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Thursday, November 3, 2011

Capcom is betting you'll pay $50 for Resident Evil: Revelations on 3DS


Capcom's done some crazy stuff in relation to the 3DS. They pulled the plug on Megaman Legends 3, which sparked an uproar on the Internet. To fight off the used game industry, they eliminated the ability to delete your save data on Resident Evil: The Mercenaries. Another uproar ensued.

Now they've done it again. The much anticipated Resident Evil: Revelations game releasing early next year will have a slight price boost. Typically 3DS games retail for $40, but Capcom's new game will cost $50, unprecedented for a handheld title.

Crazy? Risky? Maybe, but the company gives logical reasons for doing so. According to Kotaku, Capcom claims the new title will boast more than 20 hours of gameplay, and have 3D cutscenes that will make you leave the lights on at night. "A true console experience on a handheld device," all the content in the game will require a 4GB cartridge, which adds to the price.

The $50 price point equals to what most Wii games retail for, and is not far off from Xbox 360 and PS3 games at $60. But handheld games are typically much less. Regular DS games normally cost $30-$35.

When it was announced that 3DS games would cost $40, I thought that was maximum handheld software should go for. Most handheld games don't have the depth or content to justify console-like prices.

And, of course, people will bring up the whole smartphone issue, of gamers moving away from more expensive games, which is just plain silly. People don't buy smartphones for games, and while casual gamers crave the 99 cent ones (more because of the cheap price if anything), there will always be a market for dedicated handheld gaming systems for hardcore gamers. Yes, there are more expensive games for smartphones, but not enough yet to have an impact.

That said, I don't doubt Capcom's claim that Revelations will feature a hefty amount of original gameplay. From the trailers and previews I've seen, it definitely looks like it's worth $50.

We'll find out next year if people will bite on it.

Get even tinier random thoughts at www.twitter.com/JeffHoard921

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