Vader/Yoda DLC for Soulcalibur IV

By Robert Purchese Published 20 October, 2008

This Thursday for about three quid.

Namco Bandai will finally be offering Darth Vader and Yoda as downloadable Soulcalibur IV characters this week.

From Thursday, the legendary Sith pin-up will be available for 400 Microsoft Points (GBP 3.40 / EUR 4.80) from Xbox Live, while the little green Jedi leader will cost USD 4.99 (Euro price TBC) on the PlayStation Store.

Previously, Vader and Yoda were restricted to PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game respectively.

Soulcalibur IV also offers the Secret Apprentice from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed as a playable fighter.

Pop over to our Soulcalibur IV review to find out more.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (51) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • SeesThroughAll #1 3 years ago

    Everybody should boycott this "offer" to teach greedy Namco a lesson about charging people for content that's existing in the disc.

  • mjhoward #2 3 years ago

    For that price, Vader can stay locked on the disc thankyouverymuch.

    I would glady pay 800 M$ to lock the green muppet and that twat the aprentice out of the game, if you're reading this Namco, get on it.

  • chrisjm #3 3 years ago

    any new achievements to go with the vader?

  • binky #4 3 years ago

    SHOCK!!!

  • Gnort #5 3 years ago

    Namco is really challenging EA for most odious use of DLC, aren't they? No doubt this will be a 128k patch to unlock the content already included on your disc.

    It would have been a far better idea to have excluded Yoda, Vader, the Apprentice and all the Star Wars levels from the game and sold them all for 400MSP/$5. That way, it would have looked like great value for those people who wanted Star Wars characters in Soul Calibur, and it would have allowed people who didn't (like me) to completely exclude them. I have had to stop using the random level select because I kept ending up with knights fighting samurai on board a star destroyer.

  • Stu #6 3 years ago

    That is extortionate.

  • Fubdub #7 3 years ago

    I read that as as Wander/Yorda and was getting all gitty and excited.

  • Byblos1 #8 3 years ago

    I love how they're saying it's due to the 'overwhelming fan response' when everyone already knows Vader was on the 360 disc and Yoda was on the PS3 disc from day one.

    It reminds me of the stunt they pulled with the Beautiful Katamari DLC.

  • viper_h #9 3 years ago

    You people moan about spending 3 pounds on this, but I bet you go to Starbucks or Costa every day and blow that much on a cup of lukewarm piss-coffee.

  • aldo_14 #10 3 years ago

    You people moan about spending 3 pounds on this, but I bet you go to Starbucks or Costa every day and blow that much on a cup of lukewarm piss-coffee.

    Possibly because this is more like spending £3 to buy a cup of coffee, and then £1 to have them pop it in the microwave to warm it up.

  • Razz #11 3 years ago

    Greedy bastards.

  • Darren #12 3 years ago

    That's a bit of a greedy asking price IMO, especially as Namco know that people will want it and pay for it. Their DLC tends to be a bit overpriced IMO but then isn't most of it. At least we have the option of not buying it.

    Will this be an 100 KB unlock key as with most of their stuff I wonder or actual DLC...?

  • PS_Legend1 #13 3 years ago

    @viper_h

    Nobody is complaining about the price, it's the fact that they lied about the dlc not being on the disc.

  • Darren #14 3 years ago

    @Gnort - Yeah on reflection what you suggested would have been a good idea although let's make that three Star Wars characters and three stages for 400 MP eh? ;)

    I bet it would still have been an unlock key though... LOL

  • Darren #15 3 years ago

    Does Darth Vader get his own stage or is it the same two we've already got in the 360 version? Anyone know?

  • ParanoidZombie #16 3 years ago

    SC4 sucks, anyway. Got rid of this shallow fighting game like 2 months ago. No depth, full of glitches, unbalanced roster, the worst game of the whole series.

  • Gnort #17 3 years ago

    @Darren
    Yeah, that's what I meant, all three characters plus all the stages for 400MSP, not 400MSP each. Namco would sell even more DLC, plus SC purists would be happier. There would still be a lot of unlock code outrage, though.

  • Schiraman #18 3 years ago

    Having played both versions, I'd say it's definitely worth paying money to have Yoda removed from the game - but there's no way I'm going to pay to add him. Also £3 is a ridiculous price for a single new character in a fighting game - don't try to defend it, it's clearly inflated, especially considering the circumstances.

  • supersaintee #19 3 years ago

    I don't own the game personally but I do agree with the comments on the thread. It's ridiculous to ask people to pay for what's already on the disc they've paid for. Boycott at all costs. You wouldn't buy a CD then pay again to unlock "hidden" tracks!

  • Beano #20 3 years ago

    "Will this be an 100 KB unlock key as with most of their stuff I wonder or actual DLC...? "

    I woudn't be surprised if it's unlock-key. But no matter what, I'm not buying - greedy bastards ;)

  • dazrichards #21 3 years ago

    I'm not against DLC, even if you suspect that it could have been included in the game to start with but this is so obvious that it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Like the aforementioned Starbucks sludge

  • jonsaan #22 3 years ago

    Pretty despicable this sort of thing.

    In the old days you'd have just entered, down, up, left, right A, B and start.

    or something......
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/08 @ 10:39

  • rendonlex #23 3 years ago

    how do you get them without xbox live?

