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Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for a released video game. It is distributed through the Internet by the game's official publisher. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from aesthetic outfit changes to a new, extensive storyline, similar to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes, objects, levels, challenges, or other features to a complete, already-released game. It is a form of video game monetization, enabling a publisher to gain additional revenue from a title after it has been purchased by offering DLC at low costs, frequently using a type of microtransaction system for payment.

In the case of episodic video games, a new episode may come in the form of downloadable content, whereas music video games utilize this media to offer new songs for the players. Downloadable content became prevalent in the 21st century, and especially with the proliferation of Internet-enabled, sixth-generation video game consoles. Special edition or Game of the Year re-releases of games often incorporate previously released DLC along with the main title in a physical package.

History

Precursors to DLC

The earliest form of downloadable content were offerings of full games, such as on the Atari 2600's GameLine service, which allowed users to download games using a telephone line. A similar service, Sega Channel, allowed for the downloading of games to the Sega Genesis over a cable line. While the GameLine and Sega Channel services allowed for the distribution of entire titles, they did not provide downloadable content for existing titles.

On personal computers

As the popularity and speed of internet connections rose, so did the popularity of using the internet for digital distribution of media. User-created game mods and maps were distributed exclusively online, as they were mainly created by people without the infrastructure capable of distributing the content through physical media.

In 1997, Cavedog offered for their real-time strategy computer game Total Annihilation free downloadable additional created content, a new unit every month.^[1][2]

On consoles

The Dreamcast was the first console to feature online support as a standard; DLC was available, though limited in size due to the narrowband connection and the size limitations of a memory card. These online features were still considered a breakthrough in video games, but the competing PlayStation 2 did not ship with a built-in network adapter.^[3]

With the advent of the Xbox, Microsoft was the second company to implement downloadable content. Many original Xbox Live titles, including Splinter Cell, Halo 2, and Ninja Gaiden, offered varying amounts of extra content, available for download through the Xbox Live service. Most of this content, with the notable exception of content for Microsoft-published titles, was available for free.^[4]

With the Xbox 360 introduction in 2005, Microsoft integrated downloadable content more fully into their console, devoting an entire section of the console's user interface to the Xbox Live Marketplace. Microsoft believed that publishers would benefit by offering small pieces of content at a small cost ($1 to $5), rather than full expansion packs (~$20), as this would allow players to pick and chose what content they desired, providing revenue to the publishers. They also partially removed the need for credit cards by implementing their own Microsoft Points currency, which could be bought either with a credit card online or as redeemable codes in game stores to avoid the banking fees associated with the small price points.^[5] This is a strategy that would be adopted by Nintendo with Nintendo Points and Sony with the PlayStation Network Card.

One of the most infamous examples of DLC on consoles was the Horse Armor DLC package released on the Xbox Live Marketplace in 2006 for the Bethesda Softworks game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion that fans criticized as useless and overpriced.^[6] However, by 2009, the Horse Armor DLC was one of the top ten content packs that Bethesda had sold, which justified the DLC model for future games.^[5]

Sony adopted the same approach with their downloadable hub, the PlayStation Store. With Gran Turismo HD, Sony planned an entirely barebones title, with the idea of requiring the bulk of the content to be purchased separately via many separate online microtransactions.^[7] The project was later canceled. Nintendo has featured a sparser amount of downloadable content on their Wii Shop Channel, the bulk of which is accounted for by digital distribution of emulated Nintendo titles from previous generations.

Music video games such as titles from the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises have taken significant advantage of downloadable content. Harmonix claimed that Guitar Hero II would feature "more online content than anyone has ever seen in a game to this date."^[8]Rock Band features the largest number of downloadable items of any console video game, with a steady number of new songs that were added weekly between 2007 and 2013. Acquiring all the downloadable content for Rock Band would, as of July 12, 2012, cost $9,150.10.^[9]

On handhelds

Nokia phones of the late 1990s and early 2000s shipped with side-scrolling shooter Space Impact, available on various models. With the introduction of WAP in 2000, additional downloadable content for the game, with extra levels, became available.

Through use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection users can download DLC to the Nintendo DS handheld for certain games. A good example is Picross DS, in which users can download puzzle "packs" of classic puzzles from previous Picross games (such as Mario's Picross)^[10] as well as downloadable user generated content.^[11]Professor Layton and the Curious Village was thought to have "bonus puzzles" that can be "downloaded" using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, however connecting to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection simply unlocked the puzzles which were already stored in the game.^[12] Similarly, Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 had hidden costumes that were unlocked using DS Download Stations for a limited time.

Due to the Nintendo DS's use of cartridges and lack of a hard drive there is limited space for DLC and developers would have to plan for storage space on the cartridge. Picross DS itself only has room for ten puzzle packs, and Professor Layton's and Ouendan 2's DLC is already on the cartridge and is simply unlocked with a weekly code.

The Nintendo DS's downloadable content is distinct as it is currently being offered at no cost. However, the Nintendo DSi contains a Shop similar to that of the Wii that contains games and applications, most of which must be bought using Nintendo Points. It is also worth noting that, using the Wii's Nintendo Channel, various DS files, such as Game Demo's and videos can be downloaded onto the Wii console and transferred via wireless to a DSi handheld.

