Nintendo Wants To Make Greater Use Of Downloadable Content In The Future

They get more money for DLC compared to the investment in the main game, so I'm not surprised they're interested in more DLC. Like take BOTW as an example, the game cost €60, the DLC cost €20 and was a tiny fraction of additional content by comparison. Or Smash Bros. on the Wii U/3DS. That's probably the biggest offender, all the DLC for that cost twice as much as the game and was again only a fraction of the main game, with no all in one package option.

MK8's DLC was a good example of it done right, however.

As long as it means games I enjoy get more content and the prices are reasonable, I don't mind much.

More DLC like the original MK8, and not like what they did for Smash Bros 4 please.

As long as that means more major expansion like BotW and MK8, I'm all for it. I just hope they don't start getting into $0.99 hats...

Nintendo finally found the Yen in DLC. Easy money.

I just hope the DLC is better. The BotW DLC was not good.

"To promote longer gameplay for individual software titles, we plan to implement even more downloadable content and events that build excitement for games".

Well this is what they're doing with Splatoon and ARMS, and it's free content.
Then we have season passes for Zelda and Xenoblade 2 and I'm not a fan tbh.

We'll see what's next

"But what does that mean for us gamers?"

Well for this gamer it means waiting even longer after release before I buy a game. I may just start waiting for "next gen" remasters and ports before buying anything. And I'm only half joking. Why buy a game for full MSRP $60 and a season pass for $30 when I can wait a year or 2 and buy the whole thing for $40?

Of course I only play offline single player platformers and JRPG and other "story driven" games, so I don't have to care about being left behind. Those playing online multiplayer games obviously have to get the games day 1 to keep up.

So, where's the February SMO update? I guess since that one is free they'll wait until the 28th, no money to be made so no rush.

@MoonKnight7 Agree 100%. And the fact that the Smash DLC has never been discounted or combined into a single package after all these years is even more annoying

As long as the games are really "finished" I don't mind the DLC.
A recent example is Mario+Rabbids game that felt complete from the start and got DLCs.
Now, don't try to shove a unfinished game like, say, EA does with lots of loot boxes. That is just a no no.

@SuperCharlie78

Arms and Splatoon were release a game with a quarter of the content it should have for a full price game and drop feed you the rest of the content you paid for over 6 months.

No thanks. I’d rather have theb$60-$80 worth of content day 1, not 6 months later.

They better not pull an EA or Capcom on us. Sega was caught in this act when they are attempting to sell the Sonic Forces: Super Sonic DLC for $2 then got called out by fans because of it and now that DLC is free forever. Arc System Works also got caught trying to sell fans half it's normal roster of BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle as paid DLCs, hopefully that got reverse too or Arc System Works would be in the gutter as well. Nintendo better hope their DLC plans doesn't encourage predatory practice otherwise they too would be call out on that.

More Mario Kart. Less Fire Emblem.

@gortsi

Yeah and a discount would make sense, as people who really wanted it bought it on day one anyway. What annoyed me the most about it was the extra dollar to buy it for both versions. I know it's only $1, but I thought that was kinda a cheap shot. I realize that those stages and characters had to be made twice for both versions of the game, but come on, those ~$5 characters were easy money. The least they could have done was throw in the other version for free.

They've said this for 3 years straight. It's just rhetoric to me by this stage.

As long as it’s not content deliberately held back from the game, I’m all for it. I have no problem with paying for additional content developed later on for an already complete game, but intentionally locking away finished content behind a paywall is stupid and unfair. Pricing is important, too. Fifteen bucks for two new fighters in Pokken is ridiculous.

@MarcelRguez - This is the reason I feel this is a bad idea for the consumer.

Literally pieces that don't FEEL like an optional part of a game. For Fire Emblem the game felt complete with the DLC existing alongside it. MK8 essentially said that unless I fork out additional money planned chunk of a core game is restricted from me. And limits the online variety as well as some of these decisions will restrict me from playing with others who do.

On top of that, you're essentially renting content unless you pick it up physically on-disc/cart. Which DLC is oft not added in.

As long as they don't discover Microtransactions and lootboxes.

I'm not worries at all. Nintendo's usually been super generous with DLC, using payments and microtransactions very sparingly. If they make more DLC, they'll definitely do it right.

Only Nintendo DLC that’s been worth it so far has been the MK8 DLC. Everything else has been too expensive

@MoonKnight7 hopefully one day Nintendo will discover that "complete" or GOTY editions don't necessarily need to always be coming on their next console

@the8thark agreed it’s funny how Nintendo gamers praise Splatoons model. The base game is sooo sparse.

Though if it was EA they would make you pay for all that releases content.

