EB – ‘We’re Not Accepting Trade-Ins For Resident Evil: The Mercenaries. No-one Is’

13 years ago

June 29, 2011 at 2:00 pm

In case you haven’t heard, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries will only have one save file – a save file that cannot be deleted. Capcom has completely denied that this is an attempt to halt pre-owned sales of the game – but if that was the intention, then it has worked, in Australia at least. Because EB games will not be accepting trades of the game, and it’s likely that other retailers will follow that decision.

“We’re not accepting trade-ins for Resident Evil: The Mercenaries,” said an EB store clerk when we called to confirm. “No-one is.”

It makes sense to the point of being almost obvious. The resell value of a game with no ability to start again from scratch is virtually nil.

What are your thoughts on the whole situation?

Comments

80 responses to “EB – ‘We’re Not Accepting Trade-Ins For Resident Evil: The Mercenaries. No-one Is’”

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Corey

June 29, 2011 at 2:04 pm

That I’ll buy this game eventually but it will be when the price has gone down and most likely from overseas.

Reply
Cakesmith

June 29, 2011 at 2:05 pm

A game that you can’t restart is like a book that makes the previous page blank after you’ve read it for the first time.

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1. Lone Wolf
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:41 pm
  
  More like a book that highlights all the words as you read them.
  You find ouyt which words you skippeed over, but it becomes harder to read over time because you’re contantly reminded of how many tims you’ve played it before.
  
  Reply
  1. Aaron
    
    June 29, 2011 at 5:31 pm
    
    And all the pages have been soaked in lemon juice so when you cut you get a paper cut your like: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH MY GOD THAT HURTS!
    
    Reply
Stevorooni

June 29, 2011 at 2:06 pm

How about their 7 day return policy?

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1. FatShady
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:16 pm
  
  freaking awesome question dude! I want this one answered.
  
  Reply
  1. Alex
    
    June 29, 2011 at 6:38 pm
    
    Well, the sales staff at eb will have to warn peopl before they purchase it like games with DLC and PC games that have cdkeys. We will simply have to say at purchase “This game cannot be returned due to the way it saves onto the cartridge”
    
    and of course get abused when someone DOES try to return it.
    
    With the 7day guarantee though, id have to ask my manager but im certain it would just get sent back to Head office like a “CDKEY in use”
    
    Reply
    1. Drizzt
      
      June 29, 2011 at 8:58 pm
      
      All of our 7 day policies, no matter where it is, states that the product will only be accepted if it is returned in the same state, or in a saleable condition. Because it has a one off save file, once you start playing the game, it’s no longer resellable.
      
      Here’s to hoping everyone who buys it actually enjoys it.
      
      Reply
2. VOOK
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:19 pm
  
  Copies of the game sold from today onwards won’t be able to be taken back.
  
  Reply
  1. Max
    
    June 29, 2011 at 4:53 pm
    
    What about people who bought it before today?
    
    Reply
    1. korn_spiracy
      
      June 29, 2011 at 9:15 pm
      
      Those people should have bought it from GAME, where they are still 7 day returning it.
      
      Reply
Aidan

June 29, 2011 at 2:07 pm

Well.

That throws the cat among the pigeons.

I don’t think consumers (or retailers, obviously) are gong to particularly like it.

Consumers can’t trade in their game *or* purchase cheaper pre-owned copies down the line.

It’s a huge own goal if they annoy retailers to the extent that they won’t stock their games, or withdraw them from sale (although in EB’s case that could be the street date break, I think?).

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Matt

June 29, 2011 at 2:07 pm

What other justification is there for including the 1 un-deletable save game functionality if not for locking it down to one machine/account only?

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isometric

June 29, 2011 at 2:08 pm

Capcom denies that this was a move to prevent used game sales and trade-ins?

“We’re not accepting trade-ins for Resident Evil: The Mercenaries,” said an EB store clerk when we called to confirm. “No-one is.”

Sounds to me like their mission was accomplished.

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1. Mark Serrels
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:09 pm
  
  Absolutely.
  
