Resident Evil 4’s anticipated Mercenaries mode got added to the critically acclaimed third-person shooter today – and so did a bunch of microtransactions. Excluded from the original release – presumably to avoid negative articles like this one from emerging – the Weapon Exclusive Ticket Upgrades allow you to skip some of the game’s grind.
Here’s what the official product descriptions for these £2.49/$2.99 in-app purchases describe: “With this, you'll have access to a weapon's exclusive upgrade at any time, regardless of the weapon's level. Not only that, but once unlocked, the upgrade itself is free of charge!” While the tickets can be bought individually, you can also grab a bundle of five for £7.99/$9.99.
Now it should be noted that you don’t actually need these, and everything can be unlocked in-game by completing side-quests for the Merchant – this is more of a fast-track thing. But unsurprisingly, social media is already awash with intense criticism of Capcom’s decision here. The biggest issue for us, to be honest, is how the microtransactions have been added a couple of weeks after the game’s release – sneaky, that.
[source store.playstation.com]
Comments 99
I don't see the fuss. Does it in any way affect how a person can play the game if they ignore them?
Some of the other RE titles had things you could buy or you could unlock it yourself. Them doing the same for RE4 is no surprise.
I'm extremely disappointed in Capcom. For all their well-deserved success and goodwill, this goes to show that they aren't above the usual publisher greedy bull****.
They just couldn't help themselves, could they?
They've offered weapon unlocks for every game since RE2R, so none of this is new. Don't like them? Don't buy them!
I don't think anyone really is happy but they also did this for the remakes of RE2 and RE3. So I'm not really surprised by it tbh.
DMC5 had the same thing. While it is a dumb thing to add, they're easy to ignore.
Don't really have a problem with this. It's optional and it's not like it's a online competitive game or anything .
One has to be really narrow-minded to shout haphazardly "just don't buy them", as if history hadn't already taught us that this kind of mechanic always end up impacting everyone by artificially extending the grind for anyone who doesn't cough up.
These things have no place in games, especially full price releases. Period.
"Got a selection of good things on sale for ya, stranger"
So do these microtransactions mean going for professionals S+ rank trophy in 4 and a half hours is now more easier. If true it sort of defeats the purpose of a fun challenging platinum
@Americansamurai1 @jmac1686 @EvilSilentFrame @BearsEatBeets @Total_Weirdo the issue is that it affects the grind to get them ingame.
Also there’s no reason to offer a €10 instant upgrade cheat when they could’ve easily made it an optional ingame modifier or difficulty option for free.
It’s basically selling you a toggle that can be achieved through accessing the developer menu on pc.
@RBMango
It’s a fully single player game. What’s wrong if they release some dlc. There are people like me who sometimes buy these. Like the extra treasure map which I paid for only £3. I’m enjoying it. It’s like they’re forcing you to buy it but we know it’s not true. I mean they can’t please everyone.
It's in store instead of in-game? Then it's a non issue for me.
These days it seems the higher ups of most companies want some sort of monetization, so what I look into is how it's implemented instead of whether or not it exists.
For everyone saying "Just don't buy them" this is why companies get away with greed. We just ignore it. Let them know, by however method that you dislike this and do not want it.
They have been doing this for a minute though, haven’t they? At least since 7, because I just replayed that and there’s all the special coins you can buy. It honestly doesn’t bother me, they’re tough games for some people and if this makes it a bit easier for them, who cares. They quietly add them, they’re not obtrusive, bit of a non-issue if you ask me.
@RBMango "I'm extremely disappointed in Capcom. For all their well-deserved success and goodwill"
Out of interest, what did you make of all the armor DLCs in Monster Hunter World back in 2018? Or buying skill points in DMC5? Or pay to skip in RE2 Remake?
So this is a EA game suddenly?
Game was so good. That’s all I have to say
I’m with the ‘just don’t buy it’ crowd. I literally finished the game 10 minutes ago and i didn’t have any problems upgrading the weapons I needed. If you don’t like that they’ve added DLC then you can easily ignore it, but there are people out there that have less time for gaming that might find this useful. At the end of the day no one is forcing you to buy it and it being there doesn’t affect your enjoyment of the game.
It's bizarre to see anyone defend things like this with reasoning that completely side steps the deception the article brings up. If you are going to put microtransactions in a game period it's bad and it's clearly a form of pay to win designed to lure the frustrated player. Some of these upgrades can drastically impact difficulty. Newsflash: you are defending yourself being seen as prey. Oh and just in case it's completely foreign to your allegiance and submissive way of thinking: you can both like something and offer criticism of it. Especially when things change.
