10 Upcoming Games That Have Already Made One HUGE Mistake
4. Using Toshiro Mifune's Likeness - Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Though the 20-years-in-the-making Onimusha: Way of the Sword actually looks pretty great, Capcom has made one head-scratching decision - basing the likeness of new protagonist Musashi Miyamoto on legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune.
More to the point, Capcom spent roughly two years negotiating with the late actor's estate to secure his likeness for the game.
But even accepting that Mifune is one of the most iconic Japanese actors of all time and indelibly linked with classic Samurai cinema, probably a solid 90% of the people who will ever play the new Onimusha will have never heard of him anyway.
And even for those who have heard of Mifune, how many of them are going to be swayed to buy a game purely because of his involvement? Few to none.
Ultimately it seems like a lot of time, effort, and energy for something that's not really going to move the needle much.
And that's without even getting into the ethical quagmire of using the likeness of a dead actor who can't consent to it, no matter that their estate signed off on it.
Why not avoid all this kerfuffle and just give the opportunity to a living, breathing Japanese actor instead?