The Nintendo 3DS supports downloadable content as of update (4.0.0.7U), the first title to support it being Theatrhythm Final Fantasy^[13] in the form of extra songs. Other games to support DLC quickly followed, such as Fire Emblem: Awakening, and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

Starting with Apple's iPhone OS version 3.0 release, and Apple's iPhone 4, downloadable content became available for the platform via applications bought from the App Store. While this ability was initially only available to developers for paid applications, Apple eventually allowed for developers to offer this in free applications as well in October 2009.^[14]

Controversy

On occasion, the use of DLC has been criticized by those who have questioned why the additional content could not have been included in the standard version of the game. One such example was when BioWare and Electronic Arts released Mass Effect 3 along with the DLC “From Ashes.” Many in the gaming community felt that they were cheated by BioWare and Electronic Arts. Many thought that BioWare, upon completing game development decided to remove a portion of the game that would eventually become “From Ashes.”^[15] Michael Gamble, an associate producer for BioWare explained on Twitter the reason for the DLC's immediate release, “During that certification time, we had a small team of developers begin to craft the ‘From Ashes’ content, with the intent to finish production on it long after ME3 was out of our hands as a dev team.”^[15][16] In an official statement to Game Informer, Electronic Arts explained why some portions of “From Ashes” were preloaded onto the disc. “From Ashes is a 600 Megabyte plus download with all new content... As stated previously, in order to seamlessly integrate Javik (bonus character included in “From Ashes”) into the core campaign, certain framework elements and character models needed to be put on disc.”^[16]

Pricing

Pricing for downloadable content generally varies from free to $20.^[17] Since Facebook games popularized the business model of microtransactions,^[18] some have criticized downloadable content as being overpriced and an incentive for developers to leave items out of the initial release.^[19]

In addition to individual content downloads, video game publishers sometimes offer a "season pass", which allows users to pre-order a selection of upcoming content over a specific time period, and ensuring the customer's ability to immediately obtain the content upon release. While a season pass is often a way to get a discount when compared to purchasing each DLC individually, critics argue that you are essentially paying upfront for something that you don't know what it will be. Downloadable content can also be included in a game purchase, such as with pre-order bonuses or bundled into re-releases of the full game, often branded as a "Game of the Year" edition or similar.

Certain items are provided for free. Providing free DLC can also provide revenue for game companies at the expense of users' convenience. For example, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PlayStation 3 was shipped with certain features disabled. However, users can freely download packs to re enable the missing content from the PlayStation Store. Consequently, users are exposed to advertisements and potential purchases. There is also the additional marketing benefit that users may believe that there is continuing support for the product if there is an apparent flow of such patches.

Where a normal software disc may allow its license sold or traded, DLC is generally locked to a specific user's account and does not come with the ability to transfer that license to another user. For instance, non-transferable DLCs were used in EA's "Project Ten Dollars" as mechanism to fight the used games market.^[20][21]

Microsoft has been known to require developers to charge for their content, when the developers would rather release their content for free.^[22] Some content has even been withheld from release because the developer refused to charge the amount Microsoft required.^[22][23] Epic Games, known for continual support of their older titles with downloadable updates, believed that releasing downloadable content over the course of a game's lifetime helped increase sales throughout, and had succeeded well with that business-model in the past, but was required to implement fees for downloads when releasing content for their Microsoft-published game, Gears of War.^[22]

As of 2010 the sale of DLC makes up around 20% of video games sales, a substantial portion of a developer's profit margin. Developers are beginning to use the sale of DLC for an already successful game series to fund the development of new IP’s or sequels to existing games.^[24]

Availability

While some content is delivered exclusively through online services, other extra content may already be on the game disc. Extra content on a game disc is inaccessible until it is unlocked by an online service (named "disc-locked" content^[25]). Some criticism stems from the fact that many of the items sold on sites like Xbox Live Marketplace are not downloadable content at all, but are instead content keys used to unlock content already on the game disc. Because of this, many people feel as if they are paying to unlock content they already purchased when they bought the game itself. For instance, criticism arose over the downloadable characters for Street Fighter X Tekken, which were found to already be on the game discs.^[26][27]

Publishers may also choose to re-release certain titles with previously available downloadable content bundled. There is also criticism concerning the exclusivity of downloadable contents, as some of these contents are frequently added to new disc version of the game. Buyers of the Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition would have access to contents previously exclusives as downloadable content without having to pay any extra fee.^[28] The Star Wars: The Force Unleashed re-release "Ultimate Sith Edition" featured an additional level that was later released as DLC, despite LucasArts stating it was exclusive to the re-released version.^[29]

There have also been cases where DLCs were intended to be part of the main game, but they were later stripped out of it in order to be sold as a separate feature. Tomb Raider: Underworld has been criticized for providing two DLCs, exclusive to the Xbox 360, that were supposedly removed from the original game.^[30][31]The Sims 4: My First Pet was likewise criticised for containing items that had seemingly been removed from the Cats & Dogs expansion, with the DLC requiring the downloadable expansion pack in order to work. PCGamesN described it as "a stuff pack for an expansion pack".^[32]

In other media

While video games are the origins of downloadable content, with movies, books and music also becoming more popular in the digital sphere, experimental DLC has also been attempted. Amazon's Kindle service for example allows updating ebooks, which allows authors to not only update and correct work, but also add content.

References