As part of their 2006 fiscal year reporting, Capcom released sales numbers that prove that Japan hasn't been feeling Lost Planet or Dead Rising. According to their numbers, both games sold pretty well in North America and Europe, Dead Rising selling 730,000 and Lost Planet selling 810,000 copies in North America alone. But Japan is another story all together as both games have yet to sell even 100,000 copies, which makes up for less than 10% of each games' total sales. We understand that both Lost Planet and Dead Rising were geared towards Western audiences, so less than fantastic Japanese sales were a given. But we didn't think Japanese gamers would avoid these gems like the black plague. Don't worry though, Lost Planet or Dead Rising, we still love you and you can crash on our couch anytime you want.

Keije Inafune, who broke away from the legacy of Mega Man with Dead Rising and Lost Planet, says a next-gen Mega Man would be a financial gamble. He estimates a next-gen title starring the blue bomber would cost approximately $15 million. This is the part where it gets weird. Inafune says that from a producer standpoint he's worried about recouping the cost of development and more than once says he's waiting for someone rich to come along and fund it -- and it doesn't have to be Capcom.

"I'm not even saying it has to be Capcom money. It could be EA, actually. I should say a company we have ties with, so maybe Rockstar," Inafune said in an interview with 1UP (video after the break). He believes, from a producer standpoint, the financial risks are too great to make a new Mega Man and says, "Realistically, I would have to say, I would be worried if it would recoup the money we spend."

After that the interview turns into questions about Mega Man Legends 3 and having Inafune draw for the reporters. It is interesting to see the man behind the blue bomber say that a next-gen Mega Man would be a financial gamble. Has the series lost any type of solid financial backing? Is Capcom taking a breather from spending money and upgrading the series to next-gen by focusing on other IPs? Could Inafune just be sick of doing Mega Man? What we do know is that Inafune has plenty on his plate right now with sequels to Dead Rising and the rumored Lost Planet follow up.

If you're thinking Frank West's wardrobe is getting a tad stale, then we've got a couple of free clothing options for you. Up on the Marketplace you can download three new locker keys for Dead Rising that'll unlock three outfits including a pure white suit, stripe outfit, and an accountant look. Old Frank will feel like a new man! All three outfits are free and ready for download, so plop in Dead Rising and be sure to have Frank try on the white suit. It may get blood stained really fast, but killing zombies will have never looked so good!

Sure, Capcom can't fix the tiny-text or give us that delicious co-op rumor, but they sure can give us more outfits for Frank West in Dead Rising. Major Nelson tells us that Capcom released some free goodies and some micro-pain-ment things.

The free stuff is a Pure White Suit, Stripe Suit and Accountant Suit. The stuff they'll charge you for is "to celebrate Dead Rising and Lost Planet reaching a million" units sold. There are four theme packs being sold for 150 MS points ($1.87) each. Yup, that's a way to show gratitude, celebrate people purchasing your game by charging them more. We're just going to ignore that slap in the face by saying we'll be happy when we get some information on Dead Rising 2.

GameCareerGuide.com gives Dead Rising a New Yorker Magazine-style treatment and goes all highbrow in reminiscing about the title. Dead Rising occupies a very strange place in gaming. It was obviously a hit and talks of a sequel were already in the works a week after the game premiered. But, putting aside the tiny-text and the punishing save system, those horrors were eclipsed by Otis and that walkie-talkie.

There's plenty of "drinks at the Palm" moments in the piece. Like you'll have to read all three pages to understand what this quote actually means, "Dead Rising has, as you might put it, a profoundly 'old-school' sensibility -- a pre-Miyamoto one, even. Its goal is to recapture what once made video games entertaining, by getting rid of many of the institutionalized assumptions that have made them boring, or frustrating, or arbitrary."

Highbrow analysis aside, Dead Rising certainly was a game where the concept was in the right place, along with the writing, the heart, the brains -- mmmm, brains. It was the structure of the game that hurt, especially the menacing way you failed for missing one of those picky, picky case files. The GCG piece actually explains that one should think of Dead Rising as a classic game where you should expect to play it through on one life. Fail? Well, then you should start over. Yeah, the piece gets weird, but that's because you have "institutionalized assumptions" about what to expect from a game. Read the piece and then come back to let us know what you think -- we know you will.

Capcom's director of strategic planning Christian Svensson commented on their official forums to whether or not Dead Rising or Lost Planet would be appearing on the PS3 or Wii in the future. Bluntly put, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Svensson says that both games are "not slated to appear on Wii or PS3 as far as current plans go" going on to say that he is "bound by NDAs on these matters so I can't divulge why this is the situation". We guess that with the Playstation 3 losing exclusives left and right, it's fair to question whether any of our previously thought Xbox 360 exclusives may be headed for multi-platform. But, in this case, we're happy to report that both Dead Rising and Lost Planet are pretty much locked up to stay 360 exclusives for the long haul.

[Via Joystiq]

At least "as far as current plans go." So says Capcom's senior director of strategic planning and research, Christian Svensson, posting on the official Capcom forums in the midst of a Devil May Cry outcry. When asked by fans whether the company's new mulitplatform strategy would extend to their pair of successful Xbox 360 titles, Svensson explains that "Dead Rising and Lost Planet are not slated to appear on Wii or PS3," noting that the reasons for the continued exclusivity "are quite convoluted" and are bound by a slew of suspicious non-disclosure agreements.