  Reply
2. Craig
  
  June 29, 2011 at 6:13 pm
  
  chasing money instead of reputation,like they know what thy were doing
  
  Reply
Chazz

June 29, 2011 at 2:08 pm

Don’t own a 3DS yet, but picking one up soonish for when MGS3 comes out. This game was on my list as a potential buy. “Was” being the operative word.

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NegativeZero

June 29, 2011 at 2:09 pm

While I don’t disagree, it’s a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. People don’t seem to understand what sort of game this is. It has no campaign. There’s no ‘New Game+’ or anything, because there’s no real ‘New Game’. It’s endless wave after wave, with you trying to kill as many enemies within a set time limit as possible. I’m not sure that you’re really missing out on much by not being able to reset it back to its initial state. Though it is a bit of a dick move regardless. Effectively not having the ability to reset is the same as having a high scores board in an old arcade game which is pre-populated with other peoples’ scores.

What really sucks though is that what this will mean is that pirates get the best of everything. Want to start over? Just go back to an original pirated image, or zero out the save data manually. 🙁

Reply
1. isometric
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:16 pm
  
  It’s not a bad problem with this particular game in terms of gameplay, it’s a problem because it establishes a precedent.
  
  Capcom are just testing the waters with this idea to see what consumers will realistically put up with. If they get away with it, you’ll see it again and again, in increasingly more intrusive ways.
  
  Reply
  1. Kyle_Katarn
    
    June 29, 2011 at 2:37 pm
    
    I think it was either George Washington or Thomas Jefferson who said (to paraphrase), “the amount of tyranny you live under is the exact amount you decide to put up with.”
    
    It’s a good saying in other area’s too.
    
    Reply
    1. Chris
      
      June 29, 2011 at 9:36 pm
      
      It’s an excellent point Kyle. If we as customers don’t like something, we shouldn’t pay for it, and then the company is forced to change it’s practices. As you quoted, they’ll do only what we put up with.
      
      Reply
  2. ExplosionsHurt
    
    June 29, 2011 at 2:39 pm
    
    So none of us should buy it then.
    
    Reply
  3. LDX
    
    June 29, 2011 at 6:38 pm
    
    imagine playing megaman or monster hunter and not being able to restart or maybe if they made a RPG and once you entered the characters name – it was final and could never be changed
    
    Reply
2. Chazz
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:20 pm
  
  I think a lot of the game content is unlocked through progression and achievements. So there is a fair bit to miss out on if you have to start with a completed game.
  
  Reply
3. Steven Bogos
  
  June 29, 2011 at 7:10 pm
  
  Just FYI the 3DS has not been cracked yet, and judging by how long it took the DSI to be cracked, it wont be for a long time, so pirates aren’t really getting the best of anything right now
  
  Reply
Klutar

June 29, 2011 at 2:09 pm

Wait, how does that affect trade-ins?
Doesn’t it save locally to the 3DS?

Reply
1. Aidan
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:14 pm
  
  Apparently it saves to the cartridge.
  
  Reply
2. FatShady
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:14 pm
  
  You will prob get a few of these responses so sorry if this is a duplicate.. read the first article and you will see that the 3DS games save to the cart rather than the machine..
  
  Reply
3. GiantDave
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:14 pm
  
  No, the save file for this title is kept on the cartridge, not the console.
  
  Reply
4. matt
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:17 pm
  
  Capcom have said that the game saves on the cartridge rather than the 3DS
  
  Reply
5. GamerLuke
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:19 pm
  
  Not quite.
  Like the DS, save files on the 3DS are kept on the game cartridge, not the console.
  
  Reply
6. Blaze
  
  June 29, 2011 at 4:28 pm
  
  I like how everyone replying to this post has said EXACTLY the same thing…Im pretty sure he would have figured it out by the second or maybe third reply…
  
  Reply
  1. NotBlaze
    
    June 29, 2011 at 4:57 pm
    
    Check the timestamps, Blaze. Most of those posts were probably made at the same time.
    
    Reply
  2. FatShady
    
    June 29, 2011 at 5:35 pm
    
    Moderated thread so posts don’t go up immediately. See I even pointed this out in my reply. Just a side effect of only getting good comments.
    
