Here's another entry for you to put in the annals of "What the hell, Square Enix?!": It looks like the company that gave us Final Fantasy and a ton of strange decisions, has made yet another one, for it seems like they really don't want anyone outside Japan to buy their new iOS rhythm game Demon's Score.

How, you ask? It's too damn expensive, that's why. Get this: The game itself costs $6.99 on the North American and International App Stores. That's enough to make some folks balk, but not too bad in itself for an arguably hardcore game. The kicker, though, is that the game is gutted for content, nearly all of it locked away behind nearly forty dollars of in-app purchases. FORTY DOLLARS. The way it works is that the game, developed by the inimitable iNIS (they of Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents fame), connects each song to a saucy outfit for the main character, Serenity, in a Final Fantasy X-2-like costume system.

Demon's Score has multiple stages and boss fights, but no matter what stage you play, you'll only ever hear a different song if you buy a new outfit. Each of the ten additional outfits/songs costs $2.99, bringing the total cost to $46.99. That's Final Fantasy XIII money right there.

And what's worse is that only US and International users have to pay this insane price. The Japanese version of the game has every outfit and song unlocked, the only in-app purchases being some health items for extra survival. And the price? About $19.99. Still a bit steep, but hell, you could buy the game twice over.

Mind you, I'm all for having more expensive games on the App Store. Many developers have stated that they can't afford to sell hardcore, costly games for a dollar a pop, and I don't want my apps to be dominated by Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja clones. But this is far too much. Square Enix has effectively screwed iNIS' chances of making money off Demon's Score outside Japan.

Check out a trailer for the game below. But it's not as if you'll buy it, unless you're a one-percenter, you rich bastard, you.