Slashdot Mirror
Capcom Announces Unreplayable Game
Hatta writes "Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D for the Nintendo 3DS will be an experience that can be completed once per customer. Using a single, unwipable save slot Capcom ensures that a second hand customer gets a second rate experience. If you buy this game used, you will be stuck with the previous owner's progress, unable to start the game fresh."
Everybody else must continue this comment.
And I thought the childhood fights over the Zelda save slots were bad...
Common Sense isn't as Common as people think...
I'm sure this gimic will help sales.
Nuff said...
Would the game design allow any substantial choices, then this method would not make sense for the first owner. On the other hand, in this way no first owner can actually experience by himself how limited the game may be in choices. Should actually reduce the production cost. But may make the experience more like watching a movie. So i hope the price is similar to going to cinema.
I'll Jailbreak it.
That kind of move is a deal-breaker for me. I don't buy games often, but when I do, this is precisely the sort of thing that puts a game on my "do not ever buy" list. And it puts Capcom firmly on my "do not buy" list.
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Something cleverNo, not the doctrine ... this policy just decreases the likelihood of garnering first sales. What a clever plan. If nobody buys the game in the first place, they've effectively wiped out the after-market.
Brilliant!
And they said new games were losing all their replay value...
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
What if, uh, the original owner wants to start fresh?
Dear CapCom: DIAF.
Thanks.
When this sells 75% below expectations because people aren't willing to pay full price for this kind of garbage, it will never be attempted again.
so it's like Pokemon?
Do not support these types of games.
I don't care if this is device-specific or if it's the second time the original person plays it. Just say no.
Second hand customers will get a second rate experience, yet pirates will get an even better experience than the original customer since they will be able to manage their saves from the flashcard.
Good job, Capcom.
What if I bought it and *I* wanted to start over? I can't count the number of games I've played over and over again. If Super Mario Brothers (any of them) had this kind of feature it would have destroyed the game's playability in general. Hell, speaking of Capcom games... If Street Fighter 4 had this "feature" then you could only beat the game once with any character and that's it. WTF would be the point of buying the game at "Full Price" when some of a game's appeal for purchase is secondary+ play-through?
So, game design has evolved into listing what would make your game great, then doing the exact opposite. Score!
Fuck. That. Shit.
Our culture doesn't get smarter, it just finds new ways of being retarded.
I am sure they are going to sale a lot of them. Even as a first hand customer this will limit the interest of the game.
I wonder if it will cost as cheap as most disposable items.
Wasn't there an author who tried to auction a book you could only read once? It was some sort of artistic statement about real-life experience IIRC. I keep thinking it was William Gibson for some reason.
It will be cracked.
"I mean, the whole reason you watch a TV show is because it ends. If I want a long, boring story with no point to it, I have my life."
So this means I won't be able to replay the game and try to do it better?
So what if I want to sell it? Shouldn't I be able to?
I mean, if I wanted some unsellable thing I am stuck with, cant "replay" or "re-do" a second time _maybe_ even better, I have my life!
You can start the game from any point you want, including the very start. You can select a chapter from any you have reached. The only thing you can't do is wipe your progress to default.
Totally sensationalist.
The game storyline can only be a tragedy. Though you might end up saving the world (or an alien world), you must sacrifice yourself and it's the only endgame possible. Unless the game happens to be Kobayashi Maru, and your name is James Tiberius Kirk.
It's like when I was younger and I tried playing DOOM without dying, all the way through, all my waking hours, in ultraviolent skill level.
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
The only thing I can think of is that someone from the MPAA/RIAA is using Capcom as a test-bed for their new DRM scheme.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not entirely sure about the universe - Einstein
Hi,
there seems to be a campaign against used games in progress. In a press release yesterday, a game company called the sale of used games "legalized theft" and decried the moral of such actions.
Another company accused sellers of used games that they would be leeching their intelectual property by keeping all sales profits (from the sale of used games) for themselves and giving none to the devs.
I sit here and watch in wonder, how the gaming industrie is alienating it's main source of income. There must be a real clever strategy behind this...
CU, Martin
...its a feature!!!
Gamestop has a policy of allowing their employees to borrow, play, and return games (which are then sold as new). I feel sorry for the poor sucker who pays full price only to get a cartridge that already had an employee's save game on it.
Pirates will eventually figure out a way to copy 3DS games (if they haven't already, it wouldn't surprise me). When that happens, they will release a version of this game that you can delete the save on. Once again, legit customers will suffer while pirates get a superior version.
I guess you wont be seeing this available for rent either... Very odd.
"If you buy this game..."
Nuff said.
I8-D
otherwise this might be extremely troubling.
