Resident-Evil-5-DLC

A few weeks back, Game Rant covered the announcement of Resident Evil 5 DLC for the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles. Now, Capcom has provided more details of the upcoming update to the Resident Evil 5 package, when to expect the first round of content, as well as an official statement that the PC is being sidelined - at least for the moment.

In a recent post on the official Capcom Unity blog, the publisher announced that two new playable campaign episodes will be made available for download through the PSN and Xbox Live, the first of which, Lost in Nightmares will arrive on February 17th and 18th, for Xbox 360 and PSN, respectively.

According to Capcom:

"Lost in Nightmares finds BSAA agent, Chris Redfield, working with his partner, Jill Valentine, as they investigate Ozwell E. Spencer’s hideaway. Spencer, the evil mastermind and co-founder of Umbrella Corporation, has been hiding a new evil deep within the basement of his mansion. Chris and Jill discover this grotesque evil standing in their way as the two enter deeper into the catacombs beneath the mansion."

Also available that same week will be the first of two costume packs for the game, which will include a new outfit for both Chris and Sheva, as well as The Mercenaries Reunion which provides fans of previous Mercenaries Modes a new set of character load-outs and costumes. It's worth mentioning that no pricing structure has been made available for any of the DLC announced. It'd be ridiculous not to offer these two additions as complimentary downloads for anyone who purchases the new campaign episodes; though, Capcom has charged for DLC costume packs and add-on competitive modes in the past.

Resident-Evil-5-DLC

The second round of content will appear two weeks later, starting on March 3, and will offer another, currently unnamed, playable campaign episode, as well as another costume pack.

Anyone who might have sold their Resident Evil 5 copy or has a preference for disc-based gameplay, can also get in on the new campaigns. On March 9, 2010 Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition will arrive on store shelves for $49.99 and will include the original game as well as all updated DLC content. The "ultimate Resident Evil 5 experience" will be available as a single PS3 blu-ray or a DVD disc with DLC content voucher for Xbox 360.

When asked by G4tv about the absence of a PC Gold Edition, or PC DLC in general, a Capcom spokesperson stated: "No plans for PC at this point." The decision is an interesting one, considering the release of the Gold Edition, at a discounted price, is obviously intended to attract new players to the title, who might have passed on it before. It's difficult to believe that the PC market wouldn't be receptive to the same approach. That said, the distribution of Resident Evil 5 DLC has been somewhat of an experiment for Capcom, who polled Capcom community members back in October to determine how they'd prefer to have the new content delivered. Maybe Capcom is waiting to gauge the title's reception on consoles before making plans for a PC release. It's worth noting that "No plans for PC at this point" is very different from "No plans for PC."

How will you be playing the updated Resident Evil 5 content?

Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition will be available for PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 9, 2010.

Source: Capcom Unity, G4tv