- Capcom didn’t see any value in the classic Resident Evil games, according to GOG’s development head.
- The company thought the remakes were the “superior” way to play the franchise.
- GOG did eventually convince Capcom, and the original trilogy was a massive success on the platform.
The Resident Evil franchise has barely missed since the launch of Biohazard, launching one successful title after another. A big part of this winning strategy has been Capcom’s decision to remake the earlier titles, giving fans a more modern way to play the series.
The Resident Evil 4 remake sold over 10 million copies and even received praise from the original director for fixing issues in the 2005 title. Hence, it’s no surprise that Capcom is planning to make more of these remakes. But if the Japanese giant gets its way, the classic originals may get buried forever.
Why This Matters: Game preservation is essential in an industry that’s abolishing physical media and preferring remakes.
‘Okay, we have all of those remakes. It’s already the superior experience.’ So they didn’t really see the value in bringing back the classical versions.”
In an interview with The Game Business, GOG’s Marcin Paczynski revealed that convincing Capcom to release the classic Resident Evil titles on GOG was a particular challenge, as the publisher saw no value in the classic versions.
As per the development manager of GOG, the company said all the remakes are a “superior” way to play the series, so putting the classics on PC is rather nonsensical.
Capcom was eventually convinced after Marcin Paczynski made them realize there is an entire generation of fans out there who are emotionally connected to the classic Resident Evil games and would love to experience them again, but the whole process wasn’t easy.
The GOG development head also revealed that the classics were a massive success on the platform, garnering 94% positive reviews and strong sales, reflecting that there is still an audience for retro video games.
Hence, the effort it took to convince Capcom was worth it in the end, according to Marcin Paczynski. However, it is troubling how the company considers older games obsolete and without fans, simply because there are now remakes available.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.