In just over a couple of months time Capcom will release the next instalment of its long running horror franchise, Resident Evil 7 biohazard. The title will launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows, but it’ll also be exclusive to PlayStation VR for 12 months. Today Capcom has released its ‘2nd Quarter in FY2016 Presentation of Financial Results‘ which details how many copies the studio expects to sell over the forthcoming fiscal year.
In the Q&A summary asking what the company’s expectations were for lifetime revenue of Resident Evil 7 biohazard, Capcom responded: “We are expecting 4 million unit sales worldwide in this fiscal year. Also, we expect to recognize sales of the game as a catalogue title in the next fiscal year; however, revenue for catalogue titles tends to grow in relation with the timing of movie releases and new titles in a series. What is more, the sales lifecycles for titles has grown due to digital distribution, so we expect this game to become a foundation title, producing revenue not limited to the next two fiscal years but into the long term as well.”
There’s a couple of interesting aspects to the comment which hint towards Capcom looking at a longer than usual lifecycle for its AAA title. Firstly is the ‘foundation title’ remark, which indicates there could well be spin-offs from this particular versions story arc or possibly more virtual reality (VR) oriented.
In terms of the revenue being produced there’s also the matter of the VR exclusivity. While Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) securing it for PlayStation VR for 12 months does restrict the revenue possibilities somewhat, Capcom expecting continued revenue does hint towards more platform support, it’s listed on Steam so bringing it to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive isn’t that much of a stretch as it already works in VR.
If Capcom do decide further VR support it probably won’t announce anything until the second half of 2017, and if it does VRFocus will bring you the latest details.