According to Sony Producer Daniel Brooke of SCEO Europe Online, as reported by OPM, there are “no definitive plans” for the Resistance franchise. This is not a huge shock. Resistance 3, while very good and our favorite in the franchise, it was a not a heavy seller. More importantly, the Vita version did not move units which Sony was likely counting on. In point of fact, below are the global retail sales figures for the franchise. Notice how the PS3 entries’ sales drop nearly 50% after each release:
- Resistance – 2006: 4.06 million
- Resistance 2 – 2008: 2.32 million
- Resistance PSP – 2009: 0.82 million
- Resistance 3 – 2011: 1.14 million
- Resistance Vita – 2012: 0.08 million
Why did this happen? Insomniac is a solid developer and all of these games have value that go beyond it’s sales figures. Unfortunately, it’s not a surprising report. There isn’t another developer that markets 2 FPS titles as system sellers. It’s too challenging. Look at the newly crowned NBA Champion Miami Heat. They started last year with 2 superstars: Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. But when the pressure was on, throughout the playoffs, it was made clear that Lebron was the man in Miami. For Sony, Killzone is Lebron James and Resistance is Dwayne Wade. One is selling millions of jerseys while the other is fading toward retirement.
I’m not sad to see this franchise end. While I’ve enjoyed each title, I believe it’s in Sony’s best interest to push only one title as it’s console’s FPS. Just like Mircosoft does with Halo. All good things must come to an end. Thanks for a great ride Insomniac! Resistance was a solid franchise.