So, anyone splashed out on Oblivion's new horse armour yet? For the princely sum of about 2 quid you can download said protection for your virtual gee-gee, safe in the knowledge that not only is your ride likely to survive attack, but that you're proving to the games industry bean counters that micropayments and downloads are a viable business proposition. Word is that developers Bethesda - and presumably Microsoft - are monitoring the situation. And so they should as there has been genuine dismay amongst some gamers. Horse armour was a clear feature of the game when in the preview stage. So to remove it at the last minute and then charge 360 owners - who have already paid a premium for their version - to access this comes across as highly cynical.
Of course, you can argue that the cost is small - it is - and that the armour is a non-essential item - you don't need it to finish the game - but it still rankles. Episodic gaming, value-add downloads? Bring them on, it's the future after all. But this download is an opportunistic exploitation of Oblivion addicts - we need help, not armour - and if successful is likely to lead to similar stunts in other triple AAA titles. Pay to download go-faster stripes for your Warthog in Halo 3? Just you wait.
