Is NRS purposely saving their most requested MK characters for DLC? How ethical is this practice?

[Skedar70]

MK is probably the game with the most variety and originality when it comes to characters and I believe it is pretty hard to come up with a roster.

The game has:
Wizards, Ninjas, Female Ninjas, Cyborgs, Enhanced Humans, Gadget Humans, Soldiers, Cowboy, an Aztec lookalike, Bug lady, Centaurs, Four arms, Metal arms the newly introduced time manipulation characters etc.

I understand saving some characters for DLC is wise but at what point is it too much. Injustice 2 and MKX had a solid base roster with the most important characters being included. The MK11 base roster doesn't seem as solid as the previous games.

The recent Cassie and Jacquie reveal has caused lots of backlash in social media due to the feeling that these characters are taking the space of other more interesting characters and that other similar character already exist in the roster (Sonya, Jax, Johnny)

With the leak of the roster it appears few spaces are left for the base roster and many fan requested favorites are still nowhere to be seen.

Is NRS saving their most requested MK characters for DLC? How fair is this for a consumer?

 

[SubZeroIce]

I think they are because Injustice 2 had some of the most requested characters as DLC and it performed very well from my understanding.

I think it's shady but considering they have a "no repeat" rule & it's been confirmed we won't see any repeats in DLC, it's safe to say they'll include classic characters. I imagine Sindel, Fujin, & Nightwolf are shoe-ins for DLC.

 

[Marlow]

If they keep Mokap locked behind DLC I'm going to be so mad.

 

[Vslayer]

They choose their main roster based on story mode, the rest are shipped to DLC. Nothing more to it.

 

[Law Hero]

I love NRS, but the cynic in me does believe that there are characters that sat out in MKX in order to make them more heavily desired when MK11 rolls around and thus more likely to sell better as DLC. Hopefully that's not the case, but I can't help but think about it.

 

[LeoMK29]

It’s a good business move. And they aren’t forcing you to buy anything lol so fair move I guess

 

[DragonofDadashov24]

Let me tell you something. If nobody had screamed GIVE US NOOB AND RAIN
They would be one of the first characters to be in the game. And let’s not talk about their dlc policy? It’s bullshit. Take injustice 2. They have an Ultimate edition that has the full roster with a ridiculous price and later they release a Legendary edition which is cheaper and has exactly the same amount of characters. What about MKX’s full krypt unlockable that costs like a season pass? WB is as greedy as EA when it comes to marketing

 

[FatalTragedy]

Yeah, I think so. You should take them to court.

 

[Circus]

I don't want to be that guy, but this almost makes it sound like the 28ish characters they put in the game aren't the most requested characters.

People have been begging for Noob Saibot SO much, and we have been now.

They squeeze in fan favorites when they can, but it's mostly about the story arc at this point.

Imagine this game without Kotal Kahn or Cassie Cage considering the events of MKX.
Would that make any sense?

I don't think there is some malicious plot to squeeze our pockets. It's not like they're making Scorpion, Liu Kang, and Johnny Cage DLC.

 

[ImperatrixSindel]

Not really? Jade and Noob Saibot were maybe the two most requested characters, and they're base roster. Kabal would also have been huge DLC money.

 

[BarakaTile]

We don't even know what the DLC roster will be.

The only one I'd bet on being DLC is Spawn because all the coincidences and hints are adding up.
Anyone else I'm not sure and even the people claiming they leaked the DLC list is super sketchy.

 

[Ptehu]

They choose their main roster based on story mode, the rest are shipped to DLC. Nothing more to it.

Well, not really. Check how much in the story of MKX did Reptile, Kung Lao, Ermac, Kitana, Liu, Ferra/Torr and Erron. Check also how much did Rain, Baraka, Tanya (eventually DLC) and Sindel. Plot-wise roster choosing is not the point obviously.

 

[Vslayer]

Well, not really. Check how much in the story of MKX did Reptile, Kung Lao, Ermac, Kitana, Liu, Ferra/Torr and Erron. Check also how much did Rain, Baraka, Tanya (eventually DLC) and Sindel. Plot-wise roster choosing is not the point obviously.

At least more than half are chosen based on story mode involvement.

I am going to take a wild guess and say that those NPCs didn't make it in MKX because the Kombat Kid replaced them and they also have guest character quotas.

 

[JBeezYBabY]

This practice has been done with every fighting game now that has been a hit. This is not new. NRS is just following a trend that works business wise because it sells. I agree that this practice sucks but, don't tell em with your words, show em with your own wallets and things will change.

 

[John Grizzly]

This is how games just are now. Let's be honest - the roster has little to do with story. If NRS wanted to work all the popular characters into the game, they could easily do it. NRS knows that if they release a DLC pack with Ermac, Reptile, Fujin etc, that it will sell like crazy. The main roster has to have unpopular characters like Jacqui so that the DLC can make bank. We are already buying the base game no matter who is on that roster.

NRS isn't the only developer that does this, though. Capcom had Guile and Sagat as DLC while the main roster had bums like FANG that no one gave a shit about. Namco added Armor King and Julia as DLC when they're incredibly popular.

