After being severely shredded by several critics and fans alike, Resident Evil fans are wondering just what happened to their beloved zombie killing franchise, the one credited with the creation of the survival horor genre.
The simple answer? Mass market appeal. Translate that however you like, but it truly does come down to money.
Speaking with 1UP, in Resident Evil 6's producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi's own words, "With Resident Evil, we're trying to be as inclusive as possible. We're trying to reach as many people as possible." Now, that's not a fault. Obviously when you make a product, the goal is too reach as many people as you can. However, this does present certain problems, escpecially in a genre like the one RE helped spawn.
"That makes it hard to maintain a horror feel to it when you're trying to be inclusive. It is a challenge. I'm not afraid to admit that. We're trying to see what kind of action we can include in the game and still maintain the horror sensibilities. Trying to blend those together is not an easy thing to do."
And therein lies the problem according to the critics. As Joystiq wrote, "it's a fully-featured, sloppy, frequently frustrating attempt to do well by everyone."
Even before critics and fans smashed the game, Kobayashi noted the divide between players and developers in an interview with the PlayStation Blog at the Tokyo Game Show.
"The way I always think of it is that if Resident Evil represents a child, then the fans and us as creators are the two parents. The resulting games are like the children that are born between both of us. And just like real parents, you're not always going to agree on what is best for raising that child."
Kobayashi went on to say that the team does "always have our ear to the ground and listen to what the fans are saying and we try to take that into account when we're making the game. But it's our job to create a new gaming experience and to offer them something that's fresh and challenging. We want to make sure that what we do pleases them but the initial reaction might not always be positive. We do listen to the fans but we can't be beholden to them at every turn or I don't think we'll ever make progress in terms of the series' development."
While critics lambast the game, and some players attack the crtics for lambasting the game, the best thing you can do is play the game, and decide for yourself.
