Street Fighter X Tekken has 'on-disc DLC'; Capcom responds
Blanka, Dudley and Jack (plus others) are already on the the disc.
Capcom has responded to user complaints following the revelation that Street Fighter X Tekken has "on-disc DLC".
As reported by Xbox 360 Achievements, YouTube user SoulReaperTTG posted footage a hacked 360 copy of the game, revealing 12 characters that were supposed to be exclusive to the PS Vita edition.
Among the new fighters are Blanka and Dudley from Street Fighter, plus Jack and Alisa from Tekken.
Predictably, this has resulted in complaints from people who feel that they should have access to everything that's on the disc they've just bought. Capcom sees things differently:
"The character information and files were intentionally included on retail versions of the PS3 and Xbox 360 game to save hard drive space and to ensure for a smooth transition when the DLC is available, allowing players who choose not to purchase the content the ability to play against players that did," said the publisher, in a statement to MCV.
"More specifics regarding pricing, dates and other additional exciting DLC plans for Street Fighter X Tekken will be shared at a later date. As a reminder, the retail version of the game will be the only disc-based version consumers will need to own and all future upgrades will come from post-launch DLC."
VideoGamer.com Analysis
For better or worse, this kind of DLC setup is increasingly common, especially with fighting games. Capcom's explanation does make sense: NetherRealm's Mortal Kombat reboot suffered serious online problems due to compatibility problems between players who had the DLC, and those who didn't.
Still, I do understand why this annoys people. But if that makes you upset you might be interested to learn that when you're purchasing downloadable goods, you often don't own the product at all (see point 5).
User Comments
thedanyrand
Endless
Xbox 360 version - 2 offline players cannot play online
Why lie? Ok, remove an advertised feature from the game because you didn't have time to do it, or couldnt be bothered to do it. Whatever. But don't lie about it! 360 games have allowed multiple offline players to play online against multiple other setups for a long time. Why is it so different this time?
It doesn't affect me, yet. If myself and my wife wanted to play scramble mode against Lee and his partner. We now cant. Ace.
I still dont like online passes. A deliberate attack on my ability to afford to play games.
Chaosphere616
then buy a used like new copy
from the amazon market place.
That way I'll get a copy in decent
condition but capcom won't see
a cent due to this on disc DLC.
CheekyLee@ pblive
I am uncomfortable with this, and am thinking very carefully about whether I should support it with my purchase or not.
pblive@ Endless
MrGloomy
Of course, Capcom aren't saying that you have to pay for these characters, but it just feels like Capcom made the decision to hold these characters back so that they can extend their profits through DLC. Fair play, I suppose, but still a 'git' move. I think I can wait for the price to drop or if a 'complete' version is released some time later, then I might pick it up. Capcom have said that a complete version won't be happeing, but with DLC choices like this, I'm not sure I can trust that statement (after all, who can really trust big business).
When you look at title like Tekken 6, it was filled with so much content. Over 40 characters, something like 6-8 game modes, a comprehensive customisation feature and online play. To me, this choice by Capcom suggests that we already get too much for our money and we should pay more...even though you've bought the disc with the content on it!
Endless@ CheekyLee
The scale is another facto as Clockpunk highlighted. the 1-2 characters of Jill and Shuma in MvC3? Fluff. a couple here and there is a bonus. 12? 12 is nearly 1/4 of the original cast again. Thats not bonus thats a substantial part of any game.
Imagine picking this up on console when the Vita version releases with 12 extra characters and is pulicised to hell in the media. You buy your game, load it up, where are your 12 characters?
Someone mentioned that perhaps it's maintains the price of the original game through DLC. Almost like an online pass. Could be. But I hate online passes as well :)
CheekyLee@ Endless
munkee
They weren't able to put Blanka, Dudley and Jack in the initial line-up. But, they did have space for Kuma, Hugo and some odd-ball exclusives.
I think I disagree with DLC when fundamentals are removed from the game. DLC to me should be an offer of content that would expand the game in some way. Not to charge the user for content that has been removed from an existing franchise.
EDIT:
@pblive
Nobody is being forced to buy them, no. But, Blanka and Jack have been in the series since the beginning. They are both characters that players should expect to feature in the line-up. Capcom know full well that, Blanka in particular, will be a much sought after fighter and have knowingly removed him from the roster. It's a slap in the face for the fans who have religiously funded Capcom to continue releasing titles.
@Endless
I agree with the 'tool' analogy.
Also, Sony paying for the content to feature on the Vita is just as infuriating as all those poor PS3 Call of Duty players getting stiffed on the DLC release schedule. Time exclusives are ridiculous.
Endless
I agree with munkee on this on some aspects.
I don't mind them being on a disk at all. Video games, and software as a whole, have been a virtual asset for years now. The physical cost to produce a disk doesn't change from game to game, yet the prices do. The individual lines of code on a disc dont cost more depending on the game. A game with 10,000 lines of code, doesn't cost more than one with 5,000. The cost of a game is virtual, the game itself is almost like a SaaS implementation (Software as a Service) you pay for your access to the game, not the physical content of the game.
Same for Windows OS, you pay for your serial code that allows you access to software. not the software itself.
I'd almost be willing to pay for these characters; If they were day 1 DLC. But 5-6 months down the line? Much as I'd like to play as those characters, I'll already be settled with my team by then. If they were free DLC? brilliant, but still, 5-6 months to wait? I'll have forgotten they even exist by the time they release them.
Content for a fighting game isn't like regular DLC imo, a character is a tool. the focus on fighting games is competition, whether it be local or online. A new character doesn't offer a whole new fresh experience, the backstory attached is barely important. The game is still the same whether they're in it or not imo, it's just a different tool to use while playing. So to withold tools is not a viable strategy imo, we'll just use other characters instead. And re-learning again when new characters come out? I certainly dont have that dedication.
Not knocking the character design here by the way, thats as important to me as the next. Admitedly there will be people whose affiliation with a character is extremely important to their experience.
What really gets me about this announcement is that the Vita version of the game gets all of these for free. If thats a publicity/marketing ploy that Sony are paying for, fair play to them if it works for the Vita. But as far as console owners go, they might as well have just ***** on us from a great height and called it roses.
pblive
Historically, Capcom have always added characters after the main game ships. I don't really see the difference in putting them on the disc instead of for download, other than you don't need to do an update just to play against those that have them.
It's impossible to work out whether Capcom would have included them in the main game or as future DLC had they not decided on creating on-disc DLC so you've really gained or lost nothing and no one is forcing you to buy them.
CheekyLee
Clockpunk@ TomPearson
TomPearson
munkee@ mydeaddog
I do however like that this method will allow buyers & non-buyers to play online.
It's a strange one. From a developer/publisher point of view its completely understandable on all fronts. But, as a consumer with a tight wallet it stings a little.