Asking the question of whether games aimed at a very young audience of gamers should have any form of microtransactions in them – Outright Games has confirmed that their game My Friend Peppa Pig has received new downloadable content titled Pirate Adventures.
This is the first ever DLC released for the title and one of the few DLC ever released for any game aimed at pre-schoolers. It raises an interesting ethical debate around whether DLC should be offered for games aimed at such a young demographic, or whether it stands as a more affordable way to offer new content aimed at the younger demographics at a much friendlier price for parents and guardians. Something like a pay-per-new-episode system.
At the very least, unlike horror stories such as those on iOS and Android devices where kids can wrack up hundreds or thousands of dollars of debt on their parents cards, the more complex purchase procedure on such consoles would mitigate it – and the one-time purchase over gacha-like systems is definitely better. It makes for an interesting debate, one that isn’t cut and dry!
According to Outright Games, this DLC will bring “new characters, new locations and new ways to play as Peppa and the crew”. Below is a synopsis of what the story entails:
It’s a pirate’s life for Peppa in this special adventure aboard Captain Hog’s boat hunting for hidden treasure. Explore all-new locations including Captain Hog’s Hideout, Belinda Bear’s House, Treasure Island, Mollie Mole’s house, and Danny Dog’s birthday party. As if that wasn’t enough , there are over thirty new activities to try out including raising a pirate flag and talking with Polly Parrot. Get ready to batten down the hatches and set sail with Peppa and her pirate pals!
My Friend Peppa Pig is now available on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Google Stadia and (surprisingly) the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 for those tech-savvy pre-schoolers who have consoles that many still struggle to get their hands on.