Perennial Capcom guy Keiji Inafune has abruptly stepped down from his position as head of Research & Development and Online Business and Global Head of Production. How does all that fit on a business card?
Inafune, CEO of Capcom's online subsidiary Daletto, character designer for the Megaman series, producer of Dead Rising, Onimisha, Resident Evil, everything else that Capcom has done, and all around nice guy had seemed uncomfortable in his position as of late. He mentioned on multiple occasions the decline of the Japanese games industry, as well as flat out stating he hated his job. Damn Keiji, that shit could get you fired!
According Andriassang's translation of Inafune's blog, he stepped down as Daletto's CEO due in part to "losing the authority to evaluate my subordinates and the qualification to speak about my dreams." Regarding Capcom, he feels he's reached the peak of software development, and now he has no higher to go. He wrote, "It would probably be good for me to sit gracefully in this seat and become a leading figure in the industry. However, I cannot do this. Settling down means death for a creator. As long as you are a creator, you cannot settle down." Attaboy Keiji, shoot for the stars!
Inafune also closes the door on working again with Capcom. While it's still unclear exactly as to why he has come to this decision, he had apparently made his decision long ago. He stepped down in the midst of working on three high profile projects, Mega Man Legends 3, Asura's Wrath, and DmC.
In speaking with Kotaku, Capcom has stated their creative focus will not change, nor will any of Inafune's games in production. They are ready to move on without him, and have shuffled their executives to fill the subsequent holes accordingly.
Inafune signs off on his blog simply by saying "thank you". We haven't seen the last of Keiji, and I for one am looking forward to where he appears next.