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 by JBoc, Level 20
Last updated at June 27, 2009, 6:13 pm
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We all remember when it was announced by Shinji Mikami san several years ago that Resident Evil would be Nintendo exclusive for the foreseeable future. We also remember how the reaction to this announcement was. However what we didn't expect was for not only the exclusivity to end but also Mikami's relations with the franchise he created to cease. So what if Capcom let Mikami go with his vision for Resident Evil on Nintendo platforms instead of ruining a strong relationship by breaking the exclusivity deal. (porting RE4 to PS2)
Resident Evil is an extremely well known video game franchise that has spawned numerous films and novelizations under the brand. It has brought in many fans throughout it's time and continues to do so. The idea of "exclusivity" restricts and limits the potential for a title to expand its audience. But in the case of this franchise, does it really? There is no denying the fact that Nintendo scored big time when they had complete ownership of Resident Evil, but there is also no denying the fact that Capcom saw this is a financially flawed move. Why you ask? Well for one thing big name video game companies love money and as we see even today (with countless shooters, guitar heroes, and maddens) they will milk every last bit of a well known franchise. And in the case of Resident Evil, Capcom knew the brand could bring in a massive amount of money in whatever system it was placed. But how would you maximize the total amount of profit? By making it exclusive to one platform, or by making it multiplatform and available to an even greater amount of gamers.
The Gamecube was well received and very afforordable to boot but when stacked up against Sony's PS2 it wasn't selling up to par. This could be due to fact that Nintendo had on a very "kiddy image" with their platform (and a casual image now) while Sony and Microsoft were appealing more to the hardcore (sound familiar?). Putting Resident Evil on the Gamecube not only worked for going against their "kiddy image" but it also answered alot of prayers of Nintendo owners who may have not been able to experience much of the franchise. So for hardcore Nintendo loyalists this was almost akin to a blessing, with such a storied revered franchise gracing their little purple boxes. But what about fans who have been playing the games on Sony's platform? Would they have to purchase a new console just to continue experiencing their beloved series? Surely this concern was in the minds of the bigwigs at Capcom and surely this led to the end of the exclusivity deal. Or was it another fact that lead to it? We may never know the truth but at least this short era of Resident Evil/Nintendo goodness gave us ports, a remake, and better yet, a completely new title in the series that would later become one of the best games of all time.
Resident Evil 4, a game that not only revolutionized its respective franchise but also its genre. Nintendo had a big hit in their puffy Mario gloved hands and they knew this exclusivity deal would be very beneficial for them. But then "it" happened, and not the one Leon faces in the game. Capcom announced their intentions to port the game to the PS2 seeing as how that could bring in even more money to their pockets. With this revelation came another, that saw series creator Shinji Mikami departing and going his seperate way from the franchise he brought to gamers worldwide. This now brings the main point of this article, what if Capcom never decided to port RE4 to Sony's machine? Nintendo could have received Resident Evil 5, but would it have been the same game? Could it possibly have been similar to classic entries in the franchise or not as action oriented as the multiplatform title we ultimately received. This is all up to discussion , but now Nintendo continues to receive some Resident Evil titles in the form of light gun shooters and ports, but will Nintendo ever receive a big major exclusive numbered sequel entry in the classic survival horror franchise or will they now be restricted to ports and side games.
What do you guys think about this whole thing and how it could have been if Mikami was still on board. Personally, after hearing the news of the exclusivity I was upset initially but then I accepted it and went out to purchase a gamecube. So when some people ask if it's worth purchasing a system for one game, it is possible, heck I did it. I have followed this franchise for many years and I'll continue to do so. Please leave your opinions in the comments below.
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And personally, i can remember when i ordered a japanese/US GameCube just to play the Remake on launch day. At least Remake and Zero stayed exclusively on Nintendo's platforms, first GC now Wii. I would've been VERY pissed if all of the three "exclusive" titles arrived at the PS2.
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turned a masterpiece into another experience altogether. (It was very
intuitive!) I would think if the series stayed with Nintendo, RE5
would have the same perfect controls because of the Wii remote. In
fact, the mechanics and control look identical! I just don't know if
the horror element would have diminished as well depending who was in
charge of the development team.
I would have like another RE similar to RE4 engine/mechanics, but I
would prefer for the series to keep the horror elements. If the series
stayed exclusively with Nintendo, CAPCOM would have probably pushed the
Wii hardware early by launch or at least year one. (As opposed to the
lazy ports rail shooters we have now.) Also, considering RE4 looks
better than most current Wii titles, (which was essentially Gamecube
graphics,) the Wii may have had a title that finally surpassed RE4
visuals - and at launch.