"Outdated business models" is code for "I don't like paying for things, but want them anyway"
Before everyone flies off the handle, they should know that this game is score attack based, meaning that you can continue to replay it as many times as you want, each time trying for a higher score. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resident_Evil:_The_Mercenaries_3D)
Not being able to delete the save just means that you can't clear the current high score. You also can't "relock" unlockables. So while still a terrible precedent and not something that should be condoned by gamers, it's not quite as bad as most people will automatically assume. And although Capcom has claimed this "feature" won't impact resale, there are already issues in Japan where game stores aren't paying as much for this game as others.
In summary: crap decision, boycott and don't buy, not as bad as most will assume.
or in your car for that matter. Some house holds have more than one of the same console. Kid wants to finish up his game of what ever but you have to go. Throw him in the back seat with your integrated console and video screen and get going. This is almost as big of a fail from a company as the CCP debacle over this weekend where they are flying in game community members to Iceland to sooth the rage. Capcom won't get this opportunity people will just say scew it.
Either someone hacks this thing and resets it, or it will not sell at all.
IMHO not the brightest idea to have..
Insert
This would be fair, if i get a refund of 50% if i only finished 50% of the game (and have the save game as proof).
The current deal is: i (or someone else) can play the game again, but you get 100% of the money even if i don't finish the game.
They want to cancel this deal, fine with me. But then i want my money back on games which don't hold up to my expectations and don't get played.
CU, Martin
So ... they're marketing an intentional, crippling flaw in the product as a "feature"? Way to go. This beats marketing unintentional bugs as "hidden features" a thousand times over.
I guess you will be able to replay the "campaign" in the game, but stuff like boni you earned or high scores will always stay with the game. Still bad enough, but probably not what most people here are assuming.
.... to prevent this sort of crap. That would be like letting someone buy a DVD of a movie and only get to watch it once. Or purchasing a book and only being able to read it once. Oh you want to go back and re-read a section because you put the book down for too long? NOOOO. You don't have permission. That part of the book is deleted....
Why would any company shoot themselves in the foot like that? And what is full price? If a play once game is anything over $1 per play, Fuck it, it's not worth it.
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
Assuming this report is accurate (who knows what details have been left out, journalism these days), this even denies the original purchaser a second playthrough. What if you want to play it again on a harder difficulties, or with a different play style? Nope, you're screwed buddy.
FFS. If companies are going to disrespect their customers like this, they shouldn't be surprised when the lack of respect goes both ways (i.e. pirating).
Most games nowadays have such a terrible replay value, it might as well not have any at all anyways. Also, it's been mentioned numerous times what kills console game profits is buying used games, as opposed to pirating. Reason being that the video game stores make all the money off selling used games and the video game company doesn't see a dime off of it. As a consumer, why WOULDN'T you buy the used version of the game if you can save five bucks for the exact same thing, with a seven day return policy? Expect to see this and more approaches to this issue (such as an increase in DLC) by video game developers in the future.
Will other publishers follow in Capcom's footsteps to take a stand against the lucrative market of used video games?
Game sales would take a dive if a bunch of publishers jumped onboard here; especially if games were to remain at current prices. Im not going to spend $60 for a game I play through once. Its hard enough to justify $12-15 per ticket when I go to the theatre. Hell, some games are more cinematics than play time. Im not gonna spend $60 for something to watch.
Thank you for your insightful comment. I feel smarter for having read it. Do you have any other nuanced, intellectual essays to share with us?
I dont own a modern games console, i have set one up and was not that impressed lets just say Sony and Microsoft are not options either. Anyhow the new wii looks interesting but stunts like this make me doubt my idea to buy a Nintendo console which i can live without.
Yes its a different console but what can be done can also be done in another.
If they sell it for more, they can keep it. This also means the game has zero replay value.
These people are barking up the wrong tree. Copyright infringement and sale of second hand games are not the problems they are facing. The problems are lack of ideas, lack of storytelling, bad interfaces, focus on graphics instead of the game, too little game for too much money and plain, old-fashioned corporate greed.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Nintendo: Evil Mercenaries 3D
xkcd is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.
Here's the link for the Amazon.com product page:
http://www.amazon.com/Resident-Evil-Mercenaries-Nintendo-3DS/dp/B002I0GKA4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309264847&sr=8-1
Here it is for Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16878123046&cm_re=mercenaries-_-78-123-046-_-Product
1 star review the hell out of this game anywhere you can and hopefully this information will make enough people change their minds about giving their money to Capcom.
They could pick a game with actual story/plot to do this to. They've clearly chosen a game where this isnt the case for a reason, maybe to test people's reactions. How many times to do you play a game that only has unlockable stuff purely to ulock them from scratch? I'm not defending the idea, but unlockable content doesn't have much replay value in itself, just the feeling of working/grinding towards a goal, you get the reward, and it'll never be as good the second time.
Capcom announces unsellable game.
