Day one DLC

There has been a lot of hate towards Bioware in the press lately regarding the leaked information that DLC will be available on day one for Mass Effect 3.  I would like to throw my two cents in to say that I support Bioware and that players are being too hard on them.  Just to be clear, this is only in support of Bioware, not the practice of having day one DLC.  I have been a fan since the original Baldurs Gate was release for PC.  By creating a game with such back story and an incredible method of storytelling I was immediately hooked.
 
Fast forward to my first time playing Knights of the Old Republic, or Mass Effect 1 and there I am again, fogging up my monitor because I can’t take my eyes away from the screen.  Now coming up to the third installment of Mass Effect you expect them to what, cap the story?  When a universe becomes as large as the Mass Effect universe you have to imagine that if they tried to fit everything they had planned into the game by release date you would end up with one of two things, an ever evolving release date, or a crap game. 
 
Considering the last stages of game development are QA, release preparation, and shipping, the designers are left with enough time to expand on the stories they couldn’t get to for release.  Since the last stages of game development take a few months to complete it makes sense that DLC would be available right away.  It’s become standard practice for publishers to ask development studios for DLC early on in the phase, gaming is still a business.  Rather than create DLC that adds nothing to the game, or is obviously there to make you spend money, Bioware made it into a real story element. 
 
I understand the passion against DLC; in fact I’m right there in the front lines with you.  If a game is going to be made it should be made the first time.  But if DLC needs to be made I’d rather it be thought out and meant to enhance the story and game play rather than it be a last minute request by a publisher and it turns into different ship paint jobs or different colored armor.  I won’t support every decision a company makes to try and make more money, but this seems like a more than reasonable attempt at getting more story line inserted that doesn’t say “Thanks for liking our game, now let us exploit how much you like it”.