Oh that's exactly the DLC I love the most. Instead of putting it on the disc, why not put it on the Marketplace right at the same time the game launches so you can pay 7,50$ extra to the 60$ you already paid for the game.

Saw the title, thought I could buy a Ryu Hayabusa costume I could wear to future Halloweeen parties. Or in the bedroom, naturally.

Crushing disappointment.

Have I ever mentioned that I really, really hate the idea of paying for skins? If someone has to pay $2.50 for something like that, there should at least be a little more to it than aesthetic appearance, which I highly doubt will be the case with Ninja Gaiden II.

That's pretty evil, isn't it?

@kiigan: Same thing happened to me to when I read the title. Although my use of the costume would be to scare little children and senior citizens. Now thats god's work there buddy!

Lame. Designing content specifically for sale like this is lame. I hope they end up making no monies on this. I expect that my hope will be dashed.

Jeeze Whats Next...Big Game Companies Forcing You To Pay For Weapons...Oh Wait...

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say these things are already on the disc.

What people don't realise is that ninja gaiden made virtually no money when it was released on the xbox. The high price of developement, fairly low worldwide sales and the hardcore nature of the game (which lead to copies being traded in and meaning less new copies being sold) ment that it only really started making money after NG black. Getting the option to pay a bit extra for some content for what I'm hoping will be a game of the year contender aint a big deal...

But then I am a ninja gaiden fanboy.

@hk458:
They are not forcing anyone to do anything.

Well this sucks, I love playing for costumes, I have Ninja gaiden black and I'm still trying to beat the Eternal legend mission (after a month) because I want the extra costume.

Turn that into a cold sale and it doesn't feel rewarding at all.

It says I can have it if I pre-order :3

Namco is already doing this with Ace Combat 6 skisn (yeah, I know the planes also have crazy new stats and all) but thats what it really is, skins. Sorry, im not embracing this DLC politics at all and i doubt I ever will...

Damn. $2.50 for skins compared to $8-10 for 4 maps in a FPS? Just wow.

As long as no one forces me to buy this skins I don't care about it. The developers want to make money, and as long as they don't withhold important features for the sake of earning cold, hard dollars I'm okay with releasing such content as DLC.

Wow... People are going to pay for this.. That's depressing.

I'm looking forward to NG II, but it's bothersome to me that they've announced the DLC before the game has even gone gold. Indicating that they very clearly could have just included the costumes with the game. Well, at least it's not any kind of substantial material. If they charged you extra for the final boss fight or something... That would be pretty awful. This is just a dumb little optional thing hoping for stupid kids to spend their parents' money on something that adds nothing to the game-play.

I feel dirty just thinking about it.

Also, on an almost entirely off-topic note: Has the supposed multi-player for Dead Rising DLC idea just been totally scrapped, or what? I may be one of the few people who would still be excited about that, anyway.

If the skins are as epic as the one shown on the picture, I'll get it. I've got 250 points loose in my account, anyway, and I dunno what to do with them.

I mean, if people buy useless themes and gamerpics, why not this? At least it'll be something I end up playing with.

Ah yes Hayabusa, rockin' the silky man scarf since 1988.

@maxax: I'll be forcing myself to buy them...which I will.

@Llost: I have to agree there... It's a rewarding achievement to unlock something from playing the game... buying it instead? Sorry.... but that borders on prostitution... I mean... ugh... dirty....

If I could have bought the characters in Mario Kart Wii instead of playing the game like crazy to do so... well let's just say I wouldn't play the game quite as methodically (i.e. mad) as I've done.

This is wrong. So wrong. And I refuse to take part of it. I fell for it once and bought the extra characters in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance... and after realizing they were basically just new skins to old characters... I felt hustled.

I'm such a sucker but yeah, I will be getting all 3 skins at launch.

Screw the outfits... When is the demo coming out?

I'm confused: they're announcing this as though it's a good thing? We're supposed to be... happy?

This is the most disappointing article title/story ever. Costume = want, skin = DO NOT WANT

Talk about microtransaction BUTTRAPE. Grr.

I guess I'm in the minority of the people who think this is a good idea.

I would have been perfectly happpy if the skin never existed. It exists, therefore nothing has changed.

It provides a means to more funds for Tecmo, which should translate into a higher quality game.

If anything I see this as beneficial.

