Umbrella Chronicles zaps 1M Wiis

Nintendo has weathered strong criticism from third-party publishers concerned about not being able to capture a share of the Wii's pie. One publisher most likely not lobbing complaints against the Wii maker, however, is Capcom. After announcing in October that Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition had shifted 1 million units on Nintendo's premier console, the publisher today added Wii-exclusive Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles to the 1-million-units-shipped club.

Released in November alongside such heavy-hitters as Assassin's Creed, Crysis, Super Mario Galaxy, and Uncharted, The Umbrella Chronicles has thus far sold nearly 300,000 units through January in the US alone, according data trackers the NPD Group. Capcom noted today that the Resident Evil franchise, which logged its first installment in 1996, has sold more than 34.5 million units worldwide through the end of February 2008.

The Umbrella Chronicles diverges from Resident Evil's traditional action adventure gameplay, offering the series' hallmark survival horror action in an on-rails shooter format. The game acts to fill in some of the plot gaps concerning the nefarious Umbrella Corporation and transports players back to locales from Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, and 3, as well as a few new locations. As it draws heavily from arcade-style light-gun shooters, the game is also compatible with the Wii Zapper.

For more on The Umbrella Chronicles, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.