Resident Evil 6 demo timed exclusive for Xbox over PS3 a ?strategic business decision'

Written by Alex Roth on February 01, 2012

Resident Evil 6 News: The RE 6 demo will hit Xbox 360 two months before PlayStation 3. Is Capcom pulling an Activision in order to embrace a larger audience?

Yesterday, Capcom announced that the Resident Evil 6 demo would be available early for purchasers of Dragon's Dogma. Xbox 360 gamers can download it on July 3, while PS3 players will be waiting until September 4. Why the two-month gap? ?Business,? of course.

After covering yesterday's development, we reached out to Capcom for a comment on the gulf between the Xbox 360 and PS3 early access dates. A representative offered this response:

This was a strategic business decision.

While it's unclear what sort of strategy Capcom is playing at, this does come on the heels of David Turner, Capcom's head of UK marketing, saying:

The dream would be that the millions of Call of Duty fans that are enjoying these fast-paced online games are attracted to this Resident Evil.

Is this Capcom's way of imitating Call of Duty? Giving Xbox 360 priority treatment just like Modern Warfare 3, whose DLC drops weeks early on Microsoft's console? Surely there's a way of embracing the action audience without pushing PlayStation 3 to the side. Sony's system did launch the series after all.

Dragon's Dogma hits shelves on May 22. For those who don't pick up the action-RPG, the Resident Evil 6 demo will be available on September 20, for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

In the meantime, check out the trailer for Resident Evil 6, starring Leon, Chris, and some yet to be identified zombie exterminators. And don't forget to sound off on Facebook and Twitter. We want to know what you think of Capcom's ?strategic business decision? and the future of the Resident Evil series.