@Paraka That's the difference between DLC for single-player games and DLC for multiplayer games. I much prefer the second case, but I get your point.

Don’t read too much into it. Not every vague answer given in an interview needs to be made into a clickbait article.

the other reason why DLC is great for Nintendo, is that people won't sell their games on eBay & co once they complete the game. So less second hand market = more cash for Nintendo.

Source: myself.

I wanted to sell BOTW but i couldn't because of the story DLC. Same thing is now happening with Odyssey, i finished it but because of the balloon DLC, i can't sell it!

Would love lots of DLC for the next Smash, but the price on WiiU was rather steep. Something more akin to MK8’s use of DLC would be great.

@Paraka You are literally the only person I have ever seen unhappy with the MK8 DLC.

Seeing as how EA and Bungie have defined the modern day post-game monetization model, I'm glad Nintendo is sticking with the more traditional DLC model, even if some of that DLC is a bit pricey... cough cough Smash Bros cough cough...

@Indielink - Because I don't rent DLC. You've seen people unhappy with DLC before, my stance should be equally unsurprising.

It's a reason I also don't buy fighting games till they come with a complete edition. You don't buy fighting games when core components, like modes (Capcom...) and fighters, are restricted to those who buy more. You don't buy racing games when tracks are the same way.

Don't paint me as a villain.

I never liked it when Nintendo entered DLC in the first place with NSMB2

@Paraka well considering base MK8 has all the same content as he older MKs sans battle mode (which was never added with paid dlc) I’d say the MK8 Slc was indeed extra content.

I mean, I wouldn't mind having to pay for all the DLC included in Splatoon 2. That game is worth way more than what it was at launch. I'd have paid something like £80 for it, in all honesty. Even though I know how controversial that might sound...

@Paraka I don’t think anybody’s painting you as a villain. Interestingly, Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U was a perfectly complete game before the DLC was announced. They just decided to add some additional content for those who wanted it, expanding the game’s course selection by 50% for only $12 or so. That development time and energy took resources that need to be paid for, and the asking cost was more than reasonable. And those who didn’t want to pay for it still had a very complete game to play. MK8’s DLC was one of the fairest and most reasonable examples of DLC.

And what do you mean by renting DLC?

As long as it’s additional content to extend the life of a game and not content stripped out of what should have been in it in the first place.

DLC isn't inherently evil or good. If it simply adds to a base, completed game, that's cool. I may not be interested, but if I want more game I'll buy it and have my fun.

I bought the Xenoblade 2 Season Pass because I know I want to play more of the game, but I passed on the BotW DLC because what's already there satisfied me already and I wasn't interested in the other shrines or challenges presented.

@thesilverbrick - When someone says something similar to, "You are the only one who X" it's often used to minimize the voice expressing dissent. Grant it I may be a extreme case to voice the concern over Mario Kart, which is beloved by all, but I am no means a unique case about DLC concerns. That I digress, however. I merely made that statement to quash any potential name-slinging and maintain the conversation.

As for the DLC, I am very much aware that it all takes time and resources. I am not asking to make MORE for FREE. It if a game makes it to the shelves and then you add new content that expands the core concept, you're making an essentially prestige system. Those who pay more get more experience from the game. It's a practice I am fully against when it comes to adding story to adventure games (and many of us voiced that concern), same with aforementioned fighters added to fighting games. If your budget cannot offer more of the core game out the gate, just don't do it.

When something is cosmetic, or adds to a certain style of play that isn't the core basis of the game (Pikmin 3 challenge maps) then it doesn't feel like it was intentionally left out, regardless if it was a plan or not. The game doesn't feel "missing" and the consumer doesn't feel less than so when content is offered in that direction.

Renting is essentially what we all do when buying games, music, movies digitally. We "own" a license to play it, but if Steam thinks the game not up to snuff (Hatred's little fiasco) or your favorite artist decides to hang it up and take down their creations, you're out of luck if your data needs to be recovered. Essentially, your library is stored in someone else's house.

Nothing new from what has been seen already (Microsoft and Sony). This is just Kimishima announcing that Nintendo is committed to making service games (dlc & micro transactions), being that this business is very successful. Many hate the idea; but the majority rules. It will continue..

@Mr_Pepperami
I agree. But unless the devs announce their true intention, who can tell the difference between cut content or natural content created after the so-called finish product releases?

I guess it'll come down to how a game is explained and marketed. Nintendo is very secretive anyway..

Release a complete game. Then use the game as a resource to create additional episodic releases from. Mario Odyssey is a huge and complete game - great amount of content at $60. Release more worlds episodically, smaller worlds for 5 bucks a pop, 10 bucks for bigger kingdoms. Love to see episodic DLC released AFTER a game, rather than episodes making up a game.