The only people who disagree seem to want any and all content to be included.

I have h problem with extra DLC like this, as long as it doesn't impact the game experience.

For example, Battlefield Bad Company's weapon DLC i have a HUGE problem with.
This though, not even batting an eye.

@string_theory:
er
"I have h problem" should read "I have no problem"

the tittle was misleading for me.. xD I thought that you can buy real suits that you can wear.. :) but simple skins for 2.5 each? well, nice joke... :)

I knew this would happen. Microsoft, the money grubbing buggers they are, were gonna spoil things as soon as I heard they were the publishers of NG2. First the health regeneration to make it easier, now paying for what should be unlocked in the game. What next? Go the EA route and allow you to pay for yellow essence (the currency in the NG universe)?

totally thought this was a "buy a Ryu suit" thread

totally not as cool

Already pre-ordered NGII and will be buying these skins at launch!

Certainly a rip-off, but probably the coolest way we've ever been ripped off.

That looks awesome. And seeing as I'm a Team Ninja addict...

@fbdeluxe: Probably made no money because well, it was on the friggin xbox. Now this game will make some serious cash.

Saw this at [gamerscoreblog.com] It's the earliest I had heard of this, at by it's timestamp 11am, seems to be the orig source.

I would buy this. It looks almost exactly like GUTS' evil armor from BERSERK. and the more i can be like guts the better! now they just need a massive blunt sword to swing!

looks like "the darkness"

No, there are not enough evil tentacles around the guy. :)

I'd just like to say that anyone who buys this kind of crap is giving up their right to complain when games eventually become nothing more than vehicles for microtransactions. Every item you purchase that in reality shouldn't cost anything is a vote telling publishers that they can charge you for anything they like.

We're talking about extra costumes that cost as much as the average multiplayer map on Live, and maps are overpriced as it is. That's batshit insane.

For me the appeal of extra costumes is unlocking them by meeting certain conditions in the game. So now you can pay extra to have less enjoyment in the game because there's nothing to unlock outside of "achievements". Games just don't have hidden stuff in them anymore which is sad.

I would imagine that NGII will have some sort of Hurricane Pack DLC along the way that'll cost $10. Why not include the extra costumes in that? Because people are so quick to hand over almost $10 just for a few costumes, that's why.

Well that sucks.
I remember back when video game developers tried as hard as they can to shove stuff unto the disc (GT4 is a great example of quantity and quality), tons of unlockables and crap.

Protip: Make a good game with decent content and it will make more than selling a half full game with extra content for sale.

Fuck this and fuck them.

That is all.

For everyone flipping out thinking that Microtractions will take over... you need to calm down. Yeah, they aren't going to go away but it won't be taking away from the core of the game.

The only possible thing Microtractions may eventually take away are what we like to call "Unlockables." We don't NEED to have these extra suits and of course only the "Hardcore" NG fans will feel comfertable paying for it. In our perfect world where everything should be cheap or free these suits should be unlocked for us with gametime or game completetion.

And we all know if it hits a bad point there will be enough gamers not paying and the suits will see the stats and reevaluate future moves.

@Billkwando: hey I hear ya..

Great. Where Team Ninja used to give you at least a half dozen costumes PER CHARACTER in a DoA game, sometimes over a dozen for a single fighter, now you can buy the costumes.

They're fun, but not THAT fun.

Remember these days, folks. We are the last generation who will remember when games had free bonus content in them.

@skullivan:
Yes

@fuchikoma:

Agreed, though I'm guilty of paying $3 (or was it $4) a pop for the three survival modes released for Sigma.

I'm not buying costumes, ever. What worries me is the potential of releasing a weapon or two at a cost.

It's a MS published game, so I guess it's inevitable.

Looks like Team Ninja is taking their marketing advice from Satan. He's getting pretty popular since his dealings with WoW...

These microtransactions are bullshit.

I thought it was bad having to pay 1 dollar for a new character in PAIN for the PS3. This is worse. At least in PAIN, the characters come with all-new special poses and personalities that can be funny & unique, and they're only a dollar. But over 2 bucks just for a costume? No thanks.

Nice costumes/skins...

Probably won't be getting it because I'll be wasting too much money buying new controllers as I hurl through the window in utter frustration at the game...

I've got 250 points loose in my account, anyway, and I dunno what to do with them.

