Support NeoGAF

[IbizaPocholo]

Not only was Resident Evil 4 once a GameCube exclusive, it was also the final nail in the coffin for a legendary deal between Nintendo and Capcom.

In this episode of Remember When, Kurt Indovina looks back on the infamous Capcom Five deal, and the broken promise that left one of the gaming giants, and its fans, betrayed and heartbroken. To help Kurt on his journey, Nintendo historian Chris Scullion lends his professional insight on what the deal entailed, the impact it had on Nintendo, and its legacy.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Bought a Gamecube solely for RE4, because at that time Resident Evil was my number 1 franchise. Shinji Mikami even (infamously) claimed he would cut off his own head if the game came to other platforms. Then it got ported to PS2 and a gazillion other systems.

I was disappointed at first, since I was mainly in the Playstation camp and could've picked RE4 there, but the GC ended up being worth owning anyway, with timeless classics such as Metroid Prime, RE Remake, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Star Fox Adventures, Eternal Darkness, Baten Kaitos, Lost Kingdom etc. It had one one hell of a library, despite being a flop saleswise.

 

[Rest]

Who was heartbroken? Console warriors? Fuck them. Fun games being available to more people is good. Only good. There's no reasonable, rational way to spin it into a bad thing.

 

[Devilich]

Who was heartbroken? Console warriors? Fuck them. Fun games being available to more people is good. Only good. There's no reasonable, rational way to spin it into a bad thing.

Not necessarily console warring, but rather buying another system you didn't plan on buying in the first place. Not everybody shits gold bricks.

 

[StateofMajora]

You know, it may have been ported, but the GameCube original and the Wii version are still the best to this day.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

You know, it may have been ported, but the GameCube original and the Wii version are still the best to this day.

That's true. But unfortunately, some degenerates are going to pop in to start raving about mods mods mods mods mods while they jerk off into their own mouths in 3.... 2.... 1....

 

[GiJoint]

RE4 looking back was the first instance of me looking online at comparisons with another console version, but I only had a PS2 at the time and had to settle for that, it still looked good for the system but when I finally got my hands on a copy and a GC, that was definitely a cut above.

 

[Meesh]

Siiiigh.... * One of my favorite "betrayals" in videogame history. This story comes up believe it or not around the house from time to time when we look back at days by... as does the Nintendo/ Playstation deal, Microsoft buying Rare and other little industry changing events.

 

[Azelover]

I played it on the Gamecube, and it was very good.

Nintendo still got the game first, and it was much better looking on Gamecube.

 

[Paracelsus]

RE4 was designed the way it was to expand the fanbase after they thought old school RE was done, which was also caused by releasing REmake and RE0 on GC, so RE4 was an answer to a problem they created.
It made absolutely no sense to release it on a dead platform only.

 

[Thaedolus]

That's true. But unfortunately, some degenerates are going to pop in to start raving about mods mods mods mods mods while they jerk off into their own mouths in 3.... 2.... 1....

I mean don’t knock it till you try it

 

[angrod14]

Resident Evil being a Nintendo exclusive is like Metal Gear Solid being an Xbox exclusive, it just doesn't make any sense and is completely out of place.

 

[Skifi28]

Capcom and Nintendo exclusives don't mix well it seems. Look at how monster hunter exploded when they brought it to other platforms after over a decade.

 

[Ataraxia]

Some might say this was a bigger deal than Apple breaking its iPhone exclusivity deal with AT&T. I don't say that. But some might.

 

[Dane]

Capcom Five was a failure, only RE4 sold well and Viewtiful Joe sold decently, the rest were sales flop and one got cancelled. This is the most curious crash n burn deal in the industry.

To make things even worse, shortly before the GC release of RE4 the PS2 version was confirmed. Killer 7 had also its PS2 version announced a year and half before the release, it was initially meant to not be released together with the GC version.

 

[Rentahamster]

Thanks to PN03 for RE4 Mercenary Mode's awesome music.

 

[Danjin44]

Thanks to PN03 for RE4 Mercenary Mode's awesome music.

