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In its 25 years, Resident Evil has become a household name for pioneering the survival horror genre and its ability to transform itself and remain relevant in a competitive industry. That being said, Resident Evil's continued success is not without some hiccups. For a time, Resident Evil suffered from an identity crisis before soaring in popularity again shortly after it returned to its survival horror roots with Resident Evil 7.
Apart from its gameplay, Resident Evil also produced some of the most iconic characters in the video game franchise with the likes of Chris Redfield, Leon Kennedy, and Claire Redfield. However, in recent installments, it became evident that Capcom seems to have neglected one of its most popular characters, Jill Valentine.
Why Capcom May Be Hesitant To Bring Back Jill Valentine
Known as one of the first female playable characters in a survival horror game, Jill Valentine is widely considered one of Resident Evil's most essential characters. Despite briefly being overtaken by Resident Evil Village's Lady Dimitrescu, Jill Valentine's story remains one of the most impactful and most popular in the series. If Jill is both a fan favorite and an integral character to the franchise's overall plot, why hasn't she appeared in a new Resident Evil game?
Unfortunately, there is no official answer to why Jill has remained absent in recent entries. Given the lack of explanation on Capcom's part, some speculate that the studio's hesitation in bringing her back is her ability to translate her appeal to video game sales. Overall, Jill appeared as a main playable character in three entries, two of which were later remade: Resident Evil,Resident Evil 3, and Resident Evil Revelations.
Out of these games, the remake of Resident Evil garnered the most sales with 5.4 million, followed by the original Resident Evil at 5.3 million, Resident Evil 3 Remake at 4.6 million, Resident Evil 3 at 3.5 million, and Resident Evil Revelations having the lowest sales at 2.1 million. While these figures are impressive, it doesn't match the games that featured Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy, such as Resident Evil 5 at 13.4 million and Resident Evil 4 with 10.8 million units sold.
Looking at the sales data alone could easily lead fans to a conclusion that the performance of Jill's games may be the reason why Capcom is keeping her at bay. However, doing a deep dive into the performance of these games tells a different story.
Jill Valentine's Bankability is Not The Issue
Based on Capcom's sales data, the game featuring Jill Valentine that garnered the most sales is the 2002 remake of Resident Evil. However, it is worth pointing out that Resident Evil Remake did not live up to Capcom's sales expectations upon its release. Resident Evil Remake gained greater popularity after being remastered to the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
The main factor contributing to its low sales is not the characters the game features, but the platform it was first released to. It is worth remembering that the remake was initially launched to Nintendo GameCube, which proved to be a wrong move for Capcom, given that the majority of Resident Evil fans likely were PlayStation players.
Similarly, Resident Evil Revelations somewhat suffered from the same fate. While Revelations was critically acclaimed for being closer to the franchise's survival horror roots, sales were slow initially, given that it was first released to the Nintendo 3DS. Like Resident Evil Remake, Revelations only grew in popularity after porting it to the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, which are tried and tested platforms for mature horror games.
As far as the sales performance of games featuring Jill Valentine not being the cause of Capcom's hesitation, it's hard to pinpoint the exact reason. Nevertheless, the studio may be setting Jill up for a big return, with fans hoping to see her, Leon, and Claire, reunite with Chris in Resident Evil 9. So, in the end, while Jill's absence from the mainline Resident Evil franchise remains a mystery, one thing is for sure; her story remains open, and her return, no matter how long, is inevitable.
