At the time this post is going up, the Simpsons episode featuring Fruit-Bat-Man will be over in at least part of the US. And as some of you now know the story behind Mr. Burns’ Fruit-Bat-Man costume and the Fruit-Bat-Signal, it’s a good time to ask – what’s the point of premium outfits?

Fruit-Bat-Man is the second premium costume we’ve seen this year (Mr. Plow was the first). And while they’re fun and add new storylines to the game, they’re a bit expensive for what they are. Generally, they come at the same price as a premium character. But the difference, of course, is that you’re not adding a character to your game – in fact, you’re taking one out. Sure, when your character puts on a premium costume, his or her tasks earn the premium rate – but that character is also no longer available to carry our regular tasks. And that means that a premium costume doesn’t add as much value as a premium character that costs the same donut price.

I’ll still keep buying them, though – I’m a sucker for these things, and I have a blog to write. But it’s certainly a question worth asking. For me, the jury’s still out on this one.

Oh – and what’s the point of the picture? It’s the Simpsons version of former US Attorney-General Janet Reno, who guest stars as herself on the Fruit-Bat-Man episode of the Simpsons.