Gamestop refusing trade-in on Mercenaries 3ds *UPDATED*

[TheDevilBringer]

This? This is gonna cost some sales.

I foresee a patch in the not too distant future.

And yet a Used game sale (which is very common these days) doesn't equal a sale for Capcom. This actually means more people that buy used from GameStop are forced to now buy new.

And, honestly, if re-selling a game is this important to some of you then you shouldn't waste money buying the game right away - you only get a fraction of your money back so why not just wait until it is cheaper (around the amount you'd get back for trading in a Day 1 new copy) and then just keep it since, by that poiint, it'll be worth next to nothing if you were trying to sell it used anyways.

Seriously, this only effects Used sales or purchases and neither of which CAPCOM should give a damn about - all Used games do is earn money for places like GameStop that have no role in game development.

Side note - it's illegal in Japan for stores to sell used games so rather than complain about how this 1 game affects you (and it really doesn't), you should be glad not all regions are so strict.

[WeskerSexyCheez]

I'm in the EBgames region and they have a huge thing around preowned games. I buy lots of new games, but like most people I'm not exactly rollin' in the dough and preowned games are a good way to let me keep enjoying the thing I love without breaking the bank. The pinnacle of EBgames success basically lies around preowned games and hardware.

[Humor Tumor]

A little off topic, but I hardly buy used games. Ever since I bought Silent Hill 2 from EB and pulled the disc out. On the side that is read was a huge splotch of dried coffee.

Way to go with the quality EB.

[TheDevilBringer]

I'm in the EBgames region and they have a huge thing around preowned games. I buy lots of new games, but like most people I'm not exactly rollin' in the dough and preowned games are a good way to let me keep enjoying the thing I love without breaking the bank. The pinnacle of EBgames success basically lies around preowned games and hardware.

I could understand wanting to save money - but the standard amount saved is $5 (usually so GameStop/EBGames make 100% profit off the sale). Hardly seems like much of a deal when lots of major retailers will sell newer games for $10 - $20 off in within the first 3 months or even 1/3rd the price on Special Holidays.

Alternatively, both the person looking to sell the game and the person looking to save money on the purchase can easily cut out the absurd middle man profits by buying through sites like eBay (eBay does make small profit on auctions but nowhere near GameStop/EBGames 100% profit by ripping off the sellar and buyer).

[let me live]

I could understand wanting to save money - but the standard amount saved is $5 (usually so GameStop/EBGames make 100% profit off the sale). Hardly seems like much of a deal when lots of major retailers will sell newer games for $10 - $20 off in within the first 3 months or even 1/3rd the price on Special Holidays.

Alternatively, both the person looking to sell the game and the person looking to save money on the purchase can easily cut out the absurd middle man profits by buying through sites like eBay (eBay does make small profit on auctions but nowhere near GameStop/EBGames 100% profit by ripping off the sellar and buyer).

Part of the incentive to buy used is that unlike factory sealed games, the buyer can return the used game for a full refund within 7 days. While I may not agree with it; that system apparently works and can attest to the numerous Gamestops popping up all over the place here in socal.

[Darkmoon]

And yet a Used game sale (which is very common these days) doesn't equal a sale for Capcom. This actually means more people that buy used from GameStop are forced to now buy new.

And, honestly, if re-selling a game is this important to some of you then you shouldn't waste money buying the game right away - you only get a fraction of your money back so why not just wait until it is cheaper (around the amount you'd get back for trading in a Day 1 new copy) and then just keep it since, by that poiint, it'll be worth next to nothing if you were trying to sell it used anyways.

Seriously, this only effects Used sales or purchases and neither of which CAPCOM should give a damn about - all Used games do is earn money for places like GameStop that have no role in game development.

Side note - it's illegal in Japan for stores to sell used games so rather than complain about how this 1 game affects you (and it really doesn't), you should be glad not all regions are so strict.

You may only get a fraction of what you paid for it, but there's a difference between getting, say, £15 of you £30 back via trade in and getting...whatever they're going to be offering for Mercs. I'd guess myabe £5-10? If you like to trade in games for new ones like that, then Mercs is not going to be a smart investment.