And in other news, Capcom announced they are filing for bankruptcy. Said a senior exec, "We don't know what happened! We had a brilliant business plan. Each game we sell can be played once and only once. We expected players to continually buy games, resellers to go out of business, and piracy to completely end. How could it go wrong?! But I come in this morning to find the doors padlocked!"
The first game is the ordinary one provided by Capcom. The second game will be betting how many days it will take hackers to fix this annoying "feature".
I'm pretty sure capcom is also the company that said it is 'lamentable' that parents visa's were charged when kids bought smurf berrys through a hole that I think capcom managed to exploit in the ios world, and their main response instead of offering some useful solution was to put online bigger boxes of smurf berries! Cold day in hell before I buy another capcom game as the last thing I want is to have other game manufacturers getting the idea that their ideas are good ideas!
Challenge Accepted !
Gamestop's view is that New = Opened
Yes, that's intentionally a "=" and not "==" -- Gamestop does indeed open most of their stock so they can put the empty cases out on the floor for display.
A game that deliberately cripples itself for the sake of a few bucks, and the last two words in the title are "Evil Mercenaries"? Did they do that on purpose?
And here I thought we had seen every way in which they could make pirates have a better experience than customers.
But no, they went and invented a new way.
See, pirates use flash carts and have full access to wipe save data at any time... Or back it up, or alter it... But a normal customer usually has to rely on the game to provide any of those functions.
They may have destroyed the aftermarket for this game, but I think they may be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
Yet another reason to prefer emulators: you can delete or move the SRAM save file, effectively resetting the game, OR giving you multiple save slots. Too bad there's no playable 3DS emulator out yet.
I predict people looking for a bargain will download the warez version when they can't find it in the used game section, though why anyone would want to play RE in the first place is beyond me. What a shitty series.
Easy answer: don't buy it, pirate it. ...
I played on was a chinese SNES clone.
Are Capcom games worth being replayed anyway ? I doubt it.
Yet another reason for me not to play console games.
The security on Nintendo games has never been exactly first rate so I imagine a hack to circumvent this 'feature' will be released within hours of this games release. I still won't buy this crap so its a lose-lose situation for Nintendo.
Ha! Take that pirates!
whose only feature is an additional save game slot?
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
GameStop and the other stores should end this by refusing to sell the game. GameStop's entire business is built around reselling. If they refuse to sell or buy the game, then CapCom will be forced to fix this bug.
Guys, Capcom have said that it's an oversight. It's a score based time attack anyway. How about checking other news sources before crying a river.
Maybe it's just me, but one of the key things I consider when buying a game is the replay value. If it's not good enough to play again a year or two later, it's not worth buying.
Capcom Announces Unbuyable Game
People,
Just dont buy this title and they will stop with this shit.
Truly yours.
This is publishers over-reacting to an imagined problem
There's a very limited supply supply of used games. Not everyone sells their games. Those that do buy the used games may not bother to resell them. Even if they do, while the games are being played, they're off the market and unavailable.
Most game sales are in the first week. If the publisher is competing with second hand game ales in that time they really need to make their games last longer.
Don't buy this trash, and flame the SHIT out of these Capcom idiots on every forum you can get your hands on. This kind of stupidity needs to be prevented from taking hold.
Developing what may eventually be their own demise. Just when you thought software companies couldn't be run any less intelligently, or that developments couldn't become more cost-prohibitive, they do something like this! I swear it's like an invitation! May as well hand someone a BFG-9000 and say "shoot me".
-Oz
Capcom announces bankruptcy.
A simple solution for the video game industry's problem with people selling used games:
Make games that are so good that people won't want to sell them.
You wouldn't think this would be that hard. I mean, if people are copying the game and then selling the original, then it's a piracy issue, which: fine, whatever, they should try to discourage in a way that doesn't penalize non-pirates. But if people are just bored of the game and want to get rid of it, they sell it for (usually) less than they bought it for, passing on part of the cost to the next owner. The second owner sacrifices shininess and timeliness for lower price, and the world keeps spinning. This is the way used bookstores and used car dealerships and vintage clothing stores work. Why are video games so different?
Even without a formal boycott, people can see that this game has had its resale value removed as a "feature". The fact that they won't pay as much for it used is the whole point, and I would be surprised if Nintendo sells enough more units to make up for the sales they lose to people who won't buy a game they can't resell in the first place.
remember that flash game a while back that someone made that could only be played once? there was definitely nothing profit driven about that being that it cost nothing to play.
i dunno there's a lot about old school games that just cannot be done any more thanks to save games (well a lot more to do with short attention spans). I remember playing games on my master system/mega drive for hours on end to finish (or not in the case that i ran out of lives,. yeah dying in a game used to mean something) it was a good thing that I couldn't save them.
nowadays, with most games, oops i made a mistake, i'll just load to five minutes ago. and adventure games. before the Internet meant that if you couldn't figure out what to do within 5 minutes you'd just look it up. sometimes taking away freedoms is a good thing. as long as you agree not to have those freedoms in this setting.
that being said it is quite likely that their motivation behind this may be to curb second hand games. but well, i'll make my decision on weather i want to play it based on what it is.
i spent five minutes thinking and all i got was this crappy sig
People buy used games because of the cost of new ones. Since games have risen to $60, I have never paid full price for a game and I never will. Sales and with coupons are the only times that I will buy a new game, otherwise I purchase them used. Lower the cost of purchasing a new game and people will purchase more.