@thesilverbrick I'd poo poo away people's worries on Nintendo abusing DLC, but, like you, that Pokken DLC at that price seems absurd - and was what I immediately thought of when reading this. Don't know if their thinking was (each one of this is worth about half a physical amiibo. I'm sure they're using this as a price point test - hopefully not many get it.

Fine by me, so long as they continue as they have for the past few years: substantial, quality content for paid DLC, small updates offered for free, and retail games that feel like finished products where the DLC is a nice bonus, and not mandatory.

Thus far, Nintendo's approach to Dlc has been decent. At the top end of the spectrum, you've got the free support which graced the Splatoon games and ARMS. Then you have premium Dlc, the best of which is arguably Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, which at the time represented great value for money. I must confess I haven't got around to the Zelda Dlc yet, but it's there waiting and does seem to represent a fair quantity of extra gameplay. Single-player story Dlc is always welcome. The main thing for me about all of the above is that you get the impression it wasn't withheld, the biggest indicator for this being it wasn't just added in a month after release, but you had to wait an unusually (relative to other developers) long amount of time while the Dlc was put together. Then you get to more divisive Dlc like Super Smash Bros. One thing I give credit to Nintendo for with Smash Bros is that unlike other fighting games, there are stages and characters to be unlocked through gameplay. However the premium Dlc is arguably very costly for what it is relative to other Nintendo dlc, but on par with other fighting games so shouldn't have been too upsetting to fans of the genre. That being said, I feel it's worth pointing to Tekken whose last two entries (Tag 2 + Tekken 7) gave away substantial parts of their Dlc more along the lines of ARMS. I feel Nintendo is moving towards conventional Dlc as their last attempt at Dlc is arguably finished. I'm referring of course to amiibo. If you bought them for the figures alone, you got what you paid for and they look great. If you bought them for the Dlc then sometimes you felt ripped off and other times you felt Nintendo were forcing a pay-to-play approach (Mario Party 10 and Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival being the worst examples of clearly withheld content that would have made smartphone developers proud). In short, there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about Nintendo embracing Dlc, but reason to be cautious too. We can only hope Nintendo have learnt lessons from their less popular efforts, but as is always the case with Nintendo they usually flip between being their own worst enemy and their own greatest asset without warning.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE
I didn't have a problem with the smash dlc for Wii U. The roster was already huge and I thought that the new characters were worth the price.

I don't like dlc, there is always some sinister thoughts behind them, Nintendo or EA. Though as long games are whole and complete in the firs place, it's tolerable. In such a good case I just don't care for them or buy them, but if they will make original games more dependent on dlc, I guess I won't be buying the at all. I hope it never comes to that, but knowing humanity and my luck, it probably will, it's really sad... That's why I am preparing to give up on new games all together, because future has no hope...

Lord, I hope they won't ape EA or Ubisoft. I've long thought Nintendo is at times behind in the times from other companies (like embracing the internet and such) so that would be my personal 'be careful what you wish for' nightmare scenario because when they are being creative they hold on to it way past it's prime (like motion controls)

They need to make more "Story" focus DLC. Didn't care for the ZBOTW DLC because of that. Give us a big chunk of new world and Narrative like in Frozen Wild.

And let the people who play games for the Story just buy that on its own - no need for the mindless horde mode or silly digital T-shirt in a forced bundle. Sell that for 0.99 on the side.

Remember the good old days when Nintendo barely even recognised the Internet even existed?!

Anyway something like the new Far Cry 5 season pass would be ok as it offers big value...

As long as we get back to Mario Kart 8 quality and pricing of DLC im perfectly fine with it.

@Paraka I'm not painting you as a villain. MK8 DLC is literally the most value effective DLC I have seen ANY company do in years. 12 dollars for 50% more game is great.

And I just read your response to Silverbrick, I do not see a problem with paying more to get more. The 12 extra dollars I spent should not diminish your enjoyment of the base MK8 game. You still have a great, content complete game. Same thing with story DLC, if you want more then you pay more. The story DLC for Xenoblade 2 that we are getting this winter should not dampen the 100+ hour story that you got in December.

I am mixed on paid downloadable characters for fighting games only because of the inherent competitive nature of them. It's much more difficult to learn to counter or play against a new character if you don't own them and learn how they work. Yeah Capcom botched the hell out of Street Fighter 5. (Don't get me started on other competitive games like Battlefront 2; that is a travesty)

I understand and agree with several of your other concerns relating to DLC, mostly in terms of who actually owns the content and what happens when the stores holding said content are shutdown.

