“Right now, when you mention downloadable content, someone will mention a horse armour joke, and we need to get around that,” says Tom Armitage, a writer for creative design consultancy group Schulze and Webb.

Armitage, speaking to a packed-out room at the Develop conference in Brighton, was referring to the notorious horse armor add-on for Bethesda’s Oblivion; something which many consider a trivial addition set at the relatively steep price of 200 MS points.

Though his attitude throughout the session certainly wasn’t that digital add-ons should be free, Armitage went through a number of games which have economically benefited from being more realistic, and bold, with their pricing structures.

Epic’s Black update to Unreal Tournament 3 - coupled with a promotional weekend giveaway of the game - rocketed the game’s uptake some two years after its release, said Armitage, and is a great example of how servicing games can bring in new audiences, new buzz, and ultimately new revenue.