Capcom says Resident Evil fans are too old and will grow out of gaming

[Lady Lilith]

http://kotaku.com/resident-evil-fanbase-also-old-decaying-capcom-tells-1491248686

 

Resident Evil is old enough to vote as of March. (That means its 18 years old). Its fanbase also has aged commensurately, Capcom said in a recent investor guide. This is not really a good thing, the company delicately points out.

"The longevity of the Resident Evil title also comes with problems," Capcom said in this white paper on the history of Resident Evil. "The main user group is now in their late-30s to 40s, and the average age is also going up as the series goes on with an increasing possibility that some percentage of the existing users will outgrow games altogether."

Y'hear that, RE fans? You are old. And you may give up games at some point. "Therefore, there is a constant need to gain new users," the document notes. Some cross promotion in fashion magazines was a start. "However, obviously game information is not carried by fashion magazines." Obviously.

Since then, Capcom tells investors, they've been "collaborating with fashion brands which are popular among young people," and have done things like open a Resident Evil restaurant in Tokyo. "These collaborative events are opportunities to be enjoyed by non-gamers as well, so it is important to plan them so that anyone can enjoy them and not aim them at a section of our core gamers."

It's sort of an ironic conclusion to the white paper, which begins by noting that when the firstResident Evil was in development, its staff was made up mostly of rookies. Veterans and all stars were working on Street Fighter. The paper also justifies the boring, unimaginative box art for Resident Evil 6's western release, saying the Japanese version stresses characters while the North American edition focuses on "the horror atmosphere." Because nothing's scarier than a big ol' digit. (Resident Evil 5's western packshot had two characters on it, too, if I'm not mistaken.)

Read through it at the link, but bear in mind, this isn't what Capcom is saying to its customers. It's what it's saying to its investors, which may be more forthright

 

 

I hope they serve Jill Sandwiches at the restaurant. That would instantly make me want to eat there.  Screw the whole RE in fashion magazines, bring on the Jill Sandwiches and giant talking Barry figures that spew out his one liners.

[ChickenExotic]

Another reason why the people working at CRAPCOM have NO clue who/what their fan base wants, they always think they know better:

 

[DracoLionheart]

Funny how I'm 23 and soon as I seen this topic I'm playing Resident Evil 4...

[Yume-Jam]

I read a similar comment from someone in Arc Systems Works as pertains to Guilty Gear as a reason why they wouldn't bring old GG games to new consoles/ focus on new GG games. Thing is, most people who love games, don't "grow out of it".

[Lady Lilith]

Also, they're flip floppers.  They go back and forth between doom and gloom "RE is doomed" like this, to thinking people want games like RE5 and 6, to thinking they should bring RE back to its roots, to this.

 

I mean, just a few months ago, they were gung ho on bringing the survival horror part of RE back after people hated RE6, except for Leon's campaign.  I want to say RE Revelations also sold better than 5 and 6.

 

Same with Devil May Cry, really.  They knew people would hate the reboot (as least as a DMC game, I think it'd be perfectly fine if it were a new IP or something), but now I read somewhere they're considering DMC5, but who knows how long it'll be before they say fans don't want that either and are too old for it.

[KitsuneChaos]

Another reason why the people working at CRAPCOM have NO clue who/what their fan base wants, they always think they know better:

To be fairly honest, it's hard to tell if their fan base themselves can agree on what they really want; and that goes for games outside of the Resident Evil spectrum.

 

Only untouched bases I've seen with simple "we want more; we're not too picky" attitudes have been the ones for Dino Crisis.

[OnePieceDude]

Sandwitches and fashion ain't gonna solve shit. Who cares how old you are? As long as you enjoy the franchise, that's all that matters in my book.

[Tomato]

I see, so this the reason Capcom will use to delay RE7 (with sherry as a main if there is a god) for another 4/5 years on current gen.

[Mcbeanstr]

They should end the Resident evil series anyway they are just driving it into the ground. I hope they can therefore come up with something fresh

[Asuka Langley]

This news is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay old. But yeah, they've got a point, the squeakers and players might convert if they took a new grasp upon horror itself... maybe...Zombies in space? aha no but knowing Capcom they'll come up with something!

[Jon-Patrick-S]

I honestly think at this point they should just put an end to the series. They clearly can't decide what they want to do and can't see what the fans want them to do either. Wesker is dead, Umbrella is completely dealt with, Leon is never getting laid with anyone ever, the major plot arcs of the series are dealt with as far as I'm concerned. The only thing I really want from the series at this point is to see the return/fates of Barry, Rebecca, Billy and Carlos but I'm not holding my breathe. 

[MoreTheVictim]

Grow out of games? How can you grow out of games? I don't see myself ever growing out of games! I'll die with a controller in my hand!

[Dragon-Archon]

Grow out of games? How can you grow out of games? I don't see myself ever growing out of games! I'll die with a controller in my hand!

Exactly this. Capcom is most likely using this as an excuse to turn RE into the next Call of Duty. As if we need that.

[MoreTheVictim]

Exactly this. Capcom is most likely using this as an excuse to turn RE into the next Call of Duty. As if we need that.

