At Capcom's "Gamers Day," a media event that sees journalist crammed together to listen to a company talk about itself and its forthcoming products, there was the traditional force feeding of background information, the ubiquitous carrot-on-a-stick promise of game kiosks that could only be touched after the two-hour-someodd procession of podium addresses and video rolls, and the looming threat of news embargoes ranging in duration from 24 hours to 2 weeks. Thankfully, the "Day" also featured live and in-person visits from some of the big guns from Capcom Japan -- notably, director Inafune Keiji (Lost Planet), Kobayashi Hiroyuki (producer of Devil May Cry), and Kawata Masachika (producer of Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, read it again, Wii Edition. Yyyyyyeeeaaahhhhh, baby!)

There was a lot of talk about Capcom's multi-platform "digital initiative," a nerd-snooty way of saying that Capcom is aiming to bring games out for as many platforms as possible, so PS3 and PC owners aren't totally hosed anymore.

The first notable point that must be made (possibly the second point, if one grants that "Uh, in the future, do let fly with the in-venue alcohol before the interminable press-conference portion of the evening, please" can be considered a notable point, in which case it'd be the first point) is that while Capcom is naturally broadening its reach in both general ambition and specific licensing, it's doing the Wii platform surprisingly proud, with no less than three gotta-get-our-hands-on-'em titles in the pipe.


But first: It wouldn't be a true, rooted-in-the-classics event without rolling out a remix or two -- good thing Capcom had, in fact, two on hand: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, both for Xbox Live Arcade, 1080p resolution. (If you're not exhausted after just reading those titles, then continue.) The former boasts brand new sprites reworked for HD rez, while the latter has new 3D effects and background artwork, piping hot from the folks at Udon Entertainment. Also new to Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network are the Robotron-esque top-down shooter Rocketmen: Axis of Evil, and the board game Talisman.


Capcom's rocking the DS, too. On this fine preview day that also happens to be Mega Man's 20th creaky birthday, Capcom announced Mega Man ZX Advent -- more-or-less classic Mega Man action -- and Mega Man Star Force, a tactical 3D battle game that will come in three team-themed special editions (Dragon, Pegasus and Leo, a la the rainbow of Pokemon flavors) and encourages cooperative play.


Also for the DS comes Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations -- absolute state of the art, when it comes to zany, Japanese-minded, cartoony courtroom drama-based, twin-screened portable gaming (which is a pretty lonely art, too, but let's not detract from the wonderousness of it all).


Already the bomb in Japan, Monster Hunter Freedom 2 for PSP threatened to steal the show with its massive player customization, varied (and in some cases gigantic) enemy creatures, and manga/anime-we're-talking-ridiculously-outsized personal weapons. This was one of the decided favorites of the show.


The Resident Evil franchise, meanwhile, is lurching for the innocent white Wii platform in a big way. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition is just what it sounds like (i.e., the consummate zombie bashing game coming to Wii), but it uses the nunchuck/Wiimote scheme, swaps out Leon's pinpoint laser sight with a Wiimote targeting reticule, and does a gesture-based "Wiiwork" of the original RE4's search knife system.


Meanwhile, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles takes an in-your-face, rail-shooter, House of the Dead-style approach, with the appropriate story elements spliced in. What we saw was a very early build, and it's frankly difficult at this stage to say much about it beyond this: It's interesting to see the first game's Zombie-mansion rendered with fully-destructible environs... and the S.T.A.R.S. voice-acting pretty much has to be a step up (again, no big feat).


Adult Swim fans, take note: There's a PSP and PS2 version of a Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law on the way, too -- right now we don't know when, we know even less as to exactly what... and frankly, many of us are a little frightened. Capcom gave us a Season One DVD in our exit-bags so that, I guess, if the game does end up sucking donkey-rocks, we'll know exactly what we're missing. Shish-boom-bah.


(Editor's note: Clearly this is the part where the in-venue alcohol idea came to the forefront.)

The other new IP in the lineup is Moto GP, due out in the fall for PS2; Namco and THQ took a crack at it, and now Capcom's got the licensing rights until 2012 or so. What can we say about the Moto GP phenomenon? You care (a lot, apparently, to look at the attendance numbers worldwide), or you don't. Guess which category this writer falls into?



Oh yeah, there's a PC version of Lost Planet in the pipe, too, in case the console version just wasn't hair-tearing enough. It looks pretty. Mouse control will dominate. Can we move on, please? It's cold in that game.




The surprise darling of the forthcoming Fall lineup -- even some of the Capcom folks looked a little freaked out at our collective, enthusiastic gamer-press reaction -- was definitely the most "Wii-looking" of the bunch: Bright, cute, candy-colored, utterly non-threatening, and yes, it was a Wii game. Currently named Treasure Island Z until somebody thinks of something snappier, it tells the story of kid who wants to be the most famous pirate in all the world. He is -- by which I mean, you are -- tasked to roam a massive, cel-shaded island hunting up treasure. The game's hook is that at every turn, you'll need to figure out exactly how to use the Wii's unique control scheme to move ahead.

Maybe you'll have to make turn-the-crank motions with the Wiimote to rotate a mechanical cylinder. Maybe you'll first need to defeat a nasty creature with slash-gesture combat, and then use a sawing motion (with its now severed, razored leg) on a nearby tree. What to do with that darned Wiimote... hold it sideways and play it like a flute? Use a dipping motion to scoop up game-water and then pour it on something else? Turn it backwards towards yourself and blow your own head off when you can't figure out the next application, while all your friends in the room are yelling backseat-gamer suggestions at you? Can't say for sure yet, but there are some 80+ purported unique uses for the Wii's handy controllers, and the appeal of the game (besides its raging cuteness) is to figure out what you need to do. There's just... something about this game, even at this early stage. Smells like smash hit, anyway.

And that was about it. Let the blessed beverages and hands-on, sneak-peak playtime commence. Check back soon for notes on that.