Much has been said about Capcom's latest installment of Resident Evil, and virtually none of it has been positive. The game has been universally shredded apart, from critics to players alike. Many believed that this is yet further proof that Capcom has lost its way, and many longtime fans of the series want nothing to do with part 6, which bares little resemblance to the game that sparked their imaginations in the first place, oh so many years ago.
But here's the thing: that's the prevailing sentiment on this side of the ocean. But out east, where the game originates, it's an entirely different story.
Kotaku reports that Resident Evil 6 is a bona fide hit in Japan. To the point that twice as many copies have been sold than Resident Evil 5 in the same time span. Media Create, which tracks numbers of units sold, states that 634,933 and 92,921 copies of the PlayStation 3 version were pushed its first two weeks, for a grand total of 727,854 copies sold thus far.
They also note that Famitsu, the much beloved and respected Japanese game magazine, whose scores hold much weight, even on foreign soil, was able to garner a near perfect 39 out of 40. The game has apparently done will in the UK as well; at this point, sales figures for the US version are unknown. But it's easy to assume that they are decent; many American fans purchased a copy on day one, despite all the overwhelmingly negative buzz that surrounded.
Again, much of the complain stems from the fact that it's not longer the Resident Evil of old. This new strain is less scary and more explosive, and was a gamble that many felt was a poor move on Capcom's part. But now evidence that shows how their Japanese customer are more than happy with change, and given how hard it has been to ignite any real excitement in that territory, not only is Resident Evil 7 a somewhat safe bet, but a return to the original formula seems a bit less likely now.
