Capcom: Resi Evil 3DS will retain value

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 27 June, 2011

Despite inability to wipe save data.

Upcoming Nintendo 3DS game Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D will retain its second-hand value despite preventing gamers from deleting save data, Capcom has insisted.

This morning it emerged that saved data on The Mercenaries 3D, out in the UK this Friday, cannot be reset.

Eurogamer has since verified the reports, and the inclusion of the restriction in the European version of the game.

Some speculated this was an effort on Capcom's part to combat second-hand sales.

But a Capcom spokesperson told Eurogamer this morning that the game's value will not be affected by the new feature.

"The game's value at second-hand in the UK is not affected by whether or not the game can have its data reset," Capcom said.

"Customers in the UK will not experience a reduced second-hand value should they wish to trade in their purchase."

So that's that, then. When was the last time you checked to see whether a video game allowed you to reset save data before trading it in or buying it second-hand?

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (51) Latest comment 8 months ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • homerramone #1 8 months ago

    When did preventing users from doing stuff become 'a feature' ?

  • StolenGlory #2 8 months ago

    "The game's value at second-hand in the UK is not affected by whether or not the game can have its data reset," Capcom said.

    Oh yeah of course not. What the fuck are they on?

    Plebs.

    EDIT: Also, get one of those Capcom suits on the phone and argue with him/her about this and get the interview printed. I would love to see how they would attempt to defend such blatant contradictory stupidity.
    Edited by 1 at 27/06/11 @ 12:15

  • captain_Carl #3 8 months ago

    Why did this need a new article and not just an update? o_O

  • JoeGBallad #4 8 months ago

    I remember I bought Blast Corps second hand years ago, and it was already complete. All the levels were open for the platinum medal challenges, which just made the game impossible.

    Took me ages to find out the N64 had a feature where you held Start on booting up and you could delete save data from memory cards or cartridges.

    I was only 11, so don't judge :(

  • cowell #5 8 months ago

    "Customers in the UK will not experience a reduced second-hand value should they wish to trade in their purchase."

    That's for retailers to decide and not the publisher. Rather makes his statement very hollow

  • coolbritannia #6 8 months ago

    This is ridiculous. Another nail in 3DS's early coffin.

  • Eraysor #7 8 months ago

    Absolute joke. Developers need to realise they are massively shooting themselves in the foot with this sort of action. Not only is just plain irritating to the customer, but one of the reasons why people are more comfortable paying high prices for games is the fact they can recoup some of the cost later with a trade in.

    One sale lost anyway, they won't be seeing a penny from me. I might even buy a second hand one down the line just to really rub it in.

  • Zozzilla #8 8 months ago

    ....o_o Wut.

  • MavSkipper #9 8 months ago

    I wouldn't be surprised if Capcom releases a DLC that lets you reset the data for 59p.

  • monkeylite #10 8 months ago

    There's a storm in my teacup.

  • Eoin #11 8 months ago

    So he just issued a flat statement?

    "The game's second-hand value will not be affected"?

    No reason whatsoever? Not even the barest of attempts to justify that?

    "The game's second-hand value will not be affected due to...we'll come up with something later...magic I guess".

  • Eoin #12 8 months ago

    There's a storm in my teacup.

    Don't worry, it won't affect the second-hand price of the teacup, should you choose to trade it in.

  • alcides #13 8 months ago

    I was shocked by that advert. It shouldn't be seen on a website so mainstream. If I want disturbing gore, I'm sure there are places on the web I can see that. You should remove it.

  • Hobo #14 8 months ago

    Oh boo hoo you can't reset save data. Capcom you terrible bastards *stamps feet uncontrollably*

    Either way, i'm quite sure it's not Capcom's decision (or place to talk) about the pricing of this at second hand retail.

  • lavalant #15 8 months ago

    Is anyone buying this shite anyway? it's RE5's unlockable bonus repackaged into a £30 product.

  • bemani247 #16 8 months ago

    I love how Capcom are actually mentioning the used game marked in a non-negative way.

  • abigsmurf #17 8 months ago

    Have Capcom not been looking at the sales of 3DS titles (aside from Zelda)? They should be doing everything they can to get people to buy it in the first place before worrying about second hand sales.

    Anyway Capcom, if you didn't decide to remove such an expected feature for the sake of crippling second hand sales... Why did you do this? I'd love to hear your explanation.

