Capcom, the most popular developer for people to hate when the words “downloadable content” are mentioned have decided to reevaluate their approach when it comes to releasing DLC for their new games. Particularly their on-disc DLC that have fans upset over. Notably the 14 characters that hackers detected on disc of Street Fighter X Tekken.
Capcom’s senior vice president Christian Svensson has assured its audience that their complaints and questions have been heard said in a post on the Capcom Unity Blog.
“[We] have begun the process of re-evaluating how such additional game content is delivered in the future,” the post reads.
“As this process has only just commenced in the past month or so, there will be some titles, where development began some time ago and that are scheduled for release in the coming months, for which we are unable to make changes to the way some of their post release content is delivered.”
Svensson has stated that the upcoming Dragon’s Dogma will be a prominent example of a game that will fall under their previous approach.
What is the reason behind this change of heart by Capcom though? It’s most likely because the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of North America has downgraded Capcom from an “A+” to a “B” rating after 42 logged complaints. All but 9 of these complaints stemmed from the locked DLC on Streetfighter X Tekken. 28 are classified as “advertising/sales issues” and 5 are classified as “problems with product/service.”
Capcom stressed in a statement to the BBB that the game already included 39 playable characters and multiple play options – an “enormous amount of content”.
“There is effectively no distinction between the DLC being ”locked” behind the disc and available for unlocking at a later date, or being available through a full download at a later date, other than delivery mechanism,” the statement read.
Obviously this is no longer Capcom’s belief. Hopefully the new DLC structure will be a lot more friendly and that this is the first step in stopping on disc DLC of that caliber again.