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

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I'm fine with this. It's not like they're releasing 20 different DLC packs at a few dollars each that are nothing but new cosmetic items and other minor things, like a lot of games do these days. A $20 one-off payment for some bonus content isn't that bad, and I'm not even mad that it's not coming out on day 1, as it gives me a reason to start playing the game again a few months after I've beaten it, and it feels less like content that should have been included from the get go.

 

[Steena]

QUOTE="WiiUBricker, post: 7096715, member: 217655"]Damn you mobile gaming. You are gonna pay for this![/QUOTE]
On the contrary, mobile players are getting their shit for free while core console players are the one paying all the bullshit taxes/seal of quality premium fees to fund their new future F2P model venue over there.

 

[megabug7]

I don't mind - more Zelda - and it will be a long time before we get another Zelda.

And I don't plan on getting a Switch until then, or when a new Metroid is released

 

[Maximilious]

On the contrary, mobile players are getting their shit for free while core console players are the one paying all the bullshit taxes/seal of quality premium fees to fund their new future F2P model venue over there.

They get their "shit" for free by playing casually over the course of X days to complete X missions to get X "payment system coins/gold/etc" to unlock X commodities. Console gamers buy games to play them through completion, and DLC is (99% of the time) optional just like the pay to win models on mobile.

WiiUBricker was just comparing them that Mobile made microtransactions a reality and console developers realized another way to make money.

Either way, developers put time into DLC, and the companies (aka the workers) need to be paid for that time. ProjectRed and Nintendo are honestly the only companies I see making worthwhile DLC for the price they charge for it. People can complain "Nintendo is charging me $20 for 3 extra chests on day 1, those should be free!". Yeah sure they could, but I think of them as a way to thank users for purchasing the DLC up front on day 1, and we're getting the other 2 (basically extra content and 1 expansion) throughout the year. Not too shabby.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

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

I honestly dont care what you think. Im ok with DLC and before i get attacked for being a nintendo fanboy, im a pc gamer.

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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.

Some of them really are a bunch of entitled brats.

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imagine wiiu version dosent even get the dlc

it does.

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Also, this game went gold like a month ago. So all this DLC is new stuff that is added on to the main game, some of you dumbasses need to do your research.

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ZELDA HARD MODE IS NOT IN THE GAME UNLESS YOU HAVE THE DLC. were talking about zelda here fuck resident evil.

And where does that baseless claim come from?

 

[Hells Malice]

*reads article*
I bet when I scroll down everyone will be losing their fucking minds over a switch outfit and a season pass selling future content for cheaper if you invest now.
*scrolls down*
nailed it.

This is content created after the game is finished you inbred monkeys. Aside from likely some usable items, maybe some starter gear, and a shit outfit no one will use because it sounds like just some ugly advertisement clothing, you're just buying a season pass for future DLC that is being created post launch.
So many games do that these days i'd be SURPRISED if a Zelda like this didn't do it.

This is why we can't have nice things.

 

[Kioku]

*reads article*
I bet when I scroll down everyone will be losing their fucking minds over a switch outfit and a season pass selling future content for cheaper if you invest now.
*scrolls down*
nailed it.

This is content created after the game is finished you inbred monkeys. Aside from likely some usable items, maybe some starter gear, and a shit outfit no one will use because it sounds like just some ugly advertisement clothing, you're just buying a season pass for future DLC that is being created post launch.
So many games do that these days i'd be SURPRISED if a Zelda like this didn't do it.

This is why we can't have nice things.

It's not a difficult concept to grasp.. Really.. But you can't fix stupid.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

It's not a difficult concept to grasp.. Really.. But you can't fix stupid.

Indeed, but no point in not trying .

 

[Kioku]

Indeed, but no point in not trying .

I just wish people would read a book. Like I said before.. This isn't twenty years ago.. Nintendo also isn't ripping anybody off. There's just a bandwagon and idiots have to jump on it. If you don't agree with it you're a "fanboy". How does that make ANY sense.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

I just wish people would read a book. Like I said before.. This isn't twenty years ago.. Nintendo also isn't ripping anybody off. There's just a bandwagon and idiots have to jump on it. If you don't agree with it you're a "fanboy". How does that make ANY sense.

Exactly.
If I support something that doesnt instantly make me a fanboy.

 

[Hells Malice]

The ironic thing is it's usually Nintenyearolds being entitled dipshits. The rest of us are just like "oh yeah a season pass for content they create after the release of this feature complete game. Cool."
Meanwhile Nintendo fanboys are screaming "DOWN WITH NINTENDO, GIVE US FREE CONTENT NOW OR GIVE US YOUR HEADS. WE DON'T WANT YOUR FILTHY PAID developed after release and completely legitimate CONTENT!"

