How Successful Were The 'Resident Evil' Games?

As of February 2006, the Resident Evil games (known as Biohazard in Japan) have sold over 30 million copies. There are six games as of 2006, and a seventh installment is under development.

All the games have been released to positive reviews, despite heavy horror elements and a mature rating. Many of the games, most notably Resident Evil 4, have been given multiple Game of the Year honours and placed on lists of the best games ever made.

One criticism of the games however, was the tendency to add odd and random puzzles, particularly in 'Resident Evil: Code Veronica'. Despite this, Capcom (the game's producer) were praised for their addition of puzzles in Resident Evil 4, which were described as 'not so obsure that they couldn't be figured out and many of them are downright clever'.

There have been arguments from fans over the years as to which is the best Resident Evil game. Resident Evil 4 is statistically the greatest based on critical ratings, but fans felt that the game was too much of a departure from the series and do not consider it a true Resident Evil game.

The Resident Evil series has been so successful that comic books, novelisations and films have been made from it, as well as a variety of action figures.