He goes on to say that Capcom's current approach -- which sees Resident Evil 5 and Devil May Cry 4 coming to both PS3 and Xbox 360 -- is for future titles and isn't meant to be applied in a "retroactive" manner. Of course, this comes just days after Svensson used the forum to respond to sulking petitioners and their disdain for Devil May Cry gracing multiple platforms.

"We are certainly moved that people are so passionate about our products that they would go to such extremes," he said in a seperate thread. "At the same time we feel that allowing more people access to our content pleases far more people than it displeases (after all, we're not denying DMC4 to anyone that was already going to get it). It really is the best decision for the company and for consumers."

Apparently, Dead Rising and Lost Planet simply missed the multiplatform boat.

[Thanks, mocoworm]

Those of you looking to get your groove on while chilling in a mall and massacring zombies now have you chance, as the Original Soundtrack for Dead Rising has been announced. Ordering online will also net you a snazzy T-Shirt designed by Yoshiki Takahashi, who did the layout for the Kill Bill posters. It seems to be limited edition as our Babelfishery indicates there are only producing 2000 sets. If you buy it now, it will cost you a little over fifty bucks, but there are talks of the soundtrack making its way to Europe and North America. Did you enjoy Dead Rising enough to want to pick up some cool swag and its tunes?

[Via QJ.net]

Keeping the rumor mill a twirling, Xboxic received word that in the latest issue of EGM they reporting that Capcom has co-op aspirations for Dead Rising. EGM says that when Dead Rising comes to the platinum hits catalog that it will include a new online co-op feature. At the same time there will be a co-op patch downloadable via the XBLM for current Dead Rising owners, but it will not be free. Do you think an online co-op patch could breathe new life into an aging Dead Rising or would you be dead set (get it?) against paying extra for the option via a download? Come on ... spill your guts!

Capcom was passed over for awards by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences again this year. Granted, they didn't have any stellar outings in 2006 like they did with 2005's Resident Evil 4, but that didn't stop Gamespot from poking Capcom and pouring lemon juice on their paper-cut.

As Gamespot puts it, "This year, when the nominations for the 10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards were announced, two titles that gamers noticed were missing were a critically-lauded pair from Capcom -- Okami and Dead Rising." You know, Okami, the Zelda-like game about a wolf that Capcom supported so much they shut down the studio that created it. And the "criticially-lauded" Dead Rising? Gamers may have been critical of Dead Rising, but the lauded portion is a stretch. For every good thing (and the good was amazing!), Dead Rising compensated by giving us two bad.

Anyway, when all is said and done, Capcom is not a member of the AIAS and needs to pay its dues to be nominated. AIAS confirmed to Gamespot that publishers Tecmo, Majesco and Eidos are also not members, accordingly they did not get nominations. This issue should be pretty cut and dry for Capcom, just pay the AIAS if you want a chance at a trophy to place on the mantel for polishing between Mega Man releases.

Once again landing in the gap between video games and reality, the Mega 64 boys find themselves covering a zombie outbreak in a mall. Follow the real Frank West as he takes "FANTASTIC!" photos, protects those with poor pathfinding abilities and deals with annoying security guards. He's covered wars, you know.

[Thanks Jay & Braith. More Mega 64 hilarity can be found here.]

As the prettiest girl at the gossip ball, Capcom has been making quite a few headlines recently for actions they may or may not be considering. In light of the particularly bogus rumors floating concerning Microsoft buying out Capcom, lets take a look at some of the more substantiated rumors involving your favorite Mega Man sweatshop.

For your consideration, three rumors from the February issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (#112). For those who still believe in the aforementioned rumor, you may as well tear down those tin foil barriers around your room as Capcom "looks to be making several interesting games for the PS3's (network) service." The two titles mentioned being a remake of Street Fighter II with brand new sprites and an "updated NES classic."

The boys at Mega64 are at it again, this time with a real life version of Dead Rising. For those of you unfamiliar with Mega64, we have only one question: how's the view? You know, like, how's the view from underneath the rock that you live under. We keed, we keed. Seriously, Mega64 goes around harassing people performing skits based off their favorite video games. Some of their works include skits based off Resident Evil 4 (one of our favorites), Paperboy, and Katamari Damacy. Check out the above video, and when you're done with that, hit their website for more hilarity. Because watching funny videos is always better than working, right?

[Thanks, Braith]

Capcom's zombified shopping mall game has sold over 1 million copies since its release. Dead Rising has been out in the US since August 8th and has just broken the 1 million mark in worldwide sales. Hacking and slashing has never been so much fun! But after looking at the sales sucess of games like Gears of War ... it just goes to show that selling a million copies is great, but 2.7 million copies is all the better. Good job Dead Rising, because we're looking forward to a sequel with more zombies, a beefier story, some Live co-op, and a dash of multiplayer. Now get to work Capcom, our demands have been made public.

[Via Digg]

Having shipped over one million copies of their Romero-inspired zombie massacre sim, Capcom can confidently dub Dead Rising a full-on franchise. Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz, Capcom's head of consumer games confirms that further zombie-mashing titles are due to arrive on consoles in the future (feel free to let out a collective gasp).

"When you're at the front-end of a hardware cycle, people are willing to take more of an experiment in what games they'll try," says Mark Beaumont. "Bringing out Dead Rising has allowed us to establish a new franchise that we can use for years to come." It's always refreshing to see brand new franchises take off, especially when chainsaws are involved.

Controversial save mechanics and shameful SDTV support aside, we fully expect the next Dead Rising to be considerably more pleasant than being torn apart by a snarling, undead force.