Well, look at that. I submit an article about Launch DLC and as soon as I post it I see you did too! Well done. Thanks for calling out those angry people who spend their time playing games yet can't be bothered to understand anything about the process behind making them. :)

I believe the 2008 release of 'Prince of Persia' had a DLC that added to the actual ending of the game.  I remember some anger about that when the DLC came out.  Other than that, though?  I can't think of one.

The Lair of the Shadow Broker provided a crucial component of the Mass Effect narrative, but I never felt cheated that it wasn't included with Mass Effect 2.

I think the easy solution is to just wait a couple of weeks.  If the game is complete without the DLC, you shouldn't need to offer it right away anyways.  Waiting a bit to release it might entice more people.

DLC is essentially director's cut material. That it's often available on day one now is a result of committed dev teams working their asses off.

Also, the use of the term "cash grab" gets tiresome. Publishers will come up with any way they can to make more money and that's their poragative. It's why they exist. Acting like it's an affront to decency is absurd. The day customers stop paying is the day they stop making it. What we'll be left with, as the article says, is less total content.

I would certainly be offended by day one DLC, but I don't purchase DLC anyway. I believe in paying for a game only once, anything tacked on after that is irrelevant to me regardless of what the draw is.

It's pretty naive to believe everything developers and publishers say. The problem with this content is that it isn't a spur of the moment thing where the developers went "Hey! Look you guys we have 3 more months before the game will come out, let's make som DLC!" No. Everything is planned in pre-production, including DLC. This DLC character was mentioned to be included in the Collectors Edition when it was announced... 9 months ago.

The problem with this practice isn't that they release it day one or twenty days later for that matter. It's that they from the outset decide to make content that will not be included in the product they're making before they actually start production. And sure, you might argue that the pre-planned DLC is part of a separate budget which might be correct. But then again, if I were a publisher or a developer and was trying to make as much money as possible (which I am completely entiteled to) I would much rather keep the same budget and just decide what will be DLC before production starts. 

The problem is not really with how developers are doing their DLC, the problem is that people keep buying the same content they bitch and moan about on forums. I really don't care, I never see myself interested in DLC and I never buy it. But it's really annoying hearing the same complaints over and over again.

My only problem with the M.E.3 launch day DLC is the fact that it is a Prothean character... whos race's extinction is pretty much the main plot (or at least a very important sub-plot) of the story... So saying "oh hey, if you pay 10 more dollars, WE'LL SHIT ALL OVER EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT THE M.E. UNIVERSE BABY." It's a really important thing to leave out... I mean if the dlc was an inconsequental set of bonus missions, maybe some vanity gear... bigger boobs for she-shepard, a predator helmet, bumper stickers for the normandy, etc... thats cool... BUT A PROTHEAN?!

Sorry, guys, but almost all DLC is overpriced bullshit.  $10 for a character?  That character had better have a lot of freaking content, about 1/6 the size of the content already in the game, I reckon, if my math is correct.  Especially seeing as Casey Hudson just let the cat out of the bag by saying they don't even have to pay for manufacturing.  Most DLC should be free.  Why?  If it takes them years to build a game, but they can bang out some quick DLC in three months, obviously we shouldn't be paying more than a couple dollars, because there's not going to be a lot of content there.

We need to go back to the days of legit expansions, instead of paying obscene amounts of money for things that should be in the full game to begin with.  Sorry, but no matter how you look at it, all characters designed and planned to be in a game should BE IN THE GAME WHEN YOU BUY IT.  This Prothean was not some tacked on thing they thought would be cool.  It was incentive to buy the collector's edition.  I don't care when they made it.  They had the intention from the start to put this in a special edition of the game, and keep it out of the master copy, so they could make more money.  That's it.  There's no defending this kind of tactic.  I don't see why they can't just do what they did with ME2, which was give you all the DLC they made right before release for free if you bought the game new, and not used at a Gamestop.

Again, if they want to make new content for the game, then that's great, but just compile it into an actual expansion and charge a reasonable amount of money for it, not nickle and dime your loyal fans for armour and weapon sets.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is incomplete without DLC. They even say so, when you inquire for information about a casino minigame, the NPC replies with something like "to be added with future DLC". This DLC is also an extra chapter of the story that explains the whereabouts of a character that was missing in the story.

Also, there's stuff like Capcom with Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (and the Ultimate version too) which has 2 disc-locked characters you must UNLOCK by PAYING for them AND all characters have an alternate costume you have to unlock... WITH YOUR MONEY. Street Fighter 4 and Super Street Fighter 4 did the same disc-locked content thing for costumes, but in Super's case, they did make costumes that were NOT on the disc.

I will admit, however, Capcom does not do this as Day 1 DLC, but the content IS completed before release and IS on the disc. They just hold them hostage for a while, as a way to give players a reason to come back to their game. 

Also, let's no let Namco-Bandai get away with it either. Soulcalibur V's roster has an empty slot, it's very noticeable. How does one unlock this character? One buys him. And he was a pre-order bonus, he's not available as DLC right now (as far as I know). The thing is, the character is completed. The game hits you over the head with this fact if you go into quick battle, which features custom characters using this character's moveset. And even the actual character! So the work was done for him, he's on the disc but you have to pay to unlock him. Funny.

Another example, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has an entire quest line that is locked away unless you buy the game new or buy an "online pass". You need an online pass to enjoy SINGLE PLAYER CONTENT that is already ON THE DISC. Content that was finished already. Not something they had to work on after the game was finished. Something that is completed.

Another similar example to Amalur, Bulletstorm doesn't have all maps for the Anarchy mode unlocked, you need to buy an online pass. Like with Amalur, you need an online pass to enjoy SINGLE PLAYER CONTENT that is already ON THE DISC. The game reminds you about this every time you boot it up, too.

I am NOT saying Day 1 DLC is evil or anything, but DLC is being abused to maximize profits. Those are just some examples off the top of my head.

I never think of DLC as a big deal, unless the developer purposefully left key characters out of my game for DLC purposes. I still really hate how Blazblue: Continuum Shift has one of the best characters, Makoto, only available as a DLC. She played a crucial part in the story mode. She was part of the unstoppable trio of academy superfriends, with Noel and Tsubaki. And for some reason I have to pay money for her.

Day one DLC is not a bad thing, unless gamers have good reason to suspect that someone cheated them out of a full experience. The FPS genre usually provides enough content to keep people happy, but the DLC in fighting games is a pain in the neck. I sincerely hope Aksys and Capcom both change their marketing strategy someday, but they're probably going to continue their cash cow plan. Ugh.

You know what?  The reality is we operate in a market based economy where producers try to supply goods there is a demand for.  Clearly there is a demand for DLC or else they would not be making it.  If day one DLC is a cash grab, MORE POWER TO THEM!  These guys work extremely hard to create these games and are well entitled to make money from them.  If you do not want to pay $10 for a character or mission than don't.  It really is that simple. 

But besides the point, Jason is correct to point out that these DLCs are not a cash grab and his examples offer compelling reasons as to why this is not the case, and I do not need to repeat them here.