The question is not whether DMC 4 sold well, it's whether DMC 5 will sell well. Given the moderate uncertainty around this, it's enough to give Capcom pause when considering the use of their already limited resources. Devil May Cry isn't the only IP they're looking at.
Now, to address your main question about why I think it would be the most difficult DMC to create. First off, let's not assume Capcom would want the development team to simply iterate on DMC 4. Their investment in DmC is enough to show they're in favor of shaking things up, so I wouldn't bet on DMC 5 being too similar to DMC 4 so far as mechanics go. DMC 4's foundation is a good start, but it doesn't change the fact that we'll likely have completely new weapons and mechanics that will be written from scratch. I think we would all be a bit disappointed if there weren't many new weapons or skills, and they will probably want to improve on various aspects of the game, such as styles.
So far as story goes, it's less about characters and more about having a story that has a good reason to happen. Having an entire game just to tie up loose ends from DMC 4 is a very bad idea, especially if they plan on getting new players involved. Of course, no one expects newcomers to immediately understand the original canon, but after so many years it only makes sense to have some fresh content.
Up to this point, I've only been making one real point, that DMC 5 would try to improve on the formula rather than rehashing DMC 4. That is an assumption that I'm holding onto for two reasons. 1. Every Devil May Cry game up to this point has been very different from its predecessor and tried to do something new and unique. 2. I hope that the people involved would have enough passion to make something new, while of course keeping what was good about previous entries.
So, that aside, there are other reasons it would be more difficult to make than any previous title, artwork being chief among them. Even if we assume the engine they use to take advantage of newer hardware doesn't present a major obstacle, the assets will have to be more detailed than they were in DMC 4. That game has aged well, but if DMC 5 came out with nothing but improved lighting and shaders in the next few years, I think everyone would rightfully notice since DMC has always been on the cutting edge of 3D graphics.
DMC 4 is a testament to this fact- it came out pretty close on the heels of DMC 3, and the leap in the quality and amount of assets came at a severe cost. Environments, enemies, and bosses were reused, and this is probably not merely down to game design choices. The team did an excellent job with what they did create, but it's clear that this puts a great demand on the artists. As a 3D artist myself, seeing the trends growing in the industry, it appears that our jobs have gotten both easier and much harder in a variety of ways with the advent of physically based rendering, which will of course become the standard across the industry for obvious reasons. It will take at least as much time as before to create assets, and for most major titles, it could take twice as much time.
On top of all of this, we have technical issues with the camera that have plagued DMC since the beginning, and that would be a serious problem if they return in DMC 5 after being corrected in DmC.
I'll wrap this up since I've gone on for too long. If Capcom wants to make DMC 5 well, it's going to be a lot more work than DMC 4 and they'll want to make sure it's a worthy investment. If they don't care about making DMC 5 well, but just want to make another sequel to rake in the dough, it would be a new approach to the series and I would be a little disappointed.
Now, to address your main question about why I think it would be the most difficult DMC to create. First off, let's not assume Capcom would want the development team to simply iterate on DMC 4. Their investment in DmC is enough to show they're in favor of shaking things up, so I wouldn't bet on DMC 5 being too similar to DMC 4 so far as mechanics go. DMC 4's foundation is a good start, but it doesn't change the fact that we'll likely have completely new weapons and mechanics that will be written from scratch. I think we would all be a bit disappointed if there weren't many new weapons or skills, and they will probably want to improve on various aspects of the game, such as styles.
So far as story goes, it's less about characters and more about having a story that has a good reason to happen. Having an entire game just to tie up loose ends from DMC 4 is a very bad idea, especially if they plan on getting new players involved. Of course, no one expects newcomers to immediately understand the original canon, but after so many years it only makes sense to have some fresh content.
Up to this point, I've only been making one real point, that DMC 5 would try to improve on the formula rather than rehashing DMC 4. That is an assumption that I'm holding onto for two reasons. 1. Every Devil May Cry game up to this point has been very different from its predecessor and tried to do something new and unique. 2. I hope that the people involved would have enough passion to make something new, while of course keeping what was good about previous entries.
So, that aside, there are other reasons it would be more difficult to make than any previous title, artwork being chief among them. Even if we assume the engine they use to take advantage of newer hardware doesn't present a major obstacle, the assets will have to be more detailed than they were in DMC 4. That game has aged well, but if DMC 5 came out with nothing but improved lighting and shaders in the next few years, I think everyone would rightfully notice since DMC has always been on the cutting edge of 3D graphics.
DMC 4 is a testament to this fact- it came out pretty close on the heels of DMC 3, and the leap in the quality and amount of assets came at a severe cost. Environments, enemies, and bosses were reused, and this is probably not merely down to game design choices. The team did an excellent job with what they did create, but it's clear that this puts a great demand on the artists. As a 3D artist myself, seeing the trends growing in the industry, it appears that our jobs have gotten both easier and much harder in a variety of ways with the advent of physically based rendering, which will of course become the standard across the industry for obvious reasons. It will take at least as much time as before to create assets, and for most major titles, it could take twice as much time.
On top of all of this, we have technical issues with the camera that have plagued DMC since the beginning, and that would be a serious problem if they return in DMC 5 after being corrected in DmC.
I'll wrap this up since I've gone on for too long. If Capcom wants to make DMC 5 well, it's going to be a lot more work than DMC 4 and they'll want to make sure it's a worthy investment. If they don't care about making DMC 5 well, but just want to make another sequel to rake in the dough, it would be a new approach to the series and I would be a little disappointed.
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