Resident Evil 7 is going to blow our minds, says Capcom Producer.

[Deathlygasm]

The fact REmaster sold so well proves Capcoms statements wrong....

[Jimmy_Jazz]

Capcom haven't been clear in the past about how the main entries and Revelation spin-offs relate to each other and the series' past.

http://kotaku.com/capcom-explains-the-difference-between-resident-evil-an-1637148095/all

"The Resident Evil: Revelations games, however, are aimed at long-time RE fans who want a more traditional, survival horror experience."

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/522303/Capcom-producer-talks-Resident-Evil-7-core-gameplay-and-fan-input

"“I think the big numbered titles are where we try the big sort of experiments, bold new things,” Okabe said.

“We see what sticks, and continue to refine those ideas.

"I think with the spin-off series we have the opportunity to do something a little different."

And it's hard to tell what their intent with REV2 was at the moment. I'm halfway through Chapter 2 and it feels like a Resident Evil Greatest (and not-so-greatest) hits package. Maybe an attempt to dig out old characters and mechanics one last time and let natural selection choose which ones to cull?

Jimmy - to be fair, it's not all really that much rubbish.

It's impossible to tell if older people are suffering from any form of franchise fatigue without access to sales demographics and when the franchise has taken a massive change of direction almost mid-way through its current life-span. And with that information along, it'd be impossible to know if individuals are suffering from franchise fatigue or gaming fatigue in general.

There was definitely an element of Capcom getting too sequel & spin off heavy 10-18 years back, which affected the quality of the franchise, but in the wak of that, 5&6 take up 2 spots in Capcom's top 3 selling games of all time.

A franchise needs to evolve to remain relevant and appealing. However, it reads like Capcom are choosing to ignore the fact that the evolution that the series has gone through may have put off a large portion of its earlier fan base.

Also the 'age allowed' minimum was 16 for most places it released in during 1996

It was 18 here in the UK, when I was 15. I even managed to get a copy a day before from Electronics Boutique staff. Those were the days!

[Burt Mustin]

It was 18 here in the UK, when I was 15. I even managed to get a copy a day before from Electronics Boutique staff. Those were the days!

Heh, same here. And that was back when you really had parents up in arms over violence, gore, and sexuality. They still are, but it was painfully hyper-sensitive back then, with it all being so new. In terms of years for gaming, I have never again witnessed another like 1996.

Reading that Capcom poll, sparked the question for me-- "At what point did the series begin to lose you?" I couldn't really answer it completely-- I mean, I enjoyed 2 and 3, but even back then somehow remember them feeling somewhat 'lightweight' in relation to 1. Even back in 99' after playing 3, I felt the two separated didn't feel fulfilling, yet if somehow they were connected in a clever way as one game, it could have been pretty special.

The thing about the 'downfall' of the series (for me), is that it's largely been seeing so many of the games as executed 'half-assed' as regards the story, gameplay, and overall execution. Too much of it feels contrived, or made up hastily, and started becoming so ridiculous at times (begin w/CVX...in painful truth) that each lost one of two things a.) genuine in-the-moment fun b.) emotional resonance as an overall experience. In a way, I suppose you could pin some of this all the way back to Okamoto & whoever else decided that the games should become a full-blown franchise, yet at the same time wanting sequels, game after game, to appear in rapid intervals...as if the potential narrative complexity of the series was akin to that of fucking Rock/Megaman.

At this point, I'd personally prefer what Bat echoed in another thread-- end it!; Or atleast begin making plans now to do so- It feels as though if they put the work in, possible avenues still exist to conclude in pretty strong fashion. As mentioned in another thread, maybe Chris or Jill ends up dying in a way that is meaningful as regards how the story would end, and would be powerful at the same time for long-time (or even midway, now) players. It doesn't seem to be beyond the possibility of a final flourish of good storytelling and effective gameplay to conclude what would then be over a two decade franchise. Cost/sales aside, there's still little ways to know how long Capcom plan on continuing it.

[Rombie]

The fact REmaster sold so well proves Capcoms statements wrong....

Thats why I predict the 'hard-core' concept, if Capcom keeps it up, will shift and Rev2's blend of trying to please all audiences will become more the standard.

