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Where Next for the Resident Evil Franchise?

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Resident Evil

The Resident Evil games franchise created by Shinji Mikami and Tokuro Fujiwara is one of the longest-running series in video game history. It began with Resident Evil (known as Biohazard in Japan) in 1996, and since then there have been twenty-six other games on various platforms. The Capcom games also sprouted a series of six Hollywood blockbuster films including Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Extinction (2007), which combined have raked in over $1.2 billion at the box office. The Resident Evil games have delivered Capcom’s most successful franchise ever, and the recent Resident Evil 7: Biohazard passed its target of 10 million sales. The series has always focused on its original stable of characters, which has proved to be a winning formula. But does the game need to change things up a bit to remain popular?

Resident Evil 2 Remake

Loyal fans of the franchise have often been rewarded with remakes and remastered versions of the classic games. One of the most popular games in the series, Resident Evil 2, was at the time of release the fastest-selling game in North America with 380,000 copies sold the weekend after it had hit the shelves. It went on to make $417.32 million in sales. The title was also Capcom’s most successful release on a single platform, and fans have been eager to see it remade for some time now. In fact, in 2015 it came to light that a fan remake by a group called InvaderGames was in production, but this was halted by Capcom who said they had plans of their own underway. The production company has yet to confirm a release date for the remastered version of the 1998 game, but it has been announced that there will be a rerelease of the 2012 title Resident Evil Revelations to appease fans in the meantime. This is set to come out on August 31 in Japan, and in the autumn in the UK. Capcom have historically been good at providing these nostalgic reboots for fans, while also bringing new audiences into the franchise with fresh releases. Umbrella Corps and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard are the two most recent original titles, which were released in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

There Will Always be Appeal for Zombies

No matter what direction Capcom decides to go with its series after the next rebooted game, it seems that there will always be a market for zombie related titles – at least for the foreseeable future. The enduring presence of the living dead in popular culture ever since Victor Halperin’s White Zombie in 1932, up to TV shows like The Walking Dead which is still running now, underlines how strong the genre is. In fact, the AMC series written by Robert Kirkman is watched by an astonishing number of people, and each of the last three seasons have earned an average viewership of over 12 million. In addition to Resident Evil, there are numerous other successful games that have used the flesh-eating creatures to sell titles. Take Plants vs. Zombies, for instance. The PopCap Games title, which was originally released as a mobile app in 2009, was the first paid app to reach $3 million in sales. And Plants vs. Zombies 2 in 2013 nearly surpassed 25 million downloads in its first two weeks. It was so popular that it was later made available for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Zombies have also been prevalent in the iGaming scene. Lost Vegas from Microgaming, which is available as an online slot game at Betway Casino, features infected nurses, croupiers, and even a zombie Elvis Presley. On top of all that, there are also augmented reality titles to do with the brain-hungry monsters, such as Zombies, Run!, which motivates users to outrun or outwalk to avoid a fictitious zombie invasion.

Will Resident Evil Move Completely to VR?

There doesn’t appear to be any reason for the creators of Resident Evil to refresh their franchise through introducing a brand new set of characters, as they have shown that the recurring protagonists have remained popular. They may choose to catch up with people like Wesker, though, who is reportedly still alive according to 2007’s Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. If the franchise is to continue strongly for another twenty years and progress from what it has already achieved, Capcom should embrace new technology and seek to create more virtual reality-focused titles. The latest offering featured a VR mode, which is a strong step in the right direction. As of June this year there were over 1 million PlayStation VR headset sales, and as more content is produced for the device, greater numbers of gamers will make the switch. Horror themes have been rampant ever since VR began, and people seem to love scaring themselves senseless in haunted house simulators like VR Haunted House 3D. Resident Evil titles would therefore lend themselves perfectly to the platform, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see all future instalments almost exclusively designed for VR. Capcom could still please purists by continuing to rerelease old games.

It seems that the Resident Evil franchise is strong enough and has enough fans to carry on how it has been doing and keep producing reboots and sequels which are fairly similar to the predecessors. But the developers should be aware that VR could be the next big thing, and should be starting to gear their games towards the new format.

Samantha is very interested in all the latest technological advancements and she loves to show it through her articles. You'll likely find her writing about one gadget or another, but she certainly doesn't shy away from science stuff either.

Gaming

Shift Up unveils the intriguing details behind the physical packaging of Stellar Blade for the PS5

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It appears that many

are eagerly anticipating the launch of the highly anticipated PS5 exclusive, Stellar Blade. Shift Up, the developer, has shared a lengthy video showcasing the “secrets” found in the physical box of the game for PS5. From what we can gather, these secrets include a reversible cover/dust jacket and a download code for cosmetic items.

We must clarify that while we do appreciate the variant cover, it may be more appealing than the game’s standard art. However, it is not something we would typically classify as a “secret.”. However, what’s interesting is that Shift Up has confirmed through the comments section that this will be the case in all regions. Additionally, the visually striking action RPG will remain uncensored worldwide.

