14 DAY TRIAL // The entire gaming industry seems crazed with downloadable content lately. Bethesda has put out no less than 5 decently sized DLC packs for Fallout 3, extending the interest in their post apocalyptic role playing experience by about one year.
Other titles almost obligatorily get one DLC pack and some of them have even introduced significant new stuff, like the Road to Ruin add on for Gears of War 2. And it appears that most of the developers are thinking about DLC even before the original game is out.
It seems that the people who are working on Final Fantasy XIII are not thinking along the same line. Square Enix has a history of creating epic, sprawling experiences and many players don't manage to get to the end of their games. So, how do they see DLC plans for their next JRPG?
Yoshinori Kitase has told RPG Site that when it comes to new content delivered through Xbox Live or through the PlayStation Network “our plans [...] are currently unclear” before adding the hedging comment “We are exploring the option of downloadable content, perhaps adding new areas, items or enemies but these would not be expansions to the story, only the gameplay. The entire story of FFXIII will be on the disc.”
So, it could be that players who grow fond of the battle system could get a chance to test their fighting skills against new, tougher enemies and small adventures, somewhat collateral to the story being told in Final Fantasy XIII, could also be offered.
But the people at Sqaure Enix seem to believe that the story of the game, the meat of the experience, which they are interested in delivering, needs to be delivered complete in the single player of the initial release, with no need for re-does like those that Bethesda made with Broken Steel.