However, the rest of my post is still correct. If a video game is developed to accept the ability to have new DLC in advance, it can have it, update or not, even if the content is not already found on in the game itself. This is how most video game DLC content works.
As an example, I have hundreds of songs for Rock Band (Xbox 360/PS3 game). The game was NOT originally made knowing about all of these songs. However, the game WAS programmed to look into a certain place on your hard drive and load up any song files that are found there.
It doesn't matter how Nintendo code their games. As I said, it's compiled and broken down into machine language anyway.
Nothing, in any form of code and be added too, once compiled.
No game can be developed to accept new DLC; the content (items or whatever) simply HAS to be in the game from the very beginning. There's no "probably" about it.
For example, if Nintendo decided they wanted to add a piece of furniture as new DLC next year, they couldn't.
Programs like Rockband and Guitar Hero work differently. They have an algorithm embedded in a section of code that converts new data into usable content. ie. there are only so many notes, durations and instruments etc that are possible. An algorithm simply breaks down a new songs data and converts it into playable notes etc. There are no animation changes, no new icons or graphics; nothing is physically added to the game, it simply converts an audio format to a playable format which calls their existing notes "in-game" and than calls the track to be played from the hard drive during playback.