The sometimes tepid relationship gamers have with Capcom may only grow to be that more strenuous based on our latest update concerning EX Troopers. The PSN/3DS bound Lost Planet spin-off has received some admirable buzz in the last few months despite deviating from the established Lost Planet shoot-em-up formula in favor of a more RPG action/adventure experience.
Revealed after Capcom’s Captivate event in April, it wasn’t known if EX Troopers would receive a Western release but it seemed like such a thing would happen. After all, why wouldn’t Capcom want to capitalize on one of their most successful brands?
Well despite whatever we thought, EX Troopers may not receive a Western release – at least as of now. Speaking on the Capcom message boards regarding recent comments made about the Mega Man franchise, Capcom’s Christian Sevensson had this to say, “EX Troopers isn't part of the LP series officially (thus the difference in name) nor are there plans to bring it Westward at this time.” So are we to believe Svensson's comments or is there a small sliver of a chance that EX Troopers could appear Westbound?
Based on how direct Svensson’s comment was, one would have to assume that EX Troopers is indeed not coming to the West. After all, why would Svensson say such a finite statement concerning a game that has buzz and up until now had no localization news associated with it? Previously it was believed that EX Troopers would eventually be released in the West, not just because of its connection to the Lost Planet series but because Capcom registered NA/EU trademarks for the game. I assume that those trademarks were simply done by Capcom to cover their bases based on this latest news unless something else is amiss.
Far from being as anticipated as Resident Evil 6, it does seem odd that Capcom wouldn’t localize EX Troopers. In some ways the game may be looked upon as a new IP based on how different it is to the core Lost Planet games, but from the footage we’ve seen so far everything is looking good, almost better than how Lost Planet 3 is shaping up thus far. EX Troopers may have a far more anime/manga inspired presentation, perhaps being too much for mainstream American audiences, but not releasing the game in a limited capacity is still odd since Capcom America isn’t really doing a lot lately.
Maybe in the end Capcom will snap out of the sometimes idiotic state they’re in, though as of now it seems like we won’t be able to enjoy the anime + JPOP combo that EX Troopers provides.
