Read some RE2 remake stuff and DMC 5 stuff from game industry and dualshockers:
RE2 remake:
Resident Evil 2 has received a lot of attention since its reveal at E3 2018, and today Capcom Europe Chief Operating Officer Stuart Turner and Marketing Director Antoine Molant talked about it extensively in an interview on
Gamesindustry.
First of all, we hear from Turner why the game features a third-person camera.
“We had discussions on whether we could make a game that was everything for everyone. For those guys who want tank controls and want fixed cameras… can we do that?”
“But the world has moved on and these players have changed. And if we did [introduce old school mechanics], these fans might play it and actually decide it’s not what they wanted after all. But we played around with a few things in development. We did try first-person, we did try fixed camera. But the way the game has been designed, we decided that a third-person view works better.”
That being said, Capcom was certainly not unconcerned about whether the change would be received well by the fans, as explained by Molant.
“That was probably the main worry, or question mark, that we had. We knew there were expectations around the game, and we knew it looked great and would be a good game. But around the point of the tank controls and fixed cameras, we were worried that the fanbase would be divided. But, although there might have been some initial dissenting voices, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.”
Turner explains that the publisher was concerned about who the game would appeal to, but they’re seeing pre-orders, and they’re “a little taken aback by how well it has gone down.”
Interestingly, Capcom decided against adding the word “remake” to the title, because they want to deliver the message that it’s a major launch like
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard. The two games were developed in parallel, so there are currently two separate teams working on mainline games within the franchise.
According to Turner, while Capcom has shareholders to appease, they’re also concerned about the artistic factor. While
Resident Evil 6 sold more than its successor,
7 is “completely fine” in terms of profitability, and it was very well received, which is relevant for the publisher.
“In some respects, getting some very good review scores counts as much for Capcom as a game that sells millions and millions and millions. We’d prefer a game that got a 9 and sold less, than got a 6 but sold more.”
That being said, Capcom is currently looking much more at long-term sales compared to the day-one rush.
Resident Evil 7 is doing “amazingly” in the long run.
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DMC5:
Molant acknowledged that while
DMC: Devil May Cry by Ninja Theory was good, it also disappointed some fans, so the development team went back to the drawing board.
“The last game was very good, but there were a few unhappy voices because it wasn’t a direct sequel and other things. Because of that, the dev team sat down and asked: ‘Where do we take that next?’ And it was known that the community wanted Devil May Cry 5 to be closer to 1, 2 and 3. And so the project was born.”
While the current appeal of the hack and slash genre is debatable, the project was greenlit because the fans wanted it.
“We can debate whether that genre has the same appeal as it used to… that’s hard to say. The project was born because of what the fans want.”
According to Turner, while the publisher wouldn’t go too far in doing whatever the fans ask, there is still an underlying element of fan service. Capcom wants to give back to the fans and to support them, within reason.
“It’s fair to say that we are very focused on the audience and the feedback that we get. We have seen some horrible stories in the media recently about publishers bending to the will of the internet. We wouldn’t advocate going that far. But certainly, there is an element of fan service that runs throughout the company.”
“DMC is an example of that. Fans weren’t happy, so, therefore, we went a different way. It’s part of giving back within the remit that we’re still a business, we still need it to sell. We want to give things to the fans, we want to support them, but it has to make sense. So we do it within reason. We don’t listen to the far extremes of the fanbase, shall we say.”
In fact, Molant explains that the project would have never started if it didn’t make sense in terms of business. While the forecasts aren’t crazy, Devil May Cry 5 is still aiming to please a fanbase that is still rather large.
“This project would never have been greenlit if it didn’t make sense business-wise. We rarely have crazy forecasts on any of our games. DMC 5 will please a fanbase that is still quite big.”
