Resident Evil Began as a Legendary Video Game Franchise, Not a Movie

Let‘s settle this debate once and for all – the massively influential Resident Evil series kicked off as a video game back in 1996, establishing many conventions of the survival horror genre we take for granted today. The movies came later.

Conceiving the Original Biohazard Game – A Genre-Defining Innovation

Resident Evil first released under the name Biohazard in Japan on March 22, 1996 for the original PlayStation. Director Shinji Mikami and his team at Capcom aimed to tap into Western horror movies and create a markedly more mature, frightening style of game.

They succeeded – with its ominous mansion setting, scarce ammo, grotesque zombies, and graphic violence, Resident Evil became the first truly mainstream survival horror title. It also pioneered many mechanics like defensive knifing, puzzle solving, and inventory management that later became sacrosanct genre rules.

Capcom took a risk, betting that players wanted to feel desperate and afraid. And the gamble paid off – Resident Evil was a massive success, spawning over two dozen sequels and spinoffs to date across console generations.

The Juggernaut Resident Evil Games Franchise – By the Numbers

As of December 31, 2020, cumulative worldwide sales for Resident Evil games have eclipsed 107 million copies sold. That makes it not only Capcom‘s most successful series – but one of the most popular video game franchises ever made.

The newest entries continue breaking records – 2019‘s Resident Evil 2 Remake has shipped over 8.5 million copies, while 2021‘s Resident Evil Village racked up an astonishing 5.7 million units in just 9 months.

Below is a timeline of major Resident Evil games release dates and sales:

Examining these figures shows that the Resident Evil series only continued ascending in popularity long after the movies released. The games succeed based overwhelmingly on their playable campaigns and innovations evolving the horror genre – not due to fans recognizing anything from the films.

How the Movies Diverged from the Iconic Games

German studio Constantin Films acquired the Resident Evil movie rights all the way back in January 1997. However, translation to the big screen proved difficult – the first live action Resident Evil film didn‘t release until March 2002.

Director Paul W. S. Anderson (Monster Hunter, Event Horizon) faced a dilemma – how to adapt such a labyrinthine mythology filled with interconnected characters and events without losing newcomers.

His solution was to start from scratch and change everything fans knew. Set before the games, the movie follows completely new protagonist Alice Abernathy (Milla Jovovich) as the Umbrella Corporation‘s illegal experiments unleash the T-Virus globally. She battles the initial outbreak alongside a supporting cast of films-only characters.

Rather than faithfully adapting fan favorite characters and settings like Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Raccoon City, Anderson crafted an original sci-fi tale merely borrowing Resident Evil window dressing. And while this artistic liberty frustrated many gamers, the approach clearly resonated with filmgoers – Resident Evil (2002) grossed $102 million against a $35 million budget. It also spawned five sequels and the newly released Netflix show.

Critical Consensus – Games Reign Supreme

Despite the financial success of the Resident Evil movies, critics and gaming journalists argue they pale in quality next to the iconic video games. Leading gaming site IGN ranked the Resident Evil film series the 64th best video game adaptation ever, harshly critiquing its neglect of beloved characters and scenarios.

Meanwhile, sites like GameSpot and Polygon lavish praise on the games for pioneering the survival horror genre, mastering tension and fear like no competitor. Top gaming personalities still consider early Resident Evil titles among the scariest games ever developed.

The critical consensus shows why fans cried foul over the films – they desperately wanted to see living embodiments of the games that perfected ambushing players with bosses like Tyrant and Nemesis. They yearned for faithful depictions of settings like the gothic Raccoon City Police Department brimming with zombies.

Unfortunately they found Anderson‘s action-oriented alternate universe bore only superficial similarities to the source material. Without the brilliant level design driving dread, the movies captured little of the gameplay‘s magic.

The Definitive Answer – Interactive Horror Begat Cinema

So after comparing the history, success metrics, critical reception and fan feedback between Resident Evil games and movies, the verdict proves clear – the legendary games came first, definitively setting the stage for the later film adaptations.

Shinji Mikami‘s haunting 1996 vision of survival horror revolutionized gaming, establishing the concepts of ammo scarcity, desperate struggles for saves, and grotesque biological monstrosities for all future titles to follow.

The Resident Evil video game dynasty still stands as one of the best-selling franchises ever over 25 years later. Its foundational status in horror gaming history remains impossible to overstate.

As for the Resident Evil movies? While commercially successful as a sci-fi action series, fans critique their loose connections to the property that made the name so iconic. Rather than faithful extensions of the games’ storylines starring classic characters, Paul W.S. Anderson’s alternate reality idea sparked its own diverging media empire.

So ultimately the truth boils down to what made Resident Evil a household name to begin with – the revolutionary 1996 PlayStation game that invented survival horror itself rather than B-movie zombies. Hopefully any lingering confusion over this topic now rests in pieces.