14 DAY TRIAL // The Resident Evil saga is a long one. It involves zombies, mad scientists, innocent little girls, unlikely heroes, big corporations cover-ups, guns and, of course, more zombies. What's there not to like? The games have long drawn players in with the combination of action, mystery and puzzle solving.
The latest release in the series, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, has sold over 1 million units for the Nintendo Wii platform, which is a big milestone for Capcom, the publisher behind the series. It also broke new technical ground by being among the first games designed to use the Wii zapper, with which it was bundled. The previous release, a special edition of Resident Evil 4, also for the Wii console, had also broken through the 1 million mark, proving the commitment that Nintendo fans have to the series as a whole.
The next game, Resident Evil 5, is currently in development and, as of now, has only been confirmed for the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360. New Resident Evil offerings for the Wii will be limited to the release of an adaptation of GameCube game Resident Evil 0.
But the strong sales of both titles released on the Wii and the high critical praise they have received might be a sign for Capcom to aggressively pursue development options for the Wii. Even if the majority of the console users are casual gamers, a hardcore community is developing, a community that is eager to use the Wii's unique controller capabilities in some of the biggest franchises in the games industry.
The Resident Evil franchise has sold over 34 million units worldwide and has generated a number of movie spin-offs with moderates success. A new Resident Evil movie, animated using digital techniques and said to be close to the narrative of the game, is currently in development.