Capcom responds to Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D save data controversy

The situation with the inability to remove saved data in Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D has kind of gotten out of control. Initially, GameStop had no intention of letting consumers trade in their games before reversing their decision yesterday. GameFly won’t let users rent the game while HVM outlets in the UK will be denying all trade-in requests.

Clearly this has become a significant issue. As a result, Capcom has responded to the controversy that has essentially escalated in just 24 hours. Here’s what they had to say…

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.