PS3 gamer fury over Mortal Kombat DLC

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 23 June, 2011

UPDATED: WB responds, pricing incorrect.

UPDATE:

"Unfortunately, due to some technical issues, the Mortal Kombat Skarlet DLC will not be available to PSN users in Europe until next week," Mortal Kombat publisher Warner Bros. has told Eurogamer in a new statement.

"We apologise for any inconvenience but assure fans that Skarlet and her fatalities are on the way.

"To clarify the posted price of the Classic Skins pack on PSN is incorrect and is currently being rectified to £3.19 for UK users and €3.99 for European users.

"All users will have access to the compatibility pack and free classic skins – Cyrax and Sektor - once Skarlet is available."

ORIGINAL STORY:

European PlayStation 3 gamers are in uproar after the hotly anticipated Mortal Kombat downloadable content failed to launch as part of the PlayStation Store update yesterday.

Add-on character Skarlet was made available to US PS3 owners on Tuesday. She did not show during yesterday's EU Store update.

Adding insult to injury, the Klassic Skin Pack, $4.99 in the US, costs £5.49 in the UK and €6.99 in Europe.

Predictably, PS3 gamers have reacted angrily to the news on the EU PlayStation Blog.

"So, not only we pay double the price for the Mortal Kombat skin pack, but there's also no word of Skarlet?" wrote HerrSpiegelmann. "That does it. Mortal Kombat was the last multiplatform game that I get for the PS3. As a matter of fact, I'm considering selling my MK copy and get the 360 version instead. It's what I should have done in the first place. And by the looks of things, I know which company won't get a cent from me next generation."

"This is getting stupid," wrote angry urikobb3. "We finally get the Klassic Skin pack for MK (but at £5.49, when US only paid $5!) BUT we now don't have Skarlet, or the compatibility pack that includes Klassic Sektor/Cyrax."

Eurogamer has requested an explanation from Mortal Kombat publisher Warner Bros.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (74) Latest comment 11 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • telboy007 #1 11 months ago

    This age of gaming will forever be known as the "money grab era".

    I've already got copyright, hands off. ;)

  • Ryze #2 11 months ago

    Typical SCEE?

  • cowell #3 11 months ago

    So are these MK fans "venting their spleen"?

  • Velvetmeds #4 11 months ago

    At least they don't pay monthly sub

  • Osahi #5 11 months ago

    It's not really Sony that's to blame, but Warner Bros. They decide the pricings and release dates.

  • Darren #6 11 months ago

    What's that... something on the Euro PSN that is more expensive than on XBLA? Now, that is unusual, isn't it?!? ;)

    I noticed a few weeks ago that Beyond Good & Evil HD on the PS3 was selling for almost twice the price of the 360 version but it was quickly corrected and with the 30 days free PSN+ sub it worked out cheaper. I still don't understand though why the same publishers charge more for stuff on the PS3 than the 360. Is it greed or do Sony add a surcharge on top or something? Why?
    Edited by Darren at 23/06/11 @ 12:09

  • AmethystSword #7 11 months ago

    @1 Nah the odd thing is more expensive on PSN and the same for XBL.

    As for not releasing stuff I know how much that ticks me off >.< Espec hate when the developer puts it on the disc but you have to pay to unlock! *cough* crapcom *cough*

  • midnight_walker #8 11 months ago

    Is it really 'fury', or is it just 'whining'?

  • azic #9 11 months ago

    I'm selling MK on the PS3, and getting it on XBOX, fucking Joke. I now really Hope Sony Fail, they are really taking the Piss out of us in the UK/EURO.
    Why does the UK get raped like this all the time, Sony Piss on us and tell us its raining. I do love both consoles, but this is beyond a joke now.
    Edited by azic at 23/06/11 @ 10:40

  • mooseti #10 11 months ago

    That's why the 360 is the best console...

  • NotSoSlim #11 11 months ago

    How do you even know its making a loss? You just want to blame Sony even tho you probably explained the reason at start of post.

