15 YEARS OF RESIDENT EVIL
with the benefit of full strategic planning and marketing support that the original did not receive on the same scale.”
FANS OF FEAR Two years in and Resident Evilhad won itself an ardent fan base. Capcom soon started selling toys, clothes and other merchandise based on the series. And like hungry zombies the fans devoured it all. They even wanted the games Capcom never released. “We probably have around five requests a week for us to release these prototype versions, or 1.5and 3.5as they’re often called. The Resident Evil 5leaderboards were even hacked with the message ‘give us version 3.5,’” reveals European head of marketing Stuart Turner. “Some fans genuinely think we’re some evil Umbrella- style organisation and have two finished games sat in a vault somewhere.
“The character and world design
in
Resident Evilis as iconic as it is unique. Its closer to something like Harry Potterin that the whole Resident Evil universe can be explored in
amazing depth.”
Although a die-hard fanbase has its advantages commercially, it can prove a challenge from a creative point-of-view.
If the developers try to be too innovative, they run the risk of
46m
The number of Resident Evil games sold worldwide.
upsetting its loyal following. An early prototype for Resident Evil 4was so different to previous games in the series that the team decided not to risk it and created a new franchise with it instead – Devil May Cry. Paul WS Anderson, the man behind the Resident Evilmovies, has often been on the receiving end of disgruntled fans, because his films haven’t followed the games’ narrative. But that’s not to say Capcom has avoided experimenting with Resident Evil. The firm has instead created spin-off titles – from online shooters to light-gun games – which let the company try new things that can be later
implemented into the main series. “We are constantly seeking something new,” says Kobayashi. “The main franchise has expectations to fulfil and it can’t risk too much. Our games in the wider Resident Eviluniverse on the other hand give us a little more flexibility and let us work on our cool ideas in vivo.”
HORROR STORIES CONTINUED
THE FOUR Resident Evilmovies have grossed $675m at the Box Office and a fifth is due next year. We asked series writer, producer and director Paul WS Anderson on what makes his films work.
Why has Resident Evil worked in movies when other game IP has not? Despite what haters on the internet say, I love Resident Eviland that translates into the movies I make. A lot of other video game movie directors don’t immerse themselves in the games.
The Resident Evil movies follow a different plot to the games. Why? A direct adaptation won’t make me leap when the dog jumps through the window, because I know it’s coming.
EVIL AT THE MOVIES
And even the most hardcore fan in the world is not going to argue that the dialogue in the first Resident Evil should have been adapted into the film. But in all the sequences we’ve quoted from, the sets we’ve recreated and the characters that have made an appearance, we’ve tried to stay true to the spirit of the game. I know that upsets some fans. But if we’d fucked it up so badly, we wouldn’t have done billions of dollars of business.
$190m
The budget of all four Resident Evil movies, which have made $675m at cinemas
And made five movies. You can fool people once. The first Tomb Raidermovie promised a lot but didn’t deliver. People didn’t go back for the second one. With Resident Evilit is very telling that each movie has done better than the one before. Check out our full interview with Paul WS Anderson on
www.mcvuk.com.
RESIDENT EVIL: CODE VERONICA Released: 2000 Formats: PS3, Xbox 360, Dreamcast, GameCube, PS2
Code Veronicawas notable for not starting life on a PlayStation platform. It was a Dreamcast exclusive and sold 1.14m copies. The eventual PS2 edition beat it by selling 1.4m.
www.mcvuk.com
RESIDENT EVIL 4 Released: 2005 Formats: GameCube, PS2, PC, Wii, PS3, iPhone, Xbox 360
Originally a GameCube exclusive, Resident Evil 4shook up the genre and was a critical smash hit with a Metacritic of 96. It has sold 5.7m units across Wii, GameCube and PS2.
RESIDENT EVIL: REVELATIONS Released: 2012 Formats: 3DS
The 3DS exclusive is due next year and fills the gaps between the fourth and fifth games, The title is notable for combining more classic Resident Evilgameplay with some of the new ideas introduced in Resident Evil 4.
RESIDENT EVIL 5 Released: 2009 Formats: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
On Xbox 360 and PS3 Resident Evil 5 has sold 5.6m units worldwide, proving the franchise is stronger than ever. A Gold edition that featured the DLC is available now and the PS3 version of this boasts Move support.
August 12th 2011 53
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