Pre-orders have been standard for quite some time now, and often developers will incentivize pre-ordering a full game by providing additional content or early access. For example, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot players that pre-ordered the game received a Cooking Item, an extra sub-story, and early access to Bonyu’s training missions in the Training Room. In the case of a season pass, players usually get all DLCs for less than what they would cost individually, and in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, players have to purchase the season pass if they want access to any of the additional content.
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Pre-orders and Season Passes
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’s handling of the season pass and DLC is unfortunate, but ultimately, it hearkens back to an age old problem with pre-ordering. Too often players will pre-order a game expecting it to be great or expecting to like it only to find out that it isn’t quite their cup of tea. Because of these experiences, more and more players have become cautious, avoiding pre-orders entirely. Even so, many still pre-order games a lot, and it seems as though almost everyone still purchases season passes for games they know they will like.
To be fair, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a good game, as diehard fans praised it for its faithful recreation of the beloved story of Dragon Ball Z. Where it failed is in its post launch support, as Bandai Namco has remained tight lipped about the game’s future. Players were put in a difficult spot as although the base game was enjoyable, the DLC wasn’t able to be purchased in individual parts, essentially forcing players that wanted the full experience to buy the season pass. Now there isn’t much players can do as they have already spent their money and find themselves at the will of Bandai Namco.
Business As Usual
Though this is a somewhat grim way of looking at things, players need to remember that Bandai Namco is a business like any other. Since fans have already spent their money and purchased the season pass, they don’t have any leverage over the company. Boycotting is an effective strategy for consumers to hold companies accountable, but it won’t matter if fans refuse to play the DLCs since they’ve already purchased them. Likewise, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has already sold over 2 million copies, so a boycott of Kakarot isn’t viable either.
Fans really only have one goodd option if they want to try and incite change in the way Bandai Namco is communicating with them. Players will have to be vocal online and on social media platforms in order to get the company’s attention. Ultimately, though, it is going to be a matter of time before the second DLC releases, and there likely isn’t much fans can do to make that faster. For all anyone knows, the Kakarot DLC 2 reveal date could be soon, but hopefully Bandai Namco realizes how frustrated fans are and opens lines of communication.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
MORE: Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot: Is Bandai Namco Planning a Training Room Update?
