Nintendo has been a harsh critic of downloadable content in the past, but it seemed inevitable the company would eventually reconcile its internal values with a consumer reality. That’s happening with New Super Mario Bros. 2, which will receive three packs, available for $2.50 a pop, on October 4.

Interestingly, players won’t even have to boot up the eShop to purchase the packs. They can, of course, but if you have an Internet connection, Nintendo can send you a SpotPass notification about the content, and once you enter Coin Rush Mode, a shop icon will appear. Within that shop, you can read about the packs, and so long as you have enough eShop points, download them right away.

The three packs coming on October 4 are as follows, including descriptions straight from Nintendo:

• Gold Rush Pack: Fun new courses that give novice players the best chance to collect lots of gold, and veterans the chance to set even higher Coin Rush records.
• Coin Challenge Pack A: The New Super Mario Bros. 2 website will track the rankings based on the scores for this pack, enabling players to measure their scores against other tallies from around the world in these more open courses.
• Nerve-Wrack Pack: Intense new courses designed for veteran players looking for new challenges.

The last one sounds pretty damn interesting, actually, especially given my response to the courses in the game so far. I’m distressed at the prospect of not finishing a Mario platformer, and maybe this will give me new cause.