It’s hard to argue against all the good that next generation gaming has given us junkies, but it goes without saying that with the good always comes the bad. It’s no secret that this generation has proven to be very useful to developers who’ve used the newer technology to patch their titles and offer downloadable content that helps prolong the shelf-life of a title significantly. When, though, does the nickel-and-dime transaction process begin to become too much?
We fully understand that DLC is a completely optional and that gamers are not forced to purchase the content, but in all honesty, what type of gamer wants to miss out on a portion of the experience they just recently may have spent as much as $60 on? Not many.
With the release of Resident Evil 5 coming at midnight early this morning, fans of the franchise seem to be more focused on the upcoming $5 USD downloadable content than the release of the title itself. As some of you know, Capcom plans to release its "Versus" content within the coming weeks. This content enables users to enjoy various four-player online experiences, which more than likely should have shipped with the game or have been patched in down the road for free.
According to Capcom, this content goes "above and beyond the initial scope" of what the development team initially planned to offer. Considering how long this title was in development for, however, there is no doubt that the original offering was a bit lacking if the "Versus" content wasn’t part of their initial plans. Despite the fact the downloadable content contains assets already made available within the title, this wouldn’t be the first time Capcom has offered gamers the chance to purchase micro-transactions for one of their published titles.
We’d like to know what our readers feel about this practice, not only from Capcom, but from other developers as well.