Capcom have joined EA, Sony and Ubisoft on my list of companies to avoid at all costs.
A boycott becomes far more difficult when the target is a conglomerate that provides products or services to in multiple industries, including industries producing or distributing goods other than luxury goods. To what extent are you willing to avoid grocery stores that play music by an artist on a Sony Music Entertainment label over their speaker system? Do you avoid the Beatles too? They're published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a joint venture of Sony and the Jackson family.
I love reading articles like this because this forces me to vote with my wallet. I wouldn't boycott Capcom comletely but I sure as heck won't ever buy a version of this game.
Boycott this game. Not much else needs to be said, unless you lack common sense... In which case, not much else needs to be said, but please hand me that frying pan so I can knock some common sense into you.
They need to patent this idea immediately so that nobody else can use it without paying them money... if you know what I mean.
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
Oh man, It's usually very, very rare I condone piracy, but to anyone that actually /wants/ to play this game? Pirate the hell out of it please.
I love you capcom, but you need to be shown that we're not willing to pay a single cent for this BS.
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
well, Capcom proves that the second rate Linux Handheld on /. yesterday was NOT the worst idea ever.
"play it once and throw it away" doesn't seem like a good tag line to me.
I think I'll pass on this one.
-- Sig under construction...
Oh wait, I thought it said 'Capcom releases unplayable game'. Nevermind.
Given the nature of the market now and the rise in popularity of "microtransactions" is it unreasonable to think paying $5 for a new save file to be successful? What if the initial game was $25? What if the first save file allowed that single player to play back to prior save points without ruining progress? (such as used in Dirge of Cerberus).
I don't think it's too out of the question IF they lower the price of the initial software and allow some fairly decent movement within that purchase. Compare this to buying WoW software - you still have a monthly fee to pay for access and millions are okay with that route.
That doesn't mean that's the direction *I* want things to go in, but the model could actually work and could feasibly benefit both the gamer (lower prices) and the developer (more income due to the new volume of income from used sales). But only if they're smart about it and not downright abusive.
It's a score attack game, so you can still play any mission but you keep the perks etc the previous dude gained.
Every game I've ever owned, I've played through multiple times. If the game wasn't good enough to play multiple times, it wasn't worth owning...do you see the inherit catch 22 in your plan, Capcom?
To be fair to Capcom, in previous Resident Evil games, you could "replay" the game after finishing the game without resetting, all the monsters would be tougher, but you'd have access to new, hidden super weapons. So I am guessing this new game will function the same way. Thus, you can't go back and play a "virgin" game, but you'll still be able to replay it.
So it's just one step away from "unplayable", which I assume is the ultimate goal?
sic transit gloria mundi
What if your battery dies in the middle of a save? It could happen by accident. Therefore I must assume one of two things:
1. Once you finish the game it never saves again (seems most likely) also giving zero replay/after-play value.
2. Like most cartridge games, if it detects a corrupted save, it deletes the save. Therefore you can work around this "feature" by switching the 3DS off in the middle of a save.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
If ever anyone was unsure that the 3DS would be fully cracked for flash cartridges etc., the existence of this game should make it absolutely sure that will happen.
I vaguely recall the early 1980s and the bad shape that gaming was in. Nintendo arguably ushered in a new golden era of gaming that saved the industry.
In the past few years I have been seeing the same games released year after year, micro-transactions leaking in to games, and now this unreplayable game.
The gaming industry is heading in a bad direction again.
This was proposed for VHS tapes in the early days, IIRC. The idea was that you wouldn't be able to watch a film again until you went to a video store and paid to have it rewound for you.
Apparently one of the execs was really angry about this idea.. because there was no way of controlling how many people were present at each viewing.
Wow, Capcom. I've heard of nailing the coffin shut, but I've never seen anyone actually purchase their own hammer and nails.
I mean, look at how well it worked out for DIVX.
Few enough games have any real replay value nowadays -they're fun to play once, but not to play again- that one fixed save slot is perhaps a bit of honest advertisement as to this game's actual value.
On the other hand, this transparent attempt at trying to kill the used game market -a market which deals in games for which Capcom has by definition already gotten all of the money it has any right to get- is underhanded and unethical.
I can't very well say that I'll boycott this game, because I wasn't interested in it anyway, so this doesn't change my decision not to buy. It might, however, affect my decision to buy other Capcom games going forward. It is probably too late to reverse the decision for this game, but I have two words for Capcom if they want to keep my business: never again.
