At Sony's "Future of Gaming" livestream, the company announced two versions of the PlayStation 5, one of which is a digital-only console. There have also been long-standing rumors about Microsoft working on another console to coincide with the Xbox Series X, which has come to be known as Xbox Lockhart, and a survey regarding Resident Evil Village seems to suggest this may be available as an option for the game down the line.
Next-generation console codenames for "Anaconda" and "Lockhart" were rumored in 2018, and since then further information about Lockhart has been datamined suggesting it will be a cheaper, less powerful alternative. The survey put out by Capcom today asks which next-generation console players will be likely to buy Resident Evil Village on, with four options including the PS5, the digital-only PS5, the Xbox Series X, or a "Xbox Series X Digital Only Console."
The rest of the survey pertains to general consumer information and marketing strategies: How users have heard about Resident Evil Village, what else they might want to see about it, and so on. One part of the survey also indicates there may be a demo for the game made available if it would convince enough people to purchase it.
What leads one to believe this fourth digital-only option may be referring to Xbox Lockhart is how well the idea would tie in with those aforementioned rumors about a less powerful console; particularly in the wake of Sony's digital-only PS5 reveal. In fact, the Lockhart was also brought up in leaked developer documents last month.
Despite encroaching release windows for the PS5 and Xbox Series X, not much is known about some key details regarding the consoles, including their prices. If Microsoft reveals Lockhart as a cheaper digital-only alternative to its upcoming device, this could potentially sway its audience one way or the other, given a survey published today suggests Americans are split between preferring PlayStation or Xbox.
Regardless of how that console business turns out, Capcom is clearly looking to get the biggest bang for its buck on all next-generation consoles, no matter what options are available. Developers have detailed how Resident Evil Village will utilize next-gen features in recent interviews, and it promises to be an exciting follow-up to the successful Resident Evil 7.
Resident Evil Village is in development for the PS5, Xbox Series X and PC, due for release in 2021.