  • coolbritannia #18 8 months ago

    @monkeylite, it's a teacup now, but if this sells well and bucks the trend on trade ins, what do you think the rest of the 3DS publishers are going to do?

  • the_dudefather #19 8 months ago

    1) wait until game is saving
    2) turn off system
    3) 'save data corrupt, creating new save'
    4) Make some Jill Sandwiches

  • -cerberus- #20 8 months ago

    I'll post this here as well:

    Unlock everything the game has to offer and sell it on eBay at a higher price. There is definitely a market for 100% unlocks.

  • SG #21 8 months ago

    Does it have a finite amount of save slots? This would mean that you can only playthrough it a certain amount of times surely?

    I was glad to be able to completely wipe Yoshi's Island on DS so that I could go for a zero-death run (after completing ALL levels, a number appears on thee title screen).

  • SG #22 8 months ago

    There's a market for unlocks? I know that gamesaves JUST with content unlocks like racing or fighting games is one thing, but Christ, I could have made so much money on past sales.

  • mode7 #23 8 months ago

    I have no problem with the idea that companies should make a little bit of money on the the resale of games.

    I think the $10 idea is fine (although $10 seems a little high), I'd like to see the retailer drop the price of 2nd hand stock in order to absorb the cost. I'd prefer my money going to the companies that make the game rather than the re-seller.

    To prevent the resale and screw the people who buy it new does not seem like a wise idea...

  • darkmorgado #24 8 months ago

    @alcides

    "I was shocked by that advert. It shouldn't be seen on a website so mainstream. If I want disturbing gore, I'm sure there are places on the web I can see that. You should remove it."

    Parents! Are you easily offended by adult content on a website designed for adults? If so, visit Megaton, our gaming site for easily upset Daily Mail readers!

  • LazyNinjaUk #25 8 months ago

    I find it baffling why this is even considered as acceptable just because it's the games industry, what if film studios decided that once you've watched a DVD or Bluray you can't watch it again. People would go mental.

  • Daeltaja #26 8 months ago

    No purchase, sorry.

  • Kami #27 8 months ago

    "Is anyone buying this shite anyway? it's RE5's unlockable bonus repackaged into a £30 product"

    And that mode alone justified the price for what was otherwise a shockingly poor game. Is a fan-service version worth £30? Yes. A thousand times yes.

    I don't like this though. Seems silly. I'd have thought it'd save to the SD card, therefore the fuss was absolutely ridiculous... but guess not.

    Capcom are making some very strange decisions of late... I wonder if someone is sneaking something into their saki...
    Edited by 1 at 27/06/11 @ 13:31

  • Shakey_Jake33 #28 8 months ago

    Just because Capcom says it doesn't affect it's value, it doesn't make it true. What retailer would buy this game from anybody?

  • uiruki #29 8 months ago

    This has been known since the Japanese version, weeks ago. It absolutely massacred buying prices for second hand - places giving 500 yen when one could ordinarily expect 3000-plus.

  • tomjoadsghost #30 8 months ago

    ... and of course theres the profile name issue too, i'd imagine theres a very real danger of secondhand copies of this being sold on with usernames which sound like they were dreamed up by the cast of bulletstorm.

  • FortysixterUK #31 8 months ago

    That video was awesome. How did they do that decapitation at the end ?

  • ubergine #32 8 months ago

    No commentator has asked "If it's not going to affect used sales, then what is Capcom's purpose in removing so standard a feature."

    So, yeah.

  • Geowolf #33 8 months ago

    So does this mean I can't start a new game?

  • Notallowedhere #34 8 months ago

    "I find it baffling why this is even considered as acceptable just because it's the games industry, what if film studios decided that once you've watched a DVD or Bluray you can't watch it again. People would go mental."

    You can play it as many times as you like, it just appears that your save game and unlocks are all stored for your profile which can't be deleted

  • Canyarion #35 8 months ago

    Actually... I bought the Advance Wars (GBA) from a friend; I never found the option to reset the data. It was a bit annoying, becasue I was stuck with his nickname.

  • systems #36 8 months ago

    @Canyarion
    Left shoulder button, Select and right on the D-Pad immediately after turning the game on.

  • ballshock #37 8 months ago

    Give the man who thought of this idea a raise. lulz what a nutjob

  • deez #38 8 months ago

    But... I thought 3ds saves were on the system, not the cart?

