Paying for “Hot Coffee” with Dudley

The controversy of paying more for on-the-disc content in the fighting video game “Street Fighter X Tekken” ignited a flame hotter than Ken’s Dragon Punch. The jargon confuses fans who wonder why they have to pay for the extra twelve characters: “Street Fighter’s” Blanka, Sakura, Cody, Guy, Elena, and Dudley, and “Tekken’s” Lars, Alisa, Christie, Lei, Bryon, and Jack-X. When the characters are already stored on the disc, they are not “downloadable content” (DLC).

Capcom released this statement: “The character information and files were intentionally included on retail versions of the PS3 and Xbox 360 game to save hard drive space and to ensure for a smooth transition when the DLC is available, allowing players who choose to not purchase the content the ability to play against players that did.”

Like sex, video gaming can be an addiction and like intimacy with a prostitute, paying to use a bonus character is an immediate gratification, rather than playing hard for that special secret woman or man you desire.

On the original Xbox, “Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate” was the console’s best fighting game because it allowed players to unlock secret characters, a motley plethora of bonus costumes, including a booster pack for the “Dead or Alive 3” ones, and a clip from an episode of G4 TV’s “Icons” on Team Ninja as rewards for dedicated gameplay. “Dead or Alive 4” on the Xbox 360 continued this tradition (though not as generous) and hopefully, the upcoming “Dead or Alive 5” will not charge fanboys and fangirls for bonus content, especially if it is already on the disc.

Imagine if Capcom’s tactics had been used in previous gen games, not only fighting. Like 2004’s “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” and its “hot coffee” scene, which allowed one to play a sex simulator mini-game. People would have been infuriated to have to pay for sex, when it should have been free since it had already been included on the disc. Had Capcom made the game, it would had been guilty of unregulated prostitution and pixelated sex trafficking.

As hackers have proved on YouTube, the DLC characters are playable. Paying $20 merely unlocks them–like a hooker’s thighs.