Resident Evil needs to continue down action path, says Capcom producer

A Capcom producer has said that moving in an action-oriented direction is important for the main Resident Evil series games, but suggests that side projects like Revelations for 3DS can do more to capture the classic style.

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The Resident Evil series has strayed a bit from its survival horror roots, heading in a more action-oriented direction. Resident Evil: Revelations producer Masachika Kawata believes the main series needs to keep moving in that direction to appeal to a western audience, but claims side-stories like his recent game can provide more of the classic, creepy atmospheric gameplay.

"Especially for the North American market, I think the series needs to head in that [action-oriented] direction," Kawata told Gamasutra. "[Resident Evil's primary games] need to be an extension of the changes made in Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5. And I think that especially for the North American market, we need to keep going in that direction, and take that a step further. And that's exactly one of the reasons that Revelations is the way it is."

He says that Resident Evil 4 and 5 "aren't shooters, per se," and so he doesn't think the upcoming Resident Evil 6 needs to move all the way toward an action spectacle like Call of Duty. Projects like Revelations, meanwhile, can be a bit more classical.

"So we have our numbered series, and we can say we have a more adventure-oriented version, like a Revelations-style game. And we also have Operation: Raccoon City, which is a third-person shooter. So I think that by extending the market in this sense, we can still have the numbered titles keep their identity about what Resident Evil is supposed to be, but still expand and hit other markets as well."

Appealing to the western market has been a struggle for some Japanese developers, and Capcom has made efforts to capture the market with changes to Resident Evil and new series like Dead Rising. Former Capcom exec Keiji Inafune has been very critical of the Japanese industry, both before he left the company and after, so maybe some of his influence is showing in Capcom's efforts.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    March 23, 2012 10:30 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Resident Evil needs to continue down action path, says Capcom producer.

    A Capcom producer has said that moving in an action-oriented direction is important for the main Resident Evil series games, but suggests that side projects like Revelations for 3DS can do more to capture the classic style.

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      March 23, 2012 10:35 AM

      R.I.P

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      March 23, 2012 10:38 AM

      this is why producers should not have so much sway over a series. its about money and not the game itself

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      March 23, 2012 11:00 AM

      This guy needs to listen to Nick Breckon in the February FIVEAH 2009 Idle News podblast discussing RE5 and how it apes God of War, Gears of War, and Prince of Persia, and pales in comparison to RE4.

      I hear plenty of people say that RE4 was the last good one, and that was the last Shinji Mikami RE game. Capcom needs to put down the nostalgia glasses and stop ruining franchises with reimaginings and Westernizations that have been getting terrible reviews. Of course, then that means the only good big franchise Capcom has left is Street Fighter, but that's their fault for not seriously developing something new and innovative. Dark Void was a swing and a miss.

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        March 23, 2012 11:02 AM

        do you have a link?

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          March 23, 2012 12:04 PM

          I'm at work, so I can't link, but go to the idlethumbs.net archive and search for "With Joe Pesci". It's the Feb 5 2009 blast, which they recorded after "War of the Broses" since RE5's 'bargo prevented them from talking about RE5 (or maybe Nick wasn't that far into it until the night of the main cast recording session).

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      March 23, 2012 11:01 AM

      Capcom of old doesn't exist anymore. they keep driving out people who made that company what it was, like Keiji Inafune and Shinji Mikami.

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      March 23, 2012 11:13 AM

      The problem with RE5--and, likely, RE6--isn't the focus on action. RE5 had action and it was arguably the best entry in the series. The problem is a lack of atmosphere, of mood and tone. RE4 retained a survival horror atmosphere and emphasis on strategic combat. RE5 managed the strategic combat element to a degree but completely eschewed mood and tone. RE5 wasn't even an RE game in my eyes. It was a generic action game that happened to be a lot of fun to play with a friend.

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      March 23, 2012 11:35 AM

      How about having some faith in your audience and faith in your own damn talents. If you make a kick ass Resident Evil game which is creepy and slow.. I bet you people will buy it and play it! Where the fuck did these Japanese developers get the idea that all we want is fast-paced shitty 'Western style" games?! Japanese games haven't sold well in the US lately NOT because they were not Western enough... it's because a ton of them are super derivative, poorly crafted, HD remakes of the same games which came out 10+ years ago! Japanese games sold crazy well in the 80's and 90's because they were innovative fresh and extremely well put together. STOP making games to fit some kind of image you have of what people want and focus more on making kick ass games which a fun to play! Generally great games tend to sell well. The Resident Evil franchise seems to have enough momentum so that they could at least TRY and older style slightly slower paced survival horror approach to the game.. people would still buy it and you would bring back some of the old fans who have grown tired of that action approach. It's not like there is a shortage of action games out there... but there IS a shortage of great survival horror games. I find this guys comments insulting because he makes it sound like all people want to play is Gears of War clones.. but in reality.. people just want to play GOOD FUCKING GAMES!

      One more thing... at what point did the old style of Resident Evil games sell poorly enough for them to abandon that style of game? To the best of my knowledge these games have always sold very well. What makes them think a RE1, RE2 or even RE4 style game would not sell in the US? Maybe RE4 didn't sell well at first because it came out on the freaking Gamecube first.. didn't it?

      I don't know.. I don't get these guys and how they think. It seems like they deserve to fail with the mindset they have right now.

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        March 23, 2012 12:38 PM

        Many huge Japanese publishers are getting stuck in a rut, thinking they have to westernize and hyperannualize to survive, when in fact this strategy is hurting them. Capcom, Namco and Tecmo seem to be the worst offenders.

        Just this week or two we had Raccoon City, Ninja Gaiden 3, and a third franchise game that I forgot get released, all to mediocre reviews and complaints of blandness. Then they say that all of Japanese game developmebt is dead, which is mean to true innovators like From, Atlus, etc.

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      March 23, 2012 12:25 PM

      poo. I really like that about the RE games, running up and down empty corridors collecting plants and chemicals and clues and stuff. The solitude was a big part of it. RE4 had just the right amount of action.

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