"You have to understand. Most people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured and so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it."
The fact that these were shadow dropped After the review cycle is slimey and intentional. Couple this with the fact that they conveniently made the aiming accuracy in this game sluggish and lagged.....its just even more suspect.
Too much greed in the world. This is the exact type of game, that this worst type of pay to win microtransaction, just shouldn't happen.
If you want to humble these corporate shills, then reviews should be redone taking pay to win aspects into account as they have been in other games.
WHAT ARE THE 3 NUMBERS ON THE BACK OF YOUR CREDIT CARD STRANGER
Gamers are so clueless and out of touch with reality. The people spending money on micro transactions are subsidizing your gaming and keeping you from whining about games being $120 if they kept up with inflation over the past few decades.
Factor in this game keeping that old $60 price tag, and yes releasing Mercenaries Mode and presumably Separate Ways without an additional price tag, tactical move or not, AND eventually VR mode at no extra cost (as well as VR for Village being free), what are you all complaining about?
Gaming is still a luxury hobby. Games are more expensive to make than ever. Moves like this, which no one is forcing one to partake in, are ways to keep it more affordable for everyone to enjoy.
What boggles my mind is how anyone can be even remotely surprised by this. It’s Capcon, they’ve been doing this for years…
@PenguinLtd because it makes the game easier. Some of these upgrades for the weapons double ammo capacity, double power. Not to mention makes a knife indestructible, and later game weapons have infinite ammo....
@SilverShamrock if anyone's clueless it's you 😂
You can't honestly believe that reasoning? How do you explain games that don't have mtx? They just magically break even yeah?
@Cherip-the-Ripper
Think on this for more than a second. Some games are more expensive to make than others. Some companies are bigger than others. Some games are made by teams larger than others. Not every game is created under equal conditions.
And most of all, the big games help pay for the other games that are riskier, will make less money, and may simply be flat out losers. The difference has to be made up somewhere.
This is a big old "who cares?"
@Jammsbro forget about the fact that this game has been on every single console since GameCube?
The "don't like them, don't buy them" attitude is exactly how the industry got to where its at with all of the skin and live service crap!
But this is just classic Capcom garbage after they drop a banger to satisfy the suits, anyone buying this stuff is silly and I'm not really sure anyone actually IS buying this crap.
This does seem to be way more aggressive than the other stuff they've done though, which always something to be mindful of. These companies can go from hero to villain fast.
@KundaliniRising333 I don't believe having a 3 dollar micro transaction to help either bad or impatient players would have impacted any review scores.
I’d be willing to buy the ability to unlock trophies as normal in Village VR Capcom. Just saying.
@KundaliniRising333 What do you care if they make the game easier for someone else???
Seriously, what's the problem? Why does the way someone else enjoys the game bother you? If someone wants to play with nothing but the rocket launcher and they wanna pay ten bucks to do so, how exactly does that effect you?
Personally I could not care less. I don't personally buy much dlc to begin with and I'm not buying this, but im not mad at Capcom for trying to make a few extra bucks especially when they are giving free VR updates to games and are one of the only companies releasing games on a regular basis.
Ill just skip Mercenaries for this good luck.
And I'm over here like dang they didn't add more trophies.
@LeeHarveyOzgod the success of predatory microtransactions have absolutely affected us all. Look at the state of gaming today and how nearly every title attempts some form of pay for content in their games that is either pay to win, or content that is held back from the game to charge addl for it . It has 100% changed the entire gaming landscape. It is become something now where games are actually designed around a certain level of grind and then transactions are introduced, usually for some form of in-game or out of game or both types of currency period so don't tell me that this doesn't affect me and somehow I'm just poo-pooing on other people's enjoyment of a game that's absurd.
Think big picture here
Capcom been doing this to Monster Hunter too. I don't mind it that much, since it mostly cosmetic stuff. I wouldn't even mind buying a few if it weren't overpriced af.
@JSnow2 exactly and well said
@JSnow2 How is this aggressive? They’ve just put it on the PlayStation Store? It’s not like it’s shoved in your face while you’re playing the game. I guarantee that a lot of people wouldn’t even notice that Capcom added the DLC if it wasn’t for articles like this.
@KundaliniRising333 micro transactions have been scaled back a lot over the last few years. Relax. This is a big pile of nothing, and you didn't answer my question on how someone else's enjoyment of a game effects you?
You've presumably probably already beat the game...
@KundaliniRising333 You also have a special sense of entitlement as it pertains to your views on content being held back to be sold later.
