Too expensive Ninja Gaiden II costume DLC now available

by Dustin Burg { Jul 2nd 2008 at 12:00PM }

Just as was promised a few months back, the Itagaki-less Team Ninja and Microsoft Game Studios have partnered to release three chunks of new Ninja Gaiden II downloadable content to the XBLM. Content that we've previously compared to Oblivion's legendarily overpriced horse armor, because for comparative purposes, that's what it is. The NGII DLC comes in the form of three costume packs that allows you to cloth Ryu in five color variations of either Biometal, Shadow Walker or Fiend Hayabusa duds (all viewable here). The rub, each costume variant will cost you 200 Microsoft points. Ouchy! Ouchy indeed.

Biometal Hayabusa Costume Pack - 200
Shadow Walker Hayabusa Costume Pack - 200
Fiend Hayabusa Costume Pack - 200

[Photo via GameSpot forums]

Tags: ng2, ninja-gaiden-2, ninja-gaiden-ii, team-ninja, tecmo, xblm

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

The Beta Max @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:13PM

200 MSP? That a dragon sword to the ol' wallet, ain't it?

Brian @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:06PM

Expensive? Only if you are poor.

200 is nothing.

Gemini Ace @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:39PM

Then pony up and buy it for everybody.

Brian @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:42PM

See that is a different matter, If i did that THEN it would be expensive.

psychohog @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:00PM

I know, it's less than a gallon of gas. Ride a bike for a day and buy some points people.

Edog @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:21PM

I think the issue is, "Are these costumes worth $2.50 U.S. each?", not if you can afford them or not. I spent 4k on my primary hobby, video games, last year so I can buy this DLC without any problem. The question I ask my self when I buy stuff is, "Is it worth it?", not, "Can I afford this?". Why???? Self-respect. I don't like it when others take advantage of me. I put on a condom when I have sex... I brush my teeth twice daily. Why? Self-respect. And I won't buy this overly priced DLC that adds nothing to game play. Why? Self-respect.

But if you find worth in this DLC, maybe you think Bio-Ryu is the coolest thing evar, then you have found worth in this costume and your not a tool for buying these. The rest of you guys/girls are officially tools.

Andrew @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:24PM

I don't think anybody is saying that they can't afford it, it's all about what you get for your 200 points. Costumes are not worth $2.50.

Andrew @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:25PM

Ugh, I have had this page open for a couple of hours, and I forgot that fact when I submitted my reply.

Insomnious @ Jul 2nd 2008 5:25PM

Hmm, to be honest, the only skin pack that looks any good is the Fiend pack, which I received free with my Pre-order from GAME.

Not that I can be bothered playing, now that my final save-game before the final bosses has no health items, and a 1/3 bar of health. No chance.

HazyCloud @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:13PM

Taken from Gamerscoreblog.com Friday, May 09, 2008 4:25 PM by CPaladino

"FYI - the 200 pts pack is for FIVE costumes - not one."

Not sure if it actually worked out that way. I still haven't even finished NG2 yet, so I doubt I'll be grabing these anytime soon.

Mighty Healthy @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:14PM

It worked out that way, in a "technically it's just uninformed PR speak" fashion. You "get 5 costumes," even if it's just 5 different color skins of the same texture.

Of course, it's technically five color variations of one costume for 200 MPs, and there are only actually 3 costumes.

By the way, his is no attempt to burn Gamerscoreblog or anything, they've run a great site for years...I'd definitely give them the benefit of the doubt here, on whether they were actually trying to misinform people.

I just don't think they were told the full details when they were trying to clarify things for everyone else.

One last point: couldn't this have been smoothed over by - gasp - offering single costumes via marketplace? 40-60 MPs for a single skin would make more sense, as it would be a small MP purchase that you could actually swallow.

XBLM is starting to seem outdated by the the limitations that restrict not only the product "selection," but our ability to judge the content. Nothing like making purchases from the same wall of text and an image that's only a banner for the name of the game.

Chris Paladino @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:45PM

@Mighty Healthy

I didn't think what I said was uninformed PR speak. You can dislike the price, or you can like the price, but I wasn't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes.
Each set has 5 costume variations...

Mighty Healthy @ Jul 2nd 2008 4:39PM

@ CPaladino: I apologize for the wording, especially if it offended you, but it was as best a phrase that I could come up with.

I figured that someone else in the info pipeline had made what I felt was an error in judgement, and again, gave you guys the benefit of the doubt.

I respect your views on the matter...but regardless of price, I just think that there's a fundamental disparity between "five costumes" and "five color variations of the same costume."

I agree to disagree, obviously.

DBoyFlex @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:27PM

Do you unlock other regular colors after finishing the game on different difficulties? Just curious.

Dirty @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:53PM

Would you put the real price on there, I still get confused on the exchange rate. Hurts my brain.

AoE @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:38PM

They're $2.50 each

Andrew @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:29PM

Just remember that 800 points is $10 and go from there.

Hey Apples @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:09PM

Is there a horse armor costume?

ScallionN @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:14PM

That's...that's just fucking retarded. I don't mind some microtransactions (like Rock Band's) but things like horse armor, Ace Combat -EMBLEM- grind my gears. Content like that used to be offered in games for FREE. It's seeming more likeley that a lot of DLC is just extra content they purposely left out of the main game so that they could sell it.

A costume with a few fancy pallet swaps isn't worth 2.50.

Jace Bartet @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:36PM

Right on with Scallion, I have to say that this bothers me because I feel that it is a blatant abuse of the online gaming model on the part of the developers, especially when a game is already $60. New costumes and the like used to be things that you might earn through completing certain tasks in the game. Perhaps it would make more sense if they offered the option to buy them OR achieve them through some heinously difficult (but doable) special requirement.

Ujn Hunter @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:52PM

80 MS Points = 1 US Dollar if it hurts your brains, use a Calculator... goto Start, Run, Type "Calc" Hit Enter ;)
I'll buy these, cheaper than alot of other useless content... like Gamer Pictures.

gaymerxbox360 @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:12PM

I wanna a Ryu speedo armor download content to come out. mmmmm

dylan @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:14PM

It makes me miss the days when you got things like new costumes from beating levels, now you get gamerscore and have to pay for new costumes, silly if you ask me. Personally I only pay for new levels made after the game has been out, these cash grabs seem desperate to me and devalue the game IMO.

Bennyishere @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:38PM

I bought them all. They're not as sexy as the original costume, but there are some good ones in there.

I guess 600 points for three costumes with 5 colors each isn't a goo deal, but I love the game...

B A @ Jul 2nd 2008 4:58PM

I purchased the outfits and they are worth it for NG2 fans. 200 points for each set is pretty cheap IMO. A gallon of gas is more expensive than a set :-p
You can see the pictures of all the sets on the Xbox forum:

http://forums.xbox.com/21196942/ShowPost.aspx
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