Formerly GameCube-exclusive entry in Capcom's survival horror
series will appear on PlayStation 2 in 2005.
Capcom announced today that the long-awaited follow-up to its
popular survival horror franchise, which was originally scheduled
to appear only on the GameCube console, is also headed to Sony's
PlayStation 2.
The PS2 version of Resident Evil 4 is currently slated to be
released at the end of 2005 in Japan, the US, and Europe. The
GameCube version is still scheduled for a January 2005 release in
the US and Japan, followed by a spring release in Europe.
In a statement released today, Capcom revealed that the decision to
make Resident Evil 4 go cross-platform was based on requests from
fans worldwide, in addition to market considerations and
shareholder requests. The statement also made mention that each
version of the game will be developed to take advantage of the
strengths of its intended platform.
In September 2001, Capcom held a press conference in Tokyo to
announce that the Resident Evil series would thereafter be released
exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. Capcom first produced a
visually overhauled remake of the very first Resident Evil title,
which was originally released for the PlayStation in the mid-'90s,
and followed suit with a brand-new prequel called Resident Evil 0
and ports of Resident Evil 2, 3, and Code: Veronica.
However, as soon as the deal was cemented between Capcom and
Nintendo, cracks started to appear. Early in 2002, Capcom announced
that an online Resident Evil title, Resident Evil: Outbreak, was
exclusively headed to the PlayStation 2. Later that year, the
publisher seemed to reaffirm its relationship with Nintendo when it
announced four more GameCube-exclusive games alongside Resident
Evil 4. Then, one of them, Dead Phoenix, was canceled, and PS2
versions of two of the other games, Viewtiful Joe and Killer 7,
were subsequently announced. Nevertheless, if Capcom sticks to the
current release plan, Resident Evil 4 will remain exclusive
to the GameCube hardware for roughly one year.
