Capcom Swears RE5 Versus Mode Wasn't On The Disc
Resident Evil 5The controversy surrounding Capcom and Resident Evil 5 has raged long and loud across the Internet, and it centers on whether or not the publisher charged extra for on-disc content.
The new Versus mode, which recently became available for purchase and download on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace, is a surprisingly small download. It clocks in at only 1.8MBs on the Xbox 360 and 351KB on the PS3, and this has led to the assumption that this "new" Mode wasn't really new at all; that it was already on the disc. But according to Siliconera, Capcom swears this isn't the case; that it's not a simple unlock key we're downloading. Vice President Christian Svensson said very clearly:
"Keys are 100K or less. It is not a key. We have said in the past, it uses assets from the disc (like levels, models, audio, etc.) but the code is new and does not exist on the disc."
Even if this is true, it begs the question: can publishers hide little extras on game disks and charge consumers more to unlock them at a later date? How many gamers would even notice that they're downloading a simple unlock key? We're not saying this has happened in the past, but publishers have this thing about making money...in that, they want to make as much as possible, like any business. And they could probably twist the rationale around enough so it might even seem legitimate. What's your take on the issue?
Related Game(s): Resident Evil 5
4/10/2009 John Shepard
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Comments (66 posts)
LegendaryWolfeh
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 10:34:09 PM
2 up, 0 down
Odd Child
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 11:06:42 PM
I think some DLC Should be included on the disc, But if they continue adding DLC a year down the road that shows some incentive.
0 up, 0 down
yak4life85
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 10:29:49 PM
Reply
3 up, 1 down
Morals
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 10:41:11 PM
The versus mode being included in the blu-ray version of R5 is very plausible being an blu-ray and all that extra space left over, it would be very tempting not to put something you had already made on a disk when you have that much space to spare.
2 up, 1 down
jlch777
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 10:34:43 PM
Reply
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 10:36:16 PM
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1 up, 0 down
Oyashiro
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 10:52:15 PM
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Oh and Versus Mode sucks the big one! Saw it being played on my friends 360. Not worth it at all.
1 up, 0 down
Morals
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 10:55:24 PM
2 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 10:59:33 PM
2 up, 0 down
Tatsujin
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 11:28:22 PM
Reply
0 up, 3 down
godsman
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 12:03:40 AM
5 up, 0 down
aaronisbla
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 3:59:14 AM
BTW, this versus mode was announced before its release, not afterwards and its one of the reasons why some are upset
i know its just opinions, but after trying this versus mode out...... this sh!t sucks balls, plain and simple. I can't believe some people were suckered into paying for such a boring vs mode.
The thing thats more upsetting than capcom's charging for stuff thats already on the disk ( sorry but capcom has fooled you if you think it was separate ) is the way they handled a vs mode.
Its not something you charged for and anyone paying money for it might end up regretting it. For vs mode, you want as many players playing your game as possible, but in this case, you gimp your own audience and lowers the amount of people playing your game, therefore lowering the replay value of your game, the very thing capcom is trying increase.
Serves them right i guess, but its not gonna be the last of them charging high prices for dlc that isn't worth it. SF4 and RE5 are just the start
Last edited by aaronisbla on 4/11/2009 4:03:50 AM
4 up, 0 down
JasperLoons
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 11:29:28 PM
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1 up, 0 down
BTNwarrior
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 11:42:05 PM
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Oh and because they show up even though I don't have the DLC this means I will never get that coveted Platnum trophy
4 up, 0 down
Oyashiro
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 11:48:00 PM
2 up, 0 down
godsman
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 11:58:08 PM
Reply
"Keys are 100K or less. It is not a key. We have said in the past, it uses assets from the disc (like levels, models, audio, etc.) but the code is new and does not exist on the disc."
Isnt that the same thing as saying... "The content is existing on the disc already, downloading the code allows you to play it" ???
That is just a code that allows mersinaries online. They use the same characters, same maps. There's nothing new. Now the question is, is the 300Kb+ file that much work that they could not fit them in the original disc before the release date?
1 up, 0 down
ThugNificent101
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 12:41:30 AM
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Maybe they had a few tweaks left by the time the game was released, so they decided to finish up and remove the bugs and such- then decided... "why release it in a patch when we can put it out as DLC and make a bit of money?"
