The advent of this generation of consoles' internet-centric experiences and dedicated storefronts (Xbox Live Marketplace, PlayStation Store, Wii Shop Channel) means that DLC has reached unprecedented levels of importance. This is especially true when combined with the skyrocketing costs of game development; DLC represents a relatively inexpensive way to make more money off the same consumers. In fact, most games these days pre-plan to have DLC available post-launch. Years ago, Microsoft publicly advised developers that DLC should be made available between 30-90 days of launch or otherwise warned that the gamers will have moved on. In addition, many developers have been quoted as saying that it is virtually unfeasable to take DLC from idea to release entirely post-launch and that it needs to be worked on prior to a game's release. Given all these things, developers have a pretty good, if not absolute, idea of what they have in the pipeline. Problem is, developers and publishers never share those plans aside from the vague "we are working on it". I claim that this practice is detrimental to the goal, progress, and idea behind making and releasing DLC.
It is true (as Microsoft claimed) that gamers consume their media at such a fast pace that if DLC is not released close enough to launch, they (as a whole) will either trade in games or lose interest. Furthermore, some gamers don't even know about DLC to begin, either from lack of internet access or--the more relative problem--they don't take the time to search for it. The latter is the kind of gamer that turns on their system and jumps straight into the experience, skipping over the ads on the dashboard (for lower-profile games there may be a lack of dashboard advertisement altogether). If publishers want gamers to buy DLC, those gamers need to know about DLC, and shouldn't have to spend time surfing the dashboard or sites like IGN just to dig up scant details about it. The reality is that the majority of gamers just aren't interested enough to put in that much effort.
And so, we get to the crux of my argument: DLC plans need full disclosure. There is no reason for publishers to hide their DLC plans like they do with the details of the retail box copy of the game. Instead, there should be a pamphlet on top of the instruction booklet that tells you exactly what's coming, where to get it (e.g. XBL Marketplace), and most importantly, when. This strategy could even be extended to the normal marketing of the retail product. The idea here is that it puts the idea of DLC in the head of the consumer from the get-go, allowing them to build up excitement, especially if there's a solid date to look forward to. Ideally, this "DLC Schedule" should even lend a small description (if not more) of the to-be-released content so that gamers actually have some substance to get excited about. If gamers know exactly what's coming, they can get excited for it, plan to buy it, and spread the word about it.
Now, DLC is, of course, unfinished work--this is the reason why it takes so long to release in the first place. But going back to the beginning of this article, by the time a retail game goes gold and is prepping for release, the developers already know what DLC they are making. If they can't lock down a date, at least give a specific window (e.g. March or Early March instead of March 3). Give out the details that are already locked down--and that articles currently reveal a week or two before release. The more lead time, the more time for anticipation to boil. And should something go amiss, DLC could always be delayed, canceled, added to the schedule, whatever; these things happen with retail games all the time.
As it stands right now, publishers are simply not doing a good enough job creating awareness for their DLC pipeline, and therein lies the biggest barrier to increased penetration of DLC. If people don't know about it, how can they know that they want to buy it?
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