By Lorin Baumgarten

So this week’s Gaming Matters is going to be a short one. It is going to be a short one because it is less of an opinion on my part, and more of a solicitation of yours. This week’s article is based on the main discussion from Episode 73 of EpicBattleCry. The discussion on the show focused on Captivate, Capcom’s annual press event that took place in Hawaii this year. I don’t want to discuss Capcom’s 2010 line-up or the luau-filled event itself. What I want to discuss this week is Capcom’s idiotic download packages and pricing structures, and others like them in the industry. And when I am done, I want to hear what you think about this emerging trend. Are game makers simply cutting pieces off of their games and repackaging them as “bonuses” or DLC? How many games now have “Day 1 DLC”? Let’s get into it, shall we?

So I chose Capcom as the springboard from which to dive into this conversation because of the – hmmm, how do I put this diplomatically – questionable decisions they have made regarding pricing structure. For those of you who don’t know, I am referring to Capcom’s decision to charge $5 for the multiplayer component of their 2009 title, Resident Evil 5. This is wrong in so many ways, I don’t know where to begin. But let me start by saying that I have no idea if it was any good, as I did not – no, I refused – to download it. I did like Resident Evil 5, and I would have liked to have tried a multiplayer endeavor in that universe. I was very curious to see how that would have worked. But, as we talk about so often on EpicBattleAxe, I made a decision to speak with my wallet. I would not support the ridiculous parceling of a game in that way. While there are certainly games that are multiplayer only, it is industry standard that if a game has a single and multiplayer component, they are both included for the retail price of $60 US.

In addition to the extra cost to play the game’s competitive multiplayer, many people took issue with the fact that, upon downloading it, they learned that the content was only 1.86 MB, indicating that the lion’s share of the DLC was already contained on the disc. Capcom insisted that the download wasn’t merely an unlock key, however, the extremely small file size for a complete multiplayer component was very odd indeed. And lastly, it is another strange part of this whole debacle that Capcom was basically saying, by releasing the multiplayer this way, that it was only worth $5. To me that sounds like a pretty chintzy multiplayer, doesn’t it? I don’t know – the whole thing just feels weird and makes me feel dirty.

But all of that pales in comparison to the outright idiocy that is represented by what Capcom has chosen to do with Lost Planet 2. I wrote about this in a news post last week, but to summarize, they are releasing (yes, you guessed it) Day One DLC. The DLC is a multiplayer map-pack. But here is the rub: it is free if you pre-ordered the game from GameStop, but if you didn’t – you’ll have to pay for it. So, quite literally, if you buy the game at GameStop and I buy it at Target, we cannot play the competitive multiplayer together when we get home with our shiny new full-priced games (unless I pay extra money for my brand new game). While Capcom may be laughing hysterically at the 60 bajillion dollar check that they are holding from GameStop, this is such a ridiculous disservice to their fans that it makes me want to storm Capcom’s office on their behalf.

So these are two examples of the Capcom lunacy. It still remains to be seen how they will handle the “prequel” (read: demo?) for Dead Rising 2. But many companies are doing Day One DLC nowadays. Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins did it. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 did it too. BFBC2 and ME 2 did it differently though. They offered their D1DLC (I just cant keep writing Day One DLC) for free to those who bought the game. People who rented it would have to pony up to play the DLC. That I am ok with. It is a way to encourage buying the game new and to help combat profit loss from used game sales. This feels fair, to me. In the case of Dragon Age: Origins, Bioware offered up an additional piece of content for $7. I actually haven’t played this game – so I really have no comment on this one.

Either way, it is clear that game companies are looking for different ways to monetize their games. Casey Hudson, Project Manager for Mass Effect 2, had an interesting discussion with Ars Technica about D1DLC and why it exists. It is worth a read to inform your discussions about this topic. It is good insight into how the validation process works for games and why we see D1DLC at all.

But here my question to you is this: how much of this will you stand for? How do feel about what Capcom has done? How do you feel about the other forms of Day One DLC? What is ok with you and what isn’t? Let’s hear it, my peeps! Let loose your axes and let the arrows of your wrath fly free! Let’s hear what you have to say about all of these new pricing ideas and what is fair and isn’t! Sling it!!

Writers Note: Although I don’t always post in the comments, I do read them all. Every one! Even TimOverkleeft1986 ‘s dissertation on my last column (ha ha – you got mentioned!). Seriously though, you guys are the best, most intelligent, and thoughtful community on the web and I truly love reading all of your comments. So thanks for them all and – keep ‘em coming!! Let your voices be heard!!