The 3DS is the first Nintendo portable gaming unit to use region protection as far as we know, it’s also the first machine to get a game with permanent save games on a cartridge. Capcom has decided to make the save games on Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D permanent. In other words, as soon as you start playing, the cartridge will fill up with your saves that cannot ever be removed. The reason for Capcom deciding to do this? To stop you selling the game once you’ve finished/become bored with it. Apparently in Japan the amount retailers will pay for a used game drops significantly if it is found to have save games still present. By making them permanent Capcom ensures you won’t get much for selling your game. But it also raises another issue: eventually the cartridge will run out of save game space meaning a potential buyer has to run the risk of a used copy not having enough space left for their new game saves, again discouraging used game sales. While it may be clever of Capcom’s part to attempt this, it will do nothing but anger gamers. Selling your games is now a common part of the video game business and something gaming retailer increasingly rely upon. If it gets enough press during release it could negatively impact sales to the point where it hurts Capcom more than used game sales do. In case you are wondering, the same permanent save feature is expected to be present on the U.S. (confirmed in the game’s manual) and probably European versions of the game too. It’s also worrying to think that this might turn into a regular feature on Capcom games and therefore will spread to other publishers/developers too. Source;http://www.geek.com/articles/games/resident-evil-mercenaries-3d-game-saves-cannot-be-deleted-20110627/
