Capcom resells their games more than most publishers. Just count how many times you have bought Resident Evil 4 out of all the platforms it has been released on. But sometimes they go above beyond a simple port as evidenced by the upcoming Resident Evil 2 Remake. It’s a complete overhaul of the game but with a similar framework from that PS1 classic. Capcom seems confident about the Resident Evil 2 Remake, stating that they would “explore” more remakes in the future.
In their latest financial report, Capcom fielded questions about the game. When asked about its potential sales, Capcom repsonded by saying that it is expected to be a “million-seller,” citing its positive reception at E3 2018. These projected numbers have inspired them to remake and re-release more old titles, as the company said it expects “to explore these further with a variety of properties as a part of our strategy to utilize our library of IP.”
As previously stated, Capcom loves remaking and re-releasing their games. But this could mean that the company might start prioritizing more grandiose updates in the vein of Resident Evil 2 Remake. Previously, Capcom has mainly ported and/or bundled their older games into collections with a few exceptions. The cavalcade of recent Mega Man collections is proof of that, as are the multitude of ports they churn out.
But the difference is that the Resident Evil 2 Remake, as was the case with the remake of the first Resident Evil on the GameCube, is full of new art and systems. Capcom acknowledged this by saying that it had to make “the most of our cutting-edge game development environment to re-create the content, and are developing it with a budget appropriate for a Resident Evil title targeting the global market.” In essence, it’s a lot of effort to bring a game like this into the modern age, despite it having a rough foundation to take from.
