"I hope that's the face. Please be the face"
The recent announcement that Capcom planned to produce more Resident Evil games was very pleasant news indeed, but why is it happening? Perhaps it is linked to the recent under performance of Capcom in the last financial quarter. Their profits fell 2.4% from the previous year and they lay the blame at poor sales of Lost Planet 2, their big Spring 2010 release. Although Lost Planet 2 garnered some decent critical buzz, Co-Optimus giving it a hearty 4 out of 5, it was unable to resonate with the wider gaming public.
Exact sales figures for Lost Planet 2 are as yet unknown, but they were low enough that Capcom earned around $6 million less this quarter when compared to the same quarter in 2009. Where next for the Lost Planet franchise? Capcom suggest in their report that the game cost more as it had new assets, would this make a further sequel cheap to make? The poor sales could mean that Capcom will decide to shelve the franchise in favour of their more established IPs. It would be a shame for the series to end now when it was just about hitting its stride and introducing innovative 4 player co-op.