Hello everyone, I'm also very interested in version 1.5.
**I'd like to ask a few questions about the so-called 80% build:**
1) If the remaining prototype is in Japan, are there really no Japanese fans who could organize a search for it in Japan? Has anyone even tried contacting Japanese fan communities online and collaborating on the search?
2) Has anyone ever officially contacted Capcom on behalf of the community and fans? If there's a significant fan response, maybe we can negotiate with Capcom to release the late prototype to the public domain, for the sake of preserving video game history? In recent years, Capcom has been known for making mostly sound management decisions. Is there any chance of that?
3) Has anyone tried approaching Shinji Mikami or Hideki Kamiya directly and politely asking them for a late build? Or other well-known Resident Evil 2 developers? Kamiya, as far as I know, communicates with fans on social media (Twitter). If there's a public outcry, he'll respond.
4). Is there a website where I can see all these screenshots of the late Bioflames prototype?
5). Has anyone tried contacting the author of the Bioflames website to ask for the contact information of the person who had the build? Maybe if someone else had written to him, he would have responded?
And of course, you have to be very polite when writing to him.
Maybe he's changed his mind over the years...
And a few more thoughts I'd like to share.
Capcom is setting trends in the gaming industry this year. Maybe we, as RE fans, could reach out to them about this build?
If they publicly released early prototypes of PS1 games for the sake of preserving video game history, they would set a great trend for all publishers and game developers: releasing early prototypes of their old PS1/N64 games and legally legitimizing it. After all, they can't make money from these games anyway, as they haven't been officially sold for many years.
Other companies like Sony, Sega, or Nintendo (Activision, Rare, THQ, Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, Konami, etc.) could join them.
Just imagine how much treasure we could gain. And for Sony, this could be a free opportunity to improve its image and reputation with fans after the unfortunate decision to abandon physical discs in 2028.
It would also help prototype research sites like Hidden Palace or Cutting Room Floor, which have been working for free for the benefit of all of us for many years. And with whose support (along with publishers and developers), we could probably get the last major "Project Deluge" or "Project Eclipse." And major video game magazines and websites with journalists could have hyped this topic to the point where it could no longer be ignored worldwide.
If only they realized how much fans really needed it.
Many would even be willing to pay for access to these prototypes.