Capcom's response to BBB complaints defends disc-locked content

Downloadable content is one of the hottest, most rage-inducing topics you can bring up among gamers today.  Completely understandable, of course, but what can you do about it, really?

Well, not everyone keeps their anger confined to gaming forums, and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is seeing a rise in complaints over consumer abuse by companies such as EA and Capcom.  In Capcom's case, consumer ire stems mostly from their rampant use of disc-locked content, encompassing titles like Street Fighter X Tekken, Asura's Wrath, and games from the Resident Evil series.

In most cases, these complaints go unanswered by the companies in question, but Capcom, surprisingly enough, has reportedly been sending out letters to a few individuals.  Not surprisingly, the letter sounds pretty generic and actually implies Capcom sees little distinction between standard DLC and (locked) on-disc content.  Here is the letter from BBB case #57217509, acquired by Cinema Blend:

At Capcom, we value our customers and make every effort to resolve customer complaints. We are sorry to hear that [censored] was so disappointed with the Street Fighter x Tekken game (''SFxT''), and would like to respond to his complaints.

SFxT has an enormous amount of content, fully developed and available for play and enjoyment immediately on-disc. Given the 38 characters available for full play, as well as multiple play modes, SFxT provides great value for all players from day one. While Capcom is sorry that some of its fans are not happy about the chosen method of delivery for the DLC, we believe that this method will provide more flexible and efficient gameplay throughout the game's lifecycle. There is effectively no distinction between the DLC being ''locked'' behind the disc and available for unlocking at a later date, or being available through a full download at a later date, other than delivery mechanism.

We hope that this addresses [censored]'s concerns.

Not all on-disc content appears completed, as seen when gamers hacked copies of Marvel VS Capcom 3 and revealed partial data for DLC characters Jill Valentine and Shuma.  In some cases, like Asura's Wrath, content is completed and then removed. 

Other BBB complaints point to Capcom's false advertising, like pair-play, a feature in Street Fighter X Tekken that allowed players to team up locally and play together online.  This feature was missing from Street Fighter X Tekken on Xbox 360, and Capcom stated post-launch they had no plans of patching it in.  While the industry giant hasn't responded to this matter via BBB, Capcom's Christian Svensson noted pair-play's inclusion in the 360 manual was an "oversight" and due to how Xbox LIVE works, this feature is impossible to implement for 360 versions.