Video Games Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Core Fighters

Team Ninja has officially announced that the PS3 version of Dead or Alive (DOA) 5 Ultimate, in addition to the retail priced and collector’s edition, will feature a “Free to Play” (F2P) version they've titled DOA5U: Core Fighters. Four characters (Kasumi, Ayane, Hayate, and Hayabusa), all fighting stages, as well as every game mode will be offered free of charge (the exception being Story mode) for an unlimited amount of gameplay and time. Furthermore, with the F2P version you will not only be able to play online against any opponent regardless of if they purchased the full priced game or not but also your opponents will not be aware that you have the F2P version (just in case you were worried about being labeled a "freeloader"). Now being able to play a portion of a full video game for free isn’t a new concept for Team Ninja who more recently released a demo version of DOA5+ for the Playstation Vita to the public with essentially all the same features as the full retail version, but here’s the groundbreaking option in Ultimate’s Free to Play version: If you want to play as additional fighters but don’t want to buy the full-price game; now you won’t have to. In the Free to Play version you can buy the story mode and/or fighters as separate entities for a fraction of the price. Sparking the attention of gamers and gaming companies alike the real question is: “Is it too good to be true?”. The answer: not necessarily but there is a catch.

When Team Ninja initially announced for the original Dead or Alive 5 that you could purchase costume downloadable content (DLC) packs for the fighters, I grimaced at the price for most bundles ($5 for 4 costumes) but remained silent on the topic because in my opinion a player having to purchase additional costumes for a game isn’t a crime. The fact of the matter is that outfits are extraneous to the core game itself although many would argue that the lovely DOA girls' bikinis are a major “asset” to the gameplay mechanics. However, once the DLC crosses over into the character domain as is the case of the Free to Play version, allowing gamers to buy the fighters they want can be both a good and bad thing. Taken at face value this concept appears to be a great idea. To veteran players who have settled into a groove in the original DOA 5, more often times than not they stick to a select array of characters and find the idea of purchasing a handful of fighters for a fraction of the price (all non-DLC costumes included) a dream. Although they can benefit from this, for the top competitive gamers, it may hinder their “game” so to speak. A recent update has made it very clear that, outside of Arcade, Online, Time Attack, and Survival mode, gamers will only be able to verse those fighters that are default and that they have bought in the F2P version. This means no practicing or learning your opponents’ moves outside of the 4 previous mentioned modes which, in a game where being able to read your opponent is vital, can pose a problem. Therefore, I would say that in terms of DOA veterans, only the casual gamers will truly get the most out of this version. Now for the newcomers things get even messier. How you may ask?

To put things in perspective, let’s use simple math. The retail price of the game is estimated to cost $40-$60 which, despite some disgruntled fans unwilling to rebuy another version, is fair in my opinion from a consumer standpoint. Looking at some numbers for the F2P version, Story mode alone will cost $15 which, unless there are any additions or changes from the original DOA 5, is not really going to spark the interest of most returning gamers so let’s just put that aside for the time being. Now an individual fighter costs $4, a seemingly miniscule amount of money right? Wrong. Unless you’re a die-hard DOA ninja player (i.e. all of the default fighters), chances are there will be at least several of the 25 other diverse DOA characters on the roster you’re going to want either for individual or tag team gameplay. Then take another fact into consideration: There are fighters in DOA 5 Ultimate that weren't in the original DOA 5. Even if you are an avid tournament player, few would pass up the opportunity to try out new fighters and some would argue that the limited time Team Ninja will offer them up for free play (also if and when they do so) may not be enough time to get the feel of the fighter. This leads to my prediction that the new fighters will be the most purchased DLC fighters on the Free to Play model. This means that if someone were to purchase all of the new fighters (which latest screenshots have shown a minimum of 5) the total cost shoots up to $20 (already putting a dent in what you would have paid for retail price). Buying 5 additional fighters on top of that puts you at $40, 15 total at $60, and all 25 fighters at $100 (essentially paying for 2 copies of the game)! Now this of course seems absurd and many would hopefully just buy the retail version before it got to that point but unfortunately there is a particular player who can easily fall prey to this trap many have referred to as "microtransactions" (i.e. companines allowing you to buy portions of the game at a reduced price) which, as you might have already guessed, is the same crowd they’re trying to bring in with this F2P version: newcomers of course!

If you’re new to this series and want to give DOA 5 Ultimate a test run to see what it’s like, Core Fighters will most likely appeal to you. You’ll learn to understand the basic fighting game mechanics, how characters interact with environments, how they counter attacks, etc… which is all fine and well. The issue though is that you don’t have the luxury that veteran players have in that you neither know which characters you enjoy playing the most as nor will you know for sure if you just want to play the game using the 4 default ninja fighters. So as is human nature, this will likely prompt some newcomers’ curiosities of these “locked” characters (after all, we want what we don’t have). Knowing for a fact that Team Ninja will be advertising these DLC characters like it’s no one’s business and making them as appealing as possible, using them free for a limited amount of time may lead you to the realization that the fighter is worth the $4 purchase. After all what’s $4 compared to a fully priced game? A week later however, another DLC fighter pops up and you've decided that this new fighter interests you and you drop another $4. Pretty soon it starts adding up and you’ve either met or exceeded the retail price. And this is also assuming that you don’t decide later on down the F2P route that you’d like to play the story mode after all! It is unfortunately a very clever way of taking advantage of the newcomers to this series. Even buying just one additional character before realizing that you’d like to purchase the full game already has you paying more than what you could have gotten for retail price. And for those complaining that the real “trap” is making a consumer buy a full priced game that they may not like or will get bored of, consider this thought: DLC = NO refunds or selling the video game online. All transactions are final. Puts things in a new perspective no?

Given its special circumstance of being a game that is an extension of the original, I do think that the F2P model is appropriate for Ultimate in both catering to veterans and attracting people new to the series who are not willing to pay for a fully priced game. Having said that, should this “Free to Play” prove to be a marketing success, the direction of the already evolving video game industry will further be pushed in the direction of microtransactions. I shudder at the thought of a future where there are no retail games and the only way you can progress through a game is by purchasing Level X DLC. And let’s face it, it is far more easier to get consumers to buy $100 worth of DLC content over time than it is to make them buy a $100 copy of the game at a Gamestop. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the ultimate “catch” behind the seemingly innocent Free to Play model.

Final Thoughts: Guaranteed for PS3 and waiting simply on the final word of Microsoft for the XBox 360 version, DOA5U: Core Fighters will be available on the PS Store the same day the official game is set to be released in the US on 9/3 and it is likely to garner a lot of attention. However, unless you’re a casual gamer who is absolutely set on playing a select few of the DOA fighters, you may want to reconsider the Free to Play purchasing route. Yes it gives you a top fighter game for free and allows you the freedom of buying the amount of content that you want out of the game, but if you’re not careful the microtransactions will lead you to spending more than retail price. A good approach would be to view F2P as a demo and, if you couldn’t justify buying more than 4 or 5 additional characters after a month or so and there’s no doubt in your mind that story mode is out of the question (because we never considered the notion that TN could have added/tweaked the original DOA 5 one), go with the individual fighter purchase.

What are your thoughts on the Free to Play model? Comment in the section below.