Also since I didn't mention it, the 'hard mode' is perfectly valid as DLC depending on what it actually means. If it's just more HP and damage for monsters then ehh, that's a bit odd to add as DLC because it's arguable they could pretty easily push that out. So I would question Nintendo if that were the case.
If it involves changing loot locations, or enemy locations, or any number of more in depth changes...that requires a lot of goddamn work, the game is gigantic. It just went gold recently. So there's no real way they would've had time to add a hard mode of that caliber. Given how they treated something like OOT Master Quest, i'd assume it isn't a simple damage and HP value tweak.
Actually I just watched the announcement video and they are also adding some content with the DLC. A new trial and whatever the hell a 'map feature is'.
Given how cheap the price is, it seems like most of the value will come from the DLC pack 2 which is actual content developed between now and december 2017 ish.

The more I looked into it the more I wondered how anyone could actually have been outraged by this announcement.

 

[Sketchy1]

I just wish people would read a book. Like I said before.. This isn't twenty years ago.. Nintendo also isn't ripping anybody off. There's just a bandwagon and idiots have to jump on it. If you don't agree with it you're a "fanboy". How does that make ANY sense.

Its a lot like games actually, most notably when I see someone I know play something like call of duty:

If I'm just too good, and at the top of the list, I'm a hacker.
If I'm anywhere near the bottom, I'm a noob and should just quit.

10/10 Logic nowadays is just too real

 

[xdarkmario]

saw it on youtube. MAD see it again a day later here on temp STILL MAD!

 

[3DSPoet]

Oh, why not...

I think the problem is not with the DLC itself, but with the labeling....

DLC *SHOULD* be a bunch of useless accessories and outfits or maybe cosmetic trinkets that do interesting, but basically useless things... The Pay To Win model is absurd.. (though I don't see this being the case with these items).

While the DLC may include additional areas, missions, etc...it should NOT be part of or required for the main game.

Game expansions should NOT be labeled as DLC. Blizzard *used* to understand this with the Expansions for Warcraft 2, StarCraft and Warcraft 3

 

[ut2k4master]

Oh, why not...

I think the problem is not with the DLC itself, but with the labeling....

DLC *SHOULD* be a bunch of useless accessories and outfits or maybe cosmetic trinkets that do interesting, but basically useless things... The Pay To Win model is absurd.. (though I don't see this being the case with these items).

While the DLC may include additional areas, missions, etc...it should NOT be part of or required for the main game.

Game expansions should NOT be labeled as DLC. Blizzard *used* to understand this with the Expansions for Warcraft 2, StarCraft and Warcraft 3

why?

 

[AdamFX990]

Oh dear. This seems like a poorly thought out decision. This could quickly go from the next Super Mario 64 to the next No Man's Sky.

 

[geodeath]

Because Nintendo is doing it. Which is taboo.


Apparently...

Just because the rest do it, it does not mean it is right or ok. I am sure a big percentage of Nintendo fans, are Nintendo fans because of Nintendo things. And one of these Nintendo things was that they were not milking the cow as much as the competition when it came to season passes, DLC's and other crap like fremium and pay to play. Seems that Nintendo decided to jump on the bandwagon along with the others now. Another Nintendo quality going down the drain for many people including me. Just because you do not think it is bad, it does not mean we all feel the same way.

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That is a good point. Maybe people saw Nintendo as their last bastion of what they perceive to be decency in marketing and business practices, and they're suddenly feeling betrayed by a turn which could be indicative of a new direction Nintendo will be permanently taking with their games, made all the more poignant after so much positive hype around both the new Zelda title and the Switch in general? I can't really say for sure; it's all just guesswork on my part, but at the least I can say that that's something that irks me even just a bit, at least on some level. The hate crowd against DLC has always been there, I feel, but it might be that the reason Nintendo is getting hit harder with DLC backlash than other companies have in the past is because people believed Nintendo to be "above" those kinds of practices. It also might be that people are becoming more and more unsettled by the idea of DLC the more publishers abuse the practice, and that the consumer crowd is just more tender to the idea of DLC abuse in general than they've been in the past.

Exactly this. Nintendo has always been the last one to defend "true" gaming values, with the rest jumping on every dollar making decision they could possibly do. Now Nintendo is not all that different anymore. They will offer the same "kind" of offerings with the competition but much worse, in pretty much every aspect now. Online? Membership perks? blah blah blah...

