Mega Man 9 DLC: You got price gouged!

by Xav de Matos { Sep 23rd 2008 at 10:15AM }

When Mega Man 9 was first revealed retro-purists tightened up at the waistband nearly exploding with delight. A retro style Mega Man that continues the hyper-realism of the original series? Yes, please. And then Capcom started to let info drop on the downloadable adventure that made fans scratch their heads.

Oh, Megs lost the ability to slide and charge even though he's been doing that old trick since Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 4 respectively? Well, we're sure it's a technical issue. Oh, Proto Man is downloadable and he can charge and slide for 160MS points? Crap. Well the content doesn't end there. According the virtual manual that is included with the Wii version of the game set to hit Xbox Live Arcade on October 1, a slew of content is planned, including: difficulty settings, endurance modes and a new time attack stage.

Of course each of these premium content packages will cost gamers a small fee. We suppose Capcom wanted to get really old school and create a model in which Mega Man 9 will end up costing about as much as an NES cart did in the 80's. Thanks, Capcom! Retro rules! Check out the listed Wii prices and dates for the Mega Man 9 DLC after the jump.

Gallery: Mega Man 9 DLC

[via Wii Fanboy]

This listing is based on the Wii Virtual Manual for Mega Man 9 and is not a confirmation of dates or prices for the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game.

Endless Attack,October 6, 300 Wii Points: "Test your skills on a stage without end. Try to break the record for getting the farthest. Results will be displayed in the Rankings. Not compatible with Challenges."
Proto Man Mode, October 6, 200 Wii points: "Play the game as Proto Man. You can use the shield while jumping. Some of Proto Man's abilities may differ from Mega Man's. There is no story for Proto Man. Not compatible with Rankings or Challenges."
Hero Mode, October 20, 100 Wii Points: "Play the game with a more difficult level of enemy distribution. Not compatible with Rankings or Challenges."
Superhero Mode, October 20, 100 Wii Points: "Play the game with a super difficult level of enemy distribution. Not compatible with Rankings or Challenges."
Special Stage, October 20, 100 Wii Points: "Gives you another Time Attack Stage to try, including a new Boss at the end! Results will be displayed in the Rankings. Not compatible with Challenges."

Tags: dlc, downloadable-content, mega-man-9, xbla, xbox-live-arcade

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tony @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:28AM

Well, admittedly Mega Man games cost me $50 back then... but at least I could resell them lol.

I'm not terribly surprised by this as disappointing as it is.

Dralthi @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:29AM

What a bunch of bull. Why not just include this stuff in the full game and charge a little bit more than 800 MSP?

I probably won't bother with this game now. Way to go Capcom!

Gemini Ace @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:35AM

We're getting gouged? OMG!

Kevin @ Sep 23rd 2008 11:54PM

We live in a country with capitalism and people want to make a profit? OMG!

I DeX I @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:43AM

Shame on you Captain Commando, SHAME ON YOU! I would like to know who the brilliant tool behind this was.

I DeX I @ Sep 23rd 2008 1:05PM

All this time, I thought Capcom stood for Captain Commando. Apparently it stands for capsule communicator. Look it up on Wiki.

superbagman @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:04PM

Actually, it stands for Capsule Computer. But either way it's interesting.

PeacefulOutrage @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:44AM

All of these "bonus modes" should have been unlockable, looking at the achievements.

Normally I'm all for DLC to prolong a game as long as the game wasn't compromised in order to nickel and dime consumers. Most of this looks like stuff omitted from the game, rather than extra content. I guess I'll have to play the actual game to see.

todd @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:48AM

Not surprising given the popularity of the game.

Momomo66 @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:52AM

Lame. Will not buy. Was going to, but F this. When companies like Harmonix and Criterion are offering free DLC, why should we buy into this (ha)? But seriously, forget it.

Aaron @ Sep 23rd 2008 11:04AM

Yeah, the cartridges for the NES were $50 new back in the day. I remember saving up for forever to buy them. $18 is nothing now, people should quit freaking out. If you don't want the DLC, don't buy it. That's the best way to tell Capcom you don't like it.

Mike @ Sep 23rd 2008 11:04AM

Here's the thing - I was kinda on the fence about that game in the first place. Yea, it's a new mega man game, and generally speaking, I love me some mega man, but it's also an 8-bit throwback with many of the same flaws as the older games in the series, so on the fence I sat until I heard about this yesterday. I decided to avoid the game all together. Some of the dlc is... well almost reasonable, but the different difficulty settings? That's just low. That's a standard feature of almost every game on the market, and I'm pretty sure they just broke up a complete game to make a little more money.

Oh, and I see the argument of "Well the old games cost $50 - you're just whining about the price" Well, on ebay right now the old games come in under $10. So if you want to compare the price of the old games to the new one, Capcom is overcharging, and underdelivering.

Van Faulk @ Sep 23rd 2008 11:06AM

Gee, now if only we had some kindof clue that capcom was making this game as a cheap cash in. If only there had been some kind of indication that capcom was trying to screw us over.

I wholeheartedly mock anyone who buys this game now.

