For me, it's the technical issues that are the big problem here-- How does a mac user buy this stuff? As a North American user with a North American PSN account, how do I purchase and download the tracks? I gather that PSP units can be tied to only a single PSN account-- how is that going to work for buying DLC when my PSP is tied to my North American PSN?

But those of you complaining that Sony is worse than Microsoft and Nintendo about these things-- I don't see that.

Microsoft has and is pushing microtransactions in a BIG way with Xbox Live and arcade. The Xbox runs some $6 billion USD in the hole since it's creation, and arguably its main purpose is to fight off Sony dominating the living room media center. As we all know, Xbox 360 was rushed to market and has big reliability issues. It's hard for me to see Microsoft as a gentle giant that is looking out for consumers' best interests.

Nintendo, it is true, doesn't do microtransactions, at least yet. But they are also incredibly conservative with developing and releasing software. So while Mario Kart DS and Wipeout Pure released in roughly the same time window, there has been NO action towards releasing a second Mario Kart game on the DS platform. And the Nintendo online system is really barebones, and you can forget about having any sort of patching or DLC, ever. I love Nintendo, and always will, but if there's one thing you have to give to Sony, it's their more aggressive software and hardware releases.

So, I think it makes sense to let Sony know what you think about the sales scheme for DLC on Wipeout Pulse-- and it is understandable to be angry-- but let's not over-react!