Topic: Capcom's Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition at 1.5 Million Sold

[Kairon]

The game company is targeting global sales of 500,000 units for their upcoming Wii port, Dead Rising: Chop 'Til You Drop.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=17743

 Capcom ported Resident Evil 4 to the Wii early in the system's life and the company is still being rewarded with sales of the M-rated title. Already a known million-seller, Capcom's third-quarter financial report revealed that the game had managed to eke out another 100,000 units in sales since Capcom's last report in September of last year. As of the end of 2008, Capcom now has sales of Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition pegged at a 1.5 million units worldwide.    

Sales for Capcom's other Resident Evil Wii hit, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, remained unchanged at 1.15 million units.    

The sales posted by Resident Evil 4 are especially impressive because the zombie horror game was first released in 2005 and has had versions available on the GameCube and PlayStation 2, as well as the PC, long before it reached Wii buyers. However, the game released at the budget price of $30 and enjoys a reputation as one of the few high-profile M-rated titles on Nintendo's system.    

Capcom's next major contribution to the Wii library will be Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop, slated for worldwide release this month. Supplementary materials to Capcom's report revealed that Capcom was aiming at 500,000 unit sales for the game worldwide. Chop 'Til You Drop is a port of the 2006 Xbox 360 game Dead Rising, which Capcom reports has sold 1.4 million units worldwide.    

Capcom also reported that sales of Mega Man Star Force 3 on the Nintendo DS met their expectations. The company reported a net income of 179 million yen, down 95% from a year ago, and blamed this on a transition period in which the company's major franchises are releasing after the typical holiday sales season.    

UPDATE:    

Newly revealed NPD sales data has exposed the US sales of several of Capcom's games, including the Resident Evil Wii titles. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition has sold 759,000 units in the US according to NPD estimates, and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles has moved 398,800 copies.    

Additionally, the Wii port of Okami is pegged at 165,900 units sold in the US, and Zack & Wiki at 116,600.    

CORRECTION:
 The story originally listed Resident Evil 4 as first coming out in 2004. It was first released in January 2005. Also, the article described the XBox 360 version of Dead Rising as a 2008 game, when in fact it came out in 2006.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Citizens, do your part to save the environment and reverse global warming:  do not buy Dead Rising.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Confirmed:  RE4 Wii Edition is the last relavant Resident Evil title until RE5 Real Edition starring Barry Burton Escape to Jill Sandwich Shop is released on Wii.

[Ian Sane]

I hope Capcom doesn't get discouraged if Dead Rising doesn't sell too well.  Dead Rising is going to be very compromised and that might affect sales.  I know I'm not buying it because of that.  Meanwhile Resident Evil 4 for the Wii is the best version of the game.  They're not equal and shouldn't be compared.

Capcom should take that into account when looking at Dead Rising's sales totals.  Too many publishers act like all games are equal and that if a lousy game or a sloppy port sells poorly that it's our fault as consumers.  But the only time blame should be there is if the game cleans up in reviews and has a strong marketing push behind it but still bombs.

[vudu]

Additionally, the Wii port of Okami is pegged at 165,900 units sold in the US, and Zack & Wiki at 116,600.

These numbers make me sad.

[Spak-Spang]

I hope that the reviewers are able to play Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop with an open mind.

Everyone is upset because it isn't the Xbox 360 game, and you know what...I am excited that it isn't.  We already have that game, and if the Wii attempted to be that game it would fail.  But, the Wii Game feels like a different beast entirely.  Like they took the core of the series and are twisting and changing it to something different. 

So, hopefully reviewers will judge Dead Rising Wii not as an inferior Xbox 360 port, but as its own game.  Otherwise we are going to get crap reviews for all the ports.  Dead Rising, Dead Space, Dead Puppies Rising, ect.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

"But the only time blame should be there is if the game cleans up in reviews and has a strong marketing push behind it but still bombs."

That doesn't work.  The publisher is still to blame for working (wasting resources?) on a product the consumers didn't care for.  Publishers are in the business of selling entertainment, attracting customers and keeping customers.  It's the publisher's industry's responsibility to be in touch with customers and win those customers, not the other way around.

