcom vs SNK EO
OK, OK, so it isn't technically out here yet but it's being released in 2 days, so it may as well. Capcom are 2D beat-em-up veterans so it's no surprise that this was top quality stuff. Like many other of Capcoms 2D beat-em-ups, CvS EO mixs up the cream of the fighting genre crop in one hell of a game, we've famous faces like Ryu and Ken as well as less famous ones from games like Rival Schools and Final Fight. Despite some control problems (an Arcade Stick really is a far better option) it plays like a dream and any fighting fan should immediately pick this up on its release.

Not Released In Europe

Resident Evil
Oh baby. Capcom have redone the classic original in the series in fitting style. Only around 30% of the game is from the PS version, all the rest has been added. New areas, a new character, some deeper story delving have been chucked in along with an upped difficulty level (zombies can now run faster and actually open door and climb stairs) . It has been given a graphical overhaul that will take your breath away. Amazing lighting coupled with a much darker look makes the game that bit more atmospheric. Damn terrifying, you can get your hands on this on Friday 13th next month.

In The Pipeline
The Resident Evil series is exclusive to us folks so future releases from Capcom are nothing to worry about. As well as ports of RE2, 3, and Code Veronica we're getting the highly-awaited RE prequel, Resident Evil Zero and the next step in the series, RE 4. Oh, and there's the mysterious Glass Rose.

Resident Evil Zero
Formerly on the N64 until its technical limitations forced capcom to shift it to GameCube, RE Zero takes place at the very beginning of the whole thing, explaining what happened to the original STARS team and revealing just how Umbrella turned everybody into zombies. As hard as it is to believe, it looks even better then the originals remake and despite not changing things too much, a character zapping system and the ability to drop items anywhere give Resi veterans something a little different. But it doesn't stray too far from the classic formula. We won't be getting it until early '03 though.

Resident Evil 2
Strange deaths and sightings of mysterious monsters in the apparently-peaceful racoon City begin what is arguably the best in the series before GameCube came along, expanding on the original while retaining a high fright level. The two characters, Leon and Claire battle their way through a monster-filled Police Station and its surrounding areas. One of RE2s best bits was how the actions of one character would affect the other characters side of the game. Also, more emphasis was put on the story, making it more involving and detailed than the original, and there were unlockable extras. Expect an unchanged version next year.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
The Nemesis, an unstoppable, terrifying monster is following you through the zombie-filled streets of the forsaken Racoon City. What do you do? RE 3 give you the choices, changing the story as you go along. This game also added things like 1080 turns, auto-aiming and a dodge move which all come in handy when legions of the undead are clawing at your throat. As Jill Valentine you travelled the streets of Racoon City which, shock, is overrun with zombies. The graphics were a big step up from Resi 2, with those jaggies seen to, and more detailed environments. As good as ever, we'll be getting an unchanged version.

Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Being on the Dreamcast (and later the PS2) obviously meant it looked better than previous Resis, with gorgeous backgrounds and richly detailed characters and zombies, making a shotgun blast to the head even more satisfying. The game took a more actiony/adventurey take on the series than classic horror, especially when it came to the top-end story-telling FMVs. But that's not to stay the basics of a Resi game has been ingnored, CV stays true to the original formula in many ways. But new monsters have been added (as well as the garden-variety zombies tinkered with), it's all good. Unchanged, next year.

Resident Evil 4
Oh baby, this is the one we're all waiting for. Absolutely nothing has been revealed about the next step in the series but we are all salvitating at the prospect. With Zero simply bending the rules a little, many expect, and hope, that number 4 will break the rules and come up with its own. Although technically it isn't the fourth in the series, it's (not counting Directors Cuts etc.) the fifth. But whether it's the fourth or not, this is going to be massive . We'll probably be seeing it this time next year. I cannot wait.

Auto Modellista
Capcom announced their cel-shaded racer would be heading for gameucbe some while back, but we've seen neither head nor tail of the game since, leading some to believe it has been canned. Hell, many sites haven't even mentioned it. I hope it hasn't because its dynamic visual style would make the game quite a treat.

Glass Rose
Only two things are known about this game. 1) It's coming to GameCube and 2) PS2 also. Anything from Capcom is welcome though, so chances are it'll be great.

3 new games
What's this? A look at the list for games at the Tokyo Games Show (September 20th) reveals that Capcom have 3 new games for GameCube on show. What could they be? Devil May Cry? Dino Crisis? Who knows, but we'll find out in a few weeks.

Verdict
In their 15 years in the industry Capcom have influenced many, many games and always produced games to the best of their ability. It seems despite their heavy market presence, especially in Japan, they haven't strayed from their roots of making damn good games. The Resi Evil exclusivity is brilliant, brilliant news and combined with a few other projects, make sure Capcom are one Industry Giant everyone should be taking their hat off to.