Does RE: ORC's Popularity Prove Multiplayer's Dominance?

And yet, according to Capcom's latest financial update, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is pushing up towards 2 million sold worldwide. That's a mildly disturbing fact.

In an industry where the best is often rewarded with great sales, and trash tends to stumble on the charts - a trait I've always loved about video games, as it stands in stark comparison to the other entertainment industries - one should expect ORC to flounder. But wait...maybe it's further proof of multiplayer's dominance these days. Maybe Capcom knew they didn't have to make a fantastic game, provided it was multiplayer-oriented and people could log on and shoot at each other.

Now, one could argue that it's merely the "Resident Evil" name that has generated the sales, and that's perfectly viable. But I get this strange feeling that if RE6 turns out equally bad, it won't be quite so popular... I'd also be interested to see the percentage split of sales between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of ORC. With multiplayer evidently being the only reason most own a 360 (as evidenced by the 70/30 360/PS3 split for Call of Duty), I'm willing to bet the 360 iteration of ORC did much better than the PS3 version.

It was made clear in most reviews that playing solo in ORC was a complete waste of time. And even though playing with others has major flaws as well, it could be entertaining for a while, and apparently, that was enough to get some gamers to dig into their wallets. If it was the other way around; if the campaign had been worth playing and the multiplayer had been trash, would it still sell so well...? I hate to say this, but I'm thinking no.

Related Game(s): Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

Tags: resident evil operation raccoon city, re orc, operation raccoon city sales

5/8/2012 9:26:06 AM Ben Dutka

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Comments (36 posts)

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Beamboom
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 9:44:59 AM
Reply

But how do you explain the 25/75 split for Skyrim then... There's no multiplayer there last time I checked. ;)

Last edited by Beamboom on 5/8/2012 9:45:35 AM

4 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 10:44:50 AM

The experience is also grounded in PC history, which translates to the 360 crowd, and not so much to the PS3 group.

4 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 1:31:01 PM

Plus the game actually works on 360.

1 up, 1 down

jimmyhandsome
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 2:37:20 PM

Skyrim also was marketed by MS (most of the commericals showed a 360 at the end)...that definitely helps.

2 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 2:56:08 PM

@Ben: It's probably part of the explanation, but I just don't understand it. It's like if I should be uninterested in Resident Evil because I used to be a PC gamer, or something? I mean, a good game is a good game?
And it's not like it was possible to NOT notice the release of Skyrim. Do all PC franchises experience the same kind of unbalanced split?
I think that split is weird. Never understood it, probably never will.

@Word: Well, back when it was released we didn't know that. :)

@Jimmy: Is that so? Interesting. That might be a small part of the explanation too, yeah.

Still, less than 25% of the Skyrim sales was on the ps3... I can't get over it. I'm puzzled to the max.

Last edited by Beamboom on 5/8/2012 2:56:58 PM

0 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 6:35:06 PM

Beamboom: You can't discount the history of the relative fanbases.

It's nice to say "a good game is a good game" and everyone should take notice, but we don't live in an ideal world.

The bottom line is that PlayStation fans really aren't on board with games like Skyrim, as Bethesda is primarily a PC developer. And the fact is, PC and 360 players tend to mix and match; one often plays the other. PlayStation has always been represented by a different crowd.

1 up, 2 down

___________
Wednesday, May 09, 2012 @ 5:50:30 AM

dunno if you could say that ps3 gamers are not into things like skyrim, especially after dark souls and deamon souls have done so well!
well, compare to other ps3 games!

2 up, 0 down

oldmike
Wednesday, May 09, 2012 @ 1:23:48 PM

i think its more do to the fact that the makers of skyrim has a history of short changing the PS3

0 up, 0 down

Draguss
Thursday, May 10, 2012 @ 9:10:16 PM

I suppose it may also have at least a little to do with the first TES for consoles having been on the xbox.

0 up, 0 down

karneli lll
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 10:24:38 AM
Reply

Im sure its a marketing spin and the game is doing worse than they lead us to believe. Its sad how single player games are getting fewer.

