Capcom Ramps Up American Game Development

Capcom's not content with just being a Japanese game development institution -- they're looking to expand into Western markets even more. To that end, the company announced today that they have hired Scot Bayless, ex- of Midway, as vice president of product development.

Bayless' first goal? To develop "several new triple-A game projects over the next three years." Says Capcom executive VP Mark Beaumont:

With the addition of Scot to the Capcom team, we now have all the pieces in place to begin the next iteration of Capcom’s larger plans for international growth outside of Japan. Scot will be running new development projects for Capcom, focusing on games that appeal to the North American and European markets. This will allow us to build off our foundation of significant franchises from Japan, and broaden our portfolio to allow for the expansion of our activities in the west.

It would seem as if Capcom is waking up to the fact that developing games for the US is going to take more effort than, say, Final Fight Streetwise. Then again, with the popularity of games like Dead Rising and Lost Planet in the US, do they really need to actually develop games here to succeed here? It didn't work for Square Enix. Here's hoping Capcom gets it right.

Full release after the jump.

____SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Feb. 23,
2007 – ____Capcom Entertainment, Inc., a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced that Scot Bayless has joined the company as vice president of product development.

Bayless will assume responsibility for
Capcom’s Western development from the company’s North American headquarters in Northern California. Bayless will be heading efforts to expand the company’s software catalog in North
America and Europe, including the goal of developing several new triple-A game projects over the next three years.

“With the addition of Scot to the Capcom team, we now have all the pieces in place to begin the next iteration of
Capcom’s larger plans for international growth outside of Japan,”
said Mark Beaumont, executive vice president, officer and head of
Capcom consumer software publishing in the Americas and Europe. “Scot will be running new development projects for Capcom, focusing on games that appeal to the North American and European markets. This will allow us to build off our foundation of significant franchises from Japan, and broaden our portfolio to allow for the expansion of our activities in the west.”

Bayless has been involved in the interactive entertainment industry for nearly two decades. He has worked for software developers and publishers such as Electronic Arts, Microsoft Games,
Dynamix/Sierra and Sega of America. Bayless joins Capcom after leaving Midway
Games, where he had served as vice president of development since 2004.