UPDATE: EA has provided us with the following official statement in response to allegations that the "From Ashes" day one DLC for Mass Effect 3 was on the disc:

"From Ashes is a 600 MB+ download with all new content, including the mission on Eden Prime, new dialogue options and conversations with Javik, new cinematics, the Prothean weapon, and new appearances for all squad members. All of the above content was completed while the main game was in certification and are not available on the disc.



"As stated previously, in order to seamlessly integrate Javik into the core campaign, certain framework elements and character models needed to be put on disc. We did something similar with Zaeed and Kasumi in Mass Effect 2."

ORIGINAL STORY: From angry fans to defensive developers, everyone seems to have an opinion on Mass Effect 3's day one downloadable content and whether or not it's acceptable. The latest update comes from a fan claiming to have proof that the squad member unlocked in the DLC was on the disc from the start.

Responding to statements from BioWare saying that the "From Ashes" DLC content was not worked on until after Mass Effect 3 was completed and thus couldn't be included on the disc, YouTube user lljkceski created the video below. In it, the fan claims that by changing a single line of code in the PC version of Mass Effect 3, you can unlock the Prothean squadmate for play without downloading the DLC.

You can watch the video below to see the evidence and decide for yourself if you think its damning. Keep in mind that at this point it's basically BioWare's word versus random fan's word -- either way, you're trusting someone without full knowledge of what went on behind the scenes.

For now, I've reached out to EA and BioWare to see if they have any further comments on the day one DLC or the allegations made in this video. I'll update this post if I hear anything back.

[Thanks to Duraigo for the tip]