While I’m not entirely surprised at the popularity of CASE Zero, I am surprised that it has exceeded the record for best week-one sales in the history of Xbox LIVE. However, CASE Zero is in a unique position, as it offers something for both newcomers to the series and fans of the original Dead Rising. That may well have been the key that led the game to this particular victory.
It’s important to remember that CASE Zero is merely a prequel, and that Dead Rising 2 will be more expansive than the original title. With the addition of co-op multiplayer, using anything at hand to slay zombies could be more fun than ever, or an excuse for a team-building exercise.
But giving people more than just a small taste of the game probably had something to do with the numbers in which CASE Zero was downloaded. In fact, Capcom’s R&D guy, Keifi Inafune, has said that the Dead Rising series may surpass the Resident Evil series in popularity. Could this be a possibility? Absolutely.
Killing a mass of zombies all at once seems a lot more appealing to me than conserving bullets, solving ill-placed puzzles, and being unable to shoot and move at the same time. While the RE series will always have a soft spot in my heart (I am a massive fan of Resident Evil 4), seems like gamers might be much more interested in the awesome ridiculousness that is the Dead Rising series.
Dead Rising 2: CASE Zero is available now for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE for 400 MS ($5)
Dead Rising 2 will be releasing on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on September 28, 2010.