Whether enough people will buy the game new rather than used to offset any loss this problem is causing, from negative publicity to people putting people off to the trade in folks mentioned above, is to be seen.

As for it only effecting used sellers, though, it looks like it might be getting more unpleasant for Capcom - http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2011/06/...-from-shelves/

Apparently EB in Australia may be pulling the game, since they have a 7 day return policy so long as the game is in the same state it was sold - and the moment the game is played it can no longer be in that state. And, of course, many of these places do rather count on second hand games to keep themselves running, so they're...not as likely to be supporting Capcom on this one.

[Dracarys]

These gamestores have too much power over publishers, to be honest I hope Capcom says "F*** you" to them and more publishers follow suit.

[rehunk88]

capcom should stop puting energy into these crap games just look at the gametrailers review yeah it says it all..

[aris13]

Capcom responds to Mercenaries save issue.

Hi everyone. I know there are a lot of questions about the save data for Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, and we'll try to answer as best as we can.

First, here's the official statement:

'In Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, all mission progress is saved directly to the Nintendo 3DS cartridge, where it cannot be reset. The nature of the game invites high levels of replayability, encouraging fans to improve mission scores. The save mechanic ensures that both original and unlocked game content will be available to all users. Secondhand game sales were not a factor in this development decision, and we hope that all our consumers will be able to enjoy the entirety of the survival-action experiences that the game does offer. '

Second, here's the gist:

There was no intention of lessening the experience of the game. Essentially, RE Mercs was treated like an arcade fighting game. You unlock characters, levels, etc and they just stay unlocked as they would in an arcade machine. There was no hidden motive to prevent buying used copies. It's not some secret form of DRM. It's simply the way we designed the save system to work with the arcade type of gameplay.

Third, here's a short Q/A:

Q. What type of game is Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D?
A. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is a time-based score attack game very similar in style to an old school arcade game. Across the various levels, players must defeat hordes of enemies, unlock new weapons, and collect hidden bonuses to rack up high scores. After time has run out, a rank and score are displayed. The game does not feature a traditional campaign or story mode.

Q. Is it true that the game can only be played through once?
A. No. This is not true. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is a non-linear experience where there is no set end to the game. It is a score attack game and progression is defined as improving upon previous high scores. Players can replay each mission as many times as they like to continually challenge themselves to improve.

Q. Does the inability to reset the save game data mean that those purchasing a secondhand version of the game will have content missing?
A. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D consists of 30 time-based missions, through which the player unlocks skill upgrades as they progress through the game. Anyone purchasing a copy of the game secondhand would have access to all the missions and skills that the original owner unlocked, in addition to the content that was available to the original user.

If there are other concerns, I'll do what I can to answer.

<3
Snow

[Darkmoon]

It's been a very long time since I've been in an arcade...but do most of those give you the choice of continuing from the last person's game? Or playing with unlocked content. I'm pretty sure they weren't so kind back in my day.

I find it...unlikely that this isn't a form of DRM. No matter what Capcom says, since they haven't always been entirely honest in the past. The Director's Cut which 'accidentally' got all the censored FMV's springs to mind, along with, 'Oh no, the data certainly isn't on the disc already'. For some people, a lot of the fun of the game is the unlocking stuff.

[Borman]

Arcade games generally save scores and unlock stuff over time (on some recent games). But even they have an erase button. (Note, Ive owned a bunch of arcade hardware, so I would know, including more expensive stuff like the Naomi 2, and a bunch of Capcom games at that)

[Darkmoon]

Scores are one thing, but I certainly don't remember games having all characters, costumes, upgrades and stages unlocked...if those things could be unlocked, of course.

[Mr. Spencer]

I don't place much stock in anything that Capcom say these days, they've openly lied before about other things. For example, I believe it was Sven or Snow who insisted that the Versus DLC for RE5 was not an unlock key even though it's a 100kb file.

[Darkmoon]

I think that was technically true...most of the data was there, and the DLC added the last parts. So it wasn't an unlock key. Or something?

[let me live]

^ Not to mention the fact that we're all obviously game developers. Fight the power!