    Reply
7. Klutar
  
  June 29, 2011 at 4:40 pm
  
  Yeah I looked, but it said “saves to card” I was thinking like the SD card.
  Thanks all 😛
  
  Reply
8. Marek
  
  June 29, 2011 at 7:24 pm
  
  Guys I think it saves to the cartridge and not the console.
  
  Reply
WiseHacker

June 29, 2011 at 2:11 pm

Dear Capcom,

The secondhand market is hear to stay and no method you can think up will combat it.

Signed,
A gamer that lives in reality.

Reply
1. FatShady
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:15 pm
  
  What about the strategy that they just used that DID work? Doesn’t this invalidate your point?
  
  Reply
  1. WiseHacker
    
    June 29, 2011 at 2:45 pm
    
    For this game alone, yes you are right I am invalidated.
    
    However, I was speaking of the secondhand market in general – so I admit I should have been more specific. Sorry about that.
    
    Reply
    1. FatShady
      
      June 29, 2011 at 5:38 pm
      
      I agree totally with you mate. But I was just pointing out that this one did work. My comments were about if all devs did this from now on which they may it will have an impact.
      
      Reply
      1. syvRaen
        
        June 29, 2011 at 7:49 pm
        
        It may be a measure to combat the second-hand market, and this strategy may successfully exclude RE: The Mercenaries from entering the second-hand market. But, in order to be considered successfully, Capcom would probably want people to buy the game in question.
        
        So it is definitely time to grab some snacks, sit back, and watch how the buying public reacts.
      2. Chazz
        
        June 29, 2011 at 8:10 pm
        
        It’s unlikely anyone else will take this approach. Considering the negative response from everyone it’ll probably never be seen again unless the dev/publisher is really stupid.
Matthew Kermeen

June 29, 2011 at 2:11 pm

No surprises there.

Reply
Jeremy

June 29, 2011 at 2:11 pm

It’s an incredibly clever strategy that may or may not pay off. Although I would hope that EB do notify people buying the game that it cannot be traded in, there is no requirement on them to do so. Just as there is no requirement for Capcom program a game the way consumers want. As a consumer, I dont particularly like the decision. As a capitalist, it will be interesting to see the impact to the marketplace.

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bigkid

June 29, 2011 at 2:13 pm

Easy, everyone boycott the game, and pretty soon it will appear in the bargain bin

Reply
GiantDave

June 29, 2011 at 2:13 pm

Considering the US owner of EB Australia (GameStop) has redacted their position from this morning regarding the title looks like the Australian arm is playing catchup.
http://au.ds.ign.com/articles/117/1179558p1.html

Reply
piat

June 29, 2011 at 2:14 pm

It’s time to play Jeopardy!!

I’ll take Nintendo for $200 Alex

“because stupid shit like this happens”

“what is the reason every other company gave up on cartridge games”

Reply
1. Batguy
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:31 pm
  
  Sure, and switched to digital delivery where you they can restrict you to a single console and only playing when connected to the Internet.
  
  In short, the use of cartridges is irrelevant here. Cartridges are awesome, particularly for their load times and durability. So much so that the PS Vita is going with solid-state media.
  
  This issue is just Capcom finding a new way to be a bunch of dicks, plain and simple.
  
  Reply
  1. Craig
    
    June 29, 2011 at 6:25 pm
    
    even for games in disc, producer can still limit used copy by looking at the cd-key. capcom just went too far this time
    
    Reply
RaygunBrown

June 29, 2011 at 2:18 pm

I love the conviction of EB clerks regarding other retailers.

Here’s some other things they have told me in the past:

– “The Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2 is sold out across Australia. You won’t be able to find it anywhere.” (Found it for order at 3 other Aus retailers)

– “You will need this disc insurance. $7.95 please. No other place will give you this insurance.” (When purchasing Metal Gear Solid 3)

– “Nobody else is selling this Batarang” (Picked up Arkham Asylum Collector’s Edition with batarang from JB later that day).

Reply
1. bennie
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:40 pm
  
  I get different deals from EB depending on which person is working.
  
