Capcom Double Dipping Into Gamers Wallets

It all started way back in the early 90’s with one of Capcom‘s most successful games, Street Fighter II. The game’s following thirsted for more of the 2D fighter, and Capcom was more than happy to oblige. After Street Fighter II, came the Champion Edition, next up was Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting , then followed Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Even as recent as last year, Super Street Fighter II received a HD Remix.

Back then DLC was a long-off dream, so the addition of new characters, or scenarios, warranted a new release of the game. Now-a-days with the economy dwindling, and games fetching a premium $60 price tag, Capcom is committing a cardinal sin.

Capcom is certainly no stranger to re-releasing its titles with a new moniker as outlined above with the Street Fighter II example. So why have the recent announcements of Super Street Fighter IV, and Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition left such a bad taste in gamers mouths?

Capcom, I’d like to introduce you to 2009, where DLC is everywhere. Most games offer some form of DLC, whether it’s premium or free content is up to each publisher’s discretion. Super Street Fighter IV at its heart is the same game as Street Fighter IV with a few extra characters, and possibly a new mode or two. Does that really warrant a re-release? Couldn’t have that been added as DLC?

Capcom has stated that “certain aspects of the game code wasn’t laid out to support the features” coming in SSFIV. Capcom… who are you kidding with that statement? It’s not like you’ve never added new modes or characters in a game before, the publishing giant should have known by now to plan ahead. Capcom hopes to make it up to gamers feeling ripped off for buying Street Fighter IV and having to buy Super Street Fighter IV by creating some type of extra (which hasn’t been revealed yet) that is unlocked in SSFIV for owners of both versions.

Next up is Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition. This one offers more content that just a few new characters, along with the ability to be played using the upcoming PS3 motion controller. But Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition has me more upset than Super Street Fighter IV does. Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition offers a 2 hour+ “flashback” mission featuring Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine teaming up to take down Wesker in Ozwell Spencer’s Castle, which is set 3 years prior to the events of Resident Evil 5, and is a major back-story element.

Being such a huge fan of the Resident Evil franchise, and having completed Resident Evil 5 to 100%, I am saddened to see that I cannot play this extra mission without buying the new Alternative Edition. The addition of motion controls could be added via a patch. Instead of going the route of adding DLC, and a patch, Capcom has chosen to re-release the title, in hopes to lure gamers who hadn’t played the original version, as well as gamers who already purchased RE5 but want to still play the new mission or new controller option.

Capcom has, is and always will be one of my favorite developers/publishers, but I certainly hope that this trend doesn’t continue. This might have been acceptable before DLC was the norm, but not anymore. The last thing I want to do is to buy Super Resident Evil 5: Alternative to the Alternative Edition Turbo, just so I can get the full Resident Evil 5 experience.