Capcom 100% behind new DmC, original style may return in future

Motohide Eshiro and Hideaki Itsuno have said the team at Capcom Japan were well prepared for how fans would react when Ninja Theory's Devil May Cry was first announced.

Speaking with D'toid, the producer and director at Capcom, respectively, said the firm and Ninja Theory stand 100% behind the new entry in the DmC series.

"We knew from the start that whenever you change something like this, there's going to be some people that will be very interested in that. But it will also scare some people, and make some nervous. We kind of knew that going in, and we steeled ourselves for it," said Itsuno.

"What we didn't want to do is lose sight of our core concept. If you panic and change direction you might forget what you were trying to make to begin with and a lot of times that's how bad games get worse. What we really needed to do is stick to it, and then wait until we could get the game in front of more people and get them to understand what it's really about.

"We're just now starting to hit that point where we're getting people to play, getting more information out there. People are starting to warm up to the idea."

Itsuno also said that while DmC is a new direction for the franchise, the classic gameplay and style of the original series hasn't been thrown out with the bath water.

"We want to emphasize that we're firm believers in that opening one door does not mean that another has to close automatically," he said. "We are leaving all options on the table, so to speak. We are excited about this new iteration of DmC and are eager to get this into your hands, and we want people to play it and enjoy it. If people are still interested in exploring the other world of DmC that exists, we're happy to go back to that as well.

"We view this not as a replacement for the Devil May Cry world, but as an expansion of it. No one knowa where it will head, but we're open to all possibilities."

DmC: Devil May Cry will release on PS3 and 360 on January 15.