Can you get DLC on a Nintendo DS? I'm not sure if they've yet to make a game on a console that can handle this kind o thing.

I remember the promotions where you can go to a game store and get a special Pokemon. I'm not sure if that's what you were talking about Skyblade, but I always though they were a really cool social feature of Pokemon. That's what the series has always done - it really invented that social, handheld experience that we've seen the PSP succeed with in Japan and smartphones do in the states.

I guess the real reason is that Nintendo already has a successful, iterative business model for the franchise. They always release that third, blended version after the first two of each gen, like Yellow or Platinum. DLC allows you to raise your average revenue per unit sold, but the third versions (now third and fourth with B&W2) allows Nintendo to sell a ton more units.

I kind of do have to question how much DLC really is important to most developers. I think it's more of a shareholder concern - investors will pull out money if it looks like you're not following the trends. There's only a certain kind of fan who really wants those extra costumes. I don't think many devs have really been that successful, either, making those expansion-like Add-Ons. If anything, I think DLC just helps companies make a few bucks off those used game sales. After you spend as much making the modern AAA game, you need to at least get a few bucks off those used games.