[TJ Spyke]

I was one of those 100K. I finally bought Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition in November (at Circuit City).

[nickmitch]

If they can bring to Dead Rising what they brought to RE4, then 500k might be feasible.  I just don't feel that those factors will give Dead Rising Wii the boost.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

"Everyone is upset because it isn't the Xbox 360 game,"

I don't mind that it's not the 360 game.  I mind that resources were spent watering flushing down an existing product whose hardware scope went far beyond what's available on the Wii.

Why not something more... ORIGINAL... working with... REALISTIC hardware limitations and level designs?

[NWR_pap64]

Kairon: I have to make some corrections.

First, Resident Evil 4 was released on the GC and then the PS2 in 2005. In January of 2005 if I am not mistaken. It also received a very bad PC port. Finally, Dead Rising was released on the 360 in the summer of 2006, not 2008.

I personally doubt that Dead Rising will be that successful. RE 4 was successful because not only was it a budget title it was a high quality Wii port released during a bad gaming drought. The world of mouth alone pushed it into success because of how polished it was. Dead Rising, on the other hand, has received very, very, VERY bad word of mouth from gamers and the media due to how low quality it looks (note I am saying how it LOOKS, no word on how it plays yet save for some early impressions).

This negative reception could affect sales unless the game turns out to be better than expected and the fewer zombie numbers  are forgiven due to how solid the gameplay is.

I am still eager to play it, but I doubt it will be THAT successful.

[Ian Sane]

Everyone is upset because it isn't the Xbox 360 game, and you know what...I am excited that it isn't.  We already have that game, and if the Wii attempted to be that game it would fail.

No we don't already have that game.  Or maybe I should saw "Wii" don't have that game.  Don't assume all Wii owners own an Xbox 360.  The whole reason to port a game from one console to another is to sell that game to a userbase that likely doesn't have it already.  Did Xbox owners get all pissy about the GTA Double Pack because they wanted a new GTA?  It seemed more like they were happy to get a formally PS2 exclusive and then later get the sequels and sure enough San Andreas and GTA4 are on the Xbox and Xbox 360.

Now if they gave us Dead Rising 2 (and they aren't; that goes to everything but the Wii) then I wouldn't care about getting the first game.  But we only really benefit if we get the main series.  A half-assed Wii spin-off that reuses elements from the first game but isn't really the first game is nothing but a cash-in.  And while you may enjoy Dead Rising on your Xbox 360 and Chop Til You Drop on your Wii, most Wii owners are being denied the TRUE Dead Rising series in favour of a recycled cut-n-paste job.

When it comes to third party support you have to assume that someone only owns a Wii.  Otherwise you have the wrong persceptive.  If I own every console then what do I care what games ends up where?

Capcom has announced Dead Rising 2 for the other consoles before Chop Til You Drop has even come out.  We're not getting the real series so Capcom isn't getting my money.  And I hope they realize WHY.

[Halbred]

RE4 sold on the Wii for two reasons:

1) Budget price;
2) It's f*cking awesome.

Can't say the same for Dead Rising. The game is going to be full price, and the original game wasn't all that great.

[Spak-Spang]

Ian Sane:  I wasn't assuming anything.  I only have one console and will only have one console.  I am just saying having a very bad port because you tried to do everything exactly like you could on a more powerful system is not smart.  Look at the Gameboy versions of like Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat games...SUCK. 

Well, basically they could have done that root but instead put some thought into it...and decided they needed to change the game to make it work for the Wii.  Now I don't know if it will be a successful revisioning but I hope it will be.

[AV]

I hope Capcom doesn't get discouraged if Dead Rising doesn't sell too well.  Dead Rising is going to be very compromised and that might affect sales.  I know I'm not buying it because of that.  Meanwhile Resident Evil 4 for the Wii is the best version of the game.  They're not equal and shouldn't be compared.

