How ‘Pokemon’ and ‘Resident Evil’ Rewrote Gaming History
(Bloomberg Opinion) — In the span of just 23 days three decades ago, two initially modest releases changed video games forever.
On February 27, 1996, Pokémon Red and Green hit Japanese shelves for the first time. Role-playing games were the original entries in a franchise that would now become the world’s highest-grossing media franchise and more valuable than Mickey Mouse or Star Wars.
Just three weeks later, Capcom Co. released Biohazard, better known outside Japan as Resident Evil. There was no cute Pikachu here; This title was a gory experience that aimed to make players feel the tension of being hunted by zombies. Nearly 30 years later, gamers still can’t get enough. Resident Evil Requiem, the latest game to receive positive reviews from critics, sold 5 million copies in five days after its release last month, the fastest ever. The series has sold more than 180 million units in total.
1996 was a seminal year for the gaming world; It was a period of rapid iteration and change, contrasting with today’s tedious years-long development schedule. But other series that emerged at the same time and made their mark on the decade, from Crash Bandicoot to Quake to Tomb Raider, also faded into obscurity. This is a testament to their patient management and a lesson to publishers everywhere.
As games they have little in common. At a time when games were often put together over months, the kid-focused Pokemon, which had been in production for six years, was the last gasp of Nintendo Co.’s Game Boy platform. Resident Evil, meanwhile, was developed by an inexperienced team experimenting on the then-new PlayStation platform, a horror script inspired by the films of Alfred Hitchcock. However, both were thought to be unlikely.
The impact of both games extends far beyond the games themselves. Not released outside of Japan until 1998, Pokemon has been described as the “Rosetta Stone,” which directly led to the modern-day anime boom. It was initially viewed as a curiosity that obsessed kids and baffled adults, memorably captured in a South Park episode that poked fun at the late-’90s obsession. But unlike other fashions, it endured and foreshadowed how Japanese pop culture would become the lingua franca of Western youth.
Resident Evil was inspired by Western movies, particularly zombie movies like George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. But by the 1990s, zombies had become the stuff of camp and parody, and horror had moved towards meta trends like Scream, which was released that year. The success of the Japanese game would re-establish the zombie as a mainstay of horror, paving the way for everything from 28 Days Later to The Walking Dead. Despite its poorly translated script and legendarily crude voice acting, it marked a turning point in the transition of games from cartoon action to cinematic experiences aimed at adults.
What is the secret that makes these two so relevant three decades later?
The first is careful shepherding, giving fans what they want and updating the template at the same time. Resident Evil has completely reinvented itself at least twice, moving towards a more action-oriented formula and then delving further into its horror roots. Pokemon has moved closer to a tried-and-true formula, and although the most recent major release, Scarlet and Violet, received mixed reviews, they became the second best-selling game in the series. But it’s also experimenting: The latest spinoff, the Animal Crossing-like Pokemon Pokopia, has been receiving rave reviews since its launch on Switch 2 last week, reigniting the series ahead of the launch of the newest mainline game, Winds and Waves, next year.
They also demonstrate the importance of a multimedia strategy. Comics, anime, and trading cards were crucial to Pokemon’s initial success; It made the series inevitable and provided familiarity with the characters. While the tongue-in-cheek Resident Evil movies bore little resemblance to the games, they were still profitable and raised awareness of the brand. A new film directed by renowned horror director Zach Cregger will be released in theaters later this year.
And despite all their success, they both left money on the table. In their quest to continually increase next quarter’s earnings, many publishers are giving players too much of a good thing(1). But while both Pokemon and Resident Evil have used spin-offs, remakes, and side adventures to keep players (and investors) busy, they’ve staggered their parent releases (the main installments of the series) with just nine entries in three decades.
Pikachu and flesh-eating zombies may seem to have little in common. But they show that great ideas never get old if handled carefully.
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(1) Consider how Ubisoft Entertainment SA released Assassin’s Creed with 14 mainline games in just 18 years, boring audiences and getting the company into more and more trouble.
This column reflects the author’s personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Japan and Korea. He previously led the breaking news team in North Asia and was deputy Tokyo bureau chief.
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