 

Oh hell no!! I never want that!!

 

I don't know much about C( r )apcom, I haven't played many of their games but from what I've heard they are the most idiotic, most ignorant, most stubborn and dumbest people who exist on the earth. Is that right?

Edited January 6, 2014 by MrCostari

[Dragon-Archon]

Oh hell no!! I never want that!!

 

I don't know much about C( r )apcom, I haven't played many of their games but from what I've heard they are the most idiotic, most ignorant, most stubborn and dumbest people who exist on the earth. Is that right?

Don't know about that, but a few games they published/developed are:

• Dragon's Dogma
• Remember Me
• Devil May Cry

[Parker]

Capcom, you so silly. 

 

I'd love to see a current gen (PS4/Xbone) Resident Evil in the same vein as the original games but I doubt it will happen, from Capcom at least. I think we may see an Indie developer take on this task and hopefully they succeed because there is obviously a large market for these games. 

 

 

Parker

[DARKSCORPONOXR]

well i knew i was old but thank you capcom for pointin it out once again!... im goin to drown my sorrows now capcom you insensitive bastards! especially shinji mikami! screw your original great resi games and screw vanquish still cant do it... lol

Edited January 6, 2014 by DARKSCORPONOXR

[HellcoreFire]

Grow out of gaming is like saying grow out of movies, books or music or whatever. I don't think that's very likely unless you're old enough to be in a home, maybe.

Edited January 6, 2014 by HellcoreFire

[merciful84]

Ah boy. Who the heck does their market research? Seriously, this sounds more like a deluded excuse more than an educated reason for the series criticisms in recent years. If the same people losing interest in the series are the same people losing interest in gaming...then why would they bother complaining in the first place and single out just Resident Evil?

 

Nonsense. My hope in Capcom getting its act together when it comes to some of the things it does just died a little bit more...

Edited January 6, 2014 by merciful84

[DrasticAutomatic]

Resident Evil fans range greatly, i'm 16 and started with RE4 when I was 10.

[Bullstomp]

Seriously, RE6 didn't meet expectations and was panned critically because C®apcom decided it was made into an Action game instead of Survival Horror. People LIKE Survival Horror and there aren't alot of options out there. Alot of people like Action as well but there is a metric shit-ton of Action titles out there.

 

Resident Evils decline isn't because your fanbase is old, C®apcom, its because you aren't adhering to the formula that made Resident Evil successful . . .

[gothicsyn]

The thing is Resident Evil started with zombies and terrifying moments to open each door wondering what the hell was on the other side, they set a bar that they themselves couldnt meet so they are clutching at straws trying to figure where to go, I have been with RE from Resident Evil 2 then of course went back and played the first, 4 wasnt bad but too much of a step away, 5 well ... it was good in its own right but it just didnt feel like resident evil, 6 was more Call of Duty than Resident Evil, especially Chris' campaign even the zombies in Leons campaign somehow lacked the bite they once had, the game can be rescued all they have to do is go back to its survival roots, let the player experience that kind of terror and we will all stop whining at them that Resident Evil is no longer a survival horror game.

 

I bought Re4 and Code Veronica HD much as I would any other resident evil game BECAUSE its resident evil, a franchise I happen to enjoy, I just feel they have lost their way in trying to keep up with other games. 

[Parker]

Personally, I've always felt that one of the reasons the original Resident Evil games were "scary" was because of the piss poor control scheme. It was extremely difficult to simply navigate around (or clunky, at least) which added to the tension to the games. As the games got easier to control, they went away from survival horror. Resident Evil 4, which many regard as one of the, if not the best in the series is more similar to 5 and 6 than it is 1 or 2, in my opinion. 

 

Regardless, I'd love to see a Resident Evil on PS4 and Capcom would be stupid not to release a RE game for this generation of consoles. 

 

 

Parker

[Wdjat Prinny Doods]

Seriously, RE6 didn't meet expectations and was panned critically because C®apcom decided it was made into an Action game instead of Survival Horror. People LIKE Survival Horror and there aren't alot of options out there. Alot of people like Action as well but there is a metric shit-ton of Action titles out there.

 

Resident Evils decline isn't because your fanbase is old, C®apcom, its because you aren't adhering to the formula that made Resident Evil successful . . .

Preach dood preach!

[voodoo_eyes]

Unfortunately Capcom is trying to milk the franchise dry in every regard (RE 6 movie coming out this year...). They're trying to profit from their renouned franchises, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, if they'd stick to what the franchise in question was known for.

 

Personally I don't consider RE 5 and 6 to be bad games, the 5th I considered to be pretty good actually and the 6th one was decent. The mistake they made was name them Resident Evil in my opinion, the gameplay presented as a new franchise probably wouldn't have gotten as much flak as it did and still does.

Those games don't fall into the survival horror genre, that much is obvious. The focus changed from survival to shooter, which ended up being a less fortunate move.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the company would be bought by either Sega or Nintendo sometime in the future, as financially things aren't going all that well. I highly doubt that a restaurant and branching out into fashion will be making much of a difference in that regard. Maybe initially the hype will bring up the numbers, as it generally tends to happen with all that is new, but I doubt that it'll last.