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 1:01:41 AM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
Oyashiro
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 1:12:58 AM
0 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 1:47:41 AM
0 up, 0 down
ThugNificent101
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 2:10:59 AM
2 up, 0 down
JasperLoons
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 10:24:01 AM
Last edited by JasperLoons on 4/11/2009 10:24:59 AM
1 up, 0 down
ThugNificent101
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 3:15:58 PM
while im sure it wouldnt have reached 1 gig so that they can charge, they may simply be testing how well it works when the data is compressed.
0 up, 0 down
JasperLoons
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 3:51:35 PM
0 up, 0 down
Orvisman
Sunday, April 12, 2009 @ 7:42:52 PM
I was just going to ask that same thing?
0 up, 0 down
slackernz
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 1:57:28 AM
Reply
1 up, 0 down
Dealnightfire
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 2:00:33 AM
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2 up, 0 down
aaronisbla
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 4:00:08 AM
3 up, 0 down
Deadman
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 1:18:26 PM
2 up, 0 down
Banky A
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 4:44:14 AM
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Just because Dead Space was more atmospheric than your RE5 game, that's real mature Capcom lol
=D
2 up, 1 down
CrazyIrishBoy
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 7:04:33 AM
Reply
Last edited by CrazyIrishBoy on 4/11/2009 7:05:48 AM
3 up, 1 down
dveisalive
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 8:51:13 AM
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1 up, 0 down
neostorm
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 9:02:10 AM
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neo's final thought----if you don't like it don't buy it --simples
2 up, 1 down
Oyashiro
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 3:29:00 PM
1 up, 0 down
Minishmaru
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 9:11:09 AM
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1 up, 0 down
Minishmaru
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 9:11:14 AM
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1 up, 0 down
Robochic
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 9:57:23 AM
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1 up, 0 down
Ultimadream
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 12:18:32 PM
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1 up, 0 down
NiteKrawler
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 1:03:52 PM
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0 up, 2 down
daus26
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 2:37:05 PM
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They simply choose to put it off for download content to get more money, simple. It's not because they had to rush sale, not because they can't do it at the time, not because disc space was insufficient (hell 50 gig blu-ray), and certaintly not because the effort to make it was something that's worth paying. I've seen bigger GT5P updates and other patches for free.
Its the money..period. This is just one of the flaws of next gen. Developers might not be maxing out as much as they could on the retail disc.
1 up, 0 down
Doosharm
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 3:11:17 PM
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0 up, 2 down
Oyashiro
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 3:37:13 PM
Capcom does not get the benefit of the doubt. They had this planned for a very long time.
2 up, 1 down
NiteKrawler
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 3:58:41 PM
Last edited by NiteKrawler on 4/11/2009 3:59:14 PM
0 up, 1 down
Oyashiro
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 4:16:53 PM
No one has a problem with content being made post production of the game. This, What Capcom is doing right now, Leaving content off disk or locked on disk to sale us a key later for five dollars. It is unacceptable.
Its not a matter of "You don't have to buy it", This should not have happened in the first place.
How would you like it if I where to sell you a briefcase. Then in order to open that briefcase you have to buy the combination to the lock for extra?
This is what they are doing, This is what they did with street Fighter 4, This is what Namco did with Soul Caliber. This is not what DLC was made for, This is abusing the system.
3 up, 0 down
NiteKrawler
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 5:26:45 PM
0 up, 2 down
Oyashiro
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 5:44:43 PM
People defending them and buying this stuff are not helping the situation at all. They are allowing them to get away with unethical practices.
1 up, 0 down
NiteKrawler
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 6:22:49 PM
0 up, 0 down
giant123
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 7:45:22 PM
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hey hackers look at the code for us, and then we can get a mob together and....
1 up, 0 down
karneli lll
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 9:03:09 PM
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2 up, 0 down
Doosharm
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 10:38:34 PM
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Sure, some companies may cut back on the retail game, limiting features that should normally be included in the game, just to charge you for them later. But I really don't see that being the case here. In no way is RE5 a lesser game for not including Versus on the disk. Afterall, we didn't see this in the previous RE titles did we? There is no golden rule saying that games in the RE series need multiplayer mode.
No matter how you look at it, Versus is add-on content. It is something outside of the single player game that Capcom sold you. It was always intended as add-on content and to be sold as such for an additional fee.
