New Level Gaming has unearthed a thread at the Capcom forums in which Capcom’s Christian Svensson provides a grim forecast for a sequel to the critically acclaimed Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure.

Discussing fan suggestions for a potential sequel, Svensson posted:

“Let me preface this answer with a statement to set expectations that we’ve not announced another (Zack and Wiki game) and I’m not so sure there will be one on any reasonable timeline.”

The specific thread and Svensson’s disappointing reality check can be viewed in their entirety at the Capcom-Unity forums, linked here.

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure released to rave reviews in North America on Oct. 23, 2007. According to VGChartz.com, the game has sold approximately 380,000 copies to date worldwide.

As we make that slow crawl to E3, these news-parched weeks continue to spawn exciting rumors. Today, one of the biggest pre-E3 rumors yet comes from the Capcom camp.

According to a Destructoid source, Capcom is working on Mega Man 9.

If true, players would control the iconic “Blue Bomber” for the first time in more than a decade. The last entry in the classic Mega Man series was Mega Man 8, released in 1997 on the original Playstation and Saturn.

Unfortunately for Nintendo fans, the rumor also holds that Mega Man 9 is coming only to Xbox LIVE and PSN. But nothing has been confirmed, and I’m keeping the faith. Like Walter Sobchack once said…if you will it, dude, it is no dream.

In related news, IGN reported Wednesday Capcom has two secret projects on their roster for E3. Could Mega Man 9 be one of them?

Capcom’s own Christian Svensson suggested today in an interview with N-Europe that Capcom may have plans to bring “something like” Lost Planet or Bionic Commando to Wii.

Vague enough? Here’s the quote:

N-Europe: Are we going to see Bionic Commando, Lost Planet or something like this on the Wii?

Svensson: Possible…the “or something like this” part we could talk about in a couple weeks perhaps.

Expect an announcement at or prior to E3. Until then, Infendo sleuths, I beseech you; what could this mysterious game be?

Well, if you haven’t heard about the Okami box art scandal, let me get you up to speed really quick. Apparently, there is a water mark of the IGN logo on the actual box art for the game. The logo can be located on the right, next to Amaterasu’s bottom jaw. Capcom has recognized the slip up and has offered to send a replacement cover for free.

You can get a new cover for your Okami box by going to the Replacement Website and filling out the necessary forms. After that, the new cover will be sent to your house within two weeks. However, that’s not the best part, you also have the choice to receive one of the new, alternative, high-quality covers they are offering instead. As for which cover I’m picking, I’ll take the green one.

According to an unnamed Japanese gaming mag the highly anticipated Street Fighter IV for the Arcade is in development for the Wii. Capcom’s fighter has been rumored to be capable of running fine on the Wii since December when the new simplistic (Okami-like) art style was revealed to the press. Street Fighter IV contains both 3D and 2D elements that don’t require a beefy platform.

Old comments from Producer, Yoshinori Ono suggest that it’s a possibility…

“We could go, potentially, to the Wii. We could make it on Game Boy, for all we know right now.”

Is this a juicy secret revealed or are Japanese gaming publications pulling our leg again? I smell a E3 keynote announcement…

Capcom stroked a sweet little birdie when it announced last Wednesday the addition of an online multiplayer component to its upcoming exclusive Wii golfer, We Love Golf.

According to the announcement, We Love Golf will allow players to test their golf slice against random competitors in World Play Mode or match up with friends in Friend Play games, taking full advantage of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Capcom also revealed that We Love Golf will be the first sports game on Wii to enable the use of Mii characters in online gameplay. As announced prior, players can also dress their We Love Golf character with classic outfits as worn by characters in Capcom franchises such as Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Dark Stalkers and more.

Developed by Camelot Software, the North American version of We Love Golf has received several tweaks since the lackluster reception of its Japanese counterpart last December. In addition to the online mode, which was not available in the Japanese version, Capcom recently allowed fans to vote on two additional mascot costume inclusions in an effort to increase the title’s Western appeal.

We Love Golf has an unspecified 2008 North American release date.

“The perfect game.”

Our community often scoffs at the concept. Many argue perfection is unattainable, a Utopian mirage no game developer could ever reach. No game is entirely unblemished; there is always room for improvement, we argue, and there is always a flaw worth criticizing.

It almost seems an unwritten rule of gaming. The words of a writer who describes any game as “faultless” should be read with a certain degree of incredulity, particularly if s/he bestows a perfect score upon said game. Quite simply, there is no such thing as a “perfect 10.”

And as we scrutinize textures and analyze frame rates, reaching beyond the realms of practicality to invalidate perfection and justify a 9.6 review score, an irritated wave of antagonism toward sequels slowly spreads throughout our community. Speaking of unwritten rules, it is almost as if gamers are beginning to treat franchises as they would a passionate fling at the office.

The first time was great, and the second time was even better. But beyond that, things just start to get boring.

