Resident Evil creator believes games aren’t good enough if players are happy just watching a stream

The creator of Resident Evil has a bone to pick with games that attract tons of streams instead of actual players, explaining that if you prefer watching an adventure to playing it, then the game’s just not good enough.

Whether it’s Markiplier, PewDiePie, or Kai Cenat and Jynxzi, there’s a huge culture for watching streamers or influencers playing games on various platforms. After all, it’s a great way to explore a game without paying for a copy, test out what it looks like before you invest in the title yourself, or experience a title you might not usually play.

However, Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami isn’t entirely convinced that’s a positive trend. Reportedly insisting that those games you love to watch on stream have to be lacking, or you’d want to beat them yourself.

Resident Evil creator says games that are fun to watch but not play “must only be so good”

As originally reported by NikkanSports, according to Japanese comedian Eika Kano, Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami told him that if viewers can watch a complete playthrough and feel fully satisfied, the game itself may not be compelling enough to play firsthand.

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As translated from Japanese to English, Mikami explained: “If viewers watching the game stream are satisfied just by watching it through to the end, then the game must only be so good.”

Kano expanded on the comment, explaining that Mikami believes developers should create experiences that players still want to pick up for themselves, even after seeing someone else finish the game.

“It’s our job to make games that make people want to finish them with their own hands, even after watching someone else beat them,” Kano recalled Mikami saying.

Of course, as mentioned above, watching a stream of a game is done for a multitude of reasons, whether that’s to ‘try before you buy’, watch a game you can’t afford right now, or just to support your favorite streamers. But, it seems the aim is to get players to dive in for themselves, despite watching an entire playthrough of it, so they can “finish them with their own hands.”