For Resident Evil 7, Capcom decided to move the franchise away from the action genre and bring it back to its roots of being a survival horror game.
The game's predecessor, Resident Evil 6, was widely regarded as a failure, and at that point, it was unclear whether Capcom would still be able to restore the franchise to its former glory. Reviews have so far claimed that the company has been able to do so with Resident Evil 7, but its sales performance is another aspect to look at to judge whether the game has been successful or if it has continued the failure of Resident Evil 6.
Resident Evil 7 Ships 3 Million Copies In Three Weeks
According to a Feb. 10 press release by Capcom, shipments for Resident Evil 7 have surpassed 3 million units across the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms. Overall, as of that date, the franchise had sold 76 million units since the first Resident Evil was launched in 1996.
With the game having been released on Jan. 24, it meant that Resident Evil 7 was able to achieve the milestone in just three weeks.
Capcom went on to describe Resident Evil 7 as a game that "builds upon the series' roots of fear, exploration and tense atmosphere," while highlighting the shift from the traditional third-person view into the first-person view for "an overwhelming, deeply immersive horror experience."
However, the figure is shipped copies of the game, which means the number of units that Capcom has released to retailers. It is unclear how many units have actually been purchased by customers, but the number of units shipped to retailers is a good indication of how much demand there is for Resident Evil 7.
Resident Evil 7 Fails To Match Launch Performance Of Predecessors
While 3 million shipped units is a good number, Resident Evil 7 actually falls short in matching the launch performance of its predecessors.
For the launch week of Resident Evil 5, the game shipped 4 million copies, and for the launch week of Resident Evil 6, it shipped an even higher 4.5 million copies.
The lower figures for Resident Evil 7 are likely due to the poor reception of Resident Evil 6, and the fact that the latest installment of the franchise does not have a multiplayer component. However, Capcom is not concerned with the performance of Resident Evil 7, considering that without a multiplayer option, the game did not need a high budget as the previous games.
Capcom said that the target for Resident Evil 7 is to sell 4 million copies by the end of March, and with 3 million units already shipped after three weeks, it looks like the game is on its way to meet the company's goal. In addition, the 3 million shipped units are only the physical copies of the game, and with the unreleased figures for digital sales included, Resident Evil 7 might have already surpassed the 4-million-unit target.
For gamers who are just starting out with Resident Evil 7, here is a survival guide for beginners. For those who have already completed the game, check out the theories on the ending of Resident Evil 7.