To me, I don't mind at all. NRS (and Midway previously) have provided me with thousands upon thousands of hours of entertainment and memories. I will happily give them my money until I'm physically too old to play their games.

 

[SaltShaker]

The characters in the game are the characters in the story which is picking up following MKX. If you sub out three characters with another three for story purposes, then those three would be requested by a different group of people. That's just the way it is. Takeda was top 4 in popularity and is likely sitting this game out so I think that ends the argument altogether.

Whoever is popular or requested outside of the story essential characters are potential DLC. If anything, NRS is one of the most ethical. Tekken held characters like Julia and Marduk for two years hostage who were in the last game(s).

 

[Blizer]

there have been quite a bit of fan favorites in the roster

people are complaining, cause their favorite character didnt get in

fan favorites were doc in ij2, so a couple are def DLC. it's to be expected

 

[Jhonnykiller45]

Look at any other fighting game. How 2/3rds of the SFV roster are DLC, Tekken and Soulcalibur selling freaking legacy characters/movesets, DBFZ held literally the most requested characters like Broly, Bardock, Vegito, Jiren etc. for DLC.
Considering the standards set by those games, I don't think anything NRS could do would be considered "unethical", even moreso with the roster we actually have and how the characters are handled, how every character in a MK game has a completely new moveset in each game (unlike Tekken/SCs 20+ years reused assets). You're acting like literally nobody ever wanted Cassie/Jacqui (which isn't true) and their presence is invalidating the rest of the big name fan favorites that are actually in.
And besides, who're even the "fan favorites" who are "being held for DLC" in your opinion? Rain, Ermac, Reptile? Any fucking 3D era character? Big LOL if it's yes to any of those.

 

[Blade4693]

Something about Reptile or Ermac possibly being dlc just feels wrong to me lol

 

[Circus]

Something about Reptile or Ermac possibly being dlc just feels wrong to me lol

I guess you could rest easy because they likely won't be.

 

[GLoRToR]

MK is probably the game with the most variety and originality when it comes to characters and I believe it is pretty hard to come up with a roster.

The game has:
Wizards, Ninjas, Female Ninjas, Cyborgs, Enhanced Humans, Gadget Humans, Soldiers, Cowboy, an Aztec lookalike, Bug lady, Centaurs, Four arms, Metal arms the newly introduced time manipulation characters etc.

I understand saving some characters for DLC is wise but at what point is it too much. Injustice 2 and MKX had a solid base roster with the most important characters being included. The MK11 base roster doesn't seem as solid as the previous games.

The recent Cassie and Jacquie reveal has caused lots of backlash in social media due to the feeling that these characters are taking the space of other more interesting characters and that other similar character already exist in the roster (Sonya, Jax, Johnny)

With the leak of the roster it appears few spaces are left for the base roster and many fan requested favorites are still nowhere to be seen.

Is NRS saving their most requested MK characters for DLC? How fair is this for a consumer?

DLC exists because the full production of a game takes very long and they'd rather release some of the roster a bit later than to have rushed content. If someone isn't ready to buy the entire game, one can always wait until the game is on sale in a year or two from its release.

 

[ShepherdOfFire]

They choose their main roster based on story mode, the rest are shipped to DLC. Nothing more to it.

No I don't agree, they choose the roster and make a story around it. Creating a roster is created in a way to appeal the audience. If the roster was decided according to the story, then the Joker would never have been part of the Injustice 2 roster (we fight him only once in the story in a flashback/hallucination).
Why do you think they chose the idea of Kronika merging different timelines in MK11 ? Obviously to justify the return of dead characters and adding younger versions of characters that were old.

---

Saving requested characters for DLC is a common practice, it always generate big money. But for me the ethical part of those DLCs is not about who they add as DLC but how they release the game and its DLCs. Capcom did an awful job with SFV : Releasing an empty fighting game with no story mode and only 16 characters, and relying on DLCs to make it feel complete is unethical. NRS always shipped complete games with ton of content, so as long as the DLCs are as complete as the old ones, I don't find this unethical.

 

[Gerchap]

Not all of them but a big chunk will be. In business that’s called: RTI return to investment, that’s the card they will have under the sleeve because if they put the favorites in the starting roster then nobody will buy DLCs

Sadly but if Kira comes as DLC I won’t buy it but if Shang Tsung or Bo then I’ll be the first to buy that shit. It’s the nature of freaking business and a consumers we had no laversge on them.

 

[Mind Flex]

It's smart business to keep the most wanted stuff behind a pay wall. I don't like it, but if that's what it takes to get Smoke on the roster then so be it. Also MK9 added Skartlet and MKX added Tremor. Both brand new ninjas behind the pay wall. Don't be surprised to see a new ninja in one of these packs. Maybe we finally get Khrome. haha

 

[STB Sgt Reed]

One massive problem I'm seeing in this thread is the complacency of "ohhh well everyone else does it." Well that's fine and all, but that doesn't make it right or make it a good practice.

That's really beside the point though. Honestly, I don't think NRS is really on that level of other fighting game devs when it comes to dlc practices. I think they go with who fits in the story and if there's someone they want in the game, they put them in (D'Vorah/Jacqui ... certain devs clearly love these characters just like Boon love Scorpion). Then if something popular is left out, they'll like add it as dlc.