Capcom haven't been clear in the past about how the main entries and Revelation spin-offs relate to each other and the series' past.

http://kotaku.com/capcom-explains-the-difference-between-resident-evil-an-1637148095/all

"The Resident Evil: Revelations games, however, are aimed at long-time RE fans who want a more traditional, survival horror experience."

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/522303/Capcom-producer-talks-Resident-Evil-7-core-gameplay-and-fan-input

"“I think the big numbered titles are where we try the big sort of experiments, bold new things,” Okabe said.

“We see what sticks, and continue to refine those ideas.

"I think with the spin-off series we have the opportunity to do something a little different."

And it's hard to tell what their intent with REV2 was at the moment. I'm halfway through Chapter 2 and it feels like a Resident Evil Greatest (and not-so-greatest) hits package. Maybe an attempt to dig out old characters and mechanics one last time and let natural selection choose which ones to cull?

Rev1 was certainly of the "spin off" concept as far as Capcom describes it there, but Rev2 certainly does fit a more broad 'greatest hits' - indeed for all good and bad - concept as you describe it.

Personally it's not hard for me to tell at all, simply because I asked the question of the producer "What is the market idea for the game" and I was specifically told they wanted to target all players, new, recent, and hard-core. And hope that the references and links back would get new & recent players talking to hardcore ones online, but that the gameplay content would be broad enough to please everyone depending on their gameplay style they like more.

It's impossible to tell if older people are suffering from any form of franchise fatigue without access to sales demographics and when the franchise has taken a massive change of direction almost mid-way through its current life-span. And with that information along, it'd be impossible to know if individuals are suffering from franchise fatigue or gaming fatigue in general.

There was definitely an element of Capcom getting too sequel & spin off heavy 10-18 years back, which affected the quality of the franchise, but in the wak of that, 5&6 take up 2 spots in Capcom's top 3 selling games of all time.

One would hope for Capcoms IR materials, where the comment you posted is found, is based on actual market research to come to that conclusion and so I'm certain this is the case for them at least. I'm certainly also not saying your comment about the changes in direction haven't helped is anything but also another issue - certainly to me RE4 was a fun game but it no longer felt like 'Resident Evil' as I knew it - and it kinda changed my interest in the franchise from there on for example, but it's certainly also not the only issue nor does it make what Capcom stated any less truthful either.

The later point about the sales is interesting because it's part of Capcom's confusion on where to take the franchise, knowing so many people only probably played the more recent action based titles. But in someways the numbers in inflated when compared to older titles simply because gaming demographics in general are much different. And counter to Capcom's issues of people being in their 30's and 40's even, you keep being told the average gamer is in their 30's anyway... so maybe this isn't the worst thing possible. Who knows really... in a lot of ways, the survey really probably and hopefully was the best bet to mine some data from franchise fans hoping it would be more specific than sales and general info ever was.

A franchise needs to evolve to remain relevant and appealing. However, it reads like Capcom are choosing to ignore the fact that the evolution that the series has gone through may have put off a large portion of its earlier fan base.

Again, before Rev2, before what I heard from the producer of it in person, and before the way Remake sold - yeah maybe. But given their ideas to try and appeal to as many audiences and get discussion going between old fans and new fans, plus this survey we discussed, I'm hopeful they've learn't their lesson after 6 - as I've said before, sure while "good" in sheer numbers shipped, wasn't probably as good as hoped when it was downgraded in possible shipping/sales numbers and given the budget - probably in profits against how much the damn thing cost. Nothing like the bottom line to make people think more about what they're making and please their fanbase a little more than before.

We can only hope Rev2's "success" doesn't just mean they get lazy again though.

It was 18 here in the UK, when I was 15. I even managed to get a copy a day before from Electronics Boutique staff. Those were the days!

If you were 15 then, Capcom's age bracket puts you almost into the 30's group as well I guess.

I forgot you guys had it as 18 in the UK. It was 16 in NZ, and M in the States... which is basically the same. We still have EB in NZ too oddly enough, instead of Gamestop/Game. Very rarely did a game get an 18 restriction in NZ back in those days... I'm sure there was others before, but the first major one I remember was the original GTA.