That's absolutely the developers decision to make. Again, I don't buy much dlc because I've usually moved on from a game by then or think it's just junk to begin with.
But I'm not getting mad at a company for releasing a character skin and I'm missing out on it because I don't wanna pay 5 bucks.
Ultimately you vote with your wallet and I think in doing so micro transactions have scaled way back to mostly cosmetic stuff or crap to make a second playthrough more fun. There is nothing predatory here, it's just junk some people might be dumb enough to buy.
They know very well that the ideal route for the S+ speedruns relies on getting the infinite Chicago Sweeper, so naturally the upgrade ticket is essential. Normally you don't get to unlock it until Chapter 7 so speedrunning the Village (especially on Professional and limited saves for S+) is tough, but with this pay-to-win ticket you can start blasting infinite ammo as soon as Chapter 2. They know what they're doing.
In the end, people who put in the effort to beat this normally are presented with a fair challenge at no extra cost, so I don't have any complaints myself since that's the camp I fall in. P2W is always scummy, but as long as the base game is fun and balanced it's all very easy to ignore.
Because it's not like the difficulty of these runs is unfair to a point where you feel as though Capcom is luring most people towards the MTX - just the lazies, and those who genuinely can't handle it due to some personal limitation. Whichever the case is - their experience, their money.
Fans are thrilled by microtransactions about as often as people notice them.
If you are going to put micro transactions in a game this is the way to do it imo. As long as all content is assessable from open play without stupidly high xp requirements I’m okay with them.
@clvr Well said
For a remake MTs for fast tracking something I don’t think is a big deal
Adding them after release is super shady
Seen way worse with MTs
They have been putting all these kinds of things in all the recent RE games. Easily ignored so i don't care to be honest.
@bkeswick MHW didn't have any armour DLC outside the ones you get in the expansion. Rise has some cosmetic DLC but that's it really just cosmetic.
@KundaliniRising333 The aiming is fine on PS5 the issue is you with it and the deadzone issue a Xbox issue is meant to be fixed in this patch. If reviews were redone the scores would be the same as the MTX don't impact the game and the game hasn't been designed around them, if the game was the same but the MTX didn't exist no one would care about the so called grind just like they haven't cared about it for the past 2 weeks.
@WallyWest it's literally been documented to equate to what feels like an over 200ms input lag on ps5 and higher on xbox.
Sure, you can of course get used to the poor settings just like in killzone or cyberpunk or even saints row. I have been there and I get it, but don't discount fact.
Just because your eyes adjust to darkness, it doesn't make it daytime....
@Gaia093 not for nothing but how many people are really out there trying to speed run games??? I'll be modest and let's say 10k people... That's a drop in the bucket compared with what this game will sell
@KundaliniRising333 I agree with everything you’ve said here. Microtransactions are a blight to video games, and I tend to avoid most games that have them. They’re charging us money for what used to be cheat codes or in-game unlocks.
In this case, though, I’m not as bothered as I would usually be.
If, for example, this was Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, where reviews noted how stingy the in-game economy was, with a big grind for unlocks. Activision added microtransactions a month after release, and their scummy scheme to defraud players was revealed, adding them in later to avoid mention of them in reviews and avoid the description on the ESRB warning label.
With Resident Evil 4 remake, I haven’t read any reviews that mentioned an unbalanced in-game economy. As long as Capcom doesn’t patch in a change to the current currency gains, then the microtransactions just become paid cheat codes. Still scummy, but, if ignored, will not affect the overall game since it is single-player and you’d only be harming yourself by buying them.
It in no way means that the method of adding in microtransactions after release isn’t bad. It really screws over people that avoid games with microtransactions, either just on principle, or have a mental health condition that makes them susceptible to being taken advantage of.
Hopefully no one will buy them, to send a message to developers that it isn’t worth the extra effort to put them in a game. 🤞
@KundaliniRising333 Digital Foundry couldn't detect anything and i think a big problem is most don't know what dead zones actually are, not saying you're one of those as you're not but i've seen many complain about "dead zones" but are describing something that isn't dead zones. The games default aiming and camera control settings are awfully done and it requires a fair amount of tuning but it helps a great deal.
@RBMango calm down karen they're just giving you the option to grind or to unlock every thing by paying if you don't have the time (wich a lot of adults don't have ) no need to be "disappointed" ,capcom is in the business of making money buddy.
@LeeHarveyOzgod You're thinking of actual speedrunning there, which has nothing to do with this.