Capcom should take that into account when looking at Dead Rising's sales totals.  Too many publishers act like all games are equal and that if a lousy game or a sloppy port sells poorly that it's our fault as consumers.  But the only time blame should be there is if the game cleans up in reviews and has a strong marketing push behind it but still bombs.

Amen. I was ready to buy this game because I thought 360 version was fun. Sadly the Wii final version seems horrible.

RE5 doesn't excite me much as a huge fan of Resident Evil. Seems more of the same with horrible controls. (after playing RE4Wii anything less is horrible )

I'll take a remake of RE2/3 using RE4 engine please

[Ian Sane]

Ian Sane:  I wasn't assuming anything.  I only have one console and will only have one console.  I am just saying having a very bad port because you tried to do everything exactly like you could on a more powerful system is not smart.  Look at the Gameboy versions of like Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat games...SUCK.

The comparison to the Gameboy made me think of something.  Last gen the GBA sold a lot of systems.  But as a portable it was clearly at a different group than the consoles.  Despite it's high sales it wasn't going to get a port of Grand Theft Auto 3 because it would have been impossible.  Consoles and portables were different and didn't get the same games.

I'm wondering if now we have three groups.

1. Xbox 360/PS3/PC
2. Wii/PSP/PS2
3. DS

I'm wondering if that is how publishers see things and thus despite how much the Wii sells it is not in the same group as the other two consoles.  It's best case scenario is getting the most exclusives in group 2 (which it does) and getting multiplatform releases of PSP and PS2 games (which it does).  So with Dead Rising Capcom is aiming it at group 1.  To expand the potential userbase they took a former Xbox 360 exclusive and made it's sequel for all platforms in group 1, a necessity since group 1 is the most struggling of the three groups.

If you look at it that way then the seemingly illogical Wii third party support makes a bit more sense.  You can ask why a dev would support group 1 at all when the other groups are much more profitable but then last gen you could have suggested that a publisher exclusively support the GBA or not support the PC market back when it was a clearly different market.  The theory may be that all three groups are theoretically profitable but need different products.

So I'm wondering if looking at what third party games group 1 is getting and wanting the Wii to get the same support is like back in the 16 bit days looking at all the PC developers and questioning why they aren't supporting the Genesis and SNES.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

"Sustainable" might be a more applicable term than "profitable."

[GoldenPhoenix]

RE4 sold on the Wii for two reasons:

1) Budget price;
2) It's f*cking awesome.

Can't say the same for Dead Rising. The game is going to be full price, and the original game wasn't all that great.

Dead Rising is actually $40 not full price.

[Halbred]

Ah, $40? That's...okay, that's still too expensive. RE4 was $30. Dead Rising should follow a similar model.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Ah, $40? That's...okay, that's still too expensive. RE4 was $30. Dead Rising should follow a similar model.

I'm going to revoke your staff membership like Pro was going to do for not knowing that!

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

That's the spirit.

[Halbred]

Doesn't it seem too high? If I had a 360, I could buy the original game for half that price.

[Spak-Spang]

Ian:  I think you are on to something.  I think developers and publishers classify the systems in different ways, some look at it strictly on demographics of what the consoles audience/market is; others look at it from the graphical/hardware side of things; and others look at it from the strengths of the console individually.

But basically the Wii is either going to be singled out like the DS is on your chart because of the unique controller and therefore different approach to game development needed or the idea that its got a completely different demographic of gamers.

Or it is going to be looked at by your chart.  The Wii has the hardware capabilities comparable to the PSP and PS2...not the PS3 or Xbox 360, so any games that we believe must be done on the higher end consoles can not be ported or done with the Wii period.

[Morari]

The Wii has the hardware capabilities comparable to the PSP and PS2...not the PS3 or Xbox 360, so any games that we believe must be done on the higher end consoles can not be ported or done with the Wii period.

Pretty sad, considering that even the GameCube had far superior hardware to the PS2. Then again, so did the Dreamcast...

[GoldenPhoenix]

Then again, so did the Dreamcast

Care to elaborate? That seems to be a really silly statement. I LOVED DC but it does not match PS2's graphical hardware.