The problem is it seems on the EU PS STORE it is impossible to upgrade from Core Fighters to the full game
when you purchase the DLC packs separately.
I don't know how it works on the US PS STORE, but on the EU PS STORE there are two separate categories for Dead Or Alive 5 Ultimate and Dead Or Alive 5 Ultimate: Core Fighters. The one for Dead Or Alive 5 Ultimate is a
bundle, and contains the full game unlock. The one for Core Fighters has everything listed
separately. There is a full game upgrade in the Core Fighters category as well. (More on this later).
Now, for some reason if you download
Core Fighters then the DOA5U
bundle (with the full game unlock) becomes "unavailable". And it's permanent. Meaning if you ever download Core Fighters before purchasing the bundle then you can never purchase the bundle.
The other thing is that if you download Core Fighters, and you purchase all 25 original characters (because Core Fighters already comes with 4 of them), and if you purchase the story mode and both music packs, all separately then the full game upgrade in the Core Fighters category becomes "free". However, you can't download it, because if you try to download it you get an error message saying the item cannot be purchased at this time. And it doesn't show up in your download list either.
After some more testing I have found that there are two different types of error messages. If you try to download the free full game upgrade through your PS3 then you get an error message that reads: "We're sorry, this item is not available for purchase at this time." If you use your PC, and go to
https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com and try to download the free full game upgrade through your PC then the error message reads: "You are not eligible to purchase this content."
I've been contacted by somebody from SCEE and he seems to think the problem is on my end. I disagree. I am absolutely sure the problem is not on my end. At any rate I just got screwed out of a lot of money. (This stuff is very expensive in my country). My dislike for digital content is only solidified after this experience. How can we rely on digital content when the people in charge of said content don't know what they are doing?
Let this be a warning to anyone in the EU planning on buying the digital version of DOA5U. Be sure to buy the
bundle that contains the full game upgrade right away. Do not buy the content separately. You won't be able to upgrade to the full game if you buy the content separately.