Resident Evil 5 ships 4 million copies worldwide
by Jason Dobson 
{ Mar 16th 2009 at 9:00AM } 
Echoing this, Capcom noted that the demo has also been downloaded over 4 million times since it was released. The latest adventure in Capcom's long-running series has been gaining some impressive, if predictable traction among reviewers. However, as you may have read (or heard), the experience is not without its problems, even if we can't quit staring at Chris Redfield's impressive guns.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
t_m @ Mar 16th 2009 9:06AM
Who said gameplay was more important than graphics??
Foetoid @ Mar 16th 2009 9:12AM
Any real gamer?
Night Elve @ Mar 16th 2009 9:20AM
What's your complain about gameplay?
RE5 has a neat gameplay, not sure why people is bitching about the fact you can't walk or run while shooting, it's not Gears you know.
I've been playing RE5 a lot since Friday and I love it.
baby sea tuna @ Mar 16th 2009 9:43AM
I like it too, but it still feels so stiff and awkward when compared to pretty much any top-tier third-person action game that's been released in the past 5 years.
My other main beef so far is that there's no difficulty ramp-up. It goes from cut-scene to cut-scene to hard-as-shit right off the bat. That really wasn't too much of a problem for me on single player (I've played most of the other RE games,) but when I tried to play co-op with an RE noob friend, I ended up babysitting the whole time while he became human jerky. Sorry Capcom, but that's not really fun for either of us.
Cody @ Mar 16th 2009 10:08AM
Resident Evil this is not.
RE4 trumps this so hard it's not even funny. Actually, I went back to play RE4 a 14th time after playing through this one, which I, might I add, have NO desire to go back for another romp thru.
t_m @ Mar 16th 2009 10:46AM
Mostly just trolling... dull day at work.
Its not that the gameplay is bad, really. Its that its a totally schizophrenic game. Its an action game pretending to be a horror game, or visa versa.
I just feel that it sold (and got reviewed) on the name alone. Or maybe on nice screenshots.
If it hadn't had the RE name attached it'd have gotten much worse reviews..
(maybe i'm just bitter at waiting an hour at the tokyo game show to play it... )
ToRo @ Mar 16th 2009 11:09AM
Night Elve , RE 5 doesn't have to be like Gears even though it's not even scary. But it could control like a REAL survivor horror game, like Dead Space. Tis a shame that RE 5 will sell more than Dead Space.
xFenixKnightx @ Mar 16th 2009 11:46AM
I love the game, yeah it feels stiff (kinda like Gears 1 when talking to delta over the radio)compared to other games but its still a shitload of fun and its gorgeous!
**SPOILERS**
The boss fight where your in the back of the truck with the 2 turrets fighting that huge ass monster looked damn impressive. Props to Capcom the game is really fun and thats what matters to me. It's not scarry at all though. Go into it with an action game mentality instead of classic RE and you'll love it. I did and I do! :)
Co-op is sweet too, if your buddy knows what they're doing.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Mar 16th 2009 2:44PM
Actually if it wasn't for the controls and the fact in RE dimension lead is more scarse than gold it would be more action adventure so actually it is good so no and have yourself a STHU lolipop.
Cutty @ Mar 16th 2009 3:17PM
@ Cody,
Really?
I've beaten, and have already started playing through it again...I jump in and out of freinds games, Mercs mode is so much fricken fun ( had more fun in mercs than I did in Horde for gears by the way)
I don't see what the gripeing is about. To some it's the gameplay is not new enough, to others it's not like resident evil enough. Your preferences are blinding you to what a great game it acutally is. The graphics are rediculous and the gameplay feels perfectly fine to me. I truely had only one complaint, there wasn't enough challenging puzzles and things of that nature. Everything else seemed to work pretty good to me.
jc @ Mar 16th 2009 9:07AM
!
