Some exciting news has made its way from Japan at the Biostrategy press conference held by Capcom. The long rumored and newly confirmed remake of Resident Evil 1 was revealed and it is a marvel. It looks frighteningly real, accentuating its horror movie look.

Whether or not the still active Resident Evil: Zero prequel will look like this is uncertain but it is still on track and will be a GameCube exclusive. Moreover, it seems the Resident Evil franchise is now exclusive to Nintendo and GameCube. Yes, you read that right. Those concerned about serious 3rd party support and / or mature titles on GameCube, these worries are now obsolete.

Therefore, Resident Evil 4, once rumored to be online to support online multiplayer across consoles, is now a GameCube exclusive. In addition, Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, and Code Veronica are all being remade (from the ground up) for GameCube, and will be released sequentially, building up to the release of the completely new Resident Evil 4. No word on how Zero will fit into that timeline.

Another interesting note, Shigeru Miyamoto took the stage as part of the announcement and posed with RE creator Shinji Mikami. We'll have more details on this exciting news as we can get it.

By the way, you can get the screenshots and video of the RE1 remake at Capcom's Japanese website.

UPDATE: Gpara.com has posted the text to the press released handed out at Capcom's Biohazard press conference. We've used Altavista's Babelfish online translation service to put it into rudimentary English. Hopefully we'll have a more accurate translation soon, but here's the goofy one for now:

As for former biohazard, as for 1 anyhow 2 and 3 gradually it left from fear. You think the fact that it is supported in everyone of the user is, " fear " is not anything ones the other than that. Returning to the starting point, " fear ", you think biohazard future we would like to redo from one. In addition, biohazard from the thinking that, starts with the Nintendo Co. game cube anew funny the paragraph wants as a game to the last. In addition, if you do not buy hard it differs because voice of the user that the large quantity was heard, it cannot enjoy biohazard, if it has the game cube from now on, as for main thread of biology we would like to try to be able to play entirely, you think, 1, 0, 2 and 3, the Bello Ni mosquito, release do in 4 and order. Because as for making monopoly supply just of the game cube, using the function of the hard specifications in full, we would like to keep putting out highest ones is. Privately there is the special thinking in the first work of biohazard. Of course, funny thing a little as for the ‚è wanting there is a large quantity in addition to biohazard, but it does not mean that with just the warm intellectual new thought develops as a fixed turn, it keeps challenging always even in completely new ones. You think also new biohazard 4 is born as the result. Us, hardship of the staff of the fourth development department to endeavor, because and with the flash, it keeps continuing to make the " highest game ", support we ask may even from now on. (From release)

Update: If you couldn't tell from the shoddy translation, remakes of Biohazard 2, 3: Nemesis and Code Veronica are CONFIRMED and will also be exclusive to the GameCube!

Thanks to IGNCube, we have a better translation:

"The Biohazard series has slowly moved away from its origin of horror. What our users have supported over the years was this feeling of horror," said Capcom. "After much thought, we have decided to return to the beginning and start from one again."

The first game, Biohazard, which is under the direction of Shinji Mikami himself, will arrive March 22 in Japan with the others to follow.

Capcom further explained: "Because we don't want to force our users to have to buy many systems to play the Biohazard games, we've decided to focus on one console: GameCube."