Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami explains why the series shifted its focus from horror to action

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/26/resident-evil-4-came-out-of-the-commercial-failure-of-re-remake

so it turns out its the remake fault

See? I knew the games became more action focused ever since 2 came out. The "actionizing" of the series was inevitable due to "It's the same so it sucks" complaints.

More specifically the lack of sold REmakes. Though honestly(and I feel alone saying this.) I really really LOVED RE4 and 6. Didn't care for five though.

Revan XI9 wrote:: More specifically the lack of sold REmakes. Though honestly(and I feel alone saying this.) I really really LOVED RE4 and 6. Didn't care for five though.

It makes me wonder what would have happened if 4, 5, and 6 became copies of REmake and how they would sell. I like REmake myself, but you have to admit it would get boring after another 3 games of the same thing.

RPD Officer Posts : 351 Join date : 2012-10-11

Hmm, a remake of a six year old game sells 1,350,000; how horrible, I guess no one likes SH.

A brand new game that people have been wanting for several years sells 1,600,000; OMG that's amazing, everyone must love action.

Plus, this series was mainly on the PlayStation beforehand and CAPCOM decided to release a SEGA Dreamcast exclusive game and then several GC exclusives, oh, then they finally released some PS2 exclusives. Were they trying to deliberately limit their sales, or do they think that every RE fan has money to buy every console ever made?

Revan XI9 wrote:: More specifically the lack of sold REmakes. Though honestly(and I feel alone saying this.) I really really LOVED RE4 and 6. Didn't care for five though.

RE4 was great, but I wish CAPCOM would have released it as a new IP instead of a RE game. All they'd need to do was change Leon and Ada into different characters, add a new intro, and make very small dialog changes.
RE5 was okay on co-op and had a good mercenaries mode, I didn't like 6 at all.

37 Narwhals wrote:: Hmm, a remake of a six year old game sells 1,350,000; how horrible, I guess no one likes SH.

A brand new game that people have been wanting for several years sells 1,600,000; OMG that's amazing, everyone must love action.

Plus, this series was mainly on the PlayStation beforehand and CAPCOM decided to release a SEGA Dreamcast exclusive game and then several GC exclusives, oh, then they finally released some PS2 exclusives. Were they trying to deliberately limit their sales, or do they think that every RE fan has money to buy every console ever made?

Tell me more about how CAPCOM isn't making good choices.

RPD Officer Posts : 351 Join date : 2012-10-11

Shinji Mikami wrote:: "I don’t think it’s specifically because developers want to appeal to a wider audience. I think they just want to make their games more fun, and if they’re reaching more and more in that direction, they’re naturally going to go toward more action"

Shinji Mikami wrote:: "The Resident Evil remake is actually one of my favorites of the series too. But it didn't sell very well... Because of the reaction to the Resident Evil remake, I decided to work more action into Resident Evil 4."

Seems like a contradiction.

PWNERX wrote:: Tell me more about how CAPCOM isn't making good choices.

-Driving away all of their most liked employees
-Deliberately taking content out of games to sell it as DLC
-Selling the ending to a game as DLC
-Focusing on multiplayer in RE (but not making a new Outbreak, which they said is one of their most commonly requested games)
-Cancelling Megaman games
-Everything about Dino Crisis 3

They're pretty good at making people hate them.

37 Narwhals wrote:: RE4 was great, but I wish CAPCOM would have released it as a new IP instead of a RE game.

They did. It's called Devil May Cry. At least they didn't go that way with RE.

37 Narwhals wrote:

Shinji Mikami wrote:: "I don’t think it’s specifically because developers want to appeal to a wider audience. I think they just want to make their games more fun, and if they’re reaching more and more in that direction, they’re naturally going to go toward more action"

Shinji Mikami wrote:: "The Resident Evil remake is actually one of my favorites of the series too. But it didn't sell very well... Because of the reaction to the Resident Evil remake, I decided to work more action into Resident Evil 4."

Seems like a contradiction.

PWNERX wrote:: Tell me more about how CAPCOM isn't making good choices.

-Driving away all of their most liked employees
-Deliberately taking content out of games to sell it as DLC
-Selling the ending to a game as DLC
-Focusing on multiplayer in RE (but not making a new Outbreak, which they said is one of their most commonly requested games)
-Cancelling Megaman games
-Everything about Dino Crisis 3

They're pretty good at making people hate them.

Well, they need:
-Full sized games
-Outbreak: The 3rd Chapter
-Maybe a Dino Crisis reboot, because the first 2 were great.
-Keep on with the fighting franchises
-Get someone to start making RE/BIO themed Airsoft again!
-Horror brought to RE7
-Punch Anderson (Shoulda seen that one coming)
-New IP's, and keep on working with The Evil Within
-Stop canceling Megaman, damnit!!!

PWNERX wrote:: -New IP's, and keep on working with The Evil Within

I agree with everything else in your post apart from this. Capcom has been going for new IPs for a long while (Dragon's Dogma, Asura's Wrath, Deep Down, Remember Me) but Evil Within is not one of those. It's being developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda.

PWNERX wrote:: -Maybe a Dino Crisis reboot, because the first 2 were great.

It doesn't need to be rebooted. There was a 500 year gap between DC2 and DC3, so just set any new games after DC2 instead of DC3.

