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Resident Evil 5 on Xbox, Playstation, likely on Nintendo Revolution
Await an authentic sequel, not a side story
BY OUR TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
24 July, 2005: Capcom, creator of the horror survival series 'Resident Evil' have announced in a brief statement that Resident Evil 5 will be available for Microsoft's current-generation console XBox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3.
The hugely popular Resident Evil 4, acclaimed by both fans and game producers, is expected to come to PlayStation 2s this fall; while Xbox owners had looked on with no chance of getting to battle the series' trademark undead heroes.
Now however, with this announcement, made in a press release in the Investor Relations section of Capcom's Japanese corporate website, both XBox and Playstation can expect a potential version of Nintendo's Revolution. Although the release has not mentioned exact launch dates, since Resident Evil 4 took four years to develop, the newest Resident Evil will not most probably arrive before the Revolution's expected late 2006, and this version could still be in development.
Capcom executives had already shown interest in the "unprecedented power" of Microsoft's and Sony's Xbox 360s and Playstation 3s, and declared that Resident Evil 5 would "revolutionize the series by delivering an unbelieavle detail, realism, and control."
While the Capcom announcement did not reveal too much information on Resident Evil 5, Famitsu's latest issue carried several details about the game as well as an interview with the game's producer Jun Takeuchi (producer of Genma Onimusha and Onimusha 3). Takeuchi, who has worked on Resident Evil 2 as well, on character animation and with the creation of gun models, said that Resident Evil 5 would be able to benefit from PS3's and Xbox 360's high-definition graphics, and create such a tangible "atmosphere" to the game that players would be almost able to feel the hot air of the desert sands that forms the setting for Resident Evil this time.
While previous versions had creepy dark settings Resident Evil is played under the pounding sun of a hot desert city which Takeuchi said was inspired by the 2001 Black Hawk Down. In the movie American soldiers are swarmed by angry Somalians after their helicopter crash lands, and while they seem to have a lot of room to move around in the city, they are quickly cornered by the crowd in pursuit. Takeuchi hopes to capture this "madness" in Resident Evil 5 where snapshots of the game on Famitsu reveal an unshaven man in short-sleeves armed with a knife on his shoulder and a handgun, outnumbered and pursued by unknown and shrouded enemies (shown in silhouette).
Apparently the chasers are shown in shadow because they will feature new elements that the game developers are reluctant to reveal just yet. The main character however, is touted to be Chris Redfield, one of the producers of core developers of RE5 and Takeuchi hinted that this might mean some sort of a conclusion to the long storyline of the series.
Thus RE5 promises to be an authentic sequel rather than a side story, with several succesfully made major changes and is Capcom's main focus currently. While projects for next-generation consoles is expected to take three to five years in development, Takeuchi said that RE5 might take a little longer.
Meanwhile, Resident Evil fans can look forward to a one-to-two minute high definition trailer of the RE5 at the Tokyo game show.
BY OUR TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT
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