They listened to fans when making the decision to leave the Wii remake of Resident Evil 0 as a Japan-only affair. Not once, but twice.
Earlier this year, Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu reported that Capcom would port the GameCube exclusive title Resident Evil 0 to Wii this summer. However, Capcom had only planned to release the game in Japan.
Recently, it's been revealed that not only did Capcom USA choose not to release the remake, they were offered the opportunity to localize the game on two separate occasions. On both occasions, Capcom USA refused.
A post from Christian Svensson, Capcom's Vice-President of Strategic Planning & Business Development, revealed the info on the official Ask Capcom message boards. Responding to a question about whether it was certain that American gamers wouldn't get a localized version of the remake, Svensson replied, "Nothing is ever final, but we've been asked twice if we've wanted to bring it Westward and twice we've declined."
Elaborating on the decision, Svennson claimed that Capcom had listened to fans in choosing not to bring Resident Evil 0 to the states. In a separate post he explained, "given the outcry against the project when Japan announced it on these boards and others, it's pretty obvious that it's not wanted by gamers here."
When Resident Evil 0 Wii was unveiled, there was some disappointment in Capcom merely porting an existing game to the Wii instead of unveiling a brand new project. Capcom's first game for the Wii was also a port of a pre-existing title: Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition. Capcom also had the 2004 PlayStation 2title Okami ported to the Wii this April. However, Capcom has also released new content, like Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure. Recently, they pulled back the curtain on the original IP Spyborgs, which is slated for a 2009 release.
Svensson, known as Sven on the Capcom message boards, has a forum signature that reads, "The official 'I wish I could tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you™' guy." He is a common sight on the Capcom boards where he answers questions from die-hard fans.