    Quite sad really

  • thepiedpiper #12 11 months ago

    It really is a bit of a pisstake.

  • Bigmac1910 #13 11 months ago

    To the publishers, you are pushing me further and further away from console gaming in general now, just too tired to deal with your greed.
    Edited by Bigmac1910 at 23/06/11 @ 10:48

  • coolbritannia #14 11 months ago

    I wonder if the average savings of cheaper Live content over PSN offset the £30 a year sub?

  • WinterSnowblind #15 11 months ago

    It's still overpriced on the Xbox. An unlock key for costumes shouldn't cost £5 neither should new characters. There just isn't enough content there to warrant that kind of price. If people are unhappy with it, they need to stop buying content like this. It's the only way we'll eventually get reasonably priced add-ons.

  • Spong #16 11 months ago

    Don't devs/publishers have to subsidise the data transfer on PSN? I'm sure I read somewhere that they have to pay a set fee for every gigabyte of data transferred in relation to their demos/DLC etc. If that's the case, maybe that's why stuff on PSN has a habit of being more expensive than their equivalents on XBL?

    Doesn't explain the missing Skarlet thing though.

  • dpb135 #17 11 months ago

    As guillotine said, Sony charge developers an amount when something is downloaded from the PSN, they are just covering the difference by bumping it up.

    You dont get free gaming for nothing, someone always pays for it

  • bikmate #18 11 months ago

    At least you guys have something to bitch about. My country doesn't even have a Store...

    Also DLC is evil.

  • anthonypappa #19 11 months ago

    smashed this off the wall in a rage over a cheesy tower fight - kept getting my ass pummeled...

    can i buy this second hand and use my unused online activision code? (PSN was down)

    in fact, i used the trail online and it was laggy as fuck, is it still like that?
    Edited by anthonypappa at 23/06/11 @ 10:59

  • NotSoSlim #20 11 months ago

    Exactly he explained then went on about its Sony putting price up to make money.

    Definately no fanboy motives there then. Sad day when the price of DLC is what makes people determine which consoles is better.

  • arcam #21 11 months ago

    This is not about cost covering, it's a simple matter of optimum price setting.

    Basically the publisher thinks it will earn more profit in the US by selling it cheaper, and more profit in Europe (and particularly on PS3) by setting the price higher.

    If they thought they could earn more by selling it cheaper they would, and likewise if they thought they could earn more by bumping the price up in the USA they would do that too. These are just what Warner believes to be the best price points for the various platforms and territories.

  • DrDamn #22 11 months ago

    @guillotine
    The PSN Bandwidth Charge argument doesn't actually make any sense in this case though. The cost (from the article you linked) is $0.16 per gigabyte. If this is just an unlock code then the size is going to be very small. Even if this was a 1 GB download then the price should still only be marginally higher to cover those costs.

    The sceptic in me suggests some of the inflated prices are due to wanting to include them in a future promotion (PSN+ or "special offer";).

  • M_of_the_sys #23 11 months ago

    "I think it's just Sony charging higher prices though, cos PSN is still making a loss and they have to try and turn that around somehow."

    Oh the lulz.

  • FireMonkey #24 11 months ago

    " As a matter of fact, I'm considering selling my MK copy and get the 360 version instead"

    Yeah, go on! Buy the game twice that'll show the money grabbing bastards!

  • rudedudejude #25 11 months ago

    So I guess you don't pay an annual xbl sub fee but you pay for it through higher general prices across the psn?

  • arcam #26 11 months ago

    As they have done on Xbox Live, where it's £2.09 cheaper.

    Yes, exactly. They believe if they sold it more expensively on Xbox Live they would earn less revenue. They don't believe this is true for PS3.

    If it's just the publishers setting the prices higher, why do MS manage to get better prices out of them consistently?

    Why do Ebuyer charge a different price than Dixons for the same products? Because they each choose the most profitable prices for their audience.
    Edited by arcam at 23/06/11 @ 11:14

  • arcam #27 11 months ago

    But what is your explanation for why this should be?