Since when did capcom start taking cues on how to treat their customer base from SOE and EA?
Times have changed
Our sales are getting worse
They won't turn enough profit
To get my wife a diamond purse
Should we blame our DRM?
Or blame society?
Or should we blame our pricing at $60.93?
No, blame Piracy, blame Piracy!
With all their torrent tracker sites
And cracking groups that wreck our lives
Blame Piracy, blame Piracy!
We need to form a full assault
It's Piracy's fault!
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
OR... we could just pirate it and not have to deal with this garbage at all. For supposedly hating piracy so much they sure seem to be doing everything in their power to make sure we pirate their games.
I don't buy games often, but when I do, I prefer Steam.
So much for games on a family PC/console. With multiple kids in the house, each likes to have his own save file. Now, only one will be able to play. I really hope players will avoid titles like these, to send a financial message to the game-makers.
I use irony whenever I can, but my shirts are still wrinkled...
Could this be considered destruction of property?
If you bought a car and FORD put sand in the engine to limit the life of the car, they would never get away with it.
Is it any different with software? Capcom is artificially destroying the lifetime of the software.
Shouldn't it have a warning on it saying that you can use it ONLY once?
I wonder how such a thing will stand up here in Europe under the sale of goods and supply of services laws.
DIVX had a time limit and after that you had pay more to view it again after the time was up.
Are you f-cking kidding me?
If the company wants to prevent second sales of used games they should lock the save feature to the console that the game is first installed on. I'm sure most current game consoles have a serial number that the software can access. This would allow the first purchaser to 'replay' the game as many times as he/she liked, but a second sale owner would be locked out. Ya, even that idea sucks, but it sucks less than not being able to start from zero say 6 months after you first completed the game and mostly forgot the experience.
Hideo Kojima (of Metal Gear Solid fame) had a similar idea early in his career and apparently has been trying to implement it ever since. His idea was for a game that would erase itself if the player died in-game, forcing him or her to go buy a new copy if they wanted to try to play it again. This was a purely artistic idea, though, meant to force the player to empathize with their character's simulated mortality, and as far as I can tell wasn't motivated by greed. Luckily, all his colleagues realized how crazy it was and never let him get it off the ground.
Doing this to kill the secondhand market is just despicable, though. I hope this turns into a scandal for Capcom. We can all point out how DRM harms legitimate customers and secondhand business until we're blue in the face, but this is going to do it in such an obvious way (that's doesn't even have the pretense of anti-piracy!) that it should get people's attention.
"This algorithm runs in constant time. Come on, 2,147,483,648 is a constant..."
Wow kinda low, that even the first owner only gets a single chance to play the game!!! WHAT IF I MADE A MISTAKE I WASNT HAPPY WITH WHERE IS THE HUMANITY IN THIS WORLD GAMES WITH ONE PERM SAVE SLOT IS A CRIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
its like i buy a movie and can only watch it once!!
Is the price point on the game lower? if not then i am blackballing this game.
NOT! I thought I had seen the worst moves in the industry first hand but this one takes the cake... in a big big way.
I don't see why game makers hate resell games.
Car manufacturers actually used the resale market to help push new cars.
Good resale value props up the leasing market, which helps sell MORE new cars.
It's good for consumers, it's good for manufacturers.
Why don't game companies see this?
For video games it's even better because the older games are much less desirable.
Theres some flash games that did this.
One of then was this humurous game:
http://www.indiegames.com/2009/08/browser_game_pick_you_only_liv.html
Other was this touching one:
http://www.indiegames.com/2010/12/browser_game_pick_one_chance_a.html
-Woof woof woof!
that people will buy it either way, one would hope that this game does not sell at all giving Crapcom a clear message, but no. Just like apple products, no matter how closed and backwards they are, they will always have record sales
In other news, book publishers have agreed upon standards for books and ebooks that only permit one reading. Spokesperson Page Turner explains, 'We allow a limited number of backward page turns so you *can* reread the last page if you need to, but multiple full reads or readers is a form of piracy and must be stopped. Children are the worse offenders.'
Spending $29 for a game like this, and then not even having resale is just ridiculous. When you can get the high quality apps for iOS and Android at a fraction of the price, share it w/ your whole family, and create no more pieces of plastic for the landfills. Seriously, it's time to put this horse to pasture.
It's a good thing I don't reward people who do stupid stuff by giving them money though. Maybe I don't even care to be the first consumer of a game that has this shit-ass sales model?
Like all Japanese developers, they've been lagging behind for years. This is a studio that stubbornly holds onto every outdated control scheme and cliched convention on the market. Why should it surprise anyone that they would be leading the charge in actually taking a step BACKWARDS in game design? I'm just surprised that they don't still implement "What is the 6th word in the second paragraph of page 36 of the game manual?" copy-protection and 16-bit graphics.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
If this maneuver is intended to discourage used game sales, they will likely find their maneuver to be effective.
