Despite being an inferior game in almost all aspects except for the loudness of explosions, Capcom might have had cause for concern when it was revealed that Resident Evil 6 had outperformed the latest game in the series for early sales numbers.
Even with a wealth of critical and consumer acclaim, Resident Evil 7 was outsold by the series’ black sheep by almost 100% in terms of physical copies shipped within the first week of distribution. Incidentally, Resident Evil 6 is somehow Capcom’s second most successful game of all time.
To meets its goal, Resident Evil 7 needs to ship a further million copies by the end of March, which doesn’t seem all that implausible. It still has a lot of buzz, so retail demand could stay steady and get it over the line.
However, it’s worth bearing in mind that physical game sales are on a slow decline, something which Capcom were keen to point at in a recent conference call Q&A. Translated to English, Capcom seemed to be remaining optimistic:
“Compared to Resident Evil 6, [it] may seem like a lower initial pace, however this can be attributed to the recent wider adoption of digital downloads and the transition from a sharp initial spike in sales for games to a continuous long tail.
“Further, we believe that achieving our fiscal year target of 4 million units for this title is wholly possible, as we expect sales to continue for a longer period, buoyed on highly positive post-launch reviews from both the media and consumers.”
While Resident Evil 7 may seem like it’s in trouble, the positive reception means that it will be a slow burner with more people picking it up as time goes on. This is the opposite to Resident Evil 6 where less than receptive word of mouth meant that it fizzled out over time.
In case you didn’t know, Resident Evil 7 lived up to the mantle of being 2017’s biggest horror game and has reinvigorated the series in the eyes of many. Although its detractors have been vocal, it’s still sold enough to be prematurely considered a success. Whatever the case, it’s helped people forget that Umbrella Corps was a thing.
Post-launch Banned Footage DLC is already all out, with Vol. 1 arriving just a week after the game’s release and Vol 2. dropping on Valentine’s Day. We’re playing through the second DLC right now, so bear with us and we’ll let you know if it’s a rare case of a Season Pass being worth the money.
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