1 up, 0 down

Deathb4Dishonor
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 10:42:20 AM
Reply

i love my single player experiences like uncharted and god of war but i also love multiplayer games... I'm pretty sure a lot of ppl did what i did... me and 3 other friends saw it was a resident evil game and it was a 4 player co op and jumped in and bought it just so we can play it together... And although i played it alone too and wasn't really as fun, i did have a blast beating it with my friends

1 up, 0 down

slugga_status
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 11:06:50 AM
Reply

Just by talking to those who do own the game, I'd have to say Ben is right. The MP is what is selling this game big time. The primary reason is the co-op aspect. People love co-op and you add zombies with that then you have a successful yet mediocre game.

2 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 11:41:58 AM

Does it have campaign coop or just waves style coop?

0 up, 0 down

slugga_status
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 11:47:38 AM

Not sure, I haven't got it myself but my friends really want me to grab it.

0 up, 0 down

berserk
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 12:40:47 PM

Yeah it got campaign Coop but it s still somewhat a wave style game from time to time . .

0 up, 0 down

Ole_Gunner
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 11:12:37 AM
Reply

Well i just poured in like 15 hours into KZ3 over the long weekend (bank holiday in England on Monday) so trust me I don't think it's the multiplayer aspect for RE.

I really think the game sold well on brand name which is quite understandable

0 up, 0 down

Deathb4Dishonor
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 11:20:00 AM

It's not really the multiplayer it's the Co-Op that's making the game sell... And killzone 3 is awesome but if there's one thing i would change is to add online Co-Op on the campaign bc it kinda sucks that u can only do Co-Op at home with a second controller

Last edited by Deathb4Dishonor on 5/8/2012 11:20:37 AM

1 up, 0 down

Oxvial
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 11:37:20 AM
Reply

A friend of mine was going to buy it because he thought it was the new Resident Evil game. It was funny because he doesn't like MP, or Co-Op games, I saved him from that buyers remorse.

Last edited by Oxvial on 5/8/2012 11:37:52 AM

0 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 12:02:22 PM
Reply

It tells me mediocrity is winning the day.

6 up, 1 down

cLoudou
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 12:23:15 PM
Reply

The future looks grim...

2 up, 1 down

H0TSHELLZ
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 12:48:33 PM
Reply

This just means people dont care about reviews or the people who reviewed the game didnt get it because its a pure shooter now. I like it alot and when I seen the gameplay I didnt care about the reviews I knew I wanted it.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 1:31:45 PM
Reply

Says a lot about CoD looking through this lens.

0 up, 0 down

jimmyhandsome
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 2:36:08 PM
Reply

I'm thinking that the combination of the brand name with online mulitplayer helped sales. It's certainly not MP alone. There are a ton of MP-centric games with weak SP that I think are a blast but don't sell well (Socom 4 comes to mind). I think ORC is getting by on the Resident Evil part.

1 up, 0 down

trinichinese
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 4:15:04 PM
Reply

its a love for resident evil and co op not just multiplayer and i dont consider co op as multiplayer even doe u play with other friends or other people online to me multiplayer is when u have a vs game by putting 2 teams up agance each other ,weather it be sports fighting or shooting . i cant wate to play part 6 and am excited to play a full campain story with friends and strangers alike the feeling of haveing a human player to back u up in a hectic and fun story mode is great and another game i want to play is borderlands 2 hence the co op concept

0 up, 0 down

maxpontiac
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 5:34:05 PM
Reply

It tells me that reviews have less impact then some might believe.

1 up, 0 down

Palpatations911
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 5:43:38 PM

Plus the Resident Evil brand name is strong... Even when they are no longer survival horror games.

0 up, 0 down

Palpatations911
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 5:35:56 PM
Reply

People just go bonkers over zombie games and throw in multiplayer and the Resident Evil name and it is a recipe for success on the current generation of consoles.

Other zombie games featuring multiplayer off the top of my head:

Left For Dead
Left For Dead 2
Dead Nation
Resident Evil 5
Dead Island
Dead Rising 2
Call of Duty Zombie Mode

I believe there is more, but I don't particularly get in to zombie flicks or games but I have owned each of the aforementioned games. It is definitely an interesting fad...Or maybe it is not a fad and multiplayer zombie games will always sell like hot cakes?

