During Tokyo Game Show, Resident Evil 5 producer Takeuchi-san made a surprise announcement regarding a new Japanese product, called Resident Evil 5 Alternative Edition. Alternative Edition will come with new content (I'm sure that you've already seen the trailer released during the show) and will support Sony's magic wand-y PS3 Motion Controller. Never fear, Xboxers, as Takeuchi-san told us in a meeting that the team is "evaluating what they can do for 360 players as well."
Notice that I defined Alternative Edition as a "Japanese product." Here in North America, and over there in Europe, Capcom is wrapping its collective head around the notion of how the new content will be delivered to RE faithful. We're of two minds at the moment about delivery. Since you will ultimately be the people buying and playing this new content, we've decided that you should be the ones telling us how to make it available.
Here's where we're at: in Japan, Alternative Edition will be released as a new physical package, with all that entails: new box art, new manual, new shiny disc, another plastic box to add to a tottering stack of console games. This makes absolutely perfect sense for the Japanese gaming market, where the uptake of digital content is a bit behind the western markets. However, based on the success of the RE5 "Versus" downloadable content, as well as digital-only titles like Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Marvel VS Capcom 2, we know that the demand for DLC in the west is huge. More and more, gamers in North America and Europe want content immediately and are less inclined to be tied to boxes and packages.
So, Unity, here's your chance: How do you, the serious Resident Evil fan, want the content from Alternative Edition delivered in North America? Take a moment to log in and vote (sorry, we're asking that you log in first in order to cut down on votespam). We're gonna let the poll run for a few weeks, then present the team with the results and our recommendations. Once we get it all sorted, we'll report back with an official announcement.
We're still monkeying around with our Poll settings, so check back later if the poll has not appeared.
Words cannot convey just how amazing Nvidia's GeForce 3D Vision LCD glasses are. Much like the early days of 3D acceleration on PCs, you really need to experience the effects first-hand to really grasp how potentially game-changing this tech is. Let me summarize: I now only want to play video games in 3D with these glasses perched on my gigantic nose. Andrew over at Gamespot also dug the tech, as you can see from his preview of the PC version of Resident Evil 5:
For instance, the infamous execution scene that plays early on in the game actually looks like you're watching it from out of a window as Chris and Sheva are--nearer characters appear closer, while characters standing in the background appear to actually be standing farther away.
Well, Andrew is less prone to hyperbole than I am, but trust me, he thought it was cool when I demoed the game for him ;)
The PC version of RE5 looks amazing, thanks to the nature of the PC platform's advanced graphics, and has a number of nifty new adds, including new unlockable costumes and an even tougher Mercenaries mode setting. Resident Evil 5 will be hitting your PC on September 15. How well does your system run the game? Grab the benchmark and see for youerself!
Bits, Bytes, Pixels and Sprites (solemn vow: will never type that site name again!) digs the thought of a new Resident Evil movie. BBP&S writer Adam Dodd has put on his hat that says "Casting Director" to come up with a list of actors that he thinks would work well in the 3D, series reboot currently titled Resident Evil: Afterlife. Clearly, Mila is a no-brainer (wait, that sounds wrong), as she is married to the producer/writer/director and is hot like Georgia asphalt, but I personally dig some of their other choices, including a shout-out for Karen Dyer. Check their take on the cast for the new movie here. And if you were wondering: this post was pretty much just an excuse to drop the following photo on Unity:
You: frothing at the mouth for the PC version of Resident Evil 5, 'cause you want the new costumes, new mode in Mercenaries and overall higher resolutions and sharper graphics. But you're unsure: can my rig run this game? Solution: Capcom releases system specs and a benchmark "demo" for the game. Hit the More button!
OS Windows XP: Required Windows Vista: Recommended
CPU Minimum Requirement Intel PentiumD Processor AMD Athlon64 X2
Recommended Intel Core2Quad Processor or better AMD Phenom X4 or better
RAM Minimum Requirement Windows Vista (1GB) Windows XP (512MB)
Recommended Windows Vista (2GB or more) Windows XP (1GB or more)
HDD 8.0GB or more
Monitor Minimum Requirement 800×600
Recommended 1280×720 or larger
Disc Drive DVD9 compatible drive
Graphics Card Minimum Requirement VRAM (256MB) DirectX9.0c/Shader 3.0 NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro
Recommended VRAM (512 or more) NVIDIA GeForce 9800 series or better ATI Radeon HD 4800 series or better
Sound Card DirectSound Compatible (DirectX9.0c or higher)
Interface Required Mouse & Keyboard
Recommended Xbox360 Controller for Windows InternetBroadband Connection
But you really, really want to play this game in 3D. Words cannot convey how amazing RE5 is with the 3D Vision glasses from Nvidia. Make sure your monitor supports 120Hz refresh rate (or plug your PC into your DLP HDTV!) and get a pair of the glasses.
Did you know that the Resident Evil movies are Sony Picture's second most profitable movie franchise? Seems to be some sort of Spider-Man movies that hold their top spot, but the three RE movies have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars for Sony world-wide over the years. Kotaku alerted us to the fact that Paul W Anderson revealed he'll be writing, directing and producing his wife, the spectacularly hot Mila Jovovich, in a new Resident Evil movie and that -- get this! -- the fourth film will be in 3D! Please have a shower scene, please have a shower scene, please have a shower scene... Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, the movie is called Resident Evil: Afterlife and is being designed as a series reboot, planned for release on September 17, 2010.
