Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence Day One DLC

Earlier this week I reviewed Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence and despite a few niggling little flaws I gave it a strong 8 out of 10 due to its addicting gameplay and layers of complex depth. However I was a little disappointed when the game launched on Friday and I went onto the PlayStation Store to take a look only to notice it had not one but nine pieces of charged for DLC available on launch day. Each piece of DLC adds a new scenario to the games already existing twelve and cost €2.99 each. That means people who want to experience everything the game has to offer have to pay €26.99 on top of the game’s €59.99 price tag. Granted there probably is enough content in the standard game for most people it’s still a little annoying that those who want more have to pay so much extra for something that could easily have been included in their initial purchase.

Now the game first launched in Japan during 2013 so I’m sure it wasn’t day one DLC over there and the publishers probably released it piece by piece in the months following the games launch. However, I don’t think it’s asking too much to have the DLC included  with the game, day one, in the West and call it the “Definitive Edition,” or at the very least release it bit by bit over the next few months to reward those who have finished the game with a little something extra down the line. I do think it’s a bit much to dump all of the DLC on the store launch day when it could have been included with the game. However, maybe I’m just feeling a little too entitled after CD Projekt Red set an excellent example by giving away 16 pieces of Witcher 3 DLC for free.

Having said all that I still want to encourage as many people as possible to play and support this game. It is an excellent example of strategy done right on the PS4 and deserves the attention of any fans of the genre. Despite months of looking forward to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain I’m still playing Nobunaga’s Ambition three days after I published my review and can see myself playing it for the next few weeks. I haven’t even purchased MGS yet. To end on a slightly happier note the publishers have decided to give away the fourth piece of DLC for free, but only for the first four weeks after the game launches so make sure to get it soon. I’ll include some screenshots from the PlayStation Store below.

The free DLC pack (pack 4) is the “purchased” one.