Capcom have heard fans’ complaints about “on-disc DLC,” unlockable content in their videogames that is stored on the game’s disc at release, but is not accessible until a specific date, upon which the user can pay to unlock it. For instance, Street Fighter X Tekken contains 12 additional characters that won’t be made available for use until later in the year.
There are reasons for on-disc DLC. One of these is to ensure that, when the content is finalized and made accessible, there’s no need for the user to download a large amount of data. Regardless, people don’t seem happy about content that is on the disc being locked, and Capcom have issued a response to these concerns on their forums. Capcom USA’s Christian Svensson writes:
Hey guys,
We’ve been getting several questions, here and elsewhere about the future of on-disc DLC.
We would like to assure you that 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. 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.
One such title is Dragon’s Dogma, where 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 as at the time this was determined to be the most efficient way of ensuring certain content was made available. Owners of Dragon’s Dogma will be able to further their gameplay experience with the release of additional quests, weapons and other items in the months following the game going on sale.
Dragon’s Dogma’s post-launch content will extend the lifespan of a title that already offers around 30-40 hours of gameplay by following the main story thread, but if a player was to complete all the side quests Dragon’s Dogma ships with, that increases to around 100 hours. Players will also be able to add to the stock of 100s of weapons and 1,000s of customization options to create not only their ideally equipped, but also their most elaborately designed character.
Just wanted people to know in advance the whys, wherefores and where we’re going in the future. You are being heard. Thanks.
Dragon’s Dogma will be released later this month on May 22nd in North America and May 25th in Europe.
