Capcom: Used Sales 'Not A Factor' In The Mercenaries Save System

Author: by Kyle Orland, Kris Graft

This week, gamers were grabbing the torches and pitchforks following reports that Capcom's Nintendo 3DS title Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D would not allow users to reset save data. Tiny wording on the game's cartridge reportedly reads, "Note: Saved data on this software cannot be reset," giving the impression that the original buyer's progress is permanently tied to that copy, rendering it no fun for anyone else who would play it afterwards -- such as a secondhand buyer. A Capcom rep confirmed to Gamasutra that saves cannot be reset, but he claimed that it was in no way a business decision. "In Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, all mission progress is saved directly to the Nintendo 3DS cartridge, where it cannot be reset," the rep said. "The nature of the game invites high levels of replayability in order to improve mission scores. In addition, this feature does not remove any content available for users," he added. "Secondhand game sales were not a factor in this development decision, so we hope that all our consumers will be able to enjoy the entirety of the survival-action experiences that the game does offer." Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is a third-person shooter that spins off of the "mercenaries" mini-games that were introduced in previous Resident Evil games. Players fight against the clock, defeating as many enemies as possible within a time limit. Some game publishers and developers have been implementing methods of trying to deter used game sales, as game makers don't receive any cut from the highly profitable secondhand market. Game companies have tried to add value to copies of new games, such as one-time-use codes for downloadable content -- content that secondhand buyers would have to purchase separately. [UPDATE: This isn't the first time a Nintendo 3DS game has denied players the ability to delete save data -- Sega's Super Monkey Ball 3D also saves progress permanently.]