Gehodra @ Mar 16th 2009 9:18AM
?
samfish (is ready for MadWorld!) @ Mar 16th 2009 9:53AM
8===D
TheHakku @ Mar 16th 2009 9:11AM
I have to say that getting through on Amateur solo was even frustrating. Argh but awwwww shiny.
vidGuy @ Mar 16th 2009 9:19AM
I have the game waiting for me at home with plans to cruise through a good part of it this weekend. After the demo it was an easy buy, it seems to build directly off RE4, easily in my top ten favorite games. I think the controls are fantastic, the graphics are gorgeous, and it seems like classic, top-notch RE gameplay.
Adriaan @ Mar 30th 2009 7:39PM
I couldn't agree more. I love RE5.
ronEbear @ Mar 16th 2009 9:20AM
Pretty... Is all I have to say. My girlfriend tries to play it but she gets panicked and freaked out, so she tosses me the remote and watched me play :)
Geist @ Mar 16th 2009 9:21AM
My friend bought this and we played through it all night. It was awesome and I don't care what any reviews say. We were laughing and yelling and running and screaming (in anger, not fear), and running some more. Fun fun, I'd do it again in a second.
Seriously, co-op needs to be in every game.
acefondu @ Mar 16th 2009 12:01PM
It was good fun, and I had the same experience with a friend that you did. Though I disagree that co-op makes or breaks a game. Personally I feel if a game can't stand on its own as a single player game then it shouldn't make the excuse that you need friends to play with considering any activity involving friends will generally generate the same "fun outcome."
Flit @ Mar 16th 2009 8:22PM
Yeah, the reviews (including Joystiq's roundtable) all seem to be crying over what the game SHOULD be. It's like they've been masturbating to their wildest RE4 dreams for the last 3 years, and when the game didn't give them those, they all felt empty and full of shame for giving in to their primal desires in such a depraved manner. Because RE5 is very similar to 4, the reviewers who praised 4 so highly began playing 5, they realized how overhyped 4 actually was in the world of games. If you enjoyed 4, you'll enjoy 5. I really don't know where the control complaints are coming from, 4 controls the same as 5. It's part of the Rules the game lives by, get over it.
Anyway...
I've been really enjoying it. Me and my wife have been blasting through it over and over again. Some parts were really tense, but not scary, don't expect high caliber scares here. Expect fun gameplay (!?!?!) and good co-op.
Premature ejaculation man @ Mar 16th 2009 9:25AM
Wouldn't 4 million shipped still equal 4 million sales for them..?
I think I'm gonna rent to try it out for it coopness fun. Never really played Resident Evil before
vidGuy @ Mar 16th 2009 9:27AM
You are correct, but usually when we quote "sales" numbers we mean the number of units in consumers hands, not also available at retail. 4 million shipped could be deceptive, since what is really being played is (4m) - (# at retail).
loonytoon @ Mar 16th 2009 9:28AM
I don't actually have the game yet because I was undecided as to getting it or not. The demo using the co-op kinda put me off but knowing that I can go solo throughout is a plus for me. I'll pick it up on Wednesday or Thursday if things work out as planned.
Jambi_Bum @ Mar 16th 2009 9:58AM
The key to this game is to play it with a friend. Not by yourself. It's a hell of a lot fun when you have another human playing with you. Just not so much when you have an AI partner.
baby sea tuna @ Mar 16th 2009 10:08AM
My experience was the exact opposite. As long as I remembered to share resources with her, my AI partner lived far longer than her human counterpart. I'd like to try it with someone who is good at this type of game, though, and see if it's more fun. I'll have to keep an eye on my friend list to see who's playing.
Jambi_Bum @ Mar 16th 2009 10:36AM
baby sea tuna, it sounds to me like you just need to find a good partner lol. Trust me, once you find a good partner the game is a hell of a lot more fun than if you were playing with the AI.
Night Elve @ Mar 16th 2009 10:37AM
@baby sea tuna
Yeap man I totally agree with you.