 

[Explosive Zombie]

I don't really know what this deal was or any of that but I remember feeling bad for people who didn't have a gamecube at the time because it looked much better on that. I'm guessing that means these people missed out on games like Metroid prime, eternal darkness and a few others. I had a PlayStation 2 as well it certainly had the bigger library but it was mostly games I didn't really care about I've never been a big fan of racing games or fighting games and I didn't really get into RPGs until we started getting RPGs like fallout and Mass effect where the gameplay was actually fun. I still can't get into those old school RPGs really one of the only ones I ever got into was Chrono trigger but that's probably cuz I like the characters so much and I love time travel. I thought Xbox was great for Halo and other shooters I used to play battlefield on Xbox LIVE on the original Xbox, and even though I didn't have a capable PC at the time I must have played on my PC more than PS2 as well because I put so many hundreds of hours into Counter-Strike during the 2000s. I wasn't even remotely a Sony person until they started doing exclusive shooter franchises. And then they did an even smarter thing and made the God of war games good with God of war 2018. Like I should be fair I thought the first one in the third one were pretty good but more like as disposable entertainment to me they were like the action game version of a call of duty game you play the campaign once and then you forget about it but with God of war there wasn't an addictive multiplayer component as well. Whereas the 2018 version elevates it to more like a Zelda game but with more adult themes and storytelling in line with something like The last of us. Basically to me Sony has had one of the best arcs in gaming where they went from a company I didn't give a s*** about to being the current best. I can't say for sure which version of resident evil 4 is currently the best version because even though I have it on PS4 and on PC I haven't had the compulsion to try and play it again yet even though it would definitely be one of my favorite games. I kind of want to see them do the remake treatment to it like they did with two though if they do it like two that's going to mean a lot of the game is missing and replaced with new ideas so I guess the original is going to be worth returning to after all. Part of why I haven't returned to it is because I absolutely exhausted it back in the day, like I'm pretty sure I did everything there is to do I remember even going around shooting those dumb hanging pendant things.

 

[Scotty W]

This reminds me of how annoying Capcom’s N64 output was. Disney Tetris and RE2. Not one fighting game?

 

[darkangel-212559]

I remember this. The Capcom 5 bought some of the best and unique games into that generation, which have sadly been forgotten about these days.

PN03, Viewtiful Joe were just two of the games that were part of it. Both amazing. Especially Viewtiful Joe.

Good times.

 

[wipeout364]

It was such a weird deal anyway. I have no idea why Capcom made Resident evil exclusive when PlayStation had made it a household name. It would have been tolerable if it had been a side story like code Veronica or revelation but to make the mainline 4 exclusive, it’s like Capcom wanted financial problems. Especially when it was obvious that the generation was going to be about the playstation 2 and nothing else mattered.

Only 4 games were released if I remember correctly and most were interesting if not stellar except RE4. Viewtiful Joe has its fans but I never really cared for it. PN03 looked so cool but played so weird it was jarring. Killer 7 was interesting but not a great game.

 

[LarknThe4th]

An amazing game, and I was a full on Nintendo fanboy at the time(I was 15 give me a break) and I was soooo pissed!!

I remember CUBE magazine in its opening editorial addressing it straight up and it had a.... funeral feel to it

The PS2 version is inferior control and graphics wise, bit we did get Ada's extra story modes out of it so looking back it was fine

 

[LarknThe4th]

Thanks to PN03 for RE4 Mercenary Mode's awesome music.

Woah!! Never knew that, what a shit game though...

 

[gamerguywashere]

honestly, i don't even like that game...the older camera style was more suited to the franchise

the best capcom5 game was viewtiful joe, like not even close

 

[cryptoadam]

killer 7 says hi.

But K7, VJ, and RE4 were all really good.

