
Recently there was an interview with Resident Evil 4 producer
Masachika Kawata. After doing some deeper digging on anything Resident Evil 5 and
Wii related, I found a much clearer translation from the original Japanese interview. Read below:
Q: What inspired you to develop a new episode of the serie Resident Evil on Wii? (referring to RE:UC)A: The Wii-mote was perfectly adapted to that kind of game.Q: What do you think about third-party support on Wii in general. What drove you to develop on Wii instead of working on PS3 or X360?A: The basic concept of Resident Evil is to run with guns and shoot everywhere [!!!], so from that perspective, it was really interesting to take full advantage of the uniqueness of the Wii. We wanted to create a balance between the shootings and the horror.Q: We gave Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition an excellent score. Why isn't Capcom bringing RE5 to Wii? As we seen with that game, impressive graphics can be done on that platform as well.A: Decisions surrending the RE5 project were taken a long time ago [perhaps even before Nintendo unveiled Wii-mote?] and they needed to choose quickly on which platform they wanted to develop it. They haven't decided if they will port RE5 on Wii yet. So in a way this game (RE4:Wii); well both games [I think the translator switched Kawata's words to point out both games] will help us to test the market, to see if developing this genre on this platform is interesting. The decision is not made yet.Link to "Ask Capcom"The key quotes are:
"They haven't decided if they will port RE5 on Wii yet." "The decision is not made yet."This leaves the door wide open for the Resident Evil 5 to come to the
Wii. I payed a visit to
Capcom's "Ask
Capcom" and this question has been asked of them many times: "Why don't you just port Resident Evil 5 to the
Wii?" They say the game can't be done on the
Wii since its being made from the ground up for 360 and PS3, but that seems to set the forums ablaze with reasons why it could work on the
Wii and how it could look good if made to the
Wii's strengths(see my previous post on the
TEV unit in
Wii). There are many graphics discussions going on right now and many people are quick to discount the
Wii. However if the producer of Resident Evil 4 hasn't decided if RE5 will come to the
Wii yet, then you know that graphics are not really an issue to them(it is much easier to convert High-Res textures to Low-Res Textures than Low-Res to High-Res) its really the money.
Capcom can make a port for the
Wii and make it look similar enough to the other versions for a fraction of the cost. This doesn't confirm anything for sure but the possibility is very high. Another reason why
Capcom would release Resident Evil 5 for the
Wii would be to make a profit to cover development costs of the other versions.
*UPDATE 5/08/08*
Thank you all for your heartfelt comments and support for the chance of Resident Evi 5 coming to the Wii. Capcom still has not made an announcement on if RE5 would come to the Wii or not. Sometimes no news is good news. Capcom does know that Resident Evil 4 for the Wii is nearing 2 million copies sold worldwide and that it already has outsold RE4 on the Gamecube. I will bet the farm that Capcom will give the Wii at least 1 more Resident Evil game whether it is Resident Evil 5 or an exclusive Resident Evil game taking place right before Resident Evil 5 (Leon?) or (depending on when the game is released) right after RE5. I personally think that doing a port of RE5 would actually be easier for Capcom than making a totally new game. Why do I think that? Read this preview of WALL-E for the Wii which is being ported from the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game. Yes I understand that WALL-E is a completely different game than Resident Evil 5, but this shows that porting from the "big boys" is possible and might actually be easier than making a new Resident Evil game from scratch.
Capcom has the ability to port this game down for the Wii, there's no excuse anymore.
*UPDATE* 7/23/08
Sega of America president Simon Jefferey in an interview concerning hardcore gaming on the Wii let slip that Resident Evil 5 was coming to the Wii. He said: "Resident Evil 5 (he then pauses for a moment) when that happens on the Wii it's going to help."
Jefferey tried to backpedal his statement after the interview but I've found more evidence:
Christian Svensson, Corporate Officer/VP of Strategic Planning & Business Development of Capcom had this to say when asked about the Resident Evil 5 Wii slip up in the "Ask Capcom forum":
"Simon's a friend of mine... but I don't think I've spoken to him about anything like that. 
No comment beyond that really. Interesting clip that slip aside though. Simon's a really smart guy. I have a lot of respect for his work at Sega and his prior work at
Lucasarts."
Hey guys I don't know about you but that is looking like a very strong hint that RE5 is in development for the Wii. That is definitely not a denial, and usually when Sven talks like that it means something is happening concerning that subject (for the Wii in this case) and he can't say anymore about it or it will interfere with Capcom's future plans. If Resident Evil 5 was announced right now for the Wii, how many sales would that take away from the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions which are almost finished? From a business standpoint I can understand if Capcom plays it quiet until after those versions are released, and then they may announce RE5 for the Wii.
There's a light at the end of the tunnel it seems....