Capcom has recently updated their
Platinum page, for titles that have managed to sell over 1 million copies, revealing that
Resident Evil 5 is the best-selling title in their acclaimed survival horror series with a staggering 11 million copies shipped/sold.
Resident Evil 6 sits comfortably in the second place with 8.8 million copies sold, followed closely by
Resident Evil 4 — which takes the third place with a respectable 7.3 million units sold. The very first
Resident Evil just barely makes the Top 5 of best-selling titles in the series, taking the fifth place with 5 million copies sold.
It is also worth mentioning that these numbers amount to the number of copies these
Resident Evil titles have managed to sell in total, meaning that sales for a game like
Resident Evil 4 — that has been released in pretty much every console since it first launched — will benefit from having been ported to other consoles.
What's interesting about this is that
Resident Evil 5 is arguably one of, if not, the most divisive titles in the long-running series. The reason for this game performing that well may be due to association, given that
Resident Evil 4 is regarded as one of the best games in the series alongside
Resident Evil 2, which could've easily helped boost its sales.
The
Resident Evil 2 remake, just for comparison's sake, was released exactly two weeks ago and within its first weekend since launch,
the game managed to sell an impressive 3 million copies worldwide; while the original 1998
Resident Evil 2 has managed to sell 4.9 million copies since its release.
Capcom has slowly been trying to figure out the
Resident Evil series' identity over the years, and the
Resident Evil 2 remake selling as well as it has will likely help them steer their boat in the right direction. Whatever the case,
Resident Evil 5 being the best-selling title in the series is definitely something that deserves admiration and respect, regardless of how divisive the game is amongst hardcore
Resident Evil fans.