Resident Evil

Resident Evil (known in Japan as Biohazard) is a media franchise consisting of a survival horror video games series, comic books, novelizations, four Hollywood motion pictures, and a variety of collectibles, including action figures, strategy guides and publications. A computer animated movie set within the series' universe is due for release in 2008 (named Resident Evil Degeneration). Developed by Capcom and created by Shinji Mikami, the game series has been influenced by George A. Romero's Dead movies. The games have sold over 30 million copies as of February 2006.1 As of 2007, the series consists of thirteen games.

The original Resident Evil made its debut in the U.S. on the Sony PlayStation. It was both a critical and commercial success,[citation needed] leading to the production of two immediate sequels, Resident Evil 2 in 1998 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis in 1999, both also for the PlayStation. A port of Resident Evil was released for the Sega Saturn and a port of Resident Evil 2 was released for the Nintendo 64. In addition, ports of all three were released for Windows. The fourth game in the series, Resident Evil Code: Veronica, was developed for the Sega Dreamcast and released in 2000 (followed by ports of 2 and 3). PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube versions were later produced in the form of an updated version entitled Code: Veronica X.

Despite earlier announcements that the next game in the series would be released for the PlayStation 2 (which resulted in the creation of an unrelated game titled Devil May Cry) series' creator and producer Shinji Mikami decided to make the series exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube[citation needed]. The next three games in the series: a remake of the original Resident Evil, the prequel Resident Evil Zero (originally planned as a Nintendo 64 game) and Resident Evil 4, were exclusive to the GameCube, although RE4 was later released for PS2 and Wii.

In addition, the console received ports of the previous Resident Evil sequels as they originally appeared on the PlayStation and Dreamcast. The remake and Resident Evil Zero were both released in 2002. Despite this exclusivity agreement between Capcom and Nintendo, Capcom released several titles for the PS2 that were not part of the main storyline.[specify] Eventually, Capcom released the GameCube version of Resident Evil 4 in 2005. A PlayStation 2 version was later announced, which launched later the same year with additional supplemental features. A Windows port was released in May 2007, while a Wii version with the PS2 port's extra features and motion sensitive controls was released on June 19th, 2007.

A trilogy of GunCon-compatible light gun games known as the Gun Survivor series featured first person gameplay. The first, Resident Evil: Survivor, was released in 2000 for the PlayStation and PC, but received mediocre reviews.2 The subsequent games, Resident Evil: Survivor 2 Code: Veronica (2001, Arcade/PlayStation 2) and Resident Evil: Dead Aim (2003, PlayStation 2), fared somewhat better.3 It is worth noting that Dead Aim is actually the fourth Gun Survivor game in Japan, with Gun Survivor 3 being the Dino Crisis spinoff Dino Stalker.

Resident Evil Outbreak is an online game for the PlayStation 2 released in 2004 depicting a series of episodic storylines in Raccoon City set during the same time period as Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. It was followed by a single sequel, Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2.

Resident Evil Gaiden is an action-adventure game for the Game Boy Color featuring an RPG-style combat system. It was developed by now-defunct British-based M4 Limited. Leon S. Kennedy and Barry Burton feature in the game, and it is notable for its cliffhanger ending that has not yet been explored in later games. There have also been several downloadable mobile games based on the Resident Evil series in Japan. Some of these mobile games have been released in North America and Europe through Capcom Mobile.