That is highly optimized and requires hundreds if not thousands of hours of practice. The kind of challenge RE4R offers is the developer telling you "hey, can you beat the game kinda fast?" which is leagues below what actual speedrunning requires, and just about anyone can give it a shot or even accomplish it first try with a good plan.
@clvr one has to be narrow-minded to be complaining about stuff like this, capcom is in the business of making money not making angry videogame karen's happy.
@Leonhart i was buddy, i dont have the time to unlock everything in the game i rather pay 5 bucks, you an a lot of people need to understand the world doesn't revolve around you .
@darkswabber explain to me how does it affect the grind if you would be so kind
@Moj500 these people are so goddamn entitled bro they're just a bunch of karen's complaining about everything they see on the internet, mots of them didn't even bought the game, i can't stand them.
@SilverShamrock i couldn't have said it better myself good gentleman.
I'm glad that the community is upset about it. All publishers should be given the same standards. Capcom is no exception.
@LordBakemono said the guy calling everyone "Karen" 😂
Tell me how I'm supposed to take you seriously, buddy 😂
Your reply is on another level of ignorance and submission, really. Keep being satisfied with whatever crap you're given, but don't lower other people's standards to your incredibly low bar, please.
@Flaming_Kaiser who cares
@WallyWest agreed, is definitely not dead zone buts certainly a calibration issue. You can best see how bad it is when you attach the laser sight and then move it around. Even with acceleration at max and look speeds adjusted. It's like lag by design almost.
@LeeHarveyOzgod just ignore the guy, he's insufferable, he hasn't even bought the game supposedly bc he's "waiting" for capcom to patch the game
@SilverShamrock the audience for games is also larger than ever. Hence so are the profits, even without mtx.
I don't like it, but if they are going to do this I would like the option to turn them off in my game if I want to. Simply seeing them every time I play a game leaves a bad taste and I wish there was a law forcing a microtransaction visibility toggle.
This is a non-issue. I was able to earn two tickets within a single playthrough and I'm sure its possible to earn even more. Extra options are never a bad thing for those who want to splurge on the weapon exclusive upgrades. You don't have to buy it, plain and simple.
OH FFS CAPCOM
Reminds me of when Activision pulled the same stunt with Crash Team Racing a few years back 💀
This would make going for s+ much easier and can’t say I’m not half tempted. What’s all the fuss about anyway the game is great and who cares if there are optional mtx’s.
This is interesting, the microtransactions are money grabbing, that's a fact, being used by Capcom, Bethesda, Square Enix, EA, the lot... but the differences are mainly in who you support, if is done by Capcom, "it's fine, just don't buy it or ignore it, get over it", but if is done by Square Enix, "those greedy *****, money grabbers, they deserve to burn in hell forever"... people at the end, this is a stream revenuer any developer, just say that you love such developer and you don't care if they leave you skint, but shut up for another one who is not your darling...
"Not only that, but once unlocked, the upgrade itself is free of charge!" Funny wording there Capcom, really funny.
@get2sammyb It's a complete non story, they've done this since the RE2 Remake and even Devil May Cry and these were also added after launch.
If you buy these you still have to unlock the weapons and upgrade their stats anyway. Nothing here detracts from your experience in the game, the weapons are no harder to upgrade than in the original and these tickets are easily obtainable in game as well and not even needed to get to the upgrades either
@darkswabber Does it though? People were saying the same thing about DMC5's mtx, then the game came out and it was the same as prior entries.
@Beerheadgamer82 you can easily get tickets in game to do exactly that anyway, this changes absolutely nothing in that regard
@PeakUnagi exactly, all those here saying its pay to win etc and the nonsense about the Pro S+ run. You'd still have to unlock the Chicago Sweeper anyway and by then would probably have 2 or 3 tickets through normal gameplay
Sorry but I had no need for them. Dmc5 has them and never thought about them.
It's not pay to win, but this promotes pay to not grind. I am glad I didn't pick this game up day 1/pre order and waited for the dust to settle. Still remember getting screwed buying GT7 day 1.
These kinda things used to be free cheat codes. But of course, the industry charges extea for them now. Just like paying extra for the original soundtrack that already existed, or for extra costumes which used to be unlockable by playing the game.
I still don't get why people would pay to skip the point of the game. Isn't the steady grind of unlocking the upgrades part of the fun for modes like this?
I actually just can’t understand the psychology of gamers who buy a game and actually want to pay to fast track earning things the game is designed to make you play to earn.
What, in the end, are you playing it for?
Sleazy as hell move, but I was going to wait for RE4 remake to drop down to $20 New anyways.
@LordBakemono A lot of people here alone I guess.