Can't blame Capcom for chasing dollars.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I'm rather indebted to the GCN version. At the time, I was an exclusive Nintendo gamer, I had cut my teeth on the likes of Zelda and Metroid, and wasn't really too interested in anything beyond them with the exception of FFVII which I had completed earlier. This game got me into Resident Evil as a series, and eventually prompted me to expand my tastes as a whole, and RE4 remains one of my favorite games to this day. Such tender memories.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I walked into EB Games right when they got the demo running a GameCube. I played it and it was like nothing I’d ever played before. I wanted to stay there longer just to play it, so I reserved it. They gave me the demo as a pre-order bonus. It was like the time I played the demo for Devil May Cry at Babbages. Nothing on the market did what that game did. It’s crazy how those two feelings are so similar due to their long history. I loved Resident Evil 4 on GameCube. It was probably one of the best games I had played for a long time. It came out for PS2 and it sorta felt weird. When I saw the game case for it, it felt like Sony got the game way too late. I have always had as many consoles as possible, so exclusivity wasn’t exactly something I dealt with. However, Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica felt “late to the party”. I say that because their initial ports (GameCube and the Dreamcast) really benefitted from their initial releases. If you knew these games were coming out then why didn’t you prepare yourself? I am a pretty big PlayStation fan and I’ve loved the console since the original was hot on the market. I don’t honestly think it felt like a betrayal, but anyone else whose first experience was the PS2 version- had to wait.

I really liked the “making of” DVD EB Games gave out with copies. I remember getting both the GC and the DVD on launch.

 

[Lord Malachite]

It came out for PS2 and it sorta felt weird. When I saw the game case for it, it felt like Sony got the game way too late. I have always had as many consoles as possible, so exclusivity wasn’t exactly something I dealt with. However, Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica felt “late to the party”. I say that because their initial ports (GameCube and the Dreamcast) really benefitted from their initial releases. If you knew these games were coming out then why didn’t you prepare yourself? I am a pretty big PlayStation fan and I’ve loved the console since the original was hot on the market. I don’t honestly think it felt like a betrayal, but anyone else whose first experience was the PS2 version- had to wait.

This is true, I was one of those people who had to wait, I had a PS2 but didn't pickup a Gamecube until 2006. However, PS2 buyers got the Separate Ways campaign included, and this actually gave a few hours of content. Nowadays, extra content like that usually only adds up to 30 minutes or less. Separate Ways added something to the story, and fleshed things out a bit more for how Leon's latest adventure impacted the RE universe as a whole. It also had a new area to play through in addition to new challenges in many existing areas. It was a nice "DLC" before such a thing existed, and IMO an acceptable bonus for having to wait. When I compare the PS2 version to the GC version, the GC is indeed graphically superior, but I do think that the game looks quite good on PS2. Between how good the PS2 version came out, along with the significant extra content that wasn't on the Gamecube, I didn't feel at all cheated even if the PS2 version is graphically inferior to the GC original.

 

[Soodanim]

I thought it was Capcom Four. Huh.

If anyone bought a GameCube for RE4 but got mad when it was ported they missed out, because it was a solid little system that I don’t regret buying. 4 was a great game and controlled wonderfully on that controller. I miss that original version sometimes, even though I wouldn’t trade it for the current PC version. With modern displays.

 

[AllyITA]

I thought it was Capcom Four. Huh.

it was capcom 5, but one game got cancelled (dead phoenix)

 

[Kokoloko85]

Gamecube sold like 2 units so Capcom needed to get it out on the most popular console of all time....

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Some unnecessary fanboy drivel in this thread. Expected, but sad nonetheless.

Not necessarily console warring, but rather buying another system you didn't plan on buying in the first place. Not everybody shits gold bricks.

I know people who had a X360 and bought a PS3 for The Last Guardian...

This reminds me of how annoying Capcom’s N64 output was. Disney Tetris and RE2. Not one fighting game?

Megaman Legends?

But yeah, your point still stands.

RE4 on PS2 was definitely inferior on the technical side but hey, it was THE game to have in the day and porting it to the PS2 only made sense. It’s basically the reason why RE is still a thing today, or almost. But I guess announcing it as a GC exclusive helped the GC’s sales a bit. OTOH PS2 wasn’t exactly starving for another big Capcom game, but the series definitely needed the Sony audience to thrive.

As a huge Nintendo fan back then the “betrayal” stung a bit, but hey, I could get the game before it came on PS2, and of course I had a PS2 anyway, so I lost exactly nothing.

