Nintendo's latest Zelda game has just gotten an interesting bit of news. The title will be launching with an Expansion Pass which will allow access to two DLC packs that will be available later this year in 2017. Pre-purchasing the Expansion Pass now will cause three treasure chests to appear in the world, with extra items. One of which being an outfit for Link, which has the Nintendo Switch logo on it. The first DLC pack for the game is set to launch this Summer, and will include a new Hard Mode, a challenge, and a new in-game map feature. The second pack will launch Holiday 2017 and will have a brand new Story addition and a new dungeon. Both the Switch and the Wii U will be getting these DLCs.

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U consoles is one of the largest, most engaging video games Nintendo has ever created. While the main game offers players an engrossing quest that will keep them entertained for hours, as well as the freedom to explore the vast Hyrule at their own pace, the game world provides a rich canvas that offers the opportunity for additional adventures. As a result, the first-ever downloadable content for the main-line Legend of Zelda series is in development.

Starting when The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launches on March 3, players will be able to purchase an Expansion Pass for $19.99, granting access to two new sets of downloadable content for the game when they become available later this year. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Starting when the game launches on March 3, players will be able to purchase an Expansion Pass for $19.99, granting access to two new sets of downloadable content for the game when they become available later this year. Immediately upon pre-purchase or purchase of the Expansion Pass, three new treasure chests will appear in the game’s Great Plateau area. One of these treasure chests will contain a shirt with a Nintendo Switch logo that Link can wear during his adventure, exclusive to the Expansion Pass. The other two will deliver useful items. The first content pack is scheduled to launch this summer, and will include the addition of a Cave of Trials challenge, a new hard mode and a new feature for the in-game map. The second content pack will launch in Holiday 2017, and adds new challenges that will let players enjoy a new dungeon and a new original story. The Expansion Pass will be available for both the Nintendo Switch and Wii U versions of the game and are identical. Content packs cannot be purchased individually.

“The world of Hyrule, which we created for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, is so large and vibrant that we wanted to offer more for players to experience within it,” said Nintendo developer Eiji Aonuma, the longtime producer of the series. “With this new Expansion Pass, we hope that fans will play, explore and enjoy the game even more.”

Aonuma also created a brief video to share more details about the Expansion Pass. It can be viewed at http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?i...&index=4&md5=8eaa4ec7c77e62fcb4c0b16700a2b3ff.

For more information about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, visit http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?i...&index=5&md5=25c10a84a5cc09f20e1418056380e331.

Remember that Nintendo Switch features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?i...&index=6&md5=7f0306c430dd0cf8360bf01681f9559d.

Eiji Aonuma made a video to explain the DLC here

 

[Bladexdsl]

Well its a good thing the Wii U was hacked

its a good thing the game is coming with a new update

 

[Yil]

Oh.
Well its a good thing the Wii U was hacked

But it still suffer stuttering, reduced quality and have access to menus and maps while playing.

 

[MarkDarkness]

Gaming has been moving towards gouging big spenders, and the trend will only get worse. See Kickstarter/any mobile game. Fire Emblem Heroes orbs are absurdly expensive... why? It's not meant for users who will pay 99c, but rather to whales who will shell out whatever. Nintendo was a bit more resistant to this than others, but let gaming postmodernity roll in. Indies will be the last refuge.

 

[Meteor7]

Thats why i wrote i feel. I mean the game.

I think you mean that you have faith the game will be complete. I anticipate feeling the same, because Nintendo doesn't typically handle DLC or their games in a distasteful manner (at least that I'm aware of), so just based on my previous experiences with their games, I predict both the game will feel complete and that the DLC will be worth the price. My argument was that this announcement would've been much stronger and met with much less backlash if Nintendo had waited until people knew for a fact that the game was already well worth the $60 initial price tag before trying to market additional content for it.

 

[Yil]

Finally we will see the death of mobile gaming soon.

 

[Bladexdsl]

don't count on it even Nintendo is on board in it now

 

[Vanth88]

Hard mode, Seriously? Back in my day we either had hard mode there by default or you unlocked it by beating the game but to release it as DLC? For shame Nintendo! For shame... it just seems like they cut content and decided to release it as DLC and that's just low.

Keep in mind this game had been finished for quite a while. It was originally supposed to be released for Wii U last year but was held off for the Switch. You can't tell me they originally didn't have plans for a hard mode, or heck even a cave of trials. There's no excuse for the first DLC pack at all.

 

[Ev1l0rd]

Wow. Watching the Nintendo fanboys. This is not defensible. Period.

 

[Yil]

Hard mode, Seriously? Back in my day we either had hard mode there by default or you unlocked it by beating the game but to release it as DLC? For shame Nintendo! For shame... it just seems like they cut content and decided to release it as DLC and that's just low.

Keep in mind this game had been finished for quite a while. It was originally supposed to be released for Wii U last year but was held off for the Switch. You can't tell me they originally didn't have plans for a hard mode, or heck even a cave of trials. There's no excuse for the first DLC pack at all.

Think second quest in the orginal Zelda, which I would dub it Zelda 2 over that absurdly hard second entry.

 

[grossaffe]

I'll reserve judgement until we see it. Some DLC is worth that kind of price. Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare would be an example of DLC worthy of $20. Let's see if this can reach that standard.

 

[AutumnWolf]

I feel... disgusted...

Hard mode as DLC...

AND 20$?!

 

[bowser]

$20 isnt all that much when you consider youre getting a new story and 2 dungeons as well as few other small things.

It's people like you that encourages Nintendo to do this bullshit

 

[Yil]

It's people like you that encourages Nintendo to do this bullshit

So you would like the entire industry to crumble once again like back when Nintendo save the entire US market.

 

[Bladexdsl]

So you would like the entire industry to crumble once again like back when Nintendo save the entire US market.

if it means getting rid of activi$ion, bl$zzard and the whole mobile market than YES

 

[Meteor7]

So you would like the entire industry to crumble once again like back when Nintendo save the entire US market.

You're implying the industry cannot survive without DLC? I'm of the mind that, if making one's money back on a game means charging >$60, then that's exactly what the price of the full game should be. If people are unwilling to spend that much (I would be one of them), then the industry should focus on lowering costs of game development rather than trying to nickel and dime consumers. Development costs are astronomical these days, and so much of it goes into elements that are mostly wasted on the quality of the end product. There's so much fat to trim, there's no way I could accept that DLC is a necessary evil. The industry has survived for decades without DLC, and even if it does need it now, it needs to adapt rather than us needing to just accept it.

 

[ut2k4master]

Wow. Watching the Nintendo fanboys. This is not defensible. Period.

theres nothing bad about it. period.

 

[Vanth88]

Think second quest in the orginal Zelda, which I would dub it Zelda 2 over that absurdly hard second entry.

I've always wanted a hard mode where they remake the dungeons like they did in Master Quest. Something like that would be really cool.

 

[dekuleon]

Wii U and Mocha! hehehehehe

 

[retrofan_k]

That's it: Zelda is ruined...

Every game now is ruined by DLC and Paywalls. You don't get a title for an average RRP of £49.99 and instead have to pay up to a £100 in some instances, to get the full package.

 

[Kioku]

Wow... ITT, a bunch of entitled brats.

Oh, they announced paid DLC before the game's release? Terrible. Oh, Nintendo is doing paid DLC? Alert the authorities!

To you tools saying "I'm gonna pirate it now". Really? Grow up.