@Orpheus79V The defence was used in with microtransactions and now it's more normal to have to buy unlocks then having a option to unlock them like with older games. 🤪
So it seems only ports and remasters are safe from microtransactions at this point. Remakes and new games are all filled with them.
@LordBakemono Seriously. Would love to see how all these people would do if they owned their own business.
@JAMes-BroWWWn So let's look at other industries. Let's say we are looking at blenders. One company makes 3 blenders, all different prices. You have a base model. An extra model with a couple features you'll never use and a pro model with a plethora of crap for blender enthusiasts.
This is capitalism. Nobody is crying about the blender company charging more for features that "should be" already in the blender, and when I say "should be" these are features people feel they are entitled to when they really aren't entitled to anything but what comes in the package that cost 60 dollars.
Companies have the right to charge people for stupid crap and if you want the stupid crap you pay for it, but nobody leave Walmart pouting about the blender with more features costing more money.
@Old-Red I guess grocery stores shouldn't be allowed to fill the register aisle with a bunch of impulse crap either? But they do, Why? because people buy it. Nobody needs all that junk so I guess they shouldn't be allowed to put it there and bait you into buying it? Take control of your own actions.
This is real simple people, it's called supply and demand. They wouldn't waste their time on this crap if you didn't buy it. I'll bet you 9/10 people crying about micro transactions on this site buy them constantly and instead of being mad at yourself for being dumb you wanna pass the buck .... Literally to someone else.
@RainbowGazelle Crazy, the world today isn't the same as it was in 1950!
@InsaneWade the sad irony is... I guarantee you, the people who cry about micro transactions are the people who buy them.
@Totheteeth why do you care how someone else enjoys a game???
darkswabber wrote:
While I generally agree with this statement in 99% of cases. Resident Evil has been famous for the amount of grinding to unlock outfits and things like that often needing many full playthroughs. Which was already dumb imho.
While personally i'd rather they just made it easier to unlock these normally, if they aren't going to change that at least this gives a choice.
@LeeHarveyOzgod Well duh. Not sure what that non-statement has to do with anything I said. But you do seem to be on some crazy tirade here against anyone not rolling over and accepting the gaming industy's latest gouging.
I've spent more on worthless cosmetic dlc than necessary..Horse Armor, anyone?
Also quite a few on Xbox Avatar Clothes, Hairs, Bits and Bobs. So everyone acting like this is news most not have been gaming since 2005.
@LeeHarveyOzgod this people think companies exist just to please them, and still they complain even when they get free sh**t, they moan about the rain effects, ada's voice, the totally non invasive microtransaction and i'm sure they'll find a new thing to complain tomorrow.
@LeeHarveyOzgod your comparison is deeply flawed I'm afraid. A grocery store doesn't charge $50+ dollars to simply get through the door.
I'll make a more fair comparison of monetisation in full price games for you if you like. Imagine going to a book store to buy a book, say... Catcher in the Rye, that should be right up your alley. You sit down in a nice cafe to read your book only to find the book store clerk has followed you and abruptly places a menu between you and the book you have already paid for and are trying to read. This menu has a wealth of options offering you a quick explanation of all the book's plot points, including the ending for an abundance of small separate fees. There's one big difference here though, you would be able to tell the clerk no thank you and that you don't want to be bothered and want to focus on the book you've already paid money to enjoy.
I was simply suggesting it would be nice to have an option to say no thank you in games in general when they pester you with microtransactions. This game might not be as bad as others, and it's not a major burden for me or anything, but the option to hide the store link or any monetisation would be nice.
@Old-Red You must not buy groceries...
In this case you literally have to click a button that takes you to the PlayStation store. You act like the game stops and an ad pops up like YouTube to try and get you to buy a Leon Kennedy outfit.
I don't know how much easier it could be to avoid, and seriously, if this is a major burden to you then I'd imagine you'll have a hard time in the real world...
@JSnow2 i never buy this crap.. Even Watch Dogs Legion had some crap buy currency in game for 50 dollars or something so you can get skins and stupid crap that really only means something to the gamer. its all CRAPOLA! and them doing this makes me even more determined to complete the game without the crap "easy" side cheats. No one plays games anymore its always side step, "let me do this the easy way" Thats why modded controllers, and USB hack sticks are flooding the market, some gamers are weak trolls and figure that the path to winning is buying crap and getting modded controllers. It makes me wanna vomit at times......
@CARBONFIBER trust me they will release "RE 4 REMAKE" special edition with all of the stuff included and gamers will be having that surprised pikachu face!!
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