  • JaysonG #24 3 years ago

    I know it's inflated... I know I really shouldn't support this daylight robbery by buying it, but I really want Dath Vader. :(

    Sorry chaps I may be crossing the picket lines

  • t8yman #25 3 years ago

    scandalous. but people will pay, and they (namco) will see it as a green light to carry on.

  • JJKrista1 #26 3 years ago

    @JaysonG: SCAB!!!

  • Triggerhappytel #27 3 years ago

    For those prices they can fuck right off. Cheeky bastards, I agree that everyone should boycott them to teach NB a lesson.

  • brainbird #28 3 years ago

    Ace Combat, Katamari and now this. Namco Bandai takes the crown.
    Yes, I wonder why japanese third-party developers struggle lately.

  • chris_ace #29 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • Dizzy #30 3 years ago

    *cough*ripoff*cough*

  • Triggerhappytel #31 3 years ago

    @ mem - yes, and somewhere you'll have to squeeze in time to read a dictionary...

  • menage #32 3 years ago

    No sale either. Overpriced crap. Full game 60 euro's, one character 6? Doesn't add up.

    I never play the Vader dude at all at the moment, Yoda is not going to be different.

  • Lebowski #33 3 years ago

    "Taking you video-gaming younglings for a f**king ride, they are." - Yoda.

  • paulf #34 3 years ago

    would consider it at £1 - no chance at this price

  • Steroyd #35 3 years ago

    This makes me hugely optimistic for Tekken 6. :/

  • migasUK #36 3 years ago

    well this is just bullshit, this kind of thing of DLC is making the game companies greedy, how come they charge for a character which is already in the game around or more than 10% of the cost of the original game? WTF??

  • RandomTerrain #37 3 years ago

    People still play this?
    Sorry, but there seemed to be no reason to get the game let alone the new character. Nothing new here, they're just milking the title for everything they can get.

    I suppose I can't blame them, but I'm not falling for it.

  • nickthegun #38 3 years ago

    if anyone is sat on the fence, they are two of the worst characters in the game.

    Especially Vader who is a terrible, lower tier shambles.

  • Darren #39 3 years ago

    I can't really understand why Namco decided to make Vader exclusive to the PS3 and Yoda exclusive to the 360 in the first place, they should have offered both characters for both platforms or none at all, especially if they're already on the disc as many people suspect (we'll know if these characters are sold as 128 KB keys). I mean what's the thinking behind it... that 360 owners would rush out and buy a PS3 to play as Darth Vader and that PS3 owners would buy a 360 to play as Yoda... or that multiformat owners would "double-dip"? It was a stupid, stupid decision really and one clearly made with the intention of milking extra money from people who'd bought the game because naturally they'll want *all* the characters (the empty character slot are kind of a slap around the face and a constant reminder of this).

    That said, I know I *will* pay for Darth Vader just for the chance to try him because I'm weak and I do love the game even if it was lacking in gameplay modes compared with the earlier versions. Still works out cheaper than if I'd gone out and bought the PS3 version of SoulCalibur IV anyway (which, on reflection, I'm glad I didn't do). Namco are still greedy #&%$£s though!

  • penhalion #40 3 years ago

    Is anyone still playing this?

    It was way too short for me. I got bored.

  • Frandroid #41 3 years ago

    I don't understand the complaints from people who feel the price is somehow unjustified because the data is already on the disc rather than being downloaded. Namco have decided that the additional character requires an additional fee - this is their right. Obviously we have the right not to buy. However, the mechanics of how they supply that character are irrelevent. Frankly, having the character on the disc is the preferrable solution from the consumer point of view - quicker to download, uses less of your download cap, requires less space on your hard drive or memory card.
    Even though the work was done prior to the game's release there is no reason why it has to be included within the price of the initial game.

    However, it's worth pointing out that while a single copy of SCIV will make Namco money once, it may potentially lead to multiple DLC payments through used sales. How much of a consideration is this for publishers and how important will it be in the future...?

  • beastmaster #42 3 years ago

    Darth Maul & Kit Fisto next. Wouldn't surprise me.

  • IneptPercy #43 3 years ago

    I would pay for it, I just haven't bought the game yet.

  • muscleblade #44 3 years ago

    "Darth Maul & Kit Fisto next. Wouldn't surprise me."

    I would easily pay 400 points for those. Wont happen though.

  • riz23 #45 3 years ago

    Pay? £3.40? For one character? You must be joking. C'mon people don't let them take the piss out of us. Don't buy this!

  • evilbert #46 3 years ago

    Hmmm, on the one hand we have Criterion giving away great DLC for nothing and on the other hand we have Namco overcharging for a single character. Bad form, Namco, bad form.

  • Gnort #47 3 years ago

    This makes me hugely optimistic for Tekken 6. :/

    You know how Tekken arcade machines used to start with half the roster available and time release new characters about once a week? Tekken 6 will probably ship with 20 of the 40 characters playable and Namco will sell you an unlock code each week for 400MSP.

  • WiseNail #48 3 years ago

    "Do, do not. There is no buy..."

  • viper_h #49 3 years ago

    I really want Vader too :(

    I agree about this game being crap though. And I went and blew £40 for a Hori arcade stick for it too. What a waste of money.

  • Slipstream #50 3 years ago

    Guys my friend made a a Male character who wears a gimp mask, with pink thongs and uses Cassandras fighting style, just create that character, he's much more entertaining to fight than Darth Vader!

  • FenderMaster #51 3 years ago

    very cheeky

    this is how you lose customer loyalty namco