Permanent 3DS Save Files

[machomuu]

The problem is that the games industry is starting to realise that used-games are a far bugger threat to them than piracy. If you think about it, a pirate is not willing to spend money on the games, therefore no profit is lost by pirating. However, people who ARE paying for games will happily buy a used game for a little less money.
How would you feel if you were selling a game, 100,000 people bought it, but only 30,000 people bought it from you and the rest just bought other peoples copies from them. Out of 100,000 genuine sales you only got the money for 30,000 of them, you'd be pissed too.
However, if you could ensure that people only wanted to buy your game new, then you would get the money from 100,000 sales. It makes perfect sense to me.
If you want to support the gaming industry, then buy your games new it really is that simple.

The maths might be sound (more sales at the same price= more money) but the underlying logic is not- what possible right does the industry have to money made by people selling their old games which were sold as a token that enabled you to play a game. Should they have been sold as a long term rental sure but as a straight sale but now you have to convince people that their new game has no residual value when all is said and done (a couple of weeks food bill not being a good start).

The thing is, a lot of newly released games end up having used copies for sale as early as a day after they launched. I see it all the time. That's what the industry is upset about. I've always felt that they need to impose a window of about 1-2 months after a game or system is released before they can be sold used. It would also help to stop those ebay scums that buy up everything at launch.

I don't think the industry is mad about it at all because the makers don't lose money when one trades in a game, the store might. Plus, I never hear any complain from stores or developers about people trading in games.

 

[Gwaith]

Well, I wasn't planning to buy mercenaries in the first place because as much as a resident evil fan that I am I still think ca. 40€ is far too much for a few recycled mercenary scenarios. But capcom really tops this off by restricting me from starting the game over if I feel like it.

 

[r3gR3t]

I think the games this article named are crap. I know a lot of people may like them, especially resident evil, but I think it's crap Zelda Ocarina of Time is still the only reason to own a 3DS.

And Kid Icarus: Uprising

 

[Shorkio]

Looks like I have to stay with BlazBlue PC version... >_

 

[Scott-105]

Dang it...I just bought Super Monkey Ball on eBay..and it's used...oh well. It's not the biggest deal, just kind of annoying.

 

[IBNobody]

Couldn't you just get a flash card programmer and wipe the contents of the flash?

::does some research::

Yes, you could use the NDS Adapter Plus.

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/07/04/appar...mercenaries-3d/

Thank you, Capcom. Now that I know that there will be a glut of unresellable Merc3D units out there, I'll be able to pick up a used copy cheaply.

 

[spinal_cord]

I don't think the industry is mad about it at all because the makers don't lose money when one trades in a game,

They loose sales because the money being paid for games goes to someone else.
Piracy doesn't loose sales because there would have been no sale in the first place. Used games sales actually does loose the companies money. Just think of the amount of times you've bought a game used just because it was a little cheaper. Instead of your money going to the developer, it goes to someone else.

 

[darkangel5000]

They loose sales because the money being paid for games goes to someone else.
Piracy doesn't loose sales because there would have been no sale in the first place. Used games sales actually does loose the companies money. Just think of the amount of times you've bought a game used just because it was a little cheaper. Instead of your money going to the developer, it goes to someone else.

Same thing goes for like... everything you can buy used. Yet I've never seen a Industry, save for the games industry, complaining about it.
Ever seen a car that has limitations, just because you bought it used? Have you ever seen a music instrument that's unplayable on a live gig, just because someone bought it used? No? Neither do I.

 

[spinal_cord]

The problem is, with video games, is the data is digital and for the most part the physical medium will not wear out, then there is no difference from buying a new copy.

 

[rockstar99]

I think the games this article named are crap. I know a lot of people may like them, especially resident evil, but I think it's crap Zelda Ocarina of Time is still the only reason to own a 3DS.

And Kid Icarus: Uprising

And Pro Evo -_-

 

[Apex]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, seeing as this is an on-going debate on multiple threads I don't feel like reading through, but can't you just turn off the system or yank the card when it's saving to corrupt the file? I'm sure even though it doesn't have a reset feature, it does have something to deal with file corruption, such as HAVING to restart a file. Someone should try this if they're not scared of losing their files.

 

[Scott-105]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, seeing as this is an on-going debate on multiple threads I don't feel like reading through, but can't you just turn off the system or yank the card when it's saving to corrupt the file? I'm sure even though it doesn't have a reset feature, it does have something to deal with file corruption, such as HAVING to restart a file. Someone should try this if they're not scared of losing their files.

I read that somewhere, and apparently it doesn't work. For RE Mercenaries anyway.

 

[DxEggman]

How dare video game companies try to make money?!

 

[ferret7463]

The problem is, with video games, is the data is digital and for the most part the physical medium will not wear out, then there is no difference from buying a new copy.

It's true about the "Data" part but the cartridge itself does have a wear and tear factor. The save Battery is not new, the teeth on the card is not new the casing will most likely become scratched and chipped. Would you by a game at full price if the cart was badly damaged?

 

[Ron457x2]

Couldn't you just get a flash card programmer and wipe the contents of the flash?

::does some research::

Yes, you could use the NDS Adapter Plus.

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/07/04/appar...mercenaries-3d/

Thank you, Capcom. Now that I know that there will be a glut of unresellable Merc3D units out there, I'll be able to pick up a used copy cheaply.

This

 

[Schlupi]

The problem is, with video games, is the data is digital and for the most part the physical medium will not wear out, then there is no difference from buying a new copy.

It's true about the "Data" part but the cartridge itself does have a wear and tear factor. The save Battery is not new, the teeth on the card is not new the casing will most likely become scratched and chipped. Would you by a game at full price if the cart was badly damaged?

Even the data aspect of the game isn't "wear-proof", for the record. Have you heard of Bit rot?

Anywho, this is interesting. I don't have ANY CLUE why these companies had this method of save employed anyways... looks like I should do research on saves before buying ANY new games now, just in case.

 

[dickfour]

Wow, yet another reason I'm glad I didn't buy a 3DS. They can take Monkey Ball and stuff it where the sun don't shine. Ultimately it's we consumers that have the power. If we say that sucks I'm not going to buy that, developers will be forced to meet consumer demands.

 

[Youkai]

Well think about a family with 2 or more kids ...
As a father I would definietly NOT buy one game 2 or more times for my kids, I would tell them to share it which would be more or less "impossible" if there is no chance for more than one save ...

My Uncle has 3 kids and 2 of them had a DSi and might get a 3ds ... think about paying allways ~120€ for 3 times the same game -.-V

 

[spinal_cord]

It's true about the "Data" part but the cartridge itself does have a wear and tear factor. The save Battery is not new, the teeth on the card is not new the casing will most likely become scratched and chipped. Would you by a game at full price if the cart was badly damaged?

I'm not talking about badly damaged games. I'm talking about the used games that are still in good condition and in stores again only a weak or two after the initial release. The very fact that people buy these games actually takes money out of the pockets of the publishers/developers as the stores charge almost full price for some of the more popular used games.

 

[Deleted User]

What a cynical trick. This will have a knock on effect on both
publisher and console reputation.