Abobo @ Mar 16th 2009 9:33AM
This game truly is great. Who cares if it doesn't control like Dead Space? Resident Evil is always great, and it's great to hear that lots of people think the same way.
iamnotafish @ Mar 16th 2009 9:54AM
I've been playing it SP with the xbox partner and my god she gets on my nerves! (The buddy I was supposed to play it with bailed on me) That being said, if you like RE4, this is even better. And more shotgunny.
B3astofthe3ast @ Mar 16th 2009 2:40PM
HA!
RE5 doesn't even begin to touch the masterpiece that is RE4.
B @ Mar 16th 2009 9:58AM
I've been seeing advertisements nonstop for this game on television. The commercial is half decent too, aside from the in game grunting that goes along with the gameplay.
Anyways, shipped =/= sold (like Jason said). If we start seeing GH3 and RE5 store specific bundles then we know the game flopped.
Quattro @ Mar 16th 2009 11:13AM
Shipped means that Capcom sold 4 million copies to retailers. Regardless of whether the game flops for consumers, Capcom has already made a hefty profit.
Devin @ Mar 16th 2009 10:29AM
I enjoyed it, especially with a friend on coop. Still haven't beaten the boss at the end. I can't figure out what to do. Great game nevertheless.
gotFrosty @ Mar 16th 2009 11:12AM
Too bad Crapcom still wants to charge for the versus multiplayer. Thats rape if you ask me.
Quattro @ Mar 16th 2009 11:12AM
Very fun game, worth the money. A lot better than a lot of titles out there. Doesn't deserve some of the criticism it gets.
Poddie @ Mar 16th 2009 11:13AM
I played a few hours of this over the weekend single player and thought it was fantastic. I really think the reviewers are nitpicking and putting the game up against unbeatable expectations.
I'm much happier with it being an action game, as I have no desire to play "survival horror". I want pleanty of ammo and awesome graphics and a good story arc... and it looks to me like that's what I got.
Don't understand the control bitching either. I'm not having trouble with stopping while I shoot. Seems to work just fine, as the AI has obvisouly been designed with this in mind. So what's the problem?
Granted, I'm playing on the Rookie level as this is my first full playthrough of an RE game. But it seems to me like there are always plenty of "breathers" where you can adjust your inventory just fine. And the quick shortcuts to 4 slots makes it easy to do the most neccessary things during combat quickly.
The game seems to have that typical Capcom polish to me. Which is to say it plays great, looks great, and has interesting characters, but is a little dicey in the dialog department. Voice acting seems very well done for the main characters as well.
I think people expect too much out of these things... it can't be exactly what each person wants, because different people want different things. In this case, it's pretty much exactly what I wanted.
Anam @ Mar 16th 2009 11:21AM
Regardless of whether the game should attempt to appeal to all audiences, the reviewers certainly have to try, which is why there is nitpicking. Because many of us don't want another action game with an A.I. partner and plenty of ammunition. We want a survival horror game.
And the reviews have been helpful to me, as the information they have provided means that I probably won't pick this one up.
Otis Whitaker @ Mar 16th 2009 11:15AM
This game is one of the best co-op games I've ever played. It's really intense. That's the best way to describe it. Just really, really intense, and almost everything is done to drive it to being an intense game. Lots of times you'll just be backed into corners, with little ammo, just you, your friend, and about 20 bullets to ratio in between you while a swarm of African natives want to impale your face.
It's like RE4, but with a friend!
Charlie_Six @ Mar 16th 2009 11:40AM
Yeah, for me RE5 is what Left 4 Dead should've been. I don't like the controls but I'm amazed at how much great content is in the game. I beat the game yesterday morning on Normal, and still have a ton of things to do. it feels like i've only played 30% of the game.
Otis Whitaker @ Mar 16th 2009 11:25AM
Also, so everyone is aware, if you liked RE5, you should like this game. It's pretty much the same game, but with co-op and Africa.
It's not Gears of War. It's not even like Gears of War. it's like RE4.
