According to producer Masachika Kawata, Capcom has introduced a new strategy for the Resident Evil franchise: release an average of one game every year by alternating brand-new entries with remakes, including the highly anticipated Resident Evil Code: Veronica.
Speaking in the latest issue of Game Informer, Kawata explained that “producing a new entry in the Resident Evil series every year would be quite an undertaking and a difficult task.” This is where remakes become an important part of the plan. He said that, for obvious reasons, rebuilding fan-favourite games takes less time than creating a completely new title from scratch.
He explained:
One of the reasons for creating remakes is producing a new entry in the Resident Evil series every year would be quite an undertaking and a difficult task. So, being able to revisit older games and remake them helps Capcom meet that goal of releasing a Resident Evil title each year, but it also allows the team to continually challenge themselves and hone their craft.
Remakes have also proven to be a major commercial success. With fans responding positively to the high quality of these releases and the games generating strong revenue, Kawata said Capcom is able to continue investing in future Resident Evil titles while also supporting the development of completely new IPs such as Pragmata.
He added:
That’s not to say the remakes are any less important. In fact, they’re just as important as the mainline titles. Capcom is lucky enough to have found this cycle that can continue to provide us with the financial resources to create things like new entries in the Resident Evil series and completely new IP like Pragmata. So there is that relationship there.
In other franchise news, Capcom currently has no plans to remake Resident Evil 5 or Resident Evil 6, according to leaker Dusk Golem.
