Play Meter

COVER STORY Capcom's winning combination for success A lthough Capcom Ltd. was founde d by Kenzo Tsujimoto only 15 years ago, and the U.S. office is just 10 years old, its tremendous impact on the coin-op industry is apparent. At a time when operators were desperate for games that would allow them a fair return on their investment, Capcom obliged by giving them Street Fighter . Left: Frank Ballouz cl with Alex Jimenez mand Tom Harlan of the advertising firm, Beeline Group. Mark Trotter mwith Satinder Bhutani. PLAY METER To appease operator demand for more great games, Capcom gave them Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Street Fighter II Turbo, Super Street Fighter II, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo. To those who said enough is enough, Capcom answered that as soon as players had enough the run would be finished. But players didn't seem t o get enough. As is par for the course in our industry, fighting games became the most popular theme with every company. Every fighting concept and character were thrust upon the market. Surprisingly, although Capcom is most famous for its Street Fighte r series, the company has not rested on its sue16 cess. Capcom's run of exceptional games including Alien vs. Predator, Dungeons & Dragons Tower of Doom, and DarkStalkers have allowed the company to sell in excess of 25,000 games per year. But there were some potholes along the way. When Capcom was selling Street Fighter, the most popular game since Pac-Man, management chal- lenges created some serious problems within the company. "How can a company have the hottest game in town and yet collect enemies like flies?" asked a perplexed industry. Now it 's out with the old and in with the new. Dismay has been replaced with respect since the addition of the most respected man in the industry, Frank Ballouz. He'd be the first t o argue that there are other people who have earned more respect within the industry, but those who have dealt with Frank agree he's at the top of the list. Frank is optimistic and enthusiastic about the challenge ahead. He 's made it quite clear that his greatest assets in the JANUARY 1995