    They simply believe that on average, PS3 owners are willing to pay more. Just like they believe on average Europeans are willing to pay more than Americans.

    People are wondering why prices are higher on a service that's made a loss for 5 years in a row and is trying to make a profit - the answer isn't hard to work out.

    Setting a higher price doesn't guarantee more revenue. If it was that simple they'd set a higher price on Xbox too.
    Edited by arcam at 23/06/11 @ 11:19

  • pure_virtual #28 11 months ago

    I'm in Ireland and find the PSN prices generally the same if not lower (in euro) than the 360 prices. is it just the UK getting shafted on prices?

  • Mister-Wario #29 11 months ago

    guillotine: we get it, you don't like PS3. Now give a rest, for God's sake. Alarmingly, many people do like it.

  • arcam #30 11 months ago

    Why would they believe that?

    I'd imagine they have figures to back it up. DLC is a very important part of a game-maker's strategy now, and you can bet there has been lots of research done on setting price points.

    Why is a game £0.59 on the App Store but £9.99 on DSiWare? Because those are the right prices for their audiences, or so publishers believe.
    Edited by arcam at 23/06/11 @ 11:27

  • jag10 #31 11 months ago

    it's not really cheaper if your paying a subscription fee is it.

    'give me £30 a year and you'll get a 10% discount'.
    'err shouldn't it be free or something'
    'no'
    'how about dedicated servers'
    'no'
    ' what am i actually getting for my money then'
    'fucking 10% discount and an amazing service'
    'amazing service?'
    'yeah'
    'without dedicated servers'
    'yeah'
    'Ha, think i'll pass bye'

  • minimong #32 11 months ago

    If you dont like the price, dont buy.They will soon get the message.Trouble is some gamers will pay anything and the publishers know that.

  • sonicyoda #33 11 months ago

    The prices on PSN have been silly for a long time, but I'm glad some fans have decided to speak out. Things don't change if you shrug it off and say 'there's nothing you can do'.

    Blimey, that was a quick response! I wonder if those who paid a fiver will get some sort of refund to their PSN wallet.
    Edited by sonicyoda at 23/06/11 @ 12:02

  • bad09 #34 11 months ago

    Anyone remember unlocking costumes in fighers?

    The industry is so blinded by greed this gen and I doubt it will ever go back to the golden days of gaming (pre-internet gaming). So sad how gaming has fallen and it's only downhill from here :(

  • KimboDice #35 11 months ago

    Greedy bastards! Its true what 'guillotine' said most dlc is locked on the disc and to give some indication of what to look out for! When you download content check the download size of it if its 124.00 kb or 108.00 kb then your just unlocking the content on the disc. Here is an example!T.Cs Hawx on 360 has the Russian,USA and euro Pack for 400 MS points each or the air supremacy for 800 which is for all 3 packs! You would expect the supremacy pack to be the largest download size considering its a 3 in 1 pack but they all weigh in at 124.00kb which don't make sense. Why should anybody pay for extras that already exists on your disc its a scam.

  • iCubPro #36 11 months ago

    For the XBL fanboys bemoaning that XBL is better because it's cheaper, may I bring the iPhone into the equation and point out how multiplatform games between iOS and XBL Games on Windows Phone 7 are often around a quarter of the price on the iPhone... Guess that must make it the superior platform, huh? :-/

  • mattlee #37 11 months ago

    Wow. 'that's it - I'm buying a second copy!'. Clever.

  • arcam #38 11 months ago

    @guillotine

    I don't think I can convince you then. You seem to be implying they set a lower price on Xbox as a favour or something. That's simply the best price for maximising profit on Xbox, and likewise for the PS3 price.

  • patch #39 11 months ago

    @Guillotine you make some interesting and well backed up arguments, but in this case I think you have the wrong end of the stick.

    The US price on PSN for the Klassic Skins pack is $4.99, roughly equivalent to the 400 MS points price ($5). It's more the fact that $4.99 doesn't translate too well to £5.49 or €6.99. I doubt you'd get the same reaction if they were selling it for £3.40 / €4.80 which would be exactly the same as the US PSN / 360 market place.