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The latest issue of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has revealed that Capcom is planning a Japan-only Wii port of Resident Evil 0 for 2008.

Some outlets have reported the Wii version of Resident Evil 0 will likely be very similar to the 2002 GameCube version, but may feature additional content and, of course, full Wii remote control. Famitsu speculated the game will be played with “one hand,” suggesting Capcom may forego use of the Wii remote’s nunchuck attachment.

Resident Evil 0 would be the second Resident Evil port to hit Wii, as well as Capcom’s third Wii port in little more than a year after Resident Evil 4 and Okami, respectively. In a response to the Famitsu article, Capcom stated “we currently have no plans to bring the Wii version of Resident Evil 0…to either the U.S. or Europe.”

We go way back, Capcom, and you know I love you. But instead of porting old games to Wii, how about some Resident Evil 5?

Capcom opened a poll Thursday for fans to vote on two more costume additions to its upcoming Wii exclusive, We Love Golf.

Developed by Camelot, We Love Golf features the costumes of popular Capcom mascots as alternate outfits for the game’s ten characters. In an effort to boost the appeal of the title for North American and European audiences, Camelot is adding two more characters and asking fans to vote on their alternate costumes.

Choices include Ken from the Street Fighter series, Ashley Graham from Resident Evil 4, Frank West from Dead Rising and more. Head to the Capcom-Unity blogs for more information and to cast a vote.

As Infendo reported Thursday, Capcom revealed in its latest and otherwise positive financial statement that We Love Golf has had “sluggish growth” since being released in Japan last December.

Capcom announced yesterday a 15 percent raise in expected 2008 operating profit, elevating the company’s forecast to 11.5 billion yen. Capcom expects net sales of 81.6 billion yen and a net income of and 62 billion yen for the year.

The company cited better-than-expected software sales as the reason for the boost, particularly noting the “robust sales” of Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. According to Capcom, the exclusive Wii shooter has sold 950K copies worldwide to date.

In a somewhat pleasant surprise, the company’s financial statement also highlighted the performance of another Wii exclusive, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure. Capcom’s internal figures show the critically acclaimed puzzler has sold a respectable 300K units worldwide.

Capcom noted these results were offset by “sluggish growth” of the Wii exclusive We Love Golf and Mega Man Star Force 2 in Japan. Perhaps if gamers were offered an actual Mega Man sequel with the actual Mega Man, “growth” would be less “sluggish.”

If there were a causal relationship between critical praise and commercial success, Capcom’s magnificent Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure would have sold a few million copies by now and this wouldn’t even be an issue.

Unfortunately, most Wii owners are ignoring Capcom’s imaginative masterpiece. Despite the fact that Z-Dub has received a continuous stream of universally positive press and is currently the fifth-highest rated game on Wii, surpassing even million-sellers like Super Paper Mario and Guitar Hero III, the game moved a paltry 30,000 copies in its first two weeks on North American shelves and sold even fewer on the increasingly enigmatic island of Japan.

Some affectionate Z-Dub advocates have cried foul on Capcom’s part, alleging a diminutive and negligent advertising campaign doomed the daring new IP to poor sales before it even hit store shelves. But on the company’s official online bulletin board, one Capcom employee has defended the Z-Dub advertising strategy.

Apparently, it was there. Gamers just didn’t notice.

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It may be doing business in stylish new places and selling consoles to fresh new faces, but Mario, Zelda and Metroid still run the show at Nintendo. Over the last year, fans have been treated to proper new titles from each of Nintendo’s three elite franchises, not to mention an additional handheld Zelda.

The last time this happened? Try 199-never.

But as great as it’s been, it is also representative of a trend that needs to change. Mario, Link and Samus can only carry the company so far, as recent disappointments have proven. So why not look to your bench, Nintendo? You’ve got other great players dying to get time on the field.

From my humble estimation, these are the five franchises most capable of an innovative “revolution” and an immediate contribution on Wii.

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The latest entry into Capcom’s popular courtroom drama series, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations was released for the Nintendo DS on October 23. As with most games from major publishers like Capcom, stores nationwide stocked their shelves with the game almost immediately, and most fans were able to easily obtain a copy and get to sleuthing.

Unless they pre-ordered one from Capcom.

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For those telling me yesterdays announcment was a fake, here’s a video giving the official announcment. Enjoy!

and press release after the jump…

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Capcom announced at their event in London that Okami will be coming to the Wii. Developed by Clover Studios, Okami is the wildly popular PS2, action, adventure title which received many Game of the Year awards for 2006. The title is best known for a beautiful cel-shaded art style, addicting gameplay mechanics, and a in depth story worthy of the likes of Zelda. Other few details from the London event included using the Wii remote as the Celestial Brush, and some waggle will be used for combat. There is also a possibility for a 480p and widescreen upgrade, but no official info has been released. Over all this is a PS2 title that is worthy to be “ported” to the Wii. Okami Wii is planned for an early 2008 release.