And that's exactly what the greedy minds at MS knew people would be saying when they created this ridiculous point system where the MS points sold don't match the price of a game or two games or whatever (but always leave just enough for some gamerpics or wallpaper). It's VERY rare when you can use the points you buy for JUST the game or two games that you wanted to purchase with no leftover. It's such a scam it makes my head spin -- which is why I will no longer buy points. Hopefully the next question pack for Wits and Wagers will be 200, I'll buy that and be done with online transactions through MS and Nintendo (only Sony does this right).

Someone call Dan Simmons... someone stole his shrike concept for their artwork!

Wow, ass. I love alternate costumes for games, but charging more than $0.00 for them? No thanks.

@FiendishMoogle:

MS is publishing the game this time.

You see, this why I love, and hate DLC.

Instead of creating a well thought out, fully finished and loaded to the brim game with unlockables at launch, developers are using DLC as an excuse to churn out crappy half done games and then charge us up the ass to pay for content that SHOULD of already been on the disc to begin with.

It's laziness mixed with greed. Pure and simple.

Should have been this *is* why I love.

I've looked through the links and several other pages but I'm not sure (I'm playing the optimist ), will these costumes only be available via DLC or can we unlock them through gameplay?
There's no reason they can't be included into the game if they're already being worked on.

@string_theory: How will costumes released at launch time for a game improve the quality of said already-released-at-that-point-in-time game?
This will (unfortunately) provide revenue, but only after the game is completed, and in an unethical manner. DLC should be used for expansions and additions to the game, not as opportunities for selling you already created content that could--no--should have gone into the finished product to begin with.
It's already been created!

Yes, I believe it should already be in the game. If this paradigm of creating a game and launching it with additional content at release becomes the norm, consumers will eventually be looking at more and more modular products, and not in a good way.
I guarantee the price of a game isn't and won't be dropped because of content not being included. It's simply allowing publishers to stretch profit figures with the same amount of work done.
How is that acceptable?

I'm seriously shocked at all the defense given by people to companies when their sole purpose is to squeeze as much money as they can from the consumer: you. That goal does not give them a free pass on business ethics.
Again, when did this idea that companies have to lie, cheat, and/or steal become acceptable by consumers?

Of course, this is just a small product... but one would have to be ignorant to think that this business model of selling a divided-up game at a non-divided price isn't only going to grow and get worse if accepted.

@skullivan: Absolutely.

The reason I think it's here to stay is that well... add-on DLC is spam. Sounds crazy, but bear with me for a sec...

Spam: Cost to produce is low, cost to send to everyone is negligible in the big picture. Now if a few suckers buy it, they've justified the cost of filling everyone else's inbox with the crap.

DLC: Costs fairly little compared to a game. Depends, but normally it's fluff like costumes, or a new car, or horse armor. The cost of hosting it is insignificant, and bandwidth costs only go up a tiny bit as more people buy it. Now, if a few *cough* suckers buy it, they've just told the game companies loud and clear that they want to be charged for this kind of thing and are happy to pay for it. Well, that justifies the cost of producing it even if only a few fall for it, so why give everyone else what they're long since accustomed to getting for free?

So the people who buy DLC don't mind shelling out a floating, rising dollar value to get still less than you normally used to when bonus content was free. Those who resist and don't buy it get a bare-bones version of the game that is typically... functional, but why ever replay or explore?

...oh yeah, for the achievement points. That way I can show how good I am at the game - oops, no, they're cumulative - I can show how many games I've bought.

DLC is convenient, but it cheapens gaming for everyone, whether they buy it or not. Did you know at one time phone ringtones were free? The idea of charging for wallpaper was laughable! Yeah... well, this is where gaming is headed.

@MasterYong: Hyperion, right?

Alright, who wants to put money down on there being a Mjolnir Spartan Armor skin?

Fuck this shit. Fuck it with KNIVES.

the only skins i will ever buy are nude skins. U LISTENING ITAGAKI!?!?!?!?

Whats wrong with skins? Its not like thier taking out the skins that you have to work for, thier just adding more for purchase that have absolutely no impact on the game itself.

Basically, I dont see why people are so up at arms against this. Sure, I think thier a bit overpriced and I wont be buying them myself, but thier is no reason to call people names becasue they do want these.