DLC of quantifiable content is fine. If I know what I'm getting with my money, cool. blind boxes can go stop being a thing now.

Games are just getting more expensive to make, and the more they do, the devs have to start making up the money somewhere. Nobody's sitting line to pay more than 60$ for a new game, so they have to start making that revenue somewhere!

I always wait for GOTY version of a game or if the price is lower... DLC is too expensive sometimes....

@SLIGEACH_EIRE A tiny fraction? The volume of missions/content in the Champion's Ballad DLC alone feels like ~30% of the main game, so it's actually more value for money than the main game. Because for those 20€ we got two DLCs, not just the Champion's Ballad.
Plus the first DLC contained invaluable additions like Heroes Path and the Travel Medallion - both additions you can't really put a price tag on. If I had to, I would've paid 20€ just for these, because they're so practical (even though they don't require much work from the devs at all).
Not to mention the second DLC also added invaluable content like the ancient horse gear and the mastercycle zero.

Really, I think 20€ are extremely cheap for those two DLCs. Other companies would've asked us to pay ~30€ for each of the two DLCs!

As long as Nintendo continue to go their own way regarding DLCs, I'm totally fine with it. So far I really enjoyed all of their DLCs (yes, even Ryu in Smash for 5€). As long as they offer that much value for money, I'm happy to buy the DLC. I'd even want them to add more DLC - without taking anything away from the main game of course.
And obviously Splatoon should continue having free DLCs.

As long as they do it the right way, unlike most devs. In theory, I love the concept of DLC, getting to play more of my favorite games for a small fee, but recent attempts from EA and others just feel like they're milking us of money instead of giving us more to play.

@Dang69 I’m hoping the pricing on that was more a decision of The Pokémon Company rather than Nintendo itself. But seeing how Nintendo seems to want to charge $80 for cardboard and minigames these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was an internal decision.

Oh God please no please....imagine Nintendo with microtransactions. That day will be the end of gaming.

@Paraka I see what you’re saying, but are you implying you would prefer they had saved the 16 additional DLC courses for another Mario Kart game? If that were so, you would just be paying $60 to play them. I would much rather pay a much smaller amount to have the game expanded now, rather than wait another five years and pay full price for another entry. I could see the complaint if the original base game came with fewer courses than usual and we were expected to pay for the missing courses separately. But that’s not the case. When the game launched, everyone was happy with the way it was; it was an entirely complete experience. Suddenly, there is optional additional content made available, and you’re upset? This new set of courses doesn’t take away from what you already have. In fact, if you ignore its existence, your experience with the game will not change. I can’t see how it’s a problem. You don’t suddenly have less when more becomes available.
If you want to be technical, everything we buy is a “rental”. Nothing lasts forever. As long as you protect your downloaded data (which is easy to do by cloning your microSD card or external hard drive) you will effectively “own” the game as long as you would if it were stored on a disc or cartridge. And while the servers are up, you are free to download software you purchased as many times as you need to. If you damage a proprietary cartridge or scratch a game disc, that’s it. Nintendo is not replacing it for you.
I used to hate the idea of digital media, but by using universal storage methods, Nintendo has made it so that it’s fairly easy to preserve what you’ve downloaded forever, even when their servers go down.

(@jimi I just read your comment above and I figured part of this post would apply to you, as well.)

How much more content do games really need? Things like Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles already take ages to complete (to their detriment some might say). It all becomes a bit overwhelming/messy with DLC on top. I have bought DLC, but only because of FOMO... I guess that's how they get you...

I have no time at the moment to read through 60+ comments, but here's my two cents: I don't mind DLC and micro transactions when they're implemented fairly. They should be truly optional (No "true ending" or "true path" hogwash like what FE: Fates tried pulling) where you know precisely what you're paying for. In the case of micro-transactions, I believe these are fair as long as there are alternative ways to level up/get those items/etc. the proper way vs. the "Meh, I'll save time and spend some $$$ instead" mentality.

In my opinion, games should be shipped in a fully finished, cohesive state with any add-on content to be added at the behest of each individual. Freebies are always nice, but I don't have a problem with paid content (though I'm not a big DLC guru) as long as it's handled correctly.

They should focus on creating a cloud save option before they start asking us for even more money.

@jimi Wait the Switch doesn't even save your game on the cartridge? Then what's the point of buying those things? This has to be the most disgusting thing I've read in ages. A $300+ console that can't even save game data onto cartridges. Never change Nintendo. Never change.

