Evil Avatar got in touch with Bethesda's Pete Hines, questioning the VP of PR and marketing about yesterday's release, which consisted of two pieces of horse armor, costing $2.50 for the Xbox 360 and $1.99 for the PC. Needless to say, much of the Oblivion community was not pleased with the fee and did not hesitate to spread this concern across Internet forums and gaming sites. Despite the backlash, Bethesda is playing it cool for now:

"We tried to find a spot for [the download] that fit with what other things were out there. A Theme costs 150 points. The Kameo thing was 200. We're trying to find the right spot that fits... We're not even a day into this right now. We've got a couple more [downloads] we're working on finishing... We want to put some different things out there and find out what folks want and what they don't want. These are optional things, not requirements, so if you don't want to get them you don't have to."
(Pete Hines, Bethesda VP of PR and marketing)

Speaking with 1UP, Hines elaborated on the decision to charge for the download. Although additional Morrowind content, which was developed in-house, was released for free, Hines maintains that Oblivion is a "different game," and with that comes a "different approach to downloadable content and the size and scope of things we want to do, and what it takes to do them." Bottom-line: the next-gen is gonna be expensive for all of us, and if Bethesda's bold reaction to player criticism is any indication of the state of things to come, then don't expect to be receiving handouts any longer. Crack open your wallet, or enjoy the game as is. Your decision.