Well this is a first.

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, though the first two expansions for the year seem a bit meagre. Having an extra story taking place in the same world could be interesting for a Zelda game.

The first DLC and Expansion pass extras seem pretty lame. They sound like pre-order bonus type content. The second one seems like it could be good, new story content and a new dungeon sounds fantastic.

$20 is a pretty reasonable price point, given Nintendo used a similar price point for the great Mario Kart 8 DLC. Like most season passes, it'll probably be best for the vast majority of interested consumers to wait for the release and reaction to gauge their level of interest. I can't say it's surprising to see Nintendo adopt the long-tail model for game content, just odd to see it first in a major Zelda release instead of a major Mario release.

The second pack sounds good, but I have no desire what so ever to pay for the first pack or the pass bonuses. "Challenge rooms" like what you got in the first Bioshocks DLC and more recently these first two RE7 DLCs are super boring to me.

Repeatedly extends game development to complete the base game... announces DLC to make the game incomplete on release anyway!

Joking aside, I don't really mind. As long as the game feel cohesive on release, I'll be happy. If they add future content then it's just a case of picking them up if they seem interesting/I'm not burnt out on the game. BTW, here's the DLC info:

Expansion Pass Bonus - March 3rd 2017

• 3 new Treasure Chests
  
  • Found in the Great Plateau
  • Contains useful items
  • Includes exclusive in-game clothing

DLC Pack 1 - Summer 2017

• Adds new Cave of Trials challenge
• New Hard mode
• Additional map feature

DLC Pack 2 - Winter 2017

• New original story
• New Dungeon
• Additional challenges

Cool, definitely getting this.

The Hard Mode sounds more akin to something like Master Quest than just adjusting damage and health values. So I will definitely go through the game again if that is indeed significantly different.

The second pack seems like the meat of the thing, and probably mostly what the price is made up of.

The release from Nintendo:

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.

Nintendo Switch logo shirt baby!

I think using 'New Feature for in-game map' as a selling point for a season pass is probably the most 'Nintendo-like solution' idea i have ever head. Also looks like you will only be able to buy it as a season pass, not individually. It's all or nothing.

I am massively hyped for the game but I think I'm going to wait and see on this one. Maybe I'll grab it for a second playthrough later in the year, but initally those $20 will be going to Persona 5 a month after BOTW comes out.

Can't wait to use Link wearing that super sweet Switch shirt...

In my Wii U version

So this clinches it that I will be playing this after they release a goty version with the dlc packed in, probably holiday this year or 2018.

#NeverBuyAnythingAtLaunch

Hard mode? Yes please. My main complaint about zelda games is they tend to be a bit on the easy side.

Hard mode as paid DLC? The only thing that sounds interesting is the new story DLC. This will probably net them a shit load of money though because people who love Zelda, LOVE Zelda.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. Sure it's great to get more Zelda post launch, but I just hope they price it right and charge €40+ for it.

Ambivalent towards this... I generally don't play Zelda games multiple times through, so a hard mode doesn't really appeal, especially for a game that is purportedly 100 hours long. I'm all for companies expanding well made games with more content, but hiding an extra dungeon behind a pay wall seems odd for a Zelda title. Hopefully the content turns out well, I just wish Nintendo had been upfront about this plan prior a couple weeks before launch. Also, this reinforces the "never pre-order anything" philosophy I've been adhering to for quite some time now. I very much doubt a 100 hour game will feel incomplete without these DLC features, but you never know.

I don't have a problem with the concept, but that first pack is a bummer. 100 floor challenge dungeons and hard modes have been series staples since Wind Waker and Skyward Sword respectively, so it feels real scummy for them to start selling them separately.

Yeah, if that Hard Mode ends up basically just paying for "hero mode" which has been a standard inclusion in the three most recent console Zelda games, that will be really disappointing. But due to the nature of the game, I'm guessing it'll be something more akin to a "survival mode" with increased resource scarcity and survival elements more emphasized, along with the standard "stronger enemies, less health" type of things. Of course this doesn't excuse it as being sold separately, I'm just hoping it's at least a well fleshed-out mode.

@octopusrocketmark: If this is the case, I am going to wait until summer to play it. I love the sound of that, I just wish it was available at launch.

I'm one of those Nintendo die-hards who had virtually no choice but to preorder the switch and the game the day they became available, however if I had my head straighter on my shoulders I would do exactly this as well. I'm confident that I'm gonna play through it twice though so I'll just do my second playthrough on Hard.

"See that cave? You can go there!

...for an extra 19.99$ plus tax.

A hard mode you have to pay for? Nintendo's usually pretty good about dlc , but I wonder how they will justify that.

One of my main complaints with modern Zelda games is how easy they are. Putting a hard mode behind DLC is fucked. It was fucked when Metro Last Light did it and it's fucked now, when Zelda does it.

Personally I'm ok with this conceptually, I'm all for expansion packs/content

I do agree with the others that features that were free in past Zeldas should not be paid DLC now though.

I would be alright with this if the added content was really substantial.
Most if not all of this sounds kind of lame and may as well just be included in the retail release.

@sloppydetective: Precisely. Hard Breath of the Wild is going to be THE way to play it. The definitive Zelda experience. But Nintendo makes us wait months and we have to pay for it, and who knows what else they will throw at us (do we have to beat it on normal first too?) Just look at Twilight Princess hero mode w/ganondorf amiibo. A great experience that should be on disc, but instead you had to pay extra and put an amiibo on your gamepad every time you played. I love Nintendo but they sure do make us jump through a lot of hoops, don't they?

I pre-ordered the Switch and one of the super-expensive BotW limited editions, and I'll unquestioningly fork out for this as well. I'm all in.

This seems a little scummy. I don't view a hard mode as content. It's basically just flipping a switch (snaps fingers) on enemy health, damage, or whatever this entails.

Have they mentioned anything new on the wolf AI companion? I just remember them saying it's tied to the Twilight Princess amiibo and they showed a brief game play clip. It would be crazy for them to have developed a whole AI for a companion and then lock it behind an amiibo. But it's fucking Nintendo so who knows.

Jeez, if its Nintendo, I surprised they don't post the additional content to your home, after you complete the mail order.

If that is the case then yeah, it's bad. I'm going to hope that there is more to it than just balance changes. They could really have said more though if they didn't want people to (fairly) assume to worse.

I'm pretty sure it's exactly as you described. I think they're banking on the fact that "hardcore" Zelda fans will surely have bought TP:HD and already have the Amiibo. Also, I'm willing to bet that the concept of an AI follower that helps you in combat is probably a part of the game already - this one will just look like Wolf Link and be summonable at will.

Putting hard mode behind DLC seems kinda lame though it remains to be seen what it is exactly, if it's just stat fiddling like most video game hard modes then yes: lame. On the other hand if it rearranges the game in a meaningful way to add challenge I could see it being fair for it to be behind DLC. Cave of Trials is probably something similar to what Wind Waker / Twilight Princess had where you go through like 50 rooms of enemies and it gets progressively harder. I like those.

What I'm most wondering about is the "additional map feature". If it's something very useful then being behind DLC will be kinda scummy. To me DLC should offer extra playable content, not essential features. Those should be free updates if anything.

As for DLC pack 2 it looks great all around. The type of thing I'm happy to get when I've already exhausted the contents of the base game.

Nintendo has no concept of GOTY editions I think. It is next on the docket in their evolution of embracing DLC strategy.

I hope Nintendo has at least been paying enough attention that they didn't put the DLC on the game cartridge.