What they might also find, however, is that word of mouth about the non-replayability is going to substantially diminish the number of people who buy the game in the first place... not because people necessarily want to resell the game, but because replayability is an important function of a game simply from the perspective of viewing it *AS* a game.
Imagine if Parker Brothers came out with a version of Monopoly that couldn't be played on more than once.... who would actually buy it? (okay.... maybe that was a bad example, because there are people that collect monopoly boards like some people collect rare coins... but I'm sure you get the idea) The ability to start fresh and ignore previous mistakes is part of the whole idea of it being just a game... if you can't restart, it may as well be real life.
Which is hardly escapism... the whole point of playing games at all.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
I thought it said "Capcom Announces Unplayable Game"...
Logically speaking, you cannot make an unerasable memory which supports saving over the same slot multiple times. I would not be at all surprised if a save game eraser utility came out a week after this game hits the shelves. I can see the readme.txt now: Step 1: Copy this .nds file to your flash card. Step 2: Boot your flash cart and start my uber l33t rom eraser utility. Step 4: Put in your Capcom game. Step 5: Play your game again. Pass Go, Do not pay Capcom $50.
Just like real life, there are no do overs. Great way to take the game out of gaming Capcom. Capcom is now on my no-buy list and Nintendo just by silent consent.
I just can't be bothered.
I am extremely disappointed to read this. They want us to pay full price for what they've intentionally designed to be a rental?
*sigh* ... and I'm a Nintendo fanboy, too.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
One of the few reasons I'm willing to pay so much for a new game is the fact I can trade it someday.
There's no way games with these kinds of restrictions are worth their asking price.
This is probably the best game to test this approach on.
Background: Resident Evil (RE) has had a Mercenaries mode in RE 3, 4 and 5. It is a mini-game where you have a timer counting down in each level. You kill enemies, rack up multipliers that fade quickly unless you continue your killing spree, and you can get time-extending power-ups. In short, each level is at most 10 minutes, usually no more than 5 minutes. There were unlockables in RE 3 that went back to the main game. In RE 4, you unlocked other characters (and levels?) and if you mastered it, you get the 'hand cannon' magnum that can kill anything with one shot.
Mercenaries is a highly repetitive Resident Evil mini-game. RE: Mercenaries 3D is that very same game play over and over again. What do you unlock? Additional characters? High scores? Pragmatically, there isn't much *worth* resetting the game for, except to unlock characters or costumes all over again. Plus it is on the 3DS, which means a lot of kids playing it; when I was a kid, I would have thought that getting the game already with all the unlockables was awesome.
While I am personally irritated that you cannot wipe the game's save, I do understand that this is the best type of game to try this BS behavior with, because there is very little to actually reset.
Ultimately, it's like not being able to reset that Mortal Kombat 3 arcade machine that someone already unlocked the hidden character, Smoke, on.
Perception is the thin dividing line between reality and fiction.
Capcom's move obviously devalues the game. If it's still so good that it overcomes that and sells well, kudos to Capcom. If it doesn't, they kinda screwed themselves. So long as they make the limitations of their product clear to consumers, I don't see what the principled fury is over.
This is more like putting in quarters than buying a game. I'm not sure there's anything morally wrong with the quarters model, as long as there's no trick about what the consumer gets. I'm not personally interested in leasing a game, but I don't know if RMS should ride in and save me from doing it, either.
-Dave
Does that mean you can't start over?
Can not tell if trolling or just very very stupid.
Not that I would buy a game that does this, but it seems like a better alternative would be to recognize the 1st device the game was played on, and store _that_ in the single, unwipable save slot, then compare it with that with the device being played on. At least give the original buyer (player) the ability to replay on their original device...
Who the hell would pay real money for this crippleware bullshit?
Oh well, the Resident Evil franchise has sucked since the Playstation 1-era anyway...although I may download this just to prove a point.
I don't get it at all. I have two kids. Both will want to play the game. So, I have to get two identical copies so they can each play? That's absurd. Hell, even games like Mario Kart DS allow two systems to play at the same time with only ONE cartridge! Seriously CAPCOM, what the hell are you thinking.
today is spelling optional day.
Are we absolutely certain this is not an Onion article??
The preceding comment is my own, and in no way construes an opinon of the Emperor of Mankind.
So others can't use this.
...why people pirate instead.
-DVD : Can't skip some menus, trailers, the FBI warning, some movies can go like this for 5-10 minutes.
-Isn't it EA that forces people to buy a new key to be able to play a used game?
-DRM on music. They would like us to pay for each device the music is listened to
-Now this??? (but we're talking about the same company who sells Smurfberry buckets to kids for 60$ each, so not really surprising here.)
