Following a chilling viral tease, Capcom unveiled Resident Evil 6 at the beginning of January – with an action packed trailer that caused many fans to wonder if the developer wasn’t abandoning the series’ survival horror roots entirely. Then came news that the studio is interested in attracting Call of Duty fans to the franchise, further solidifying the notion that Resident Evil 6 would bear a close resemblance to the action-focused experience of Resident Evil 5 – as opposed to the “back to square one” reboot that some die-hard fans had been wanting.
That said, the direction of Resident Evil 6 is in-line with Capcom’s long-range plans for the series – exemplified by the publishers decision to launch the upcoming title alongside other blockbuster properties set for release in Holiday 2012 (Assassin’s Creed 3, Halo 4, and the yet-to-be [officially] announced Black Ops 2).
Speaking with Game Informer, Senior Vice President of Planning and Business Development at Capcom, Christian Svensson, offered up his thoughts on the new high traffic release window (as opposed to the January and March launch dates of Resident Evil 4 and 5, respectively):
We’re saying, “Get the hell out of the way.” We’re a big game. We’re letting you know we’re coming. We’re giving people plenty of room to move around us. The other part is the nuts and bolts of it. If we put our stake in the ground, we can start lining up retail channel promotions, etc.
Despite a number of reports to the contrary, Svensson also maintains that Resident Evil 6 will successfully balance opening the franchise up for those new “Call of Duty” players – while also staying true to the title’s survival horror roots. It’s especially interesting to see Capcom courting FPS players with RE6 – since many industry followers figured that Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City was going to be the publisher’s answer to FPS-action fans, allowing the core Resident Evil series to focus more on atmosphere and (convoluted) story.
I think Revelations did a good job of appealing to both audiences. There are classic elements in that game. I don’t think it’s at all an impossibility. I won’t get into the details too much about what the Resident Evil 6 team’s intentions were because we’ll talk about that more at Captivate. I think they’ll say the same thing, and that is part of the fun is figuring out how to scratch the itch of both audiences.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see whether or not the Resident Evil series can truly compete with other traditional Holiday season heavy-hitters – like the Assassin’s Creed, Halo, and Call of Dutyfranchises. It’s not an unrealistic goal for Capcom, since Resident Evil 5 sold impressive numbers over time (over 5.8 million copies by June 2011) – though, comparatively, Assassin’s Creed 2 (which launched months later) has far-surpassed those numbers (9 million copies by January 2010).
That said, Resident Evil 6, which Svensson describes as ”the biggest Resident Evil game ever,” definitely has a lot going for it – with new features that include a dynamic conversation system, more versatile (and faster moving) enemy types, and improved character mobility – not to mention rumored 6 player co-op.
As an aside from all the future Resident Evil 6 talk, Svensson also reflected on one of Capcom’s embarrassing slip-ups – an overly-obvious typo on the Resident Evil: Revelations packing dubbing the game “Resident Evil: Revelaitons.“ While the SVP somewhat laughs at the problem, it’s obvious he wasn’t laughing when 90,000 copies of the game went out with the typo:
I can’t even tell you how many people looked at that package and approved it. Nintendo of America, Nintendo Japan, ESRB, I don’t know how many people internally, and our guys in Japan. I can’t come up with an excuse for it. It just happened. We’re not happy about it [...] There are only about 90,000 units that have the misprint. If you’ve got it and it’s shrink-wrapped, that’s a new special edition, that’s our new strategy. [laughs]
Check back here at Game Rant for more information on Capcom Holiday blockbuster Resitend Evil 6 (sorry, couldn’t resist).
Resident Evil 6 releases November 20, 2012, on the PS3 and Xbox 360, with a PC release to follow.
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Follow me on Twitter @benkendrick for further updates.
Source: Game Informer
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I can’t stand Sven. -_-
Sven’s a cool guy. Why don’t you like him?
Hopefully RE:6 will be a tad bit easier. By easier, I mean less clunky. I might be stepping into a furnace here…but my brother and I had some tough times trying to step around the maps and whatnot in RE:5. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good game. But for all intents and purposes, they could take a page from the Mass Effect book and add some maneuverability.
Great games though. Big fan.
Don’t know why all these games seem to “reference survival horror roots” instead of just BEING survival horror games.
Dead space is what you have to look for for survival horror now.
amen! Dead Space is the king of survival. No game can touch Hard To The Core. Anyway, I hope they make a food game though. I can see them selling good, maybe close to AC sales but the other heavy hitters will blow it out the waters
Haha that’s funny. Ever heard of Silent Hill? Fatal Frame? Dead Space is an ACTION Game with Mutated people that are technically zombies. Calling Dead Space Survival Horror is like calling Battlefield 3 a Military Simulation: it’s really not.
I have a feeling that terms/phrases like “survival horror” and “perfect ending to the series” have been perverted by modern day gamers. Never in history has so much entertainment and appeasement been readily available at one time. Dead Space is survival horror. It fits every definition of the genre.
“These games mostly involve making the player vulnerable by providing them with less ammunition and fewer heavy weapons than other action games. Although combat can be a part of the gameplay, the player is in various ways made to feel less powerful than in typical action games, because of limited ammunition, health, speed, or other limitations. The player is also challenged to find items that unlock the path to new areas, and solve puzzles at certain locations. Games make use of strong horror themes, and the player is often challenged to navigate dark maze-like environments, and react to unexpected attacks from enemies.” -from Wikipedia
pardon me,Chris but what about Prototype?its an Action game but it shows infected people(sorta similiar to zombies)and the main character has unlimited powers in the game.somehow i cant understand whats the difference between RE and prototype?!please answer.
Its not even resident evil anymore…
what i meant was ”the diffrence” is prototype 2 a horror game too?just because it shows blood and gore,disturbing sequences,infected people and etc.and it was super scary!i played and finished RE 2 years ago and gave it up because of the vulnerability of its main characters and wasting bullets over billions of zombies!but Prototype,its amazing making the character as powerful as the infected and can make it meaningful for such a game and i cant wait for the sequel to come out for next month too!i was a fan of RE but i just want to make sure that which is better?anybody answer and think before typing please thank you
@venom24 – Well, survival horror usually tends to stay in the genre. For instance…in Dead Space, you’re trapped alone on a derelict spaceship with zombies, and by yourself. Prototype is more of a sandbox action game. Survival Horror games are usually more level based as well. I guess you could say, a survival horror game makes it difficult to survive as well, seeing as they usually give the players less of a winning chance.
to Chris,so you are saying that prototype is just an action game…ok.so maybe for example Left4Dead which is a survival horror game but more of a shooting game right?and due to Prototype for its shapeshifting powers gives the player a fighting chance but better.but resident evil gives the player more weopons rather than other abilities,LESSER abilities. thanks Chris
i have one question for you:ever played Prototype before?
Lol I can see you’re having trouble.
A survival horror game usually is intended to be scary too. In my opinion, Left 4 Dead is barely survival horror. To me, it’s too “arcade” to be survival horror. I guess it fits the genre though. Just look at the typical traits, like Resident Evil and Dead Space both have.
-Lots of enemies, not many friends
-Slow movement, moody atmosphere
-Deliberate aiming mechanics
-Searching for and buying ammunition because it’s seldom found
thanks for the heads up Chris.im glad i’ve learned something like this from a pro like you.:)
LOOKS GOOD!!!!!