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Capcom Says Resident Evil 6 Faced Development, Sales Challenges

Resident Evil 6 was a polarizing game, with some players looking at it as a logical extension of the series, while others felt betrayed. According to Capcom, some of the perceived failures were a result of poor marketing and development challenges.

The game's sales, which were originally projected to reach the seven-million mark, instead has sold five-million copies worldwide. Capcom cited several reasons for the relatively disappointing sales in an investor Q&A.

"[We] believe that the new challenges we tackled at the development stage were unable to sufficiently appeal to users. In addition, we believe there was inadequate organizational collaboration across our entire company with regard to marketing, promotions, the creation of plans, and other activities."

In other words, the game's new direction didn't attract players, and Resident Evil 6's marketing efforts didn't help.

[Via Gamespot]

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Comments
  • Funny, I just bought this game last night as a fun co-op game. I can definitely understand why most RE fans feel betrayed and why the game didn't sell well. However, I do think the game is really fun on co-op. Thankfully, I bought this game for a specific reason and knew what I was getting into. Capcom should have known making a game in the vein of RE 5 would be a bad idea.
  • I enjoyed the game. It isn't old school Resident Evil, but still a fun game nonetheless.
  • I tried to like Resident Evil 6 more... but I just can't. It's not a terrible game overall, but having stopped playing it I can't say I have any desire to go back to it. The RE franchise definitely needs a reboot, imo. One that will hopefully make an attempt at horror again.
  • Sadly, Resident Evil 6 was not a Resident Evil game. It was an action game with Resident Evil labeling. Capcom should just reboot the franchise and make it survival horror again or axe it. A Resident Evil 2 remake would be even better.
  • I liked the game. Sure it wasn't like the older games, but it wasn't terrible like people say.
  • Don't put the blame on marketing, the problem with the game is that you tried to apeal to everyone. Sure marketing could had been better, but what destroyed you was word of mouth.
  • Playing through Chris's portion and I still can't bring myself to keep going most of the time. It's so boring. It's as if they ripped the look and feel of Gears of War off, then made me play with the controller while it's submerged in butter. It's not the worst game ever, but it's a far cry from the series' roots. I'd really like to play an updated concept of the first Resident Evil. No corny lines and tank controls, but give me a modern game where I'm trapped in a creepy house with surprises around every corner. I'll take that over what Capcom's tried to do in each of the last two games any day of the week.
  • I liked Resident Evil 6 but comparing to Resident Evil 2, 4, and 5 on Youtube videos it did lack scared factor, although the controls weren't frustrating and having space for guns and no partner takes your items, I rather keep in case of any reboot or for the Resident Evil 7 game.

  • I still don't see what everyone was mad about. No, it wasn't the same as the old school RE games that focused more on survival and the scare factor. No, it didn't have certain features that RE fans have grown to love. But why the venom? It wasn't a bad game on its own. How many games have changed formats, formulas, and focus over the years? Quite a few. Why do we have to obsess over the past entries of a series? Can't we just leave our preconceived notions at the door and try to enjoy our gaming experiences without tainting them with our prejudice?
  • RE-MAKE RESIDENT EVIL 2. Next-Gen.
  • Maybe because Resident Evil fans like Resident Evil, not Dead Space Evil... if you're going to change the series like that, it stands to reason that some of the people who loved you will leave you and you may not attract enough to cover that.
  • Why not copy the Re4 formula? I actually had fun with Re6, but I can see why people would see it as a steaming pile. It's got off the wall pacing, cringe inducing dialogue, QTE obsessed, horrible boss fights, and one of the most ridiculous Re storylines to boot. Just copy the ALMOST UNIVERSALLY APPRAISED RE4 GOTY style and watch everyone buy. Again, I enjoyed the game a lot. However, its style is why Dead Space has been kicking your ass in the mainstream horror genre (fan wise).
  • Largest challenge faced = No Albert Wesker.
  • Yeah, blame it on marketing like everyone else does.

  • I've been along time fan of the RE series but I was shocked when I first played RE 6 to see loot drops from zombies and the sense of trying to survive was gone. I really hope they either make some serious changes to this "new" direction or better yet polish the great system they already have.

  • 5 million dissapointing? When other studios are barely making 100,000+ sales with better games!?. Go F-UCK yourselves Capcom. Kingdoms of Amalur, even Darksiders II barely made 1.5 million worldwide, and those 2 games have probably the most fun combat mechanics. The Witcher 3, a game with a massive scope, incredible plot, and challenging difficulty, needed nearly 1 year to sell 5 million copies. And they find it dissapointing? With a game that is a jumble of genres and while they good and passable, they are not even close to the quality of Witcher, Mass Effect 3, Darksiders? With a plot that is so watered down, borrows from everything and has nearly no personality of its own, to me its a miracle this pastiche of a game made those numbers. Greedy f*ckers.
  • Resident Evil began as a survival horror series and it turned into a horror shooter. That alienated a huge amount of the fan base. Capcom grown the series into the shooter genre, but at the cost of leaving the survival behind. Its not a bad game, just not a survival horror game. It leaves fans perplexed as to whether or not the series will deliver a survival experience in future installments. Resident Evil 4 jumped the shark and what came before is gone. Like any good property that becomes successful RE has been watered down to meet a "largest demographic" sales number. Despite the well know fact that what made the game successful was not doing just that.
  • "You need to make it more like a Michael Bay, Call of Duty product."

    Said no one.

    (To be clear, I love the game, but I want the series to at least attempt a return to survival-horror.)
  • The series needed to evolve. I think they could have gone about it a little different but if nothing changed you all would still be complaining......
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