What is up!

This is my first blog post, so I’ll start out by making a quick introduction.  My name is Matt Dahlgren, and I am one of the marketing dudes that work here at Capcom.  I am the lucky one that gets assigned all things Resident Evil, so will be posting here more often trying to give you some tidbits of information about what is going on with the franchise.   

(I don’t mean lucky sarcastically, I’ve been following this series long before I even dreamt of working for the company.  Working on RE gives my gamer soul a bit of validation – at least the part I haven’t sold to the marketing gods.  Heh)  

First up for information – Capcom recently announced that it was going to be making some of our original PlayStation 1 titles available for download on PSN.  First on that list happens to be the original Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, which is going to be available on May 28 for the price of $9.99.  This is pretty awesome news, because it is an easy way to experience the introduction of the franchise if you missed out when it came out originally.  This is the game that hooked me on this franchise; I still have very fond memories playing this all night with a friend after renting, and dying repeatedly on the first zombie encounter while trying to figure out why playing as Chris Redfield was so effing hard.   Scenes come across as super cheesy by today’s standards, but for the hardcore, these are things that make the game pretty endearing.  It’s definitely a classic to say the least.  

A quick search on YouTube, I found a pretty entertaining video about Director’s Cut, with some interesting British commentary.  What YouTube doesn’t have, I dunno… Enjoy. 

For more info on Director’s Cut – click More. 

This game also features both Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, who both appeared in RE5.  If you want to check out the back story, this is a cool opportunity to see how these characters were introduced into the series, and how they subsequently put themselves in a position to be repeatedly attacked by zombies for years to come.  Such is the life.  Haha.   

For those who don’t know what the Director’s Cut version is, this is the updated version of the original game that spawned the Resident Evil franchise, which was released 18 months after the original.  It features an “Arranged Mode” which essentially mixes up the item placement, camera angles, and enemy placement, to give people a different path through the game than found in the original 1996 version.  The game also includes classic moments such as the dogs that jump through windows and scare the crap out of people, as well as one of the cheesiest live action intros ever made. 🙂 

(I still remember thinking as a kid – OMG, PS1 can do live action!  Yet simultaneous wondering why the acting was sooooooo bad.  Haha)  

Also, speaking of the original game, the awesome remake that was done back in 2002 on the GameCube is making its way to the Wii under the Resident Evil Archives sub-brand this June.  If you didn’t own a GameCube, or don’t own a GameCube controller, this is an easy way to experience quite possibly one of the best Resident Evil games ever made for only $29.99.  For fans who loved the original, the remake is pretty much a completely different experience, full of new levels and enemies, yet still has all the nostalgia and classic moments of the original, with a few twists to keep you off guard.  

That’s it for now – I’ll be back with other Resident Evil related news/commentary, especially stuff on Darkside Chronicles soon.  

Edit: Going to chime in here with a few answers to questions below. 

Price seems to be the #1 topic of conversation.  Pricing is actually handled for each region separately.  SCEA advised us to bring RE out at the premium price point of $9.99, and considering the replay value of the game, we definately agree with their reccommendation.  That does not mean that all Capcom titles will be released at $9.99 – RE would be the exception, not the rule. 

Still tracking down a few other of the questions brought up below.  More to come.