14 DAY TRIAL // A new report from analysis firm EEDAR shows that 51 percent of those who own a PlayStation 3 or a Xbox 360 home gaming console have chosen to purchase a piece of downloadable content over the last twelve month period.
The figure was 40 percent at the same time during last year and at only 34% when the analysis firm took a look at the DLC market in 2009.
EEDAR believes that the main reason for the increase in DLC acceptance is the overall increase in broadband speed and the increased amounts of money spent on marketing new content.
47 percent of those who have chosen not to purchase DLC have said that the main obstacle was a concern over their privacy while 11% cites the poor quality it offered as the reason, while others also mentioned lack of demos and free content, cost and no return policies.
EEDAR estimates that if developers and publishers solve these problems the DLC market might increase by about 600 million dollars (437 million Euro at current exchange rates).
Analyst Jesse Divnich, who works for EEDAR, has said that DLC revenue in North America might surpass 1 billion dollars (729 million Euro) in 2012.
In the last few years most video game developers and publishers have used DLC as a way to increase the shelf life for their products, with the most ambitious ones launching new packages for about one year after the official launch date.
It's seen as a good way to create more revenue without investing a lot of resources while keeping fans interested in the series between the big launches.
Some companies now announced DLC plans even before the game is out and pre-order deals often come with included downloadable content.
Some publishers include the DLC in the Online Pass initiatives, allowing players to pay once to get everything launched for one game.