A Capcom representative has stated that the Resident Evil franchise might be rebooted, according to Eurogamer.
But those expecting a return to the series’ roots will be disappointed to hear that it might actually go into an entirely different direction. According to Masachika Kawata, producer of the upcoming Resident Evil: Revelations port for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U, it would be more of an open-world title:
"If we did [go with an open-world], we would want to preserve what Resident Evil is and what makes it appealing to fans, while also making it accessible to new players. It would almost entail having a slight reboot to get the series into a place where it would work with open-world gameplay. That's just a personal opinion.
A lot of decisions would have to be taken before something like that is done to the series, but it is something that…There is a possibility."
It would appear that the future of Resident Evil will depend on the reception that the Revelations port gets:
"Once we see Revelations released on consoles, we'll be looking very carefully at how the title is received and what feedback we get. I think we'll get a lot of input from the fanbase and the media on what it means for Resident Evil, and what it could mean for the future of the series. We'll definitely be looking at that as a signpost for where we need to be going next.
Moving forward I can see us focusing even more on the horror aspect and fear in the series, and see us making something scarier than we have already."
The sentiment above is well and good, but the previous musings, about Resident Evil going open-world, flies directly in its face. Furthermore, it's almost as if Kawata is unaware of why everyone embraced the 3DS original in the first place: it was a return to the classic survival horror themes that used to cornerstone of the franchise.
One of the biggest issues of Resident Evil 6, which has been so poorly received that one cannot help but believe that it is the primary reason why a reboot is being considered, is how it too attempted to make it appealing to longtime fans while also attracting new players.
Again, it's the most noblest of intentions, but what Resident Evil needs to do is get back to basics, and work on bringing back disenfranchised fans. A product that is confident and focused will eventually attract new players, not something that can do a little bit of everything, but is the master of nothing.