Just an idea, what about *lowering* the price on games, movies, remove all the restrictions on music/movies/etc. They might sell more and make more money that way.
I've got better things to do tonight than die.
If it's $0.49 I would be OK with that, but you know these bastards will ask $30-$60 per copy! Not a good deal for a play once game...
It does not have more entertainment value than a visit to your local cinema.
not only is the game just re-released material with no context, it will be unreplayable ...
why would anyone buy it?
it better cost $0.99. why would anyone what to play a game one time. ..that's just stupid.
The inaccurate and misleading summary and community reaction makes it abundantly clear that nobody has played mercenaries mode in an RE game and has no idea what they are talking about. But why bother finding out when OUR RIGHTS MIGHT BE ON THE LINE!
Good job Capcom, you know which people will be able to play the game as many times as they want? Software pirates. If they beat the game and want to give it another go they'll just delete the save game on their flash cart so it's like the game was never played.
I guess I can cross Capcom off my list of companies that I'll buy games from.
This will do far more damage to the gaming community than piracy.
Wonder what happens when the retailers start getting this game returned in droves for being "broken".
If you buy a used book, you can only continue reading from where the previous owner stopped. Just pray they didn't like the book after page 3.
If I have to buy a copy for me AND my kids to play a dumb game, we'll skip this one. My kids trade games and sell games back to raise money to buy more games. Limit the number of games that they can afford/plan and the consoles go out too.
If the game only costs $1 - $5 at release. The ability to not start over, to ever replay the game, to resell the game, to burrow the game, or to rent the game simply makes this a one time playable game that has almost no value even on its release date or on the date of purchase.
The only way customers would end up buying this game is if they try to hide or not inform customers on purchase.
So... is there a special version for GameFly, etc? Or will the game just never be rented?
Or is the summary completely wrong and just the rantings of someone who misunderstood a company statement?
(I can't be bothered to rtfa but I doubt that would help much here anyway)
Pokemon Ranger has the Manaphy mission. You can finish the mission and get a Manaphy to download to your main-series Pokemon game.
The Manaphy is obtained as part of Ranger Net. Clearing the save and starting a new game doesn't clear Ranger Net. As a result, you can only do this once per cartridge, ever.
I don't see what's the big deal here. Why are so many people offended by this? Is it wrong to try this new model? I don't see why, unless the costumers aren't warned about it which isn't implied in the article.
The model itself isn't good or bad, it may work with some kinds of games and some kinds of gamers for a lower price. I don't think it would succeed for most of the market though. There's no reason to rally against this practice as some comments seem to encourage, it's just a new kind of product out there, if you don't like it, don't buy it and buy something you like instead.
Found a new scapegoat? So soon already?
Now, after a lot of cracking down on various filesharing webpages and a barrage of John Doe lawsuits against kids and grannies, dead people and letterbox companies, it seems they found out that "hmm.... sales ain't going up. Guess it wasn't them. What else is cutting into our sales?"
Second hand sales! Of course! Ok, now we'll probably see the big battle against second hand sales with mandatory registration of your copy (hey, consoles do have a network feature, don't they?), the purchase of laws that are at the very least questionable in the way they cut into privacy and freedom and that make second hand sales illegal and whatever else we have seen in that war on filesharing.
I wonder what the next scapegoat is going to be, or whether they realize that games with about 15 hours of gameplay ain't worth 50 bucks.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Hannah Stubbs: The books...
Vincent 'Vinnie' Antonelli: You have something against books?
Hannah Stubbs: I have nothing against books! I am curious about the books in your trunk.
Vincent 'Vinnie' Antonelli: You see, I was thinking of writing my story, so I bought this one on how to do it.
Hannah Stubbs: Why do you need 25 copies of it?
Vincent 'Vinnie' Antonelli: In case I want to read it more than once...
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. -HLM
This plan may be good for Capcom sales but it most certainly degrades the value of a 3DS seeing as the 3DS is the only system they can do this on (only one that doesn't use disks). Nintendo already has a tough battle with the PSV they have to deal with. Now if a bunch of their game developers moved in this direction it would definitely hurt their sales.
I think Nintendo needs to put their foot down here. I already am leaning towards a PSV, but if I got a hint that more of 3DS developers were moving this direction and that all of my games would be a single play through then buying a 3DS would be out of the question for me. I already look at a games worth in terms of replay value why would I buy and entire system with no replay value.
I'll just wait for a the ROM... non wipeable? The hell you say
FTFA: "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."
Translated: We don't make money from second hand sales, so we don't give a fsck about them, and didn't develop with them in mind.
Capcom announces stock jumps off a cliff.
@ the hands of short-sighted greed. This has FAIL written on the cover label. Buy this game and you won't own it as property by definition as personal property is known. This has 'No Resale Value'. Should they even break close to even, shame on everyone who encouraged this fleecing by purchasing this game..
