New Onimusha Trademark Registered By Capcom

Capcom has registered a new trademark for Onimusha, sparking speculation that the PlayStation 2-era action game series may be making a comeback. The trademark was spotted by NeoGAF user Miku, who noted that it was not a renewal, but an entirely new registration.

There are no details beyond this and, as of yet, Capcom has not indicated any intention to bring back the series. It may be the trademark is for another Pachinko machine or mobile title, as opposed to a new console and PC game.

The first entry in the Onimusha series was Onimusha: Warlords, a game released for the PS2 in 2001. The game followed Samanosuke, a Sengoku era Japanese samurai that faced the forces of Nobunaga Oda, who aligned himself with demons.

The series' gameplay was very similar to Resident Evil, another Capcom title. Instead of shooting zombies, however, players engaged in melee combat using a sword, and used special magical skills. Solving puzzles was also a key pillar of gameplay.

The first game was followed by Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, Onimusha 3: Demon Siege--which starred French actor Jean Reno--and Onimusha 4: Dawn of Dreams.

In May 2015, Capcom said it will publish more HD remasters of its classic titles, as demand for them is high.

"HD remasters of our catalogue hit titles will be one of our key business activities ... [digital sales] created new demand for these titles. For example, overseas download sales of Resident Evil (HD Remastered) in the past fiscal year were far higher than we expected," it said in a financial document.

"It is not a risk but rather the growth of the download sales channel gives users more options. We regard this as growth in opportunities to have allow access for more people to enjoy our games."