 

[Kev Kev]

holy shit

i always thought re4 came out on gamecube first, but totally forgot about it after it came out on other systems, and as a result all these years i thought i was just misremembering that it came out on GC first. my mind is kind of blown right now lol

 

[Spaceman292]

You know, it may have been ported, but the GameCube original and the Wii version are still the best to this day.

I can understand the wii port, but how is the gamecube one better than a version running at 1080 60?

 

[alienator]

I can understand the wii port, but how is the gamecube one better than a version running at 1080 60?

2 words. CRT and SCANLINES.

 

[Fart Knight]

Capcom five. What a joke.

 

[Mohonky]

No money ever changed hands and the GC sold so poorly I think it was inevitable; but the games that came out of the Capcom 5 (with the exception of Dead Phoenix which you know, obviously didnt) were amazing, even PN03. They were some of the best games on the system. Viewtiful Joe and its sequel, PN03, Killer 7 and RE4 are just stand out games in the GC library and I would love to see atleast Viewtiful Joe and Killer 7 appear on Switch.

It is interesting tho that all the big guys who were working on those Capcom 5 titles basically split from Capcom and went on to pretty much do Nintendo only titles and those titles have been really good. So interestingly it laid the foundation for some great Nintendo exclusivea to appear later.

Lastly, RE4 might have been on the PS2, but it was a serious downgrade by comparison.

 

[Spaceman292]

2 words. CRT and SCANLINES.

Two things that make the picture look worse?

 

[Lukin1978]

I bought a gamecube after seeing resident evil remake. Re4 was amazing back in the day

 

[Birdo]

 

[StateofMajora]

I can understand the wii port, but how is the gamecube one better than a version running at 1080 60?

Assuming you’re talking about the pc ultimate version ;

Even though it runs at 60fps, some animations are locked at 30fps. It’s a jarring mismatch. The resolution is too high for the amount of detail the game has ; the flaws are more evident. The texture resolution is quite low in particular.

Any texture mods, made by Capcom or otherwise lose the original art direction and atmosphere and is a stark contrast to the other graphical elements.

There are more subtle reasons.

The game was designed around the cube controller, and the layout on it and Wii controller just feel right in a way it never did on a PlayStation remote.

The GameCube and Wii original, played on a crt, or at least a high end flat panel with proper upscaling is going to be the best way to play.

 

[StateofMajora]

Two things that make the picture look worse?

Oh my sweet summer child..

 

[Spaceman292]

Oh my sweet summer child..

Oh look someone's this dumb condescending post again. Grainy little CRTs are shit and always have been.

 

[carlosrox]

Nintendo got the two best versions for the longest time.

Only now are the most current remasters finally as good as the GC version.

And don't even get me started on the Wii version with the godly pointer controls. It kinda broke the game but in the best way possible. Playing that was nothing but headshot. One of the best examples of IR controls ever. Not even modern gyro controls can fuck with the IR controls. They were basically perfect, especially for RE4.

 

[bender]

That's true. But unfortunately, some degenerates are going to pop in to start raving about mods mods mods mods mods while they jerk off into their own mouths in 3.... 2.... 1....

I'm usually not one to bang that mod gong, but our GAF brethren is putting in work.

Resident Evil 4 HD Project | The Complete HD Remaster of Resident Evil 4

www.re4hd.com

 

[cryptoadam]

its probably nostalgia talking but I dont know if a game can top RE 4. It was just so expertly made and every little detail and action was perfectly crafted. That first mission in the village, the castle, and then you put in disc 2 and shit starts hitting the fan.

all though it did introduce the QTE so burn it with fire.

 

[reptilex]

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Nintendo got Monster Hunter for awhile, so it evens out. Also, Nintendo got the best version of RE4 on the Wii, and those remakes and 3DS titles (Revelations?) were solid, from what I hear.

 

[kingpotato]

I like these looks back, but wish they had more info about the people and the other events going on at the time (more historical) than the personality of the individual making the video. A little humor can be great, but when it falls flat, it diminishes the content. Worth the watch, thanks for sharing op.