@thesilverbrick - I'd much prefer paying 60 bucks to play them later, hence why I have MK8D as opposed to MK8 for the same price with "less but more." When small amounts become more available though DLC, like tracks, I should feel at a loss when I do not opt for paying 10 extra dollars for more? There are games where DLC segregates the haves and have-nots, encouraging more to just "shut up and pay" if they want the access to what used to be available players for everyone. Nintendo has not practice this in its entirety, but I'd be damned if say Smash 5 did so with those that play DLC characters and stages from those that opt not to. Even if the excuse is a genuine technical thing.

And your opinion of storage cloning is essentially saying I should continually invest in more to invest in the same. Nothing lasts forever, I get that, but I prefer personal control over personal things as opposed to having a company responsible for everyone's things. My house can burn down and it'll be up to me to replace what was lost, just like your data pre-cloning. but unlike digital when the servers go down, I have some venues like internet storefront to replace what was lost. There is no guarantee to be able to re download a WiiWare game if your storage fries before successfully transferring data.

Another note; your argument of "paying a little extra" for resources like MK games sort of get holes shot through it when Splatoon games offered new arenas free for some time now. I won't genuinely do this cause different approaches to advertise and market were used so there is a lot of hair splitting.

And it begins...this is where they turn into EA.

@Paraka I think you missed my point about the Mario kart DLC. Maybe I wasn’t clear. I was trying to say that if they didn’t include the 16 extra tracks for $12, you would have paid $60 later on to play them if they had just been included in, say, Mario Kart 9. I would much prefer to spend $12 instead of 60. But that’s me.

And as far as cloning storage is concerned, my point is digital downloads are kept on physical media, anyway. Just protect that physical media the same way you would protect your cartridges or game discs and you’ll have it just as long (or even longer, since disc rot is a thing). And unlike proprietary cartridges or discs, you can even back up your digital purchases.

Comparing Splatoon and Mario Kart’s DLC isn’t fair. Without DLC, Splatoon is a barebones experience. It’s incomplete. Releasing things over time in a game like that was the plan from the beginning and it works because it is entirely online and community driven. Changing the game over time by adding content keeps it fresh and new for everybody, thereby ensuring the player base stays interested and active. Such a release schedule of free downloadable content was planned from the start and factored into the budget. Mario Kart 8 was entirely complete before the DLC. What was released later was purely extra, and it didn’t take anything away from the original experience. You didn’t lose anything you already had just because more was offered.

I still don’t see why it’s a problem. If you don’t want it, don’t buy it. You still have a very complete game without the DLC. For those who want more courses and don’t want to wait five years and pay $60 for a new installment of Mario Kart, this is a nice treat.

For me, I vote with my wallet. New Super Luigi U was the BEST implemention as far as bang for my buck. I got a full new game that was even more fun than the original for $20. I bought that without hesitation. Mario Kart 8 came out with it and the new karts and characters did nothing for me, but the new maps have us lots more enjoyable playing time. My wife and I got gold at each speed and every cup (including the free 200cc DLC) and still wanted to play more so I bought the DLC and never regretted it.
New Super Mario Bros 2 I just felt like they wanted too much money for each and every level so I never bought any (although I almost bought 1 that looked particularly fun)
Pikmin 3, I enjoyed, but not even enough to conquer the main game so I had no desire to buy more
Smash, the additional characters wouldn't have increased how often I play and I think they would have decreased my enjoyment (as I like being decent at everyone but the more characters there are the harder it is to learn them all) plus it was so filthy expensive so I never bought any of them
Breath of the Wild I will probably buy. I conquered the game and if the Ballad of the Champions had been available that day I would've bought it immediately, but by the time it came out I was playing NBA 2K and Xenoblade. I'm 90% sure I'll buy it I'm just not yet sure when. Probably in a few months when I'm wishing to play some more Zelda
We'll see where I stand as it continues to come out, but I never feel like I have to buy it.

@the8thark That may be true for Arms, but definitely not Splatoon 2.

@Indielink - I get that many people feel it is a greatly priced bit of DLC, but we are ALSO comparing it to past exercises of what DLC means to us as gamers. Nintendo could have done half of what they did and still be lavished for it, because once again the poor choices that were made the norm before it.

For DLC-sake, Nintendo should be looked at as what you SHOULD expect as far as quantity and quality for the price you pay. Not rewarded for going above a rather low bar.

As for the MK8 DLC, it was still core DLC. Where one CAN argue character stats, how they can impact the game. For MK8, you can damn near replicate every single DLC character with existing combos. Which boiled down to what cosmetic you want. Track I cannot practice on, and unless I was online and REALLY lucked out, the track was essentially unavailable to me. Yes, I COULD have spent 12 bucks, and yes I probably spent more for less. But there is a point, and a risk, where downloading that may mean it is not available to me down the road, where as Deluxe, it will be.

