Capcom is in the midst of reevaluating how it will handle on-disc downloadable content in the future, the company said today.
Any changes will not be reflected immediately, however.
“We have been listening to your comments and as such have begun the process of re-evaluating how such additional game content is delivered in the future,” said Capcom senior VP of planning and business development Christian Svensson in its forums.
Consumers have not shied away from vocalizing their thoughts on Capcom’s continued decision to place downloadable content players must pay for on the disc. Capcom is not the only company that’s engaged in the practice, but has been seen as the most egregious offender. Street Fighter X Tekken, for example, has 12 characters on the disc that won’t be unlocked until the Vita version’s released this fall, despite being unlocked and playable for those willing to hack it.
Svensson warned that any changes would not be reflected in games Capcom releases in the near future, such as Dragon’s Dogma. The upcoming open world action RPG will have some of its downloadable content on the disc.
“The decision to include some additional (but not all planned additional) game content for the game on disc was made at the beginning of the game’s development cycle,” he said, “as at the time this was determined to be the most efficient way of ensuring certain content was made available.”
That’s been Capcom’s standard explanation for on-disc downloadable content. For its fighting games, it’s definitely made a certain amount of sense. You need all users to have the same content locally to ensure there are not sync issues in multiplayer. Look at Mortal Kombat for an example of how it can all go wrong.
Is this fall's Resident Evil 6 too soon for a test of this new set of policies? I’ll try to find out at E3.
“Just wanted people to know in advance the whys, wherefores and where we're going in the future,” said Svensson. “You are being heard.”