This comes from Source Gaming, translated by our very own Masked Man. There are interesting things in the Famitsu article about DLC and his thoughts on how it's being used as a scam these days.
There's more at the link here: https://sourcegaming.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/sakurai-on-dlc-its-all-about-making-players-happy/
Nerf me if old.
Famitsu, Vol. 477
The Creators Hands Are Alive and Well!
In the Users Eye section of this magazine, Sm4sh for 3DS was the top scoring game of 2014 with an average of 9.58! Personally, Ive never seen such high marks before, and I would like to thank you for your incredible support.
As I have mentioned in this column, Smash is made up of the incredible hard work and sacrifice of myself and others. I, too, acknowledge, that developing the Smash games is the best way to satisfy the most players worldwide.
And that is precisely why we decided not only to distribute Mewtwo, but to also reintroduce Lucas, the protagonist of Mother 3, as a playable character. In other words, we plan to release premium DLC (downloadable content) for Sm4sh.
These days, the DLC scam has become quite the epidemic, charging customers extra money to complete what was essentially an unfinished product. I completely understand how aggravated players must feel. After all, a game should be 100% at the time of release, and I would be livid if it were split up and sold in pieces.
Why, then, do you think so many titles provide premium DLC on or shortly following a games release? Its because thats the easiest way to make money.
We could have easily reserved a few characters on the current roster and later sold them as premium DLC. A considerable amount of work went into development, and the game would have already featured a ton of content. Plus, if you were looking to make a profit, DLC would be the way to go. Development is more costly than ever, yet the price of games has remained the same, so more income would help offset that imbalance.
However, the DLC we are releasing for Sm4sh is authentic, developed only after we finished working on the main game. Of course, said content will come to you at a premium as compensation for the work put into developing additional content post-production. Nintendo has the final say on the price, but given the number of man-hours spent on the creation of this DLC, Id say its a great deal.
Our team may have shrunk in size, but Im still just as excited as ever to be pouring my heart and soul into my work every day. Given the different types of content were producing, it wouldnt be surprising for the planning of one item to coincide with the development, balancing, and finalization of several others. We also have version updates, online features, and additional modes to worry about. It can be quite overwhelming, but its all about making players happy.
There's more at the link here: https://sourcegaming.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/sakurai-on-dlc-its-all-about-making-players-happy/
Nerf me if old.