Mind you, I am not outright declaring DLC should not exist (though admittedly, we as gamers may be better off), but certain practices should not be rewarded or encouraged in a lot of venues. And shaming one company while praising another for the same practice isn't exactly something that bodes well of how the reception will be for Nintendo and its fans.

Now my arguments will admittedly become moot if more developers make "complete" or "deluxe" editions of their games down the road, I am patient for most of that. But that is NEVER a guarantee.

@thesilverbrick - I get that, and like them I would much rather just wait and potentially get a completed re-release a year or so out, instead of 5 years for a brand new one with no guarantee the DLC of previous ones were considered.

Even then, if that were the case, consider the conversations had when that became a reality.

Come on, then, give us more DLC for ARMS!

While you're at it, why not Mario Kart 8 Deluxe?

I’ve already grown accustomed to not play PS4 games on day 1 but rather wait for a GOTY Edition that includes all DLC. I suppose now I’m gonna have to start doing that Switch games if Nintendo pulls this crap.

** subtext ***
Nintendo wants to keep making money

To be fair; mk8 and BOTW are the one 2 paid dlc... otherwise their constant updating of arms and Splatoon are a treat. I would personally pay for more tracks on Mario kart and BOTW I hadn't played for months, the main story DLC brought me back to the game.

Nintendo really got it right with New Super Luigi U. and Mario Kart 8 DLC. I can't say that the Breath of the Wild DLC has really knocked my socks off, but with an open world game of that immensity, there's not really much they can add that isn't just, "Here's the same thing, but HARDER!"

@Abes3 Pokken as well, that’s also getting paid DLC.

@Thisismycomment I'm not certain Nintendo will ever do a "Game of the Year" scheme. They've never really been terribly forthcoming with their extra content, outside of bundling it into packages with a minor price reduction. They would much rather have you purchase the game, and drop an additional $10-$50 on "extra" content that should've been included in the game for free.

I know it's not Nintendo, but Theatrhythm Final Fantasy was PARTICULARLY egregious about its DLC. Sure, the game, itself, costs $30; but the DLC brought the total game price to over $150, when all was said and done. That was just ridiculous

Looks like it’s time to have ‘the talk’: You see, when a company likes revenue very much, they decide to have DLC. They do this by taking their micro transactions and put it into their games to show their fans how much they love them. . . .

As long as Nintendo doesn't do DLC abuse with content that could be easily main game like with Xenoblade 2 and Zelda BOTW, I won't mind.

@MarcelRguez "More Mario Kart. Less Fire Emblem"
For real I wish I could upvote you twice. I'm still salty that Nintendo and Intelligent Systems had the balls to think that Fire Emblem Echoes joke of a season pass was worth it's asking price. That dlc clearly does not amount to a full games worth of content yet they have the gall to price it at $45, more than the price of the freaking game

Is this a new kind of journalistic coverage? Using one sentence someone said and make a whole article? In other words: I am reading a lot of trash articles lately on Nintendo Life or I am starting to be "picky".

@Oat No lies detected. Yeah, it's a travesty. We'll see what happens with the next entry, but I have this horrible feeling telling me people actually bought the damn season pass of SoV.

I would love if Nintendo continues to do DLCs like Hyrule Warriors or Mario Kart 8.

@shani yep me buying the Zelda dlc in my mind was like giving them a gratuity for such a fantastic main game. I don’t think i’ve ever clocked up more than 240 hours in a game before. I beat the champions ballad quite quickly but loved it. Still need to do the trial of the sword though.

Well this has been obvious for a while. Nintendo do DLC so wrong most of the time, so this has been a good time to not jump on the next console.

"Such a statement isn't a huge shock considering how well received Breath Of The Wild's Champions' Ballad DLC was late last year."

I don't recall it being particularly well received by readers here. I remember quite a lot of negativity, actually.

I miss Iwata. Nintendo has gotten rather greedy under Kimishima.

@MarcelRguez

More Fire Emblem Fates, less FE Echoes.

For all the crap Fates gets, people seem to downplay the fact that the base game was more robust than any FE game before it (with only Awakening arguably rivaling it).

Then for 20 bucks you got an entirely new path. Half the price for a full-sized game, only sharing the introductory chapters. You got somewhere around 30 new characters and maps.

That's more than even Mario Kart offered you for your 20 bucks.

@BLD people seem to downplay the fact that the base game was more robust than any FE game before it
Gameplay-wise? Sure.
Holistically-speaking though? Hell no.

While this is annoying, especially since I wasn't exactly impressed with the Zelda DLC and honestly regret buying it, I can deal with it. I just don't want micro-transactions.

