Game add-ons: Bonus or bogus?

Digital downloads are an established part of the modern gaming landscape. But when does the enjoyment-extending map pack give way to the flagrant attempt to pick our pockets?

Some downloadable extras have certainly pushed the boundaries. The golden ‘horse armour’ in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion springs readily to mind - they’re still asking 200 MS Points for that! But Capcom’s latest offering really does take the biscuit.

True enough, the recently revealed multiplayer ‘Versus’ mode for Resident Evil 5 is brand new to the series and nobody actually complained about the absence of such a feature beforehand. However, now that it’s been announced, along with the 400 MS Points/$4.99 price tag, well, gamers are grumbling and we can fully understand why.

It’s not the paltry cash involved, you understand - it’s the principle. Why pay extra for something that is a common feature of many other games - even some hailing from Capcom? It’s a fair point, we think.

Capcom is unrepentant, though, citing the extra programming and bandwidth costs. Meanwhile US business development boss, Christian Svensson, puts it more bluntly: “If you don’t find value in our secondary offerings, the choice is simple, don’t purchase it.”

Well, taking Mr. Svensson up on his kind offer and not buying the Versus mode might send the message before a precedent is set and we end up in some kind of micro-transactional hell forevermore. Then again it’s only a few quid, isn’t it?

So, will you be buying? What’s your opinion on this sort of thing…?