  The manager won’t give me a pre-order bonus for a game if he price-matches it with JB. (even though I have pre-ordered the game). Another clerk has no problem giving me the pre-order bonus… as if I’m going to pay an extra $20-$30 for some DLC skins or different weapon or something.
  
  Reply
Richard Move

June 29, 2011 at 2:20 pm

Did someone just call my name?

Reply
1. mccawsome
  
  June 29, 2011 at 2:45 pm
  
  LOL
  Nice one. I hope someone somewhere in the world actually has that name
  
  Reply
Andrew Burdusel

June 29, 2011 at 2:23 pm

It’s not really buying the game then is it? It’s like buying the licence to finish the game once.

Reply
Shane

June 29, 2011 at 2:27 pm

My thoughts:

Capcom: 1
Consumers: 0

Round Two… FIGHT!
Hadouken!

Reply
1. Chazz
  
  June 29, 2011 at 8:25 pm
  
  Not really.
  
  Two key factors show that Capcom shot themselves not only in the foot with this game but in the stomach;
  
  1. Slow sales on anything 3DS means that consumers are taking more time to consider purchases giving this information about the game time to spread far and wide and the response thus far has been massively negative.
  
  2. This game was not a “must have” title so sales were already going to be restricted to big RE fans and then some.
  
  Reply
Luke

June 29, 2011 at 2:41 pm

Everyone put your hand up if you can see something like this coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360…

I wouldnt be surprised that the next generation consoles will have the ability to save game data to the actual disc and will make them impossible to trade and resell, that and they will have DRM, online activation ect…

Reply
Scott

June 29, 2011 at 2:58 pm

Are you able to start a new game and save OVER the existing file? If so, there’s no issue for me.

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1. Daniel
  
  June 29, 2011 at 3:15 pm
  
  It makes sense to the point of being almost obvious. The resell value of a game with no ability to start again from scratch is virtually nil.
  
  Pretty pathetic if you ask me, i won’t be buying this until it hit’s the bargin bin.
  
  Reply
boomtish

June 29, 2011 at 2:59 pm

This game is ALREADY a cash grab – it’s just a bloated mini-game? So stuff it up your socking Capcom

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The Real Deal

June 29, 2011 at 3:27 pm

So EB are being shot down as a whole because one unamed store clerk has said so. Is that the official line from EB or just the opinion of some pimply fat kid with not prospects who is working a dead end retail job.

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Dain Bramage

June 29, 2011 at 3:30 pm

Boycott capcom games in protest. They will never pull this shit again.

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DENAz

June 29, 2011 at 3:36 pm

Just lost my sale then!! Glad I read this, i was just about to go out and get it

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MrTaco

June 29, 2011 at 3:38 pm

Why wouldn’t they accept trade-ins of unplayed copies? >_>

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Stevorooni

June 29, 2011 at 3:42 pm

Knowing Capcom they’ll release ‘Resident Evil Mercenaries 3D Save Deletion Edition’ in 6 months time and it will be incompatible with the original.

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Dan

June 29, 2011 at 3:42 pm

Aussie-Gamer.com Confirms that Gametraders ARE taking trade-ins of the game.

http://aussie-gamer.com/?p=11372

Reply
Deadmansjizz

June 29, 2011 at 3:50 pm

GAME are still trading this one in, who gives a toss what EB is doing….

Reply
MrTaco

June 29, 2011 at 4:04 pm

All this boycott talk is making me feel guilty about wanting this game now 😛 It’s the one launch title I’ve been looking forward to since the start.

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Reoh

June 29, 2011 at 4:09 pm

Wow that’s amazing. It works so well I won’t ever buy a capcom game! I don’t even resell my old games anyway, but practices like this annoy me, and companies that annoy me don’t get my money.

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Timothy

June 29, 2011 at 4:14 pm

This (EB’s decision) wont last a second against the ACCC.

How the hell it got past Nintendo’s TRC’s I have no idea, since the game is supposed to be recoverable if the save data is corrup– HANG ON!

