For Mortal Kombat X big wigs, the brief time since announcing the Kombat Pack, which will add four new characters and 15 skins as post-launch paid DLC, isn’t feeling very brief. Series creator and Mortal Kombat X director Ed Boon, as well as executive producer Shaun Himmerick, have spent the last day on Twitter defending the decision.
These from Himmerick:
wish I could get people to understand MKX DLC was not cut from launch content we do it after we finish the disc 1/2 http://t.co/NLZjM8ekJz
— lover of tacos (@lover_of_tacos) February 12, 2015
DLC content can’t get done in time for launch, if the content wasn’t DLC it would not be part of the game. There’s just not enough time 2/2
— lover of tacos (@lover_of_tacos) February 12, 2015
Ed Boon weighed in around the same time, responding to someone who claimed that only games with poor rosters need paid guest characters.
“@Takinro: @noobde Only games with poor roster need guest characters.. Or maybe as free optional DLCs for the ones who want some. EB: Wrong,
— Ed Boon (@noobde) February 12, 2015
The thing is, they have a point. Gamers right now are hyper sensitive to DLC, and it’s really all because of Evolve. However, Mortal Kombat X is not Evolve. The folks at NetherRealm seem to have suffered from deadline pressures by their publisher, as Himmerick implied, so they’re adding content post-launch.
Purely in terms of pricing, though, Mortal Kombat X is no better, and may actually be worse. The Kombat Pack is priced at $30 for four new characters, where Evolve’s Hunting Season Pass with four hunters is priced at $24.99. Each game can be purchased along side those packs, though, for about $80. The difference is that Mortal Kombat X only has one DLC pack, and Evolve has several, in addition to an entire library of skin packs available day one. That’s not to mention the forthcoming monster DLC packs priced at $14.99.
Related: Evolve’s Ridiculous DLC Pricing Should Annoy Gamers Everywhere
What people are also forgetting is that the last Mortal Kombat had $25 of DLC. It was four characters (Skarlet, Rain, Kenshi and Freddy Krueger) and also seven “Klassic Skins.” With eight more skins added, The Kombat Pack is consistently priced, but it’s getting a disproportionate response, as the character drops in Mortal Kombat 9 barely received so much as an eye roll.
The truth is, it’s just a bad time to be releasing paid DLC of any kind. The controversy around Evolve’s offering is just too strong, so any game releasing DLC around the same time is going to get lumped in with Turtle Rock Studios as money-grubbing vultures. I don’t envy Boon or Himmerick.