Last edited by Palpatations911 on 5/8/2012 5:39:59 PM

0 up, 0 down

comicozi
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 6:29:25 PM
Reply

mulitplayer.. no; coop.. yes. either way if single player experiences ever die, so will my involvement in the gaming industry.

0 up, 1 down

Dancemachine55
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 @ 9:11:40 PM
Reply

Look no further than Call of Duty.

1. Brand recognition
2. Robust multiplayer

Glitches, story quality, voice acting, none of that matters if the mutliplayer works well.

I feel like my brand of single player story driven gaming is slowly but surely dying, and Facebook browser games, cheap iPhone arcade games and online multiplayer games are taking over.

So long as GTA V, Dead Space 3, Bioshock Infinite, Assassin's Creed 3, Quantum Conundrum, Resident Evil 6, Tomb Raider, The Last Guardian and the Last of Us have long and truly high quality stories to tell, I think I will survive. :)

0 up, 0 down

Palpatations911
Wednesday, May 09, 2012 @ 12:37:09 AM

I love Bioshock but I hope they improve on Bioshock Infinite's multiplayer this year. It just felt so shallow in Bioshock 2.

Last edited by Palpatations911 on 5/9/2012 12:38:46 AM

0 up, 0 down

trumpetmon65
Wednesday, May 09, 2012 @ 12:58:04 AM
Reply

I think it might have revealed that reviewers might be relying too heavily on their expectations of how a game should be instead of giving it a fair and objective analysis. My experience with the game showed me something that, while maybe a bit too basic, was still very much playable. There were enough other people who seem to have picked up on the same thing. With that said, I'm glad I wasn't the one who payed sixty dollars for it. 30-40 brand new at most.

1 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, May 09, 2012 @ 9:55:06 AM

Oh no. Not in my case, anyway.

The game is mediocre, plain and simple. I had no expectations.

1 up, 1 down

___________
Wednesday, May 09, 2012 @ 5:53:49 AM
Reply

only thing it proves is that you can put a well known name on anything and it will sell like hot cakes!
this plate of sick highest bid 0 dollars.
put a Ferrari badge on it and now highest bid is 1000 bucks!
does not matter how good a game is as long as it has a well known franchises name on it than it will sell like hotcakes!
opperation racoon city case in point, completley different to any RE game and it still sold really well!
crapcom could make a game of you cleaning windows than call it resident evil return to the outbreak and it will sell like hotcakes!
sad how consumers go on brand only and dont bother doing a little research on the game!
how many of the people who bought this actually looked at some videos or reviews?
2%?
if that!

0 up, 0 down

ImaginaryTurtle
Thursday, May 10, 2012 @ 11:25:37 AM
Reply

I liked RE: ORC and I don't even like Resident Evil games. It's because it was different from the rest of the franchise that it even interested me. Major reason is I'm a big fan of Co-op games. If the game didn't have Resident Evil in the title I would have still got it. They should just call it Operation Raccoon City. I never buy a game without looking at the trailers and gameplay videos but I never read a review of it until after I play it because people can't tell me that I might like or dislike a game.

0 up, 0 down

Caanimal
Thursday, May 10, 2012 @ 6:55:20 PM
Reply

This just proves established franchises sell, no matter how "good" the game actually is. Plus there are far far far too many sheeople out there who just follow the crowdes, and right now the crowds are eating up shoot-em ups...

0 up, 0 down

Gravelight
Thursday, May 10, 2012 @ 11:02:52 PM
Reply

I only own a PS3 and I have both RE:ORC and Skyrim. They're both great games with the exception of the nutty AI in ORC. And btw, playing ORC single player campaign earns the player more xp than versus mode, so no, it's not a waste of time to play it single player. I just wish it had offline co-op campaign like RE5. Both games run perfectly on my PS3 so I dunno why everyone's complaining about it being better on microsoft's engines. The "RE" name did help the sales i would presume, but it's really not that bad of a game. I think there will always be new versions of old scenes when it comes to games, i'm just waiting for a Resident Evil Arcade game, with elements of Super Contra...over-head view, right stick shoots in direction you point, etc. Or, a Final Fantasy game created more like Devil May Cry. Dreams...

0 up, 0 down

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