One of the selling points of all of the new systems, particularly in reference to their various online services, is the ability to download extra content. This extra content varies from new levels, modes, characters, costumes, and anything else you can imagine. One of the first offerings out of the gate of Microsoft’s Xbox Live was the poorly priced and all but worthless horse armor for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This misstep was met with a clamoring fervor that seemed to sting the makers of downloadable content such that gamers saw generally better material offered. Now, Capcom has decided the moratorium on screwing gamers without buying them dinner first is not only overdue for a return but also in need of an upgrade. And with that we have the Resident Evil 5 (RE5) Versus Mode.

RE5 is the first in the series to offer real online functionality, and no I am not going to count the PS2 abortions they call the Outbreak series, and as such offers some excellent co-op in both local and online multi-player. An obvious omission was some kind of death match mode or any sort of competitive play. That is understandable given that when you design a game with one sort of play style in mind, you don’t want to rush or half-ass a mode just to have it on there. So it sort of makes sense to release the game and then offer that mode later as downloadable content, right? And the five dollars you spend to download said content is worth it right? A whole new mode for just five bones? That sounds like value. Then you pay your money and see the download is only 1.86 Mb. That is right kids, the content is ALREADY ON THE DISC.

So basically what has happened here is that Capcom took the time to build the mode and put it on the disc and then locked it. You paid $60 for the disc (or $90 if you went for the collector’s edition) and then you have to shell out an additional five dollars to get all the content on it. Well, that is assuming that all the content has been unlocked at this point. It wouldn’t surprise me much if there were additional modes or characters or a picture of a big middle finger buried in the code just waiting for extra proceeds to be given up for it.

I really don’t care all that much about paying for new content. It is kind of cool really and saves a trip to the retail store for expansion packs and the like which will replace old discs and create waste. So that is fine, but when the shit is on the disc to begin with? Uh no.

Capcom pulled similar nonesense in February with the extra costume content for Street Fighter IV. The chumps who shelled out for the collector’s edition got four extra costumes on their retail disc and the rest of us had to buy it…er…unlock it with money or points. The subsequent costume packs must have also been included on the disc as well and I am sure that the upcoming online tournament mode is too.  Capcom is my favorite developer but they are really making angry. Judging by the reaction by gamers, I am not alone.

So what could the reasoning behind this possibly be, outside of the obvious desire to gouge as much money out of gamers as possible? According to IGN.com, a Capcom representative had this to say: “Versus mode represents content that was created outside the scope of the original design of Resident Evil 5. This is an all new mode that required additional resources to create, not to mention the additional bandwidth costs.”

So apparently because the development team spent some extra time on it to put it on the disc we have to pay. That is patently ridiculous. The additional bandwidth cost is apparently to cover costs leveraged on publishers by Sony to keep the Playstation Network free. Of course that doesn’t speak to why Xbox users have to pay given that we are already paying for the service. But even aside from that disparity, downloadable content should be just that and what is on the disc should be playable. Unlocking things through gameplay is one thing but paying for it is assinine.

In addition to the above statement, Capcom and its loyalists are pointing out that the mode is really just piggybacking on the modes that already exist. The versus mode utilizes assets that already exist in the Mercenaries mode that unlocks when you finish the game. Basically it is just the Mercenaries duo mode with competitive scoring and the ability to damage other players. So the argument is that the mode wasn’t actually built for the disc and then just unlocked but rather that the small download reconfigures things to make up the versus mode. And that would be a fine argument so long as there was no extra charge. If all you are doing is toggling the assets the way that most games would allow you to adjust settings and calling it a mode then it does not justify extra charge. The fundamental argument that this is content that could have and should have been included for free remains unchanged.

Unfortunately, even with the somewhat basic nature of the mode, versus is something that people want and are willing to pay for and judging by the activity on LIVE last night, it seems like plenty of people did.  Which means the practice is likely to continue in the future.  This is one of those situations where you have to speak with your pocketbook. All the angry message board posts in the world are not going to mean anything if the sales numbers support the practice.

It is fairly horrifying to think that this sort of practice may become common place. When prices on games raised from $50 to $60 with this new generation, most people figured fair enough. But if this catches on, we could be paying more and more money for disc content. Now, again, I don’t mind paying for new content or added material later on, but if it is on the retail disc then I shouldn’t have to pay for it. It would be like if you had to fork over some extra cash for deleted scenes or commentary tracks on a DVD.

Maybe it is an academic distinction to make between something on the disc or something added as the principle is similar. I just wouldn’t want to buy a shirt and then have to pay extra to take the sleeves out of a pouch or something. If it is actually on the physical disc then it should be available as part of the price. Capcom’s assertion that the development team spent extra time on the mode is a non-issue. It would be one thing if they just didn’t have time to include the mode and needed more time to finish it but that is not what happened here.  Obviously they had plenty of time to do the mode or it wouldn’t have made the retail disc. So I don’t see how that is worth an extra charge. The idea is EXTRA content, which would be content not included on the original release. It is on there. If Rockstar can be on the hook for the Hot Coffee code in San Andreas then Capcom needs to own up to the fact that they have just fleeced loyal fans by making them pay for what was already theirs to begin with.

Usually, when people complain about paying for extra content for downloads it is because the material SHOULD have been on the retail disc.  This takes the argument one step farther in that the content IS on the disc.  If things keep going this way, we’ll be paying $60 for the first few levels and then have to pay more to finish the game. I can understand companies trying to find ways to stay solvent in the current economy but this is not a good, nor honest way to do it. Certainly given the financial difficulties we all find ourselves in your dollars are better spent on something that gives you every thing you paid for. For shame Capcom.