Capcom has listened to fan feedback following Resident Evil 6 and knows that the series must return to its roots going forward, even mentioning the possibility of a reboot.
These comments come from Capcom’s Masachika Kawata, a long-term producer on the iconic survival horror series.
“I think that it’s important for us to have users’ needs in mind when making the games," Kawata told IGN. "At the same time I think a lot of what people want now is to have Chris and Jill in a game, or they want it to look like Resident Evil used to look like. That’s what makes the game work for them. We should be able to start from scratch and reboot it. It would still be Resident Evil. We wouldn’t lose the essential nature of what makes it a good game just by changing the characters.”
“Survival horror as a genre is never going to be on the same level, financially, as shooters and much more popular, mainstream games. At the same time, I think we need to have confidence to put money behind these projects, and it doesn’t mean we can’t focus on what we need to do as a survival horror game to meet fan’s needs. We are always taking in to account user feedback, even when the users’ are very upset about something.
“Looking at last year - something like, for example, Operation Racoon City – it was quite an experimental attempt in bringing the Resident Evil series to new genres. And in light of that game, certainly I would say that I review my thoughts on that [the importance of action]. But I think it’s undeniable to say the series returning to its roots is important, and those roots are horror.”
We should be able to start from scratch and reboot it. It would still be Resident Evil. We wouldn’t lose the essential nature of what makes it a good game just by changing the characters.
