Capcom Goes Nintendo

While it's been known that Capcom has been working on Nintendo 64 products for over a year in Japan, it wasn't until today that the company officially announced - in the US - that it has indeed become a Nintendo licensee. In Tuesday's announcement, Capcom confirms that the first of its N64 products will hit retailers this fall, although it didn't specifying exactly which titles will be included on the list.

"Capcom has a long history with Nintendo, and signing this agreement is something both parties have wanted for a long time," Bill Gardner, Capcom Entertainment president, said in a statement. "Capcom has an enormous library of games perfectly suited for the Nintendo 64. Although we can't reveal now what our first Capcom product will be for this incredible system, I can say all of our franchise products, Street Fighter, Mega Man, and Resident Evil would make great N64 games. Stay tuned!"

Previously, Capcom had confirmed the existence of a Mega Man 64 game, which could conceivably be one of the company's first titles. Mega Man Legends for the PlayStation was delayed until fall to make it a higher profile holiday title, and although it's only speculation now, a two-system Mega Man punch would maximize exposure for both titles.

Last August, a report from Japan indicated that the company had several teams working on games for the N64 system, one of which is a puzzle game starring Disney characters.

Other likely candidates for N64 conversion include Street Fighter EX (1 or 2 or a special version) or, of course, Resident Evil. As early as last May, Capcom's Yoshiki Okamoto was quoted as saying the company was looking into fitting the game on a 128-megabit cartridge.

Capcom could not be reached for comment at press time. We'll keep you updated on further developments.