Players Want Day-One DLC, According to BioWare

Written by: Dan Seitz | August 17, 2012 at 7:57AM

dragon age origins

Day-one DLC is one of many controversies in gaming. If the content is ready to go and right there, why is it not on the disc you're paying $60 for? Why do you have to pay extra to get it, or commit to a pre-order, just to play some extra content?

BioWare's response? Day-one DLC is so people who blast through games have something else to do.

Fernando Melo, BioWare Montreal's director of online development, recently spoke with Gamasutra about the topic and had this to say:

"…players want more content, and they want it now — the problem is that there is no single 'now', so it should be there when they're ready for it."

Melo has some data from BioWare games to back him up. More than half the sales of the day-one DLC packs for Dragon Age: Origins came from the first day the game was released.

He also notes that DLC offers a chance to allow team members to develop their skills with minimal risk, and… well.. people buy a heck of a lot of it. In fact, BioWare games with ongoing DLC releases see more long-term sales.

What do you think of day-one DLC? Is it good to have? Or would you rather have it on the disc?

Gamasutra: Bioware: Some Players Want Day-One DLC