Just as Resident Evil 5 was being shipped to North American and European retailers, Capcom announced that the game would receive new multiplayer modes as downloadable content. This led some gamers to accuse Capcom of nickel and diming players for content that should've been included in the retail game. Now, Capcom VP Christian Svensson has responded to these criticisms:

Here's Svensson's response in full, from the Capcom forums. Sorry for the big blob of text but it's worth reprinting in full because he makes some good points:

"This is the part where I get to say 'BS'. RE5 is well worth every penny of $60. A huge game, with tons of replay value, loads of unlockables, new weapons, co-op, mercenaries mode, etc. If any game warrants its price point, it's RE5.

Prior to the announcement of the Versus mode, no one complained they weren't getting their money's worth with the initial release because it packs TONS of value because it is an amazing game. So if people were already satisfied with what the package had, when we offer MORE, why is it people feel they've been somehow cheated? If you don't find value in our secondary offerings, the choice is simple, don't purchase it. If you do find it valueable (and we hope you do) please do buy it and enjoy it.

Secondly, whenever we do PDLC, that content exists with its own budgets, it's own profit and loss analysis with its own forecasts. If it didn't, that extra content wouldn't have been put into production, because it did not fit within the production budget of the base product.

The content that is shipping in the full game exists within its own budget. The content shipping afterward (regardless of how close to release it is... because the goal IS to have it release relatively closely to the base product's release) exists within its own budget. To try and have it release in a timeframe that is relatively close to the initial release, development starts well before the base product is on the shelves. There's no other way to keep it within 3 to 6 weeks of the initial release (which is the goal)."

The funny thing is, you would not have heard a single complaint had they never decided to make Versus Mode DLC. There ouldn't have been any grumbling if they released it, say, four months after the game hit shelves, either. However, because they're releasing new content soon after the game's been released, Capcom's somehow the bad guy here. I'll admit that a lot of downloadable content floating around is a rip-off but it's not like competitive multiplayer is a staple of survival horror games. You might wish Versus Mode were free but the game you brought home isn't incomplete by any means.