Announced last week, Acclaim (are they still around?) let it be known that they would be offering a free dance based MMO game called…Dance! Online. Below they mention the ability to customize your avatar…

"Players of DANCE! Online can create their own avatar and use either the keyboard or most PC compatible dance pads to match the beat of the song and to make their character perform choreographed dance steps. The game features up to 6 players dancing together and includes a variety of game modes and options. Players will be able to purchase optional items from the game shop to customize their virtual characters with clothing and various accessories."

Apparently being a black person is considered an accessory as revealed today on Acclaim's message boards:

"Black is an EXTRA feature. It makes your person look unique, so that is an EXTRA feature. Therefore, you having to PAY for it. (Or ask a friend to pay for it)."

Then according to an another Acclaim employee:

"As an optional character upgrade, we must put this in the item shop for players to acquire. This is the only way to offer the African-American heads. However, it should be EASILY accessible to all, so we made it just 1 POINT in the shop (which is basically for FREE). You don’t have to spend any money to get it, just play the game and earn points. Thanks!"

So there you have it. They were too lazy to make black folks available from the beginning but gracious enough to offer it for (almost) free. Not a huge deal I suppose but sure to cause an inordinate amount of trouble for the next few days at Acclaim. Silly honkies!

Check the message boards HERE