For the big game companies especially, this is required as they have to guarantee that their big name money makers remain that way, if not they are not going to make back their expenses or enough profit thus affecting future releases.
In this instance, the truth is that if Capcom had not decided that they would go on and release Resident Evil 4 on the PS2 then Resident Evil 4 would have become the second least popular main resident Evil game sold. All other main series games, bar Resident Evil Zero would have sold more copies and therefore due to higher costs to develop, would have arguably made this the biggest main Resident Evil title flop out of the lot.
At the end of the day, Nintendo was getting more out of the deal than Capcom were and so when the opportunity arose, it made the most sense to go back and pickup the hardcore fanbase they had garnered since the first Residnet Evil instalment.
The PS2 version, was the most successful incarnation of Resident Evil 4 and helped (along with the Wii version) to become one of the most successful games of the series.
As for what this would mean for the franchise, who knows, maybe Shinji would have packed it in. If the direction of 4 had not been the success it is and had stayed loyal to Nintendo. Alternatively, maybe the series would have gone down a more paranormal route instead.
I have to say the first time I played a RE game
Was RE 2 in the N64 version.
Since then I've been following RE in Nintendo consoles.
What I think of Shinji's departure is that Capcom screwed it up BIG time.
Shinji Mikami was the soul of RE and he had great ideas.
Since Shinji left Capcom I have started to see big differences in the games which I don't really like at all. Mostly RE 5, if Shinji worked in that game, I bet the storyline for it would've been way better.
The story we got in RE 5 was mere cliché and quite obvious for anyone who has been following the series. Wesker dead, birdlady is Jill, and eveyone alive and happy at the end. (Hollywood style.. Sucks)
Otherwise... We know Shinji always gave us surprises in everygame, and the most notable is RE 4 which completely changed gaming.
I say do not stay exclusive to Nintendo...
But don't exclude Nintendo from the franchise neither as they hold a great RE fanbase.
However, with that said Capcom is still a business. They are in it to make money off their games. Whether it be ports or updated re-releases you can almost bet Capcom will make as many versions off a successful game as possible. And the RE series is their top selling franchise. So now that I've grown up some and moved beyond the silliness of the console wars I completely understand what Capcom was trying to do. They maintained the exclusive tag to sell as many gamecube copies as possible then sure enough they made more off the PS2 version. They did this because the PS2 was not only doing better than gamecube, but with the added material they could manage to get GC buyers to purchase RE4 yet again in hopes to play the new minigame and unlock all the other bonuses. Cheap, yet remember this is a company out for money.
Now do I believe the series needs Mikami? Not really. RE5 was pretty successful as well, both in sales and reviews. While it's not being considered a revolution or game of the year title, the game itself managed to accomplish a lot of things RE4 was getting hate from. They refined the controls and they made the story connect with the series more as opposed to being a side adventure. It's drawback happened to be co-op which was hit or miss for the gamer. Other than that, some of the unwanted hate from a certain gamer circle stems from the idea that a lot has changed since the classic set of games. And you need only look at Mikami to blame as a result of that. The reason is because RE5 was basing their gameplay on RE4 which is the title that Mikami turned around when he reinvented the gameplay. Other than that you have a stronger story connected to the arc of the series which involves Chris stopping Wesker than you would get of Leon being sent on a mission to save the president's daughter from a cult.
Now with that said, RE5's strengths and success is simply proof that the series is doing just fine without him, and without nintendo exclusives. They likely wouldn't have accomplished what they could in RE5 with the wii. RE5 was true next-gen. The graphics and gameplay were simply a lot to take in.
Could the wii accomplish that? Probably not. And if Mikami still had his way then you are still uncertain of how the series will go because RE1 and RE4 have similar traits, but are two different games in the same series. I could actually imagine he would try to refine his RE4-styled controls for RE5. It's the plot that keeps me uneasy.
From Umbrella Chronicles-RE5-Darkside Chronicles they seem to be making an attempt to tie up a few loose ends. RE5 already gets rid of two-three story elements regarding Wesker and Spencer while UC went on to explain how Umbrella met it's end. I can't wait to see how they connect Darkside with the rest of the main series (especially Krauser). Would Mikami have handled any of this? So far under his care he had a lot of plot holes and unexplained events.
All in all I can only conclude that Mikami has made great games. He personally directed three of them. But the series doesn't require him. And Nintendo shouldn't be exclusive to the series. The series should grow its wings.
On a side note I would like to see a true RE styled game on the wii in the near future. The rail shooters may be fun, but the wii should have more survival horror titles and less rail shooters. That's why I'm interested in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Perhaps that and the RE ports to wii will persuade Capcom to have some new games on the wii that follow through with that.
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