I remember the days where you'd buy a game, and you'd have the whole game.

[Superbus]

I've got mixed feelings concerning DLCs... there are good ones, expanding on the story, feeling like the expansion packs of the past, and there are bad ones, being overpriced and/or overpowered items or stuff in-game(for totally lazy players: buy 100 000 EXP so you don't have to grind so much!... That stuff is just milking the cash cow).

An example for bad DLC would be Omega: it's quite nice, finally fighting alongside Aria and beating the shit out of Cerberus troops and learning a tiny bit more about Aria's past (and Turian culture), the length is also okay, BUT it is totally overpriced, not worth the 15 bucks.

An example for really bad DLC would be the Prince of Persia reboot some years ago: They literally cut off the ending, an essential part of the game, and you have to buy it.

Also, concerning Day 1 DLCs, my game industry overview docent gave me one possible explanation: when the final deadline is reached, the game company has to hand over the game to the publisher to be... well, published, which takes time. So when it's clear that a specific part of the game won't be finished till the deadline, they decide to take it out and finish it properly. If it's done before the game hits the shelves, it can't be put on disc anymore, so it'll be released as DLC.

Of course, it's an entirely different matter if the DLC in question is already on Disc, and has to be unlocked via purchase. Or if specific content is cut from the game to be released separately. But most of the time, this decision isn't made by the developer, but by the publisher.

My two cents.

To expand on this, remember that it's a huge financial burden in 2013 to delay a game. When I was a kid, Nintendo's delays were routine; of course, patches weren't ready yet, we didn't have the internet. But now? Take one look at what Take Two's stock did after GTAV was delayed.

[Constable Reggie]

They really need to remake FFV on the DS/3DS with extra jobs. Or just release Bravely Default here, damnit.

[RJWalker]

Even with Expansion packs, there were some that were true masterpieces and may as well have been their own game. Take Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. It is undoubtedly, the greatest expansion pack ever.

[Esau of Isaac]

Even with Expansion packs, there were some that were true masterpieces and may as well have been their own game. Take Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. It is undoubtedly, the greatest expansion pack ever.

SMAC Alien Crossfire man, is my choice for best expansion pack.

Also Civ IV's Beyond the Sword makes the fourth entry, in my opinion, the best in the Civ series. It's that good.

[Samias]

I think it's true that a some games are being chunked into pieces for DLC purposes, but it feels more like a dilemma of AAA devs. Mass Effect 3 is probably the pinnacle of key story elements being locked away behind DLC curtains and BOOKS (lest we forget cereal ninja Kai Leng). It's fairly absurd. However, the cost of producing a single game is higher than it's ever been for AAA titles, with budgets that stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars. I don't really want to say that it's acceptable for companies to get away with price gouging, but I don't feel like the content of the games I like to play has been devalued in any sort of way. Tales of Graces f, despite having ridiculously priced DLC, has all the content of Tales of Symphonia in-game except the loss of one costume set (which is only a partial loss because some characters have 3 or 4 costumes). Everything you can buy is optional and completely unnecessary to finish the game to full completion. Fire Emblem: Awakening is also a full game experience with a huge roster and high replayability without even touching the DLC gate, plus the DLC is a distinct side story. Halo 4 has Spartan Ops which offers seasonal stories to play through, almost like a 2nd full campaign that's being developed over time, but is distinctly separated from the main campaign.

If there's anything to be said about DLC, it's mostly that it killed the expansion pack and there are very few full expansions worth talking about these days. For example, I doubt Skyrim will ever have DLC as good as Oblivion's Shivering Isles. What was once saved for another box retail release is now rolled out in small pieces at a time, so there's less satisfaction from each bite we get, instead of saving ourselves to gorge on a large amount of content at once.

Of course, Pokemon has no paid DLC and actually made its legendaries and trading more accessible, by using the internet for distribution, trading, and battling.

[Momo]

Tales of Graces f isn't a very good example, because the game itself is a case of holding content back to sell later. English speakers just got the final result.