However, if they're gonna start watering down their main games to make way for DLC, then I'm gonna start having a big problem.

So long as Nintendo keeps prices fair and doesn't start doing day 1 DLC nonsense, I am cool. If the content is done and ready at launch, it shouldn't be DLC. I am sorry, but it just shouldn't. What's fair for the price of DLC however is subjective and based on the game and nature of the DLC. I always thought the old Xbox 360 map packs for FPS games (3 maps for 20 bucks) was pretty reasonable because they were huge makes back in the beginning, but then games started having like 8 of these map packs and in the end you'd be paying WAY over what I considered fair - or lose access to much of the multi-player.

I read a few posts in and see people tripping all over themselves to justify DLC because Nintendo does it 'right'.

It's as if people believe Nintendo is immune to the same downhill slope that has affected every other company. Games developed with DLC are always going to be affected by that fact. Just little things that developers think about (or create) but they don't include because they know there will be DLC.

STOP IT! If you justify DLC then you are justifying all that comes with it. Lootboxes, microtransactions, whatever the next anti-consumer thing is that they come up with.

More DLC/content updates would be wonderful. Especially new tracks/characters for MK8 Deluxe, new Kingdoms for Mario Odyssey and a season pass for Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition. Just got to hope for the best.

@rjejr
For single-player games, you're right to wait. I give in all the time on games that really excite me, of course, but the backlog is real. For most, there is just no rush and the deals only get better. Even the best online games get richer over time.

But this is why big AAA single-player games can be such a challenge to make successful. The $60 hard price limit that gamers won't cross along with simultaneous demand for high production value and content and hours of play forces all these other marketing approaches.

A larger group of gamers can also help.

I'm all for it. Nintendo should know I will pay any amount of money for any Mario Kart or DLC relating to it. I think Nintendo has done fairly well in their pricing but they could use for more DLC content for more games. That said I love that so far they have offered free DLC for Splatoon to keep the online community alive. Without that the game would be successful but not what it is today.

I'm not sure what people are complaining about regarding the amount of content in Zelda BOTW DLC. It was $20 and provided 16 new shrines, a new Divine Beast, the Master Sword Trials, and a ton of collectibles/costumes.

Comparisons with Mario Kart 8's DLC is ridiculous; one is a multiplayer kart racer and the other is a gigantic single-player open world adventure game. Adding "50% more content" to Mario Kart is a lot easier than adding "50% more content" to Zelda BOTW.

And if you are complaining about the mere existence of in-game monetization rather than the methods of implementation of in-game monetization, then you'd best go find yourself another hobby, because downloadable content in games won't be going away anytime soon.

I'm OK with DLC if it comes out well after the game is released. Something that comes out within a couple of months feels like it should've been part of the original game. Whereas DLC that arrives a year or so later feels like proper new content that was developed post-game

Well, as long as it focuses on more substansive content. Like many comments are saying, Mario Kart 8 was a prime example. Like say for a Metroid title, the DLC could be this whole new section in the game with new power-ups and goodies. Something like that

@aaronsullivan "the deals only get better"

Like Rime being free on PS4 w/ PS+ in about 14 hours while Switch waits for it's update. Just renewed our PS+ the kids got for Hanukkah.

"such a challenge to make successful"

That's what amibo are for. BotW had what, $160 worth? Not counting the $15 I paid for Wolf Link to get the wolf sidekick. SMO had 3 white wedding ones, that's $45.

I can see how it could get expensive though to make God of War or Spiderman. But they'll make their money back, those games will sell a million at $60, that's $60m. Then a few months later they'll be on sale for $45 to sell some more. Then they'll be on sale for $30 over the holidays, though the retailers may be taking a lot of that loss. Then they'll make more money in 2 years on the 4k versions on PS5. And it will cost them peanuts to port. Nintendo and platinum may not have made much money on the Wii U version of Bayonetta 2 but the Switch version is pretty much all gravy I think. I rarely if ever double dip though. Well I have, bought a few PS2 HD remasters, but mostly for my kids, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper. We've so far held off on Crash b/c "hard" My oldest did buy Cuphead for is birthday though, he's doing well. $20, not $60, no DLC.

When DLC first came onto the scene all those years ago, it was basically in the form of partial game expansions. So many companies saw that a PC game had a loyal following and wanted to get content to them faster instead of making them wait years for an expansion.

The fundamental concept of DLC was great, more of a game you love. It would introduce extra hours of gameplay, challenges, and even sometimes whole new gameplay modes.

