Idiots and Capcom ftl

Seriously, this stuff has got to stop.
Echoing gripes of the past, two of the latest videogame debacles have once again upset me to the point of needing to write about it. You lucky, lucky readers.

First we have this guy from Japan throwing a hissy fit on youtube over a game losing its exclusivity.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, unless a game is being developed first party, it’s likely going to be ported somewhere down the line.

Tales of Vesperia came out about six months ago “exclusively” for the Xbox 360. I put it in quotes because the game was originally reported as being developed multiplatform, then mysteriously became a one party pony. That alone should have been clue enough for people to know something was up. But I digress.

So this must-have game comes out in Japan and the 360 becomes an overnight sellout in the country. Bravo. Microsoft figured out what the market wanted and the consumers responded.
The problem with many of the people who bought the game, though, is that they also bought the 360 JUST FOR THAT GAME.

One of these tools, it turns out, has a mild case of the crazy. When he found out *gasp* an enhanced port of the game was coming out to the PS3, he went on a rampage, recording himself breaking his TOV disc and burning the magazine article announcing the new version of the game. (Good idea. Now you really wasted your $60.)

Part of me understands where the anger is coming from. Shady practices by all three of the big companies are ruining the gaming industry these days. Claiming a game’s exclusivity for a system people don’t have, thereby getting many of them to go out and pay $300 to get said system, and then announcing an “improved” version of the game for another system they already had in the first place is a lousy way to make a buck. So, yes, you can feel a bit cheated in that regard.

But aren’t these people the ones who were willing to fork over all that dough for a single title? It’s a bummer, yes. But maybe they learned their lesson.

I eagerly await Metal Gear Solid 4 being announced for the 360. I’m fairly certain heads will literally explode. These people are just sad.

On a slightly different note, I’m putting Capcom on my warning list. One more money-grubbing, BS move out of these guys and I’m ready to boycott the company altogether.

First there was Mega Man 9. The game is like $10 and fun as hell. Good stuff. What’s that you say? Add-on content is coming out for the game and, all told, it’ll cost more than the game itself if I want to get it all? What amazing content could this possibly be? The answer was a harder difficulty, one extra level, a boss rush mode, and a new playable character. That’s right, they wanted to charge you for crap that’s been standard since an 8-bit game wasn’t a nostalgia kick.

So a little time passes and Street Fighter IV comes out. Good stuff. What’s that you say? More add-on content? What would you like to spend my money on now, Capcom? Extra costumes for my characters…Are you serious?

Now here comes the latest BS. Capcom has now released their add-on content for Resident Evil 5 and it’s not even proper “add-on” content. For a mere $5, you too can unlock content that’s already on the disc.

Not only did Capcom come out and claim gamers had already received plenty of bang for their sixty bucks with the game proper, but they went so far as to say their add-on content is developed separately under a separate budget, and whining about not getting it on the disc was childish.

While hard to believe, I was willing to accept that answer even though I still thought charging $5 for content that should have been included in the first place was a disservice to the consumer. Especially since it was releasing mere weeks after the actual game came out.

Now that the update is out and we find out it weighs in at just 2MB, the bomb has officially hit. Gamer’s aren’t paying a premium price for added content designed separate of the game, they are paying $5 to un-freaking-lock content that’s already on the disc they paid more than half a C-note to enjoy.

Way to spit in the face of people who support your product and pay for your kids’ educations, Capcom.

This nickel and diming crap has gone too far and it will continue until we as a whole stop supporting it. Give your dollars to companies that earn it and stop rolling over simply because the big shots demand it. Their one solid argument is “You don’t have to buy it if you don’t want to.” They’re absolutely right. Now let’s show them how much we don’t want any of it if this is how they’re going to do business.