If you were hoping that Resident Evil 6 would be a return to the franchise’s roots, we’ve got some disappointing news for you, as Capcom producer Masachika Kawata has confirmed that the core titles in the Resident Evil franchise will continue to place a higher emphasis on action and shooting than prior entries in the series.
Speaking to Gamasutra, Kawata explained that they have to continue in this direction, because that is where they will garner the most market appeal.
RE4 started in that direction, and RE5 kept going in that direction and I think that especially for the North American market, we need to keep going in that direction, and take that a step further.
Looking at the marketing data [for survival horror games] the market is small, compared to the number of units Call of Duty and all those action games sell. A ‘survival horror’ Resident Evil doesn’t seem like it’d be able to sell those kind of numbers.
He went on to assure the outlet that this in no way means that Resident Evil 6 will be just a run-of-the-mill action shooter. He also pointed out that some of their spin-off titles like Revelations and Operation: Raccoon City have been crafted to fill that void now that the core titles are moving away from that adventure-style gameplay.
I can’t really speak for Resident Evil 6, but I don’t think that it necessarily has to go all the way in that direction, the Call of Duty direction. It doesn’t have to be a straight up shooter. And that’s exactly one of the reasons that Revelations is the way it is.
So we have our numbered series, and we can say we have a more adventure-oriented version, like a Revelations-style game. And we also have Operation: Raccoon City, which is a third-person shooter. So I think that by extending the market in this sense, we can still have the numbered titles keep their identity about what Resident Evil is supposed to be, but still expand and hit other markets as well.
What are your thoughts on this move to a more action-heavy experience? Be sure to let us and the rest of the PlayStation LifeStyle community know in the comments below.