It’s refreshing to witness a developer going the extra mile for physical collectors, and it’s evident that the developer is determined to leave a favorable mark in the console realm. Stellar Blade is set to make its highly anticipated debut this Friday, April 26th, exclusively on the PS5.

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Here are all the patch notes for the new PS5 firmware update that adds the community game help feature

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Sony has recently launched the newest PS5 system software update, which is always an exciting occasion for avid PlayStation fans. With a size of slightly over 1GB, you can download and install it right away. As always, the question remains: What exactly does the update bring to the table?

According to the official patch notes, there have been some notable improvements, particularly in the area of game help. We are introducing an exciting addition to our platform: the Community Game Help feature. This feature enhances the PS5’s Game Help system by providing you with gameplay videos from fellow players. Players have the option to choose whether or not they want their gameplay videos to be shared using this feature.

If you’re concerned about it, you can now hide your Remote Play connection status as well.

Presenting the complete patch notes:

  • Game Help has been enhanced with the addition of Community Game Help features
  • Within Game Help, players can find Community Game Help hints in supported games. These cues come from gameplay videos that other players have shared.
  • If you’re up for it, you have the option to contribute to Community Game Help by giving permission for your gameplay video to be automatically recorded and included in the feature after it’s been reviewed
  • If you want to join in, navigate to Settings, then Captures & Broadcasts, followed by Captures, Auto Captures, and finally Community Game Help. From there, simply choose the option to participate. Users have the option to unsubscribe whenever they choose
  • During Remote Play, players now have the option to hide the persistent message “Remote Play connected.” that appears on their game screen. To ensure a seamless gaming experience, navigate to the Settings menu, then proceed to the System section. From there, locate the Remote Play option and activate the Hide Remote Play Connection Status feature
  • The system’s software performance and stability have been significantly enhanced
  • The messages and usability on some screens have been enhanced

While not the most groundbreaking update, the Community Game Help feature has the potential to be intriguing, contingent upon the number of games that offer support for it. What are your thoughts on the latest update? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

 

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Geek Culture

In the TV show Fallout, would the “rule of thumb” really work?

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Walton Goggins’ character, who plays someone in the first episode of the new TV series Fallout on Amazon, mentions a “rule of thumb” when it comes to nuclear explosions.

According to the character known as “The Ghoul,” he learned in military school that if you raise your thumb and extend your arm toward the blast, you can tell if you are going to live or die. According to the rule, some Americans will be safe from the radioactive fallout if the mushroom cloud is smaller than their thumb. If the mushroom cloud is bigger than their thumb, they won’t be as lucky.

Many other survivors will probably ask you why you’re giving a mushroom cloud the big thumbs up. Is it worth it?

The idea has been looked into a bit thanks to the Fallout video game series, which caught the attention of physicists in their first year at the University of Leicester. They had heard a false rumor that the show’s mascot, Vault Boy, was giving a happy thumbs up to show support for the thumb rule. They wanted to find out if the rule was true.

The team looked at smaller blasts that would fit with the setting of the show and chose a 15-kiloton blast, which is the same size as the blast that happened when the US dropped “Little Boy” on Hiroshima. The first thing the team did was figure out how far away you would have to be from the mushroom cloud for your thumb to cover the blast. They came up with a number that was about 12.6 kilometers (7.8 miles).

“Assuming the detonation occurred on the ground, the radius for avoiding all burns is 4.67 km [2.9 miles] away from the blast center, and the radius for radiation sickness symptoms is 1.56 km [0.97 miles],” the team said in their paper. “This would mean that you would be safe from the initial blast effects of radiation and burns.”

Even though you just saw a nuclear explosion nearby, that doesn’t mean you are safe. And that’s before you worry about nuclear winter. The radiation coming at you from the wind should be your main concern.

“Assuming an average wind speed of 24 km/h, the fallout would reach you within approximately half an hour if you were to be standing directly upwind.”

Getting caught in this wind will give you enough rads to make you sick. One more rule, though: run like hell. This might help you lower your dose.

“This investigation showed that if a 15-kiloton nuclear bomb was to detonate and your thumb extended at an arm’s length just covered the blast, you could survive most negative radiation effects by running laterally in the direction of the wind for a minimum of 1.65 km [1 mile] in half an hour, given that you are standing directly upwind from the blast,” the team said.

But this only works for a blast much smaller than the weapons the world has now. And even for smaller blasts, the rule probably won’t help because of the radiation that is released into the air and the fact that the wind can change quickly. Ruth McBurney, who is the executive director of the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors in Frankfort, Kentucky, told Inverse that “shelter is the best thing to do if you think you might be in a place where fallout might be present or coming.”

More plans call for temporarily taking refuge in whatever is available, and then moving to better nearby shelters about 30 minutes after the blast. There are, of course, official rules about what to do during a blast. In short, you should stay inside and away from windows, wash your hands, and wait for more instructions. Please don’t condition your hair while you’re doing that.

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