Even though Nintendo have a very firm stance on DLC, they plan to introduce paid DLC to its games for the first time in the company’s ridiculously-long history. They are late to the party, DLC is everywhere, and is a loved, hated, and often controversial subject among gamers. However, it’s here to stay.
This is by translation of the original Japanese article, with some parts edited to clarify things that don’t make sense in direct translation. If I made any errors please tell me, my Japanese skill is poor.
“Nintendo’s portable console, the 3DS, plans to have premium DLC starting in March with the introduction of a new billing method. Users who have finished playing with games they have purchased can download additional games and addons from the internet. The extra cost is estimated to be a few hundred yen (a few dollars). Nintendo has revised their marketing strategy regarding DLC to develop new markets.”
Nintendo has been in the industry for 100 years, with their most successful income (after many failed niches) in the modern era coming from the videogame industry. There is no denying that DLC can greatly prolong the life of a game, add new content, and give developers an incentive to keep supporting a game months or even years after its release.
I don’t think they will turn to the strategy of cherrytapping at people’s wallets for minor addons, which is a major complaint about premium DLC. Nippon Ichi for example being a prime offender with selling character DLC for quite a good amount of money. They are a bit late to the party, but if anyone can take the DLC industry by the horns and kick it hard enough to change it, it’s going to be Nintendo.
Chris Hernandez
If Nintendo sticks to their word we will never see any add-ons for Nintendo made games. But even for third-party games it will be a nice option.