Capcom: 4GB Cartridge Led To Resident Evil: Revelations' $50 Price

Capcom says that cartridge memory costs led to the $50 asking price for planned February 3DS release Resident Evil: Revelations, an increase above the $40 standard that has developed for most 3DS titles. Responding to a request from Kotaku, a Capcom spokesperson said that the game strives to offer "a true console experience on a handheld device," with features including multiple 3D cut scenes and a campaign that can take 20 hours to complete. "To handle all of that data Resident Evil: Revelations requires a 4GB cartridge, resulting in a higher price point," the spokesperson said. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said last October that software prices for the 3DS wouldn't be "too far off from current DS software," which usually retails for $20 to $35 on release. Iwata has also been an outspoken critic of free and low-cost pricing for many downloadable mobile games, saying in a high-profile GDC speech that "the fact is, what we produce has value, and we should protect that value." In a February interview, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime called such low-priced mobile titles "one of the biggest risks today in our gaming industry," going so far as to say he "think[s] some of those games are actually overpriced at $1 or $2." While Resident Evil: Revelations will support the upcoming 3DS Circle Pad peripheral, which adds a second analog nub to the right side of the system's face, Capcom says the game can be played without it, and that it has no plans to bundle the add-on with the game.