14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer and publisher Capcom has suggested that the core titles in the long-running Resident Evil series will continue to grow their focus on the shooter mechanics because the market cannot support a survival horror game that uses classic mechanics.
Masachika Kawata, who is a producer working on the franchise who focuses on development strategy, told Gamasutra that, “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.”
He added, “Looking at the marketing data 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.”
Despite the need to cater to new fans, Kawata says that Resident Evil 6 will not end up like something similar to Gears of War or other pure third-person shooter.
The core games in the franchise will be a mix of mechanics while other development teams inside Capcom will have the freedom to explore other possible avenues of expression for the series via spin-offs like Operation Raccoon City, which is a straight up shooter, or Revelations, which aims for a more exploration-driven experience.
Resident Evil 6 is set to launch on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 during autumn and will serve to push forward the core story of the series, reuniting two of the main characters in the universe, Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield, in order to battle a bio terror threat that first takes out the President of the United States.
The Revelations and Raccoon City spin-offs have received a cold reception from both critics and the public.