  • MrVengeance #39 8 months ago

    Turn it off whilst saving and hey presto, the save is gone, no?

  • wez_316 #40 8 months ago

    Well retailers took in DC Universe Online for £20+ and that game didn't even work used. I still see copies for £8 in CEX and find it horrendous that they sell it still.

    I'm sure people who buy this will not have a used sale problem as far as save data goes. Though I'm sure that the new copies of this will be under £20 in a months time and thus trade in value will obviously fall.
    Edited by 1 at 27/06/11 @ 15:28

  • bad09 #41 8 months ago

    "Capcom are making some very strange decisions of late... I wonder if someone is sneaking something into their saki... "

    Well they were in a finanacial pickle releasing quite a lot of shite that rightfully flopped this gen, supposedly Street Fighter 4 was the only thing keeping them afloat (supposedly the real reason why piracy had them so scared in the non show of PC SSF4). They are getting to the point that they will only consider making a game if they see enough people request it and can safely guage a nice big seller (like them telling fans of Darkstalkers they want a million people requesting it before it's considered).

    Capcom don't seem to able to make games like they used to so stuff like this, the whoring of SF costumes, the always online DRM on PSN games etc are just ways of trying to eek out as many extra sales as possible as sales are falling.

  • BonzoBanana #42 8 months ago

    Thats wierd I'm sure I read that the 3DS games save their game data to the 3DS system itself i.e. SD card not the cartridge. Can someone confirm where the 3DS saves game data to? Maybe this cartridge adds its own save feature just so they can prevent the game being bought secondhand and used fully.

    Sounds like Nintendo are adding in too many restrictions to the system which will result in healthy sales of backup cartridges when they are available which will clearly have no issues deleting game saves. Trouble is no game cartridges are sold in the first place to even create secondhand sales.

  • MARKIV #43 8 months ago

    If it's anything like Street Fighter IV 3D, it will be down to £14.99 in a couple of months anyhow..

  • hazelam #44 8 months ago

    any company this includes this kind of crap, is no better than the pirates.

    how these rapacious publishers have gotten away with violating our rights for so long is something i just cannot understand.

    capcom are proving lately that they're one of the worst companies out there for giving a shit about their customers.
    selling on disc content as dlc, not giving a shit, and being downright dismissive about, when people who bought capcom's psn titles could no longer play the games through no fault of their own, and now this.

    compund the crap with the most bald faced lie, that helen keller could see through.

    capcom do not deserve people's hard earned money.

    in my opinion, doing this, makes them criminals.

  • captain-future #45 8 months ago

    first: why only EU??? (strike that: it affects JP, US also)

    second: I don't see the problem (YET)?
    Edited by 1 at 27/06/11 @ 16:59

  • ZippyNL #46 8 months ago

    OK, so we cna't reset data, can we overwrite? Start a new game? Is there only one slot for saves or multiple? Will tunring off while saving really reset? Info please EG, you've got the cartridge!

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #47 8 months ago

    Post deleted at 16:59:10 06-02-2012

  • DDevil #48 8 months ago

    Zoo-Keeper on the DS didn't allow for resetting. I never did beat any of those high scores previously set.

  • PaulLFC #49 8 months ago

    I notice Capcom didn't give a single reason why this "wouldn't affect resale value" and the second hand experience "wouldn't be reduced". I wonder why? Oh yeah, because there isn't one.

  • cawley1 #50 8 months ago

    There is some random Game Boy game I got from a boot sale (sure it's a Nintendo game) which has no option to delete the save, I scoured the net and no sign, so this can't be the first time this gas happened?

    Just do what others are saying... Pop the card out when it is saving...?

    And for anyone wondering who might buy this, this game starved 3DS owner will snap it up! I have resorted to playing Shantae on DSi ware as there has been little to play recently (outside of Zelda, but that's not my cup if tea!)

  • captain-future #51 8 months ago

    @the_dudefather: good idea with the turn off while saving but... Capcom seems to prevent this?!

    the use two save game slots internally which will be overwritten everytime, so this should not work in theory.

    from the capcom forum (speculation of course)
    [link url=http://www.capcom-unity.com/resident_evil/go/thread /view/7391/27923129/You_cant_delete_save_datahigh-scores_in_ this_game.&post_num=17#500841501
    ]http://ww w.capcom-unity.com/resident_evi...[/link]