Gone are the days of yard sales and thrift stores. Used pants that self-destruct. Toasters that lock you out and won't cook your second-hand toast. Another absolute indication that the corporate world has no humanity written into its business model. Oh, but how they need us to live for hundreds of years longer than us. Vampires come to mind. Correct me if I'm wrong..
Here's another unreplayable game for Capcom to try: Fuck off and die.
How not to sell a game.... This won't be a game I would buy ever as I play my games more than once, and how about families who bought the game..
So little brother has to buy his own copy, huh. Or big sister? THAT will go well at Christmas.
This is an absolute dick move on the part of Capcom. Because of this, and being a former Capcom customer, I will NEVER buy another Capcom game. Screw them and their DRM. --- (Makes a great protest slogan)
I can't count the number games that I have played in my gaming career that *had* to be reset due to corrupted saved game files or the world state was horked.
Or a failsafe backdoor that allows customer support to reset the world state. Otherwise they will have a support nightmare with the associated cost of refunds. Soon the customer support reset method will leak out into the wild and "ta-da" second hand sales will not be a problem.
For every benefit you receive a tax is levied. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I am confused. Or is the save "in the cloud" associated with the disc ID?
There is a simple way to reset it, of course those with modded devices or rom dumpers for using the emulator have already discussed this and how to reset it for original play. this is only lip service lies to the ignorant. there is no way to truly do what they claim
So that after you beat the game in a week, it will still serve a purpose.
Just because you are wrong and I called you out on it doesn't mean I am a Troll.
If this is supposed to be some sort of gimmick, its kind of a crappy one. the comments here show most people think this is stupid, though there will always be somebody curious (or stupid) enough to buy it. If, on the other hand, this is supposed to be some revolutionary game changer there is the tiny chance the game could be amazing. Perhaps the game wants you to take every decision knowing you can't choose different later. Or maybe the game isn't replayable because they've put so much into the game you can always move forward, and theres no need to go back. Admittedly, it'll most likely suck, but I'm curious enough that I'll keep an eye on it
Capcom just went full retard.
Luckily it's on the 3ds which isn't fairing all that well anyway.
Capcom, here's some replay value for you. You don't get any of my fucking money. Replay that as often as you want.
Take the Red Pill.
this seems like a desperate move to raise revenue for the company by stripping out gamers' benefit...
no, you misunderstood it completely. everyone is now dumber for having read your post. you can most certainly NOT play the game again without buying a new 3ds. the save file affects far more than just the unlockable content. keep up the wishful thinking, though.
insensitive clod overlords obligatory xkcd car analogy russian reversals whoosh pedant fanbois ftfy in 3...2...1..PROFIT
The industry has been selling rights to parity bits since the first two light bulbs were connected in sequence. Copy protection throughout the 70s and 80s was based on it. Nothing has changed. Daisy chain.
the NPG electrode was replaced with carbon blac
I'll brb, manually wiping the save slot on my Mercenaries 3D game.
I always thought it would be a great indie game project to create a game that could only be played once and would self-modify as you play and eventually wipe itself off your system. It would be a interesting piece of art intended to make people consider the consequences of a DRM'd world.
However, this would be free or inexpensive. It would also ask for the users explicit consent and lay out exactly how it was going to prevent running a second time on your machine (so you could reverse the changes, but not without spending time and effort doing so).
Self-eating software has already been invented unintentially though, usually this is at the operating system level.
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
sounds like arcade game where you start over on death and have to pay per try.
can anyone say "out of the game market"? if they do something like their is no replay value at all. so i would expect what would normaly be a 50$ to 60$ game to be dropped to 10$ to 20$ game.
1) Capcom "announced" the game a long time ago. People found out that you could not delete the save file on their own.
2) Why the heck would you ever want to start over, even if you were buying used? The game has NO single player campaign, NO major unlockables, and it's a game where you play missions over and over to get a high score, like an arcade game. The game design itself has absolutely no need whatsoever for the option to delete save files. In Zelda, of course I want to delete saves. In a fighting game with unlockable fighters, sure. In this, which is just playing missions over and over and over to get high scores? Of course not! The only possibly situation I can think of when this would be a good thing is if you hacked the game to give yourself perfect scores in all of the missions and wanted to get rid of those. Even if you buy the game used, you'll still have scores to beat that aren't yours; starting from fresh, in that case, would be boring.
Geez, you people act like you've never played a game without this feature before. I've played quite a few over the years and, depending on the game design, I don't care at all.
"Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded." -Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Simple fix, just delete the .sav file on the microSD card.
http://ninapaley.com/mimiandeunice/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ME_217_Cake.png
Capcom produces a game which it does not want to sell.
I'll get the pi-rated version, it'll come with that restriction removed.
The important word in that clause is not the last one, it's the first one.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"