My guess is that most developers have their add on content planned out ahead of time and probably have a decent amount completed before the game launches, at least for the big blockbusters. If a company decides to save some time and bandwidth by just tacking it onto the game disk, so be it. Just because Capcom put some extra code on your disk doesn't mean they owe you anything extra. In no way is that unethical, its good business practices. They saved you time and they saved bandwidth. Tacking some of the code on the disk may have even saved you money.
1 up, 0 down
NiteKrawler
Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 11:07:13 PM
0 up, 0 down
Oyashiro
Sunday, April 12, 2009 @ 12:09:05 AM
Not seems, It was. They did this with SF4 as well. It was all on disk, and you buy keys to unlock it. And it does matter as you are paying again for something that you already bought.
"Sure, some companies may cut back on the retail game, limiting features that should normally be included in the game, just to charge you for them later. But I really don't see that being the case here. In no way is RE5 a lesser game for not including Versus on the disk."
Yes it does make it lesser of what it could be. Blocking it and then making people pay extra drastically limits the amount of people that will be using that mode. Thus making it a lesser experience.
"No matter how you look at it, Versus is add-on content. It is something outside of the single player game that Capcom sold you. It was always intended as add-on content and to be sold as such for an additional fee."
Other than the fact that this barely should count as DLC and more of a Patch they are making you pay for. I agree with you that Capcom intended this to be a "add on" all along, for us to pay for. We all probably know that. Does that justify it? No, a money grab is a money grab no mater who you try to twist it.
"My guess is that most developers have their add on content planned out ahead of time and probably have a decent amount completed before the game launches, at least for the big blockbusters. If a company decides to save some time and bandwidth by just tacking it onto the game disk, so be it. Just because Capcom put some extra code on your disk doesn't mean they owe you anything extra. In no way is that unethical, its good business practices. They saved you time and they saved bandwidth. Tacking some of the code on the disk may have even saved you money."
Really? What you just said that they are doing is unethical and probably illegal in some countries with stricter laws on digital distribution. Not only is it unethical, its borderline "Double Dealing" and/or "False advertisement".
1 up, 0 down
NiteKrawler
Sunday, April 12, 2009 @ 12:59:19 AM
If you think Capcom is unethical for doing this, send back your game and boycott them. When they put out their financial numbers down the road, you can see how many people agree with you.
By the way, Resistance 2 charges $6 for maps which will mean that less gamers will play them. That means it is a lesser experience. That's unethical too right? By your logic, any DLC with a price tag is unethical because it discourages players from using that content, making it a "lesser experience". I guess MMO's that aren't free-2-play are unethical too then. What a whirl.
0 up, 0 down
Oyashiro
Sunday, April 12, 2009 @ 4:32:59 AM
I can tell you what there numbers will say. It sold wonderfully. There numbers are nothing but how many where shipped to retailers. To them Shipped = Sold.
And let me Quote myself again.
"No one has a problem with content being made post production of the game."
This "DLC" was most likely complete months before the game was printed and shipped. This is the reason people have problems with it. I have no problem with buying actual DLC. This is just the cancer of the system.
1 up, 0 down
Doosharm
Sunday, April 12, 2009 @ 1:02:47 AM
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Really? Where is the evidence for this? In this article Ben is suggesting that some people believe it was on the disk. As of right now it seems nobody knows for sure but Capcom, and they say it ain't so.
"And it does matter as you are paying again for something that you already bought."
But you DID NOT buy the add-on content. What you bought was the single player game. Nowhere on the package does it say that you are buying Versus as well. Even if the data was indeed included on the disk, what you bought then was essentially RE5 with some extra code. Getting upset about that would be like flipping out on Rockstar because they didn't let you play the locked "Hot Coffee" content. Just because there is some data on a disk that you bought does not mean you are entitled to it.
"Yes it does make it lesser of what it could be. Blocking it and then making people pay extra drastically limits the amount of people that will be using that mode. Thus making it a lesser experience."
So RE5 is a worse game because it did not include an extra mode which you yourself said "sucks the big one!" and is "Not worth it at all" ? Seems a little hypocritcal to me.
"Other than the fact that this barely should count as DLC and more of a Patch they are making you pay for. I agree with you that Capcom intended this to be a "add on" all along, for us to pay for. We all probably know that. Does that justify it? No, a money grab is a money grab no mater who you try to twist it."
