Monday, March 28, 2011

Your Call: Are HD Remakes a Cash Grab?

Earlier this week, Capcom announced it will release Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica X as downloadable titles through Xbox Live and PlayStation Network this winter. Both titles are sporting higher resolutions, wide-screen support, and achievements and trophies. However, the general lack of any other visual upgrades or features has left many fans grumbling. 

Are publishers going about HD remakes the wrong way? 
It's your call. We'll showcase the best comments in this article.
The first notable re-release this generation was the God of War Collection for PlayStation 3 in 2009. Developer Bluepoint Games did an admirable job smoothing out the screen-tearing issues and upping the resolution from the original PlayStation 2 games. The experiment proved to be a financial success for Sony, with the collection selling over 900,000 copies in the U.S. to date, according to research firm NPD. 

Sony continues to dip into its back catalog of titles and has since released The Sly Collection, which teases Sly Cooper 4, and plans to ship the Team ICO Collection later this year to help promote The Last Guardian. 

For the 3DS, Nintendo hopes to find similar success with a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Microsoft may finally be jumping in as well, as a Joystiq rumor points to a remake of Halo: Combat Evolve this November just in time for the series' 10th anniversary. 

Third-party publishers have started to catch on, too. Ubisoft has been releasing a steady stream of last generation games, such as the Prince of Persia Collection and Beyond Good & Evil HD. The Splinter Cell Trilogy is also coming this June and Square Enix just released a collection of Tomb Raider games for PlayStation 3. 

Do you want to see publishers put more effort and time into these collections? Do you feel these remakes are just marketing devices used to promote future games in the series? It's your call. We'll showcase the best comments in this article.

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