What if you turn power off while saving?
😀

Reply
1. Rick
  
  June 29, 2011 at 5:07 pm
  
  What do the ACCC have to do with anything? The product is not really fit for resale so they’re not under obligation to buy it from you. Ultimately the same reason they don’t buy PC games back.
  
  Reply
Sam

June 29, 2011 at 4:31 pm

First there is Nazi-like DRM ON CONSOLES that requires you to connect to the internet even though you wanna play singleplayer, and now this… They’ve really outdone themselves now.

Wellp, I’m never buying a Crapcom game.

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michael o’brien

June 29, 2011 at 5:44 pm

Well i for one think that this is well overdue secondhand games are a rip off the last time i went to game they had a sale on and red dead for ps3 trade in copys were the same price as a new copy….. What ever happen to cheap second hand games

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Frozen

June 29, 2011 at 6:29 pm

I personally see no problem with this, as a pc gamer I’ve been used to it for years. You get pay the money for 1 cd key, and hopefully if you get enough hours to justify the price no problem. No one worries about paying $30 for a new release blu-ray and 1 1/2 hour enjoyment, $80 for a typical game and 10 hours average enjoyment it’s a bargain. That you still have a hard copy which MAY be traded or ebay’d is just a bonus

Reply
The Gremlin

June 29, 2011 at 6:40 pm

Its obvious why they’re doing it. I reckon its an experiment, to see how people react. This will hurt sales, not only because of disgruntled games, but because a lot of people finance their new purchases by selling their old.

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Shazzo

June 29, 2011 at 9:47 pm

It’s worse than refusing trade-ins. My EB has been told by the higher-ups that they’re recalling every copy of the game and will not be selling it to anyone other than those who had a pre-order. Glad I pre-ordered 😛

Reply
Small One

June 29, 2011 at 11:13 pm

You shouldn’t call stores in future to verify information coming through from EB head office. Contact their head office through their website or their customer service line. Just to clarify tho: EB have recalled the game and will be returning to the publisher because it doesn’t fit with the return policy. Customers who have already purchased the game-prior to today-will be given a refund or exchange should they want one.

Reply
Wisp

June 30, 2011 at 1:02 am

so wait, can you go back and replay previous levels or once you finish it is that it? ‘Caus it cant seriously be that you can only play through the game once?

Reply
Piccoroz

June 30, 2011 at 1:25 am

Someone should really try to make the save data corrupt, maybe that way the game can be taken back to the original state.

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Richard Collins

July 1, 2011 at 10:14 pm

Capcom have actually surprisingly drawn the Line in the sand with “Resident Evil: The Mercinaries”, shipping the game delibratly without the ability to delete saved files. Thus effectivly killing any potential to resell the game(although this isn’t good for private resellers, I agree with their move). This is obviously a protest against EB refusing to send the retail profits of their lucrative secondhand games to publishers, which in turn obviously can’t in turn send the extra profits to their Devs who are in fact very unhappy about EB’s system.

EB have obviously boycotted the game in return and, knowing it was a move directed personally towards them, are bitching the most about it.

Fuck EB, they are killing the game industry from the inside. They stupid little retail “monopoly” is coming to an end and they are scared. EB is the new Atari… they rode the wave of sucess and even made it happen in the late ninties…. Now things have moved on from their business model in favor of digital distribution with more profits for publishers and EB are starting to act like the scared bullies they are.

Nintendo never forgets stuffing around like this. Being hot off their own two controversies with EB, the fact that EB is primarily responsible for the Wii shovelware because they refused to stock more adult games, and the whole Zelda release date open rebellion by EB against it’s publisher, Nintendo obviously are on Capcom’s side of the debate.

I hope Big W, Myer, JB and other retail outlets using the “old” model sell craploads of copies of this game! Thanks EB, hopefully you just sent a wad of revenue to importers, Department stores and other less idiotic specialist game shops.

Official Nintendo Magazine should promote the game heavily and tell people where they can and can’t get a copy!

Reply

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EB – ‘We’re Not Accepting Trade-Ins For Resident Evil: The Mercenaries. No-one Is’

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80 responses to “EB – ‘We’re Not Accepting Trade-Ins For Resident Evil: The Mercenaries. No-one Is’”

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