    The complaints are being made on a regional basis rather than a platform one. As far as I'm aware, the publisher chooses what price to charge in each region and for Europe they've decided to charge a premium on the PSN where in the US the've made it comparable to the 360 price.

    Edit: Given the update, it seems PSN users in Europe get the best deal (if my currency calculations are correct). Also note that it was the publisher that released the statement. Still, gave us an hour and a half of good bitching in the comments :)
    Edited by patch at 23/06/11 @ 12:02

  • crustydribbler #40 11 months ago

    Anybody else think that they are testing the waters with these "pricing errors"?

  • jag10 #41 11 months ago

    so it's actually cheaper on PSN lol.

  • TopKatt #42 11 months ago

    All those furious players storming off to Game to change their game for the Xbox version are gonna feel pretty silly when they get back.

  • azic #43 11 months ago

    @TopKatt
    No we will not, because we would
    1. Have it already
    2. Not have had to complain at the blatant rip off price then be told its an Error?
    3. Not have to listen to BS about tech issues, tell me what tech issue? More fucking Sony lies.

    If anything ill be happy? Ill actually have friends to play it with now & no Sony BS. I feel pretty good thanks.

  • sfp_noodle #44 11 months ago

    I wonder if guillotine wants to mouth off again now that the price actually works out cheaper. He's gone surprisingly quiet mind.

  • TopKatt #45 11 months ago

    @azic

    Genuine question then, why did you buy the PS3 version in the first place?
    Edited by TopKatt at 23/06/11 @ 12:30

  • mss99 #46 11 months ago

    Really have to laugh after all the arguments over Xbox being cheaper and UK customers getting ripped off. The price was just wrong and is now much cheaper :)

  • M_of_the_sys #47 11 months ago

    @azic

    "More fucking Sony lies."

    "Ill actually have friends to play it with now & no Sony BS. I feel pretty good thanks."

    The statement was issued by WB, not Sony.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #48 11 months ago

    OH NOEEES!! guillotine will have to eat his words again as another piece of DLC is now cheaper on PSN than XBLA

    Funny as it happened to Beyond Good and Evil when he was mouthing off about that last week.
    Edited by GamesProgrammer at 23/06/11 @ 12:27

  • Psiloc #49 11 months ago

    Yeah, it's quite clever how Sony can bullshit and lie about something without saying a single solitary word.

  • Utilero #50 11 months ago

    @sfp_noodle guillotine/CharlieChan just wants to annoy Sony fanboys. Let him play his games. I guess Microsoft does not need to spend that much on marketing campaigns when they have such zealous followers. Guillotine is a hell of a MS evangelist.

  • Monkeyspoon #51 11 months ago

    Hopefully the new update from WB will shut up all the cry babies.

  • Haq-1 #52 11 months ago

    Where is guillotine and all his bitching now? HA

  • andijames #53 11 months ago

    @azic

    If you actually have friends to play it with now on xbox then why the hell did you not get it on that in the first place?

    Also. People make mistakes. Get over it. It's a fact of life. It's been rectified now so what's the problem?

  • Moonprince #54 11 months ago

    You've got to 'lol' at guillotine.

    All that effort put in, only for it to be for nothing.

    ul son!

  • FladgeMangle #55 11 months ago

    Here's a funny thing. Eurogamer's habit of headlining every negative Sony story they can find is actually paying off for PSN customers.

    First BG&E gets a big price drop and now this.

    Maybe they'll stop publishing them once they realise their mistake :-)

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #56 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 15:13:16 09-05-2012

  • PezzaDispenser #57 11 months ago

    "Get it over here!"

  • Brutal_Zen #58 11 months ago

    I agree with posters here that either comment that this is a "money grab era" and that in all actuality you are buying and paying for an activation key 'cause the content is already on the disc.

    Furthermore, I totally agree with those stating that those buying this kind of rip off content are keeping this kind of DLCs alive and kicking...

