Infinite Wealth’s New Game+ Locked Behind Special Edition

I’m always at odds with pre-order/collector’s editions of games. The culture of it has drastically shifted over the last few years and significantly in the last 20. There was a recent article I wrote about Prison Architect 2 where I tried to skirt around mentioning pre-orders for this very reason. The question I always have is “What exactly are you pre-ordering? A digital item that can effectively be produced infinitely?” By all means, have special editions of games, I’m partial to a few myself, but I’m always skeptical when basic features are locked behind these paywalls.

As noticed by a Reddit user last month (and brought to my attention thanks to RPS), the golden boy of gaming these last few years is taking the idea of infinite wealth to heart. With Kasuga Ichiban and Uncle Kaz returning for Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth this week, many will be excited to jump into the latest title in the series from Ryu Ga Gotoku. However, as noted by the Reddit user back in December after checking with SEGA Support directly, you have to pay a little extra for New Game+.

“I have checked back and can confirm that the New Game+ Function is indeed only available with the Master Vacation pack,” the screenshot of the support message notes. We should note that there are two extra editions of Infinite Wealth, with the base game alone costing $70 (£60/€70) and Ultimate Edition that gets you everything is $110 (£95/€110). You don’t need the Ultimate Edition, but you do need the Master Vacation bundle which is in the Deluxe Edition and above, $85 (£75/€85). The pre-order bonus is already leveling up faster, and now we’re locking New Game+ behind paywalls too?

What’s next, volume sliders? No, graphical pre-sets? Subtitles maybe? Infinite Wealth certainly doesn’t seem to be a small or short game, by any means, however, locking something as simple as New Game+ behind special editions seems egregious. Probably because it is. I hope someone at SEGA pulls their head out of the tank of gas they are huffing, sobers up, and realizes how utterly stupid this is. The Master Vacation Bundle already features “a bonus dungeon, special Sujimon, resort guests, outfits, […] and more.” What more is going to be locked behind special editions?