This is not a patch, its a new play mode. How is an entirely new play mode not worthy of being add-on content? You're getting another mode for $5. How many other games give you that for free? None. Why should Capcom?
"Really? What you just said that they are doing is unethical and probably illegal in some countries with stricter laws on digital distribution. Not only is it unethical, its borderline "Double Dealing" and/or "False advertisement"."
Having a game plan is unethical? Creating original content for a game is unethical? Again, how is it unethical? I don't know of any other countries where you aren't allowed to charge people to buy a product you've created. And lastly, there was no false advertising. They advertised RE5. You bought RE5. Where did they lie to you and deceive you? When did they tell you that you would also get Versus for free? When did they say that Versus mode was going to be implemented out of the box? They didn't. They gave you exactly what you paid for and they gave everybody who bought Versus exactly what they paid for. If anything I think people should be thankful that the add-on was as quick to download and as cheap as it was. I think I spent more time and money downloading a single pack of LBP costumes.
1 up, 0 down
Oyashiro
Sunday, April 12, 2009 @ 4:57:40 AM
People got upset at the "Hot Coffee" Because it was digitized sex that could be accessed with a simple pro action replay code. Then Rockstar lied and said it was never on disk and that the people made it themselves. The game got removed from shelves and got re-rated as AO for a while. That had nothing to do with people upset that it was locked to them.
Just because i felt the mode sucks, does not negate it of the fact that it does lessens the experience of the game. Less content you got access to = less..
Plenty of games give you new play modes and content for free, and its completely new content as well! The best one that comes to mind it Burnout Paradise. Fun game, everyone should play it.
Reselling people content that they already paid for is unethical. Its like selling a person a car with a working radio and holding the knobs to the radio hostage for a extra fee. Just because they planned it before hand does not make it right... It makes it premeditated. And LBP costumes have zero affect on game play. Plus they are completely new content not found on disk and they release some for free.
2 up, 0 down
NiteKrawler
Sunday, April 12, 2009 @ 10:58:49 AM
And saying "less content you have access to = less" is just wrong. Again, Resistance 2 sells maps for $6. That means that some players won't get them which is unethical by your logic. Just because some games have free DLC doesn't mean they all should either.
And again, your analogy holds no water. You KNEW the knobs would be an extra fee, yet you bought the car anyway. What Capcom did is in no way like that analogy because Capcom never said the "knobs" were free or included.
I'd also like you to fetch me a law from anywhere that would find Capcom guilty of any crime for doing this. Be able to back stuff up before you talk. Just like how it is "fact" that the code was already on the disc.
Finally, answer me something. What if versus mode had been created postproduction and the code was NOT on the disc? Would it be magically ok? I'm assuming you'll probably say that "no, because it should have just been a free patch because it is so small." Well that is only your opinion. It doesn't mean that Capcom is being unethical at all. They aren't.
P.S. When you say that it was "premeditated", you make it sound like Capcom has committed murder. I think you need a firmer grasp of reality.
0 up, 1 down
Doosharm
Sunday, April 12, 2009 @ 2:17:00 PM
0 up, 0 down
NiteKrawler
Sunday, April 12, 2009 @ 2:42:57 PM
0 up, 0 down
Oyashiro
Sunday, April 12, 2009 @ 8:51:39 PM
0 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 @ 4:42:56 AM
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Let's just say I pay $100 for a vacuum cleaner for instance, then I've bought it, which it makes it "ALL" mine.
Which also makes every accessory that comes with it, on it, or in it, mine too. You can't just f*cking charge me for a key, or a code to unlock the off/on switch.
If it isn't illegal, it damned well should be.
At the very least, it's immoral, and it's unscrupulously conniving of Capcom to try and do a shakedown of it's customers.
Capcom's new policy reads like a "Mafia Ethics" handbook now!
0 up, 0 down
chicko1983
Reply
Friday, April 10, 2009 @ 10:17:46 PM
He asked about downloadable content and how it works and I told him about how you could download levels, gameplay modes, costumes etc for games after they were released. When I told him that the DLC usually comes about 3mths or so after the release of the game he couldnt understand why they wouldnt put it on the full retail disk. I couldnt really tell him a good reason other than for the developers and publishers to make more money. He didnt like the idea of it and is now somewhat put off from getting a PS3 now.