Sega Details Release Dates and Pricing for Valkyria Chronicles 4’s DLC Missions

Sega has released the details on their DLC release schedule for Valkyria Chronicles 4, allowing us to finally get a complete view of how much all the content for the game will cost. It was reasonable to assume that Sega wouldn’t offer a considerably better deal than what fans in Japan have been offered, but it’s not just the pricing that stands out here. The release dates for the DLC are surprisingly far apart given that this is the localized version of the game and all of the game’s DLC has long been available in Japan. In particular, the DLC included in the game’s premium edition will be playable at launch, but will be only be made available separately in December for those who bought the regular or digital version of the game. One has to question if most won’t have lost interest in the game by the time the DLC is actually released.

But perhaps the biggest issue with Sega’s DLC release is that people looking to get all of the DLC aren’t getting a good deal regardless of which edition they buy. If you buy the “Memoirs from Battle” Premium Edition, you’ll need to spend an additional $21.96 to get the remaining DLC. Given that people who buy the premium edition probably want the complete VC4 experience, they’ll be looking at spending a total of $120.96. As nice as the extra’s in the premium edition are, including all of the DLC in that edition would have seemed like a reasonable thing to do. If anything, I imagine this move will actually discourage some people from buying the premium edition.

For the game’s digital release, getting all the DLC means spending $86.94. Here as well, it’s unfortunate that Sega doesn’t offer a digital premium edition that includes all of the DLC. We know they’re capable of doing better than that. Lastly, those who get the regular physical release will be spending $91.93.

What this also means is that, if you want to play all the DLC as soon as it’s available, you’ll actually need to buy both the digital AND premium edition. I’m not sure what motivated Sega to use this strategy for their DLC releases, but I’d argue that everyone would have benefited from a simpler, more consumer-friendly approach. For example by having Sega release physical and digital editions of the game that included all of the DLC at launch at a reasonable price. It might just end up being more profitable for Sega that way as well. You can view the details and screenshots of the DLC below.