RPD Officer Posts : 351 Join date : 2012-10-11

Mass Distraction wrote:

37 Narwhals wrote:: RE4 was great, but I wish CAPCOM would have released it as a new IP instead of a RE game.

They did. It's called Devil May Cry. At least they didn't go that way with RE.

I mean that the shooter where you try save the president's daughter from a crazy cult that's controlling people with parasites shouldn't have been called RE.

37 Narwhals wrote:

Mass Distraction wrote:

37 Narwhals wrote:: RE4 was great, but I wish CAPCOM would have released it as a new IP instead of a RE game.

They did. It's called Devil May Cry. At least they didn't go that way with RE.

I mean that the shooter where you try save the president's daughter from a crazy cult that's controlling people with parasites shouldn't have been called RE.

I feel the same way. When judged on its own merits, RE4 is a good game. I just feel it's a bad RE game. If it had been its own IP, it might have been less of a disappointment to me.

I really wouldn't have gotten into Resident Evil had it not been for Resident Evil 4, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that. I guess it's just one of those things.

Vandal wrote:: I really wouldn't have gotten into Resident Evil had it not been for Resident Evil 4, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that. I guess it's just one of those things.

Agreed. Four was my first game as well. Had it not been for 4, I never would have bothered playing the past games, 5, or 6.

RPD Officer Posts : 351 Join date : 2012-10-11

Ghost Leader wrote:

PWNERX wrote:: -Maybe a Dino Crisis reboot, because the first 2 were great.

It doesn't need to be rebooted. There was a 500 year gap between DC2 and DC3, so just set any new games after DC2 instead of DC3.

I'd love a new sequel, but I think a reboot or remake is more likely, since we're talking about a 13 year old game.

Ghost Leader wrote:: I feel the same way. When judged on its own merits, RE4 is a good game. I just feel it's a bad RE game. If it had been its own IP, it might have been less of a disappointment to me.

I'd say my feelings towards RE4 are more bittersweet than disappointing, but I agree.

Thoughts on RE6: Shinji! You Dumbass... I told you! Resident Evil is about survival horror. Now get over there and fix my ghastly ghouls!

RPD Officer Posts : 351 Join date : 2012-10-11

PWNERX wrote:: Thoughts on RE6: Shinji! You Dumbass... I told you! Resident Evil is about survival horror. Now get over there and fix my ghastly ghouls!

Shinji had nothing to do with RE5, RE6 or Revelations. He left Capcom after RE4.

PWNERX wrote:: Thoughts on RE6: Shinji! You Dumbass... I told you! Resident Evil is about survival horror. Now get over there and fix my ghastly ghouls!

It's not his fault the new producer has to blame.

PWNERX wrote:: Thoughts on RE6: Shinji! You Dumbass... I told you! Resident Evil is about survival horror. Now get over there and fix my ghastly ghouls!

Guess you haven't heard that Shimji Mikami has been working on a survival horror title called The Evil Within and hasn't worked on a Resident Evil title in almost a decade. Well, Shimji Mikami has been working on a survival horror title called The Evil Within and hasn't worked on a Resident Evil title in almost a decade.

Crimson Head Posts : 658 Join date : 2012-11-15

Pretty good article, but i've heard nothing new in it, what i would like to hear is SM exact opinion on RE 5 and 6, what he thinks of the games, about their positive and negative sides. As far as i think he sees nothing wrong in the way new games are going.

ChrisRedfieldRE156 wrote:: Pretty good article, but i've heard nothing new in it, what i would like to hear is SM exact opinion on RE 5 and 6, what he thinks of the games, about their positive and negative sides. As far as i think he sees nothing wrong in the way new games are going.

Plus it makes sense with the direction. If you're using the same few characters over and over, of course they'd get better at what they do. And then there's the fact that the risk of infection via bites is nearly non-existent (C-Virus is spread via gas from Lepotitsas or by syringes) so the free melee makes sense too. If they'd been using different characters, the survival horror vibe would make more sense in the later games. Either way, I don't care about what RE7 will be like. Just as long as it's fun/enjoyable.

Nobudy wrote:

ChrisRedfieldRE156 wrote:: Pretty good article, but i've heard nothing new in it, what i would like to hear is SM exact opinion on RE 5 and 6, what he thinks of the games, about their positive and negative sides. As far as i think he sees nothing wrong in the way new games are going.

Plus it makes sense with the direction. If you're using the same few characters over and over, of course they'd get better at what they do. And then there's the fact that the risk of infection via bites is nearly non-existent (C-Virus is spread via gas from Lepotitsas or by syringes) so the free melee makes sense too. If they'd been using different characters, the survival horror vibe would make more sense in the later games. Either way, I don't care about what RE7 will be like. Just as long as it's fun/enjoyable.

That reminds me: The T-Virus was spread through gas, injections, and water pollution...just enough to make RE7 scary again...

I am pretty excited on the upcoming The Evil Within game. I wonder what's the storyline, I just hate the fact that Shinji is the maker, and producer of Claire Redfield, and now he's gone. I just keep hoping Capcom didn't eliminate her just like that.

If they can't go back to strictly "survival horror" then they should make future games like Revelations. It's a happy medium in my opinion. Smile

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