Topic: 3Ds should go for no card games

Also, don't forget that would be downloaded in one go (unless Nintendo does it like steam and you are able to patrially download bit by bit). Again, that would be ok for people with healthy download speeds.

Not necessarily. Every other digital platform out there except WiiWare/DSiWare supports download pausing/continuing, I think the 3DS can manage it. Especially if it has limits higher than 20/44mb.

@edhe, The size of the 3DS will be around the same size as the DSi. That's what Nintendo was saying at the E3. I think gb will be 2-4

With the internet I have to deal with goes down quite a bit and sometimes it's not up till the weekened. I live the US BTW, but where I live the owner of the RV Park doesn't want the customers to have internet so he takes his time fixing the problem when it goes down.

That's a given, because you wouln't be able to leave your handheld on for those lengths of time either. The Nintendo handheld that embraces retail quality downloadable titles would need to have enough system memory (and I believe temporary memory as well) to even contain such games.

When you consider nintendo's stance on 3D console gaming (only if 3D TV uptake is high enough)

I don't have a clue how big these 3DS cartridges are going to be, but they're likely to be pretty big if they are to contain games like Metal Gear Solid, Street Fighter 4 or even Ocarina of Time, etc.

What I'd like to see is a virtual console or DSiWare thats even better than what's currently available - by which I mean an improvement in filesize limits.

I certainly hope the 3DS cartridges have more capacity. The current DS ones are abysmally small, especially compared to similarly-sized products like SD cards which can store up to 32GB of data (and theoretically up to 2TB / 2048GB).

As for download speeds, it really depends on your region and its internet usage. My speeds fluctuate greatly depending on the time of day, and sometimes I experience regular disconnects, which makes downloading (and playing) games a real chore. I have external backups of all my Steam game files just so I won't have to waste loads of time re-downloading them if I need to reinstall steam. I've made use of them once already.

A large majority of the world would have games in their hands faster by going to the nearest store than downloading it. Here's an amusing article about how homing pigeons were used in South Africa to transfer data faster than their local internet connection.

Yeah the 3ds realy needs to have more space because alttle card like that can hold 32 gigs of space the 3ds should do that too and they should do mini sd cards so that you can put multiple cards in it like 2-4