    It's a shame really. Especialy when you think back (o say 6 years before Xbox 360 and PS3) to an era of PS2s and Xboxs when you could unlock this kind of 'extras' just by completing a game. You could then say that it was all down to your ability or skills and have a feeling of proudness because you got those funky new extra's... That I sincerely miss...

    Damn how I miss the good old days...
    Edited by Brutal_Zen at 23/06/11 @ 14:16

  • Widge #59 11 months ago

    Sony dlc pricier in sony dlc is cheaper article. Interesting slant. I blame Sony.

  • Toothball #60 11 months ago

    Pfft, I've been waiting years for some things on the US PSN to arrive in Europe. What's so special about Mortal Kombat players? There is certainly legitimate beef to be had here, but it's something that happens frequently with PSN.

  • Tyrhinis #61 11 months ago

    I'm a bit shocked at all the negs guillotine got for making carefully-sourced, fact-based arguments, not insulting anyone and generally raising the quality of discussion in this thread. It's almost as if people downvote someone just because they don't agree with them - bad form.

    Edited: ... negged to -10. Interestingly, to downvote this you'd have to agree with the conclusion...
    Edited by Tyrhinis at 24/06/11 @ 13:27

  • rottingyoda #62 11 months ago

    Stop buying these rubbish DLC rip offs!

    Once upon a time 10-15quid expansion pack would give you something worth that value. Sometimes from 5-10 hours extra SP content.

    This is an unlock key for some character art. Complete Disgrace

  • kinth #63 11 months ago

    oh look another company tries to shaft the european market by charging more in europe.

  • man.the.king #64 11 months ago

    @Biker_Bob_1971

    ...I blame Sony. I always do."

    360 fanboys like you always do - even for something that went wrong on your beloved 360 or XBL.

  • patch #65 11 months ago

    Again, this story wasn't about differences between PSN and XBox marketplace prices, but between the US price and the EU price. The US prices were the same on both platforms but there was no parity across the PSN stores. The only negs I gave were to people making more out of this than it warranted. Can't believe the comments went down the road they have done.

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #66 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 16:59:10 06-02-2012

  • man.the.king #67 11 months ago

    @Biker_Bob_1971

    "Funny that I'm called an Xbox fanboy since I always found that the prices on XBLA are lower than on PSN."

    Not just that. I know your post history, and from that I can gather what subjective perspective your posts stem from.

    "I simply do not like the PS3 nor Sony for my own personal reasons. That doesn't make me a fanboy, man.the.king."

    And it's this history of glorifying everything MS and condemning everything Sony that gets you called a 360 fanboy, who doesn't like the PS3 because he is a 360 fanboy and therefore feels the need to slag off the PS3 and everything related to Sony PS3. This is not just a preference, this is fanboyism.

    Fine with me that you choose not to recognize it though.

    "Or is it to defend the purchase of your PS3?? "

    I'm quite happy with my purchase of a PS3 Thank You. Fine enough that I do not feel the need to slag off the "other" console every chance I get. You on the other hand seem to feel the need to criticize everything PS3-related as often as you can. Just like coolbritannia and guillotine.

    And BTW, I do have a 360, a launch model from 2006. Still going strong. And a Wii. And a PSP.
    Edited by man.the.king at 23/06/11 @ 21:52

  • brod #68 11 months ago

    PSN's suckiness is a large part of why 360 is better for multiplatform games.

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #69 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 16:59:10 06-02-2012

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #70 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 16:59:10 06-02-2012

  • Monkeyspoon #71 11 months ago

    Wow there are a few angry xbox fanboys on here? I know why though. It's because their 360 hardly has any games being released for it. Mine is under an inch of dust because there are no decent exclusives until Gears 3 but then there are no other games for it after.

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #72 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 16:59:10 06-02-2012

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #73 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 16:59:10 06-02-2012

  • Cosmoskramer #74 11 months ago

    I am sick and tired of this bull some of these devs most think we are morons,BG&E HD anyone ? Just say we tryied to con you and Unfortunatly after the response we decided to change the pricing.THE END....