Also, the reason i hate DLC with a passion is retro gaming. Try finding that DLC 20 years from now, if you still want to play the switch version of BOTW, when servers shut down. Unless you buy a "new" package that includes it, you are screwed. Not happening with my Snes and N64 collection.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

What has Nintendo become? They now copy all of the


Just because the rest do it, it does not mean it is right or ok. I am sure a big percentage of Nintendo fans, are Nintendo fans because of Nintendo things. And one of these Nintendo things was that they were not milking the cow as much as the competition when it came to season passes, DLC's and other crap like fremium and pay to play. Seems that Nintendo decided to jump on the bandwagon along with the others now. Another Nintendo quality going down the drain for many people including me. Just because you do not think it is bad, it does not mean we all feel the same way.

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Exactly this. Nintendo has always been the last one to defend "true" gaming values, with the rest jumping on every dollar making decision they could possibly do. Now Nintendo is not all that different anymore. They will offer the same "kind" of offerings with the competition but much worse, in pretty much every aspect now. Online? Membership perks? blah blah blah...

Also, the reason i hate DLC with a passion is retro gaming. Try finding that DLC 20 years from now, if you still want to play the switch version of BOTW, when servers shut down. Unless you buy a "new" package that includes it, you are screwed. Not happening with my Snes and N64 collection.

Thats why you download it onto a flash drive.

This game is already complete, it went gold a fucking month ago.
Why would they release DLC 9 months after release if it was on the disc?

I've never met such entitled brats.

Edit: So you dont want to pay extra for additional content to your favourite game revitalising the game? Thats your decision.

Nintendo aren't hiding anything on the cart/disc. End of story.

Nintendo aren't doing anything wrong in my eyes. What they just stated was:
"Hey you know that game we completed a month ago? If you pay us £17.99 we'll give you some more content for the game we are developing"

If it were on the disc it would be a different issue.

I really dont understand the hate, do you entitled/poor ass people want everything to be free? Nintendo are a business.

 

[geodeath]

Thats why you download it onto a flash drive.

This game is already complete, it went gold a fucking month ago.
Why would they release DLC 9 months after release if it was on the disc?

I've never met such entitled brats.

Edit: So you dont want to pay extra for additional content to your favourite game revitalising the game? Thats your decision.

Nintendo aren't hiding anything on the cart/disc. End of story.

Nintendo aren't doing anything wrong in my eyes. What they just stated was:
"Hey you know that game we completed a month ago? If you pay us £17.99 we'll give you some more content for the game we are developing"

If it were on the disc it would be a different issue.

I really dont understand the hate, do you entitled/poor ass people want everything to be free? Nintendo are a business.

Name calling is not going to get your argument anywhere. Drop it. I like my games online-free, dlc free and i like to have everything on disc. Are they going to release a GOTY package with everything included? That is ok with me. DLC for DLC's sake to monetize just a bit more is my problem. Also, i do not want to have flash drives with DLCS of 20 consoles in the future, i like my games *packaged* and without any paywalls or internet gates, or logins to enable "this" or "that".

I do not care if they want to sell more things after the development is done, that is their decision. But make a BLOODY physical release too, not all gamers are the same. I enjoy my games as i do my books, i want to preserve them and keep them in a shelf.

Yes, Nintendo is a business but they are making the one wrong decision after the other, non stop, this time around. DLC's are fine with me, as long as there is also a physical release at some point and as long as THEY ARE COMPLETELY different and NOT packaged in the disc. (the idea that they are not on the disc has to be confirmed first). Digital distribution is a novel idea, but i still remember how long it took to setup my WiiU the first day and the few times i ever turned my xbox one on, i had to wait maybe 1 hour before i did anything. What happened to add on discs? What happened to new episodes?

We are not brats/stupid/poor as you think. I dropped more than 10x the money they are asking for the dlc plus the cost of a switch and zelda on retro games this month alone. I am not poor. I just do not like poor decisions and Nintendo copying the bullshit of other companies. If Nintendo becomes sony & ms, what reason is left for Nintendo to be Nintendo?

If Nintendo wants our money, they can do it in many good ways. Personally, i NEVER buy DLCs and season passes. If they plan on releasing a "complete" package at some point, cool, i will grab that, eventually. But knowing NOW, i will not buy the day 1 release. Why would i prefer to pay the same amount of money, for a digital file, that i have to PRESERVE MYSELF forever and not buying something physical that includes the functionality?

It is me that cannot understand all the fun and joy over the announcement of DLC's even before the game is announced. Do it after a year, fine. Season passes are the worst thing ever invented. They might work well with games that share the online-only mantra like COD etc but for something like Zelda its dumb.

 

[Meteor7]

Name calling is not going to get your argument anywhere.

At the very least, I think this is something we can all get behind. No-one's ever going to be convinced of another's rationale by being antagonized or labeled.