Resident Evil 3 is right around the corner, and while players are in for a real treat with the remade game, Capcom is wasting a major opportunity to capture a large portion of the asymmetric PvP market by bundling the Resident Evil: Resistance mode into the purchase of the main game.
What Is Resident Evil: Resistance?
Put simply, Resistance offers fast-paced, asymmetrical PvP where four survivors, each with special skills, attempt to escape iconic locations from the Resident Evil series while one Mastermind character tries to stop them using traps and biological weapons such as zombies, dogs, and much worse. Dead by Daylight would be an apt comparison, or since the survivors can fight back, the upcoming Predator: Hunting Grounds.
Long-time fans of the Resident Evil series will note that the mode is a spiritual successor or remake of Resident Evil Outbreak, released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, with the notable exception of the Mastermind. Both games occur during the brief window between the mass outbreak of T-Virus, and when the city is destroyed at the end of Resident Evil 2 and 3, and both share the core principle of a team of four survivors trying to escape, each with a special set of skills.
How To Access Resistance
Initially, Resistance was thought to be its own independent, standalone title, but was later revealed to be bundled into Resident Evil 3. On the one hand this will help pad the lack of content that the upcoming game has relive to Resident Evil 2, but on the other hand this means that for players who love asymmetric PvP games but dislike solo survival horror, the only way to play Resistance is to fork over $60 USD and ignore the single player content.
As a result, Capcom fracturing its player base before the game even releases, since there are people who may look forward to both games, but those who only want to play Resistance will likely pass altogether due to the high cost of the “extra” mode.
Failing To Plan, Planning To Fail
While asymmetric PvP games are an absolute blast to play, they live and die by the size of their player base. Just ask the players of Friday the 13th: The Game. It may take a while to get any answers, however, since there are none left. That game had a host of its own issues, but the point stands that this kind of game needs a healthy player base to keep queue times down and to best match up players of similar skill levels. This is likely why Dead by Daylight has been working hard at crossplay, to keep its player base nice and high.
Want Resistance To Succeed? Make It Standalone From The Beginning
If Capcom wants to see Resistance succeed, the game must not gate players by bundling into another game they may not want. The game needs to be purchasable or free-to-play as a stand-alone product, and soon. If Capcom banks on the eventual discounted price for Resident Evil 3 to bring in more players, it may be too late.
There is also a viable monetization strategy in place in having Resistance provided as its own game, and that is in the sale of cosmetics and skins for both survivors and Mastermind weapons. In a meeting with TheGamer in October of 2019, Behavior Interactive’s Mathieu Côté described how the decision to incorporate a cosmetic shop was an unexpected boon for their business model.
If not monetization through cosmetic items, subsequent Survivors and Mastermind characters to be released could be sold as well. Given how expansive the Resident Evil universe is, there is no shortage of characters to introduce into the game.
The point is that there are several viable methods through which Resistance could easily be its own outstanding PvP game, and there is no reason to squander such an opportunity by bundling the game with the purchase of Resident Evil 3.
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