The trademark for the classic Capcom survival horror game Dino Crisis has been discovered to recently be renewed. One might think this is no big deal, as Capcom obviously wants to keep an IP even if they’re not using it, but in Japan trademarks work a bit differently, a copyright there means that Capcom is planning something for the franchise. That could be, well, anything from a sequel to a Netflix show. Fans seem to be pointing towards a remake as the popular option.
The gaming community is pretty split on Capcom in general as of late. Since their poor performance during the 7th generation of consoles, Capcom have put their foot to the floor gassing up various projects and making some generally quality games, but in recent times there have been some questionable decisions from Capcom that have led to people believing we may be sliding back to that 7th generation (unwanted Netflix adaptations, generally awful PC performances, lack of quality post-release content for some games) but one of the biggest criticisms Capcom faces is their seeming addiction to remaking old games. While the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 4 were positively received by the majority of the fanbase, there’s still a very vocal and sizable amount of fans who believe that they kind of lost the spirit of the older games and that’s not to mention Resident Evil 3 Remake which was poorly received on all fronts.
Generally, this sort of announcement is an exciting reawakening for a dormant IP, but one does have to wonder if a remake is the direction people really want for this series rather than an outright sequel to an older game, or even a remake to a game that could deserve the love. Rumors of a remake of one of Capcom’s other key properties, Devil May Cry, has been met with trepidation at best as well.
Of course, this is all moot if this renewal is regarding an actual sequel rather than a remake. A remake has more standards to live up to, has to tread old ground and keep the spirit of the old game while still justifying its own existence. An outright sequel allows for more creative freedom (though it has its own challenges). As of right now, we only know the trademark for Dino Crisis has been renewed which means there’s activity but we don’t know towards what. So whatever side of the isle you fall on will have to wait and see before making any sweeping declarations about the future of the franchise.