Tony @ Sep 23rd 2008 11:11AM

"
Oh, and I see the argument of "Well the old games cost $50 - you're just whining about the price" Well, on ebay right now the old games come in under $10. So if you want to compare the price of the old games to the new one, Capcom is overcharging, and underdelivering."

At the same time, they've had decades to make the initial money back on those releases through purchases, rentals and later compilations.

Capcom doesn't get jack for someone selling that on eBay. I'm sure this isn't really part of their thought process at this point. They're not requiring you to go find a NES that works well either.

Surely I wish this stuff was in the original game, but I wonder how much I'll miss it if I don't buy it. It's not like any of the NES games had endless modes or multiple difficulty levels. Personally I'm just going to skip all of it and hope enough people do down the road that Capcom might see fit to lower the price.

BFBeast666 @ Sep 23rd 2008 11:21AM

I'm a bit disappointed. So far, Capcom had a pretty decent record concerning the Arcade games they put up, but this obvious cash-in scheme makes me mad. I wouldn't have bought the game anyways (I'm not hardcore enough for Mega Man), but I'm thoroughly disgusted now.

DLC is shaping up to be the curse of this gaming generation. Or more precise: The greed of some company schmocks. Chopping a game just for some extra cash in - boo!

Kev (gamertag: ksiddique) @ Sep 23rd 2008 11:40AM

"Oh, Megs lost the ability to charge and slide even though he's been doing that old trick since Mega Man 2?"

Actually, he's been sliding since Mega Man 3 and charging since Mega Man 4.

Xav de Matos @ Sep 23rd 2008 11:48AM

Yeah, I realized I wrote that stupid ass line about the time you tipped this. Thanks.

Kev (gamertag: ksiddique) @ Sep 23rd 2008 1:47PM

And thank you for running a great site!

Drakee @ Sep 23rd 2008 12:19PM

From the old information of this game, it was supposed to follow Mega Man 2.. so not being able to slide and charge are part of the "retro" feel.

In other words, it's true to what it was meant to be.

DiddlyKong @ Sep 23rd 2008 12:27PM

Price gouging really? Really? Instead of putting a pack up for 640 msp ($8.00) they split it all up. You can pick and choose your experience. Harmonix does this and you praise them, Capcom does this and it's called price gouging. Take a good look at yourself people. By the way this game is awesome.

John Redmond @ Sep 25th 2008 3:51AM

Bravo! All those old NES games had nothing on the DLC here. MegaMan2 was the only one with a difficulty switch, none of them had an endless level or time attack, and I never got to (or wanted to) be ProtoMan. So I gives a damn. I'm still getting my old-skool MegaMan experience in a whole new game for ten bucks. So kiss my ass, I'm'a play some MegaMan whilst y'all keep whining like Emos.

Drakee @ Sep 23rd 2008 12:43PM

I agree. It's not like any of this stuff is necessary to enjoy a newgame of a classic. However, a lot of people are either ungrateful orhave little respect because they don't know the original game tobegin with. Many people still rate Mega Man 2 in its bare setup as the best ofall -- with Mega Man 3 following. Why people are complaining isbeyond me. But then again, most of the articles I see on Joystiq,WiiFanboy, and X3F talk about "jumping walls" and such, that I tendto doubt a few of the writers have played or remember the game -- with the exception of its later counterparts.

ScallionN @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:26PM

Why are people excusing Capcom for being lazy and greedy?

Xav de Matos @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:28PM

Nuts to that. We ain't!

mietha CAG @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:52PM

Far too many Japanese games (and those from EA) pull this shit. If it were up to them, you'd have to pay a fee each time you reached a new level. Total BS. The only question is: who actually does pay for shit like this? If no one did, I'm pretty sure they'd stop doing it. Someone is obviously supporting this method though. This is at least the third instance of a game being broken up and sold as DLC that I can think of offhand (Beautiful Katamari, Lumines, MM9). The japanese game developers just don't get it any more.

ChocoDK @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:33PM

This is the #1 reason why I hate DLC. I don't mind DLC if its done in the way that CoD4 did it. They released the game and you got everything and the game had a great response and many people playing online. Months later they released a map pack which is perfectly fine with me.

However, where I draw the line with DLC is what Capcom is doing right now. I hate it when games come out and they already got DLC lined up for it. Some of these things should've been unlockables like others have said. For example you take a game like Uncharted: Drakes Fortune (yes I know its a PS3 exclusive) and you got to beat the Hard Mode to unlock the Crushing Mode. That is what it should've been with Mega Man 9. Why are they charging for different difficulty levels? That is just cheap to me.

Also the idea of having to pay for a second character is stupid too. In older Mega Man X games you could play as Mega Man or Zero. In future Mega Man games are they going to charge for Zero now?

Honestly Capcom this was a cheap cash in by getting people all wrapped up in the nostalgia of it all. I was going to purchase this game although I am not the biggest Mega Man fan but maybe I won't. I hate it when companies like this just go ahead and release DLC that should've been in the game in the first place. Unless they release it way later down the line with high demand then thats fine. But otherwise it disgusts me.