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Some data points:

Dawnguard on the Xbox is ~600MB, while Skyrim itself is ~4GB.

> releasing sizeable DLC is a complex issue

By comparison, Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut DLC is ~2GB.

There may be some weird technical limitation, but it's not just size.

By the sound of it the problem isn't the size of the DLC download, but the size of the game state they're trying to keep in memory. The Xbox and PC architecture makes it easier to large game states in memory.

If I remember correctly, doesn't the PS3 split the available memory in half? Therefore limiting the options you have. Where as on Xbox it's up to the developer how they use all of the available memory.

EDIT: See w0utert's comment in this thread for more info: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4459260

Half of the 512 MB is dedicated to video, IIRC.

Mass Effect's Extended Cut is basically 100% video and sound content, though, which is why it's so big.

It's certainly less complex than any of the expansions to The Elder Scrolls series.

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