A squadmate who was originally designed and intended to be an exclusive treat for the people who bought CE.

The fact that you can now get it without should be enough for you already, if you are a real fan that is. If anything, it's the CE people that should be complaining.

Still ignoring the whole point. If Bioware really designed that DLC, a DLC that contains a character who's a member of a species that's been extinct for 50.000 years and has a very important place in the Mass Effect lore, to be Collector's Edition exclusive, then it's worse than what they're doing now. You can't restrict an important piece of character to the people who've paid just 20 dollars more and bought the CE which was made in extremely limited quantities and didn't get sold in most stores then expect standard edition owners to shut their mouths and be happy with what they got. That's just dividing the fanbase for no reason. And then releasing that DLC on day 1 like they're doing us a big favor doesn't make things any better. If a character like James Vega or Diana Allers is in the game, then a Prothean squadmate MUST be in it. There's no excuse. They could've made it a day 1 DLC that comes with the online pass like Zaeed: Price Of Revenge. But they didn't. And you're still acting more self entitled than most people who just want that piece of content to be free to the SE purchasers. Granted, you've paid 20 dollars more and bought the CE but you're already getting more than 25 dollars worth of content BESIDES the DLC. The soundtrack, artbook, N7 Patch, the exclusive Lithograph (which alone costs 10-15 dollars) and two DLC's (the robotic dog and alternate costumes). With what you're getting, you have no right to proclaim yourself to be the "ONLY ONE" who should be entitled with that kind of DLC. While SE owners, who either didn't have the money or just couldn't buy the CE simply because they couldn't find it at the stores they shop at or just didn't want to pay more than 120 dollars to some random guy on eBay, are in fact entitled to get an important piece of content for free just like the CE owners instead of paying 10 dollars on day1. Everyone who purchases the game should get that DLC. Not because they deserve everything else in the whole world because they've paid 60 dollars. But because the content in question has a character that's one way or another, central to the Mass Effect lore more than most of the characters in the retail game.

Edit: @below

I know that the DLC will be available on day 1 for 10 dollars. And trying to justify the fact that Bioware made an important character a day 1/CE DLC is just unpleasant. I'm still getting the game and I will get the DLC eventually. But that doesn't mean I'll suck it up and just shut my mouth without voicing my opinion. Honestly, I don't even think, at this point, Bioware will change it and make it an online pass DLC. But I just still like to express what I truly feel about the situation.

Not sure what you're arguing here Blacktric. Is it okay for DLC to be unimportant and shallow? Don't we hate that just as much (horse armor anyone)?

They made the DLC character a Prothean because they knew people would want it. That's the point, to market something people want. Were Kasumi or Zaeed critical to the story? No, and people didn't clamor to buy them. If this DLC character were a human archaeologist who had touched a beacon and knew the entire history of the Reapers and the Prothean race (i.e. knew everything the Prothean could be telling us), no one would want it. Thus, they made the character a Prothean. His role in the story is no different, he's still supposed to be extraneous to the core plot. We won't know if he actually IS extraneous until release obviously, but there's no point getting fired up that they're cutting material from the main story because we won't know that until March either.

Bioware marketing won; there's no point being sore about it. Suck it up and pay extra for extra content you want, or save money and play the core game and forget there's a Prothean somewhere out there. Getting mad at the developer for trying to sell you something you want is just silly, especially when there's no way to argue that they're holding back on the main product.

EDIT: Also, its not Collector's Edition Exclusive. It's included with the CE, but it'll also be available day one for purchase for $10. They say that somewhere, I don't have the source. There you go, save $10 by buying DLC and core edition! =)

C0-op is tons of fun, it provides a challenge even when you have 3 of your friends playing with you.

Congratulations, you are a pirate, feel proud of yourself.

I agree that they shouldn't be omitting something as huge as discovering a living Prothean, but how do we know that the main game doesn't already include the discovery of a lost colony of Protheans or something?

The DLC could be a side story that just adds more to an existing plot point. It seems like Bioware would need to use the main game to explain why characters aren't having their minds blown when they see Shepard is being followed around by a living, breathing Prothean.

obviously i meant yoda as dlc earlier

Wouldn't everyone complain if the DLC was frivolous? Horse-armor, companion skins, etc? It IS just a DLC character, and if the story is complete without it, its NOT a big deal. See, a big deal would be if the final mission against the Reapers was day-one DLC, or if important plot points were cut out for DLC. Is a Prothean important within the world of Mass Effect? Of course! But you're arguing that it's important to the story, which you (or I) can't actually say because we don't know the plot. We don't know the Prothean's role, how it affects the story, or anything.

As an example, how critical to the story was Kasumi or Zaeed? "Oh, but they were human, they weren't important in the grand scheme of things, etc." You're right, and they seemed like a waste of DLC to me (no offense intended, I still bought them, lol). "Protheans are important, they're critical to the crisis, they're..." It's still just a video game character. The developers have said the story is complete without him. He's just there if you want to pay a little extra to delve a little deeper. If the character were a human, but had all the same knowledge and insights into history (say, a renowned archaeologist), no one would care. Thus, Bioware made a Prothean, and now everyone MUST HAVE THE DLC!

Arguing that you're being cheated is pointless, you just want something and don't want to have to pay for it. We're all used to seeing DLC and saying, "meh, I don't need it." Well, now they made you feel like you need it. Don't be a sore loser; admit marketing won and cave and buy it or don't. =)

Sorry if I pay more attention to what I'm getting, rather than crying about what I'm not.

If a developer thinks they can milk me, they are wrong. I simply won't buy the game if I don't feel the content offered is worth my money. I'm pretty sure Mass Effect 3 will be well worth the price.

@MrBeatDown: Well said!

@beastlysensation: er, what PC games do you play? You realize expansion packs are essentially big DLC released later in life, right? Most of my PC games have DLC or expansion packs available. As for "milking" on the PC, a few quick examples: Blizzard's line of World of Warcraft products, and the splitting of Starcraft 2 into THREE FULL PRICED TITLES (still angry about that one); Bethesda's Oblivion Horse Armor; Bioware Store (yeah, ALL that dlc is on PC too amigo); the absolute MULTITUDE of Civilization V scenario packs on Steam; and of course Call of Duty, Battlefield, and etc other shooters' map packs (again, ALL available on PC).
Seriously though, if you get your money's worth out of something and are content, why should you be mad there's more to buy? How is it excessive to make more content for something you already own? If you ask me, milking is more evident in unnecessary sequels, frivolous DLC, and subscription fees (all things happening on PC too btw, b/c some of us ARE "as stupid as other gamers").

EDIT: Also beastly, having just noticed your "day one pirate" comment further up the tree, I just want you to stop and think for a second. Is PC not getting DLC because you're "smarter" and don't buy it...or is it because of the all "smart" little PC pirates stealing from them? Hmmm, it makes you wonder...