Summary
Capcom’s disastrousiOSports ofResident Evil 4,7andVillagenow require an internet connection, and fans are none too pleased about the update.
For starters, as part ofApple’scontinued push into the gaming space,a select number of AAA titles have made their way to compatible iOS devices, includingCapcom’smost recentResident Evilentries. However, while that initiative is all well and good, the results have been disastrous, to say the least.
That’s because,according to data from mobilegamer.biz, in June, Resident Evil 4 was only estimated to have sold about 7,000 copies. Meanwhile, Village is estimated to have sold 5,750 copies in that same timeframe. RE7,the latest of the trio to debut on iOS, is estimated to have sold under 2,000 copies total.
There’s a variety of factors at play for these results, including the small number of compatible devices, cost and game age, as well as accessibility when it comes to trying to play a console game on a tablet or phone. But if things weren’t already bad, then they certainly got a lot worse with the recent update.
No Internet, No Baker Family
As first spotted on the iOS gaming subreddit, a recently deployed update now requires an internet connection while starting up the app.That move has owners urging others not to update their game, lest they lose the ability to play offline.
“Apple should be providing refunds for this. Unfortunately, there won’t be significant backlash because, as per their own sales figures, barely anyone’s buying these ports,“one user wrote in part, calling an online-only singeplayer game on a mobile device “ridiculous.”
Elsewhere,gamers are offering information to others on how to potentially request a refund because of these changes. At the time of publication, it was unclear if anyone had successfully got a refund.
There are plans to port Resident Evil 2 remake to iOS in the near future, and some believe these changes will definitely impact things negatively. “Whatever sales forecast they might have predicted for it, many of us who would have bought the game won’t be doing so,“a user wrote on the Reddit thread.
Given that these ports were marketed in part as being able to play Resident Evil on the go, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to force an internet connection. Granted, some might make the argument that there is internet (free or paid) virtually anywhere, but that isn’t the point. It’s a singleplayer experience that doesn’t need it, and clearly was working as intended without it.