But then greed had to ruin it, on disc dlc, aesthetic dlc, loot boxes, ect ect. The concept is tarnished completely. People compare amiibo to dlc without realizing that Amiibo are things you actually own and can resell, infinitely better.

But so far Nintendo has been mostly good with their DLC so lets hope that continues.

eh sure but as long as it's free and also on all major 3ds games like smash bros

@aaronsullivan This is a weird thing to say on Nintendo Life. If Nintendo fans cared about the best graphics then Nintendo would not get away with producing lower power devices.

Publishers need to lower their budgets, it's just that simple. The way things are now is not sustainable.

Nintendo: we're gonna milk you like a dairy cow, but it's for your own god, you must understand.

Cya
Raziel-chan

The problem with downloading a game with Nintendo is their high pricing compared to a physical game. Also if I download a book or dvd and it is no good I lost a few pounds. With a game I am £50 out of pocket. With a physical copy I have a trade value.

DLC or season passes are always overpriced. Mario + Rabbids season pass has not had a very positive review so far. You are paying a third of the original game price for less than a fifth of the original content, assuming the Konkey Kong area is as big as the others.
Similar with Zelda.

If Nintendo want us to keep our physical copy so the market is not flooded with second hand games they should rethink their download price.

Anyway a re-release of the game will include all content. ie Mario Kart.

I never really do DLC , as I never really feel the need to, especially at some of the prices they charge.

Once I've completed a game, that generally means for me, that I'm pretty much done with the game unless it has an online incentive to play for a bit longer too.

Plus I don't like the idea of deliberately leaving things out of games, releasing it unfinished and buggy and then charging people for the privilege of what should have already been in that £50 game they just bought.

And no, I am not a tight person by any means, I find it more just the principle of the thing in some ways.

However, I am all up for DLC when IMO it is done correct, and just like many have mentioned already, Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U is a fine example of that.

They released a fully finished, polished and ready to go game with a ton of content, but then decided to add some extra bells and whistles to make a great game even greater at a very small extra cost.

That is the way to go IMO, not charge £40 extra on top of the £50 you just paid so you can unlock two new levels and new gun.

If they do it like MK8 sure, otherwise I just wait or forgo it altogether.

Seems like DLC will always vary from game to game so will judge each based on it's merits. Generally I don't bother with DLC, haven't got around to playing BotW yet but will definitely purchase the DLC for it.

Like everybody else says MK8 was a great example. Smash Bros. was really bad, I only purchased a small amount of DLC for that.

@thesilverbrick Oh don't be so down on that LABO, lol, the mini game stuff with cardboard is ONLY 70 bucks and the giant robot backpack game is 80. A lot of that price too is, you pay for for the actual designing and figuring out of how all that crap fits together, in addition to the cardboard material itself and the software that comes with it. It's a little like (respectfully) going to buy a painting from an artist but then complaining it doesn't cost as much as the canvas. I'm not into the idea of the mini games, but I'm totally getting the robot one, even if I only play it a few times. I've see you post love for ARMS, thought you'd be into that robo one.

But that is a good point on the Pokken DLC - completely forgot that the Pokemon Company either sets that pricing or shares it with Nintendo.

@Dang69 I don’t really want to roll out the endless debate about Labo pricing, but my issue doesn’t come with the fact that the materials are inexpensive. I have a problem with the fact that what you are paying for is incredibly fragile, biodegradable and won’t last any more than a couple weeks through normal use. That would be like paying for the painting in your comparison and having it be on a napkin instead of a canvas.

@thesilverbrick You'd amazed at the grades of corrugated cardboard available, what can actually be done with said cardboard and how durable it can be. I worked in a matte room at an ad agency for a couple years before getting promoted up - it's crazy how strong it is IF the right amount of surface area, folds,and way in which you utilize how the corrugation runs (like shaving with or against the grain) to add strength to it. We had these two old dudes that worked with us that could make anything out of cardboard (football stadiums, cars that rolled, etc), it had to be durable enough to survive demoing and shipping and manhandling. I guess I was off about the painting analogy though. I mean I guess we'll both see when the stuff comes out. I miiiight put in a pre-order for the robo one, but I wanna see how everyone else says it feels without dropping that kind of cash. Keep an open mind, maybe it'll be worth the price and not as delicate as one may assume!

@Dang69 I also want to clarify that I think Labo is absolutely brilliant. I was grinning through the entire reveal trailer until I saw the price. I figure I’ll wait until I can get a Labo game card super cheap used and see if I can find the patterns online.

@Crono1973 Not sure what you're getting at about discussing it on Nintendo Life, but I was talking industry-wide.

Paid online for a big multplayer-game with lootboxes...Here I come!!
Nah, just joking of course!