Gamers are getting a little tired of day-one DLC, and I can't blame them. It reeks of content that was cut out just for the sole purpose of selling it as DLC. BioWare and EA's latest Mass Effect 3 DLC announcement has brought on those exactly feelings from many gamers, myself included.
Executive producer Casey Hudson met those complaints head on via Twitter:
It takes about 3 months from "content complete" to bug-fix, certify, manufacture, and ship game discs. In that time we work on DLC.
DLC has fast cert and no mfg., so if a team works very hard, they can get a DLC done in time to enjoy it with your 1st playthrough on day 1.
On #ME3, content creators completed the game in January & moved onto the "From Ashes" DLC, free w/ the CE or you can buy seperately.
The reasoning is solid, but at the same time, it still makes me grind my teeth a little, especially since this DLC seems to be very important to the overall story. At least those who already planned on shelling out the extra dough for the Collector's Edition will get the From Ashes DLC for free.