DLC has become a large part of the economy of console games. While delivery of such items often comes weeks after a game launches, Epic Games' director of production Rod Fergusson says that plans for DLC extends back far into a game's development.
"What people need to understand is that extra content is something that you have to plan," said Fergusson to Game Informer [thanks CVG]. "There are people who think that the first day of DLC development is the day after you launched. That's not the way it works. A lot of it is that you have to prepare and plan and manage your resources and your people and everything to allow for that."
Fergusson notes that DLC is an alternative to the “Online Pass” system EA has integrated into many of their games. "I think that as the industry has matured we've gotten more into that,” says Fergusson. “It's less about shipping what's left over. It's not about, 'Oh, we had this map left over'... it's keeping the disc in the tray. In a used game culture that you have to actively fight against, I think DLC is one of the ways that you do that."
When talking about the “used game culture” I have to wonder if all of this acts as a service to gamers or as a penalty?