Poddie @ Mar 16th 2009 11:28AM
Oh, sure... I'm not saying they shouldn't point these things out.
I'm just saying I feel like many of them are knocking it down because it's not a survival horror game. It should be scored based on it's own merits, not whether it is exactly the same genre and style of play as the first game.
I just feel like many of the reviews are ignoring the fun factor, intensity, and amazing graphics and production values, and instead giving negative reviews based on the small things that don't even bother me at all. Like I said, those things should be mentioned (as they really ARE important to some of course), but I don't think this could possibly deserve less than an 8. I would personally give it a 9 or even 9.5.
Anam @ Mar 16th 2009 11:38AM
Good point. The score shouldn't be lowered because they chose to take it in a different direction. I'll agree with that. Though it sounds like the argument is that the controls don't work well in a more action-oriented game and that's why it is getting slightly lower scores than it should.
Can't really say whether I agree with that or not, seeing as I haven't played it.
Jambi_Bum @ Mar 16th 2009 11:57AM
Anam, you should at least rent it if you aren't going to buy it. No one should pass this up. Honestly, after playing the demo the first few times I thought I wouldn't like it because of the controls, but I was dead wrong. Sure there are times when I'd like to be able to run away AND shoot but I don't have a problem with running away and then turning around and popping heads. The controls work just fine, as the zombies/majini are slow and not super fast. The one issue I do have with the controls is the cover system and not being able to move from one side to the other, but other than that I don't really have any complaints about it.
Anam @ Mar 16th 2009 12:52PM
It's not the controls that worry me (even though the demo feels like a step backwards from the Wii controls of Resident Evil 4), it's the insistence upon having a buddy character more than anything. I unfortunately do not have any friends who like playing shooting games, so co-op would be limited to online, and frankly I'm not a big fan of playing games online.
So I would be playing the game single-player, which sounds pretty lacking compared to multi-player. And then the talk about there being no horror or suspense and ammo is plentiful... and... you know what? I don't really want an action shooter and there are games higher on my list anyway.
Now don't take this as me calling the game bad. I'm merely saying that I don't think I am the target audience for this game. They seem to have stripped out a lot of things that I like in favor of features like co-op that, while a neat idea, don't really matter to me.
Poddie @ Mar 16th 2009 11:30AM
This was in response to Anan's response to my comment above.
I don't even know why I try to Reply on Joystick. It seriously only works half the time. There is something wrong with it...
vidGuy @ Mar 16th 2009 11:43AM
It works 100% of the time when it says "replying to" above "Your comments."
Poddie @ Mar 16th 2009 11:49AM
I agree... unfortunately it only seems to show that about 50% of the time. Many times I hit "Reply" and it just sends me to the box at the bottom of the page wihtout that text.
It would be nice if I didn't have to fear looking like an idiot every time I post... at least due to it not showing as a Reply. :)
xFenixKnightx @ Mar 16th 2009 11:43AM
I love the game, yeah it feels stiff (kinda like Gears 1 when talking to delta over the radio)compared to other games but its still a shitload of fun and its gorgeous.
**SPOILERS**
The boss fight where your in the back of the truck with the 2 turrets fighting that huge ass monster looked damn impressive. Props to Capcom the game is really fun and thats what matters to me. It's not scarry at all though. Go into it with an action game mentality instead of classic RE and you'll love it. I did and I do! :)
Co-op is sweet too, if your buddy knows what they're doing.
Jambi_Bum @ Mar 16th 2009 12:00PM
This boss fight is a god damn son of a b*tch on professional. It's ridiculous. Took us forever to finally take him down.
eNrique @ Mar 16th 2009 2:09PM
"The boss fight where your in the back of the truck with the 2 turrets fighting that huge ass monster looked damn impressive"
You didn't play Resident Evil 4, did you?
Have fun catching soe fish, you might get a gold one and sell it for 10000 Pecetas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMPuIowSBvY
That's why I still love RE4.