BioWare: Some Gamers Want Day-one DLC

Do you enjoy day-one DLC? Chances are good that you do – at least if you consider BioWare’s Director of Online Development Fernando Melo’s words to be gospel. He believes that day-one DLC helps cater a developer’s launch to all players, including those who tend to complete their game in just a few days. While some gamers might consider day-one DLC to be unfair, given they just paid $60 or so for the game, those who complete the game fast can find it unfair that they completed the game and have nothing left to do.

In some ways, I can see both points-of-view here. When I finish a game that I loved, and there’s no more content at the ready, it’s disappointing. But at the same time, seeing DLC ready as soon as I can play the game is a little disconcerting, and I’d have to say if it doesn’t make you feel like you’re being ripped off, you’re probably one of the few.

The common argument for this is that day-one DLC should have been included with the game to begin with. After all, if the content was done, then why wasn’t it offered for free? A counter-argument is that DLC is treated as separate by many developers, and some even have dedicated teams working on it. As such, it was never designed to be taken away from the main game, but added on. In this context, it’s sort of like an expansion pack, except in this case it’s developed during the course of the game.

To help put things into perspective, Fernando mentioned that on the day of the Dragon Age: Origins release, 53% of owners bought the first piece of DLC – yes, those who just paid $60 or so for the game. Clearly, regardless of your thoughts on it, there are gamers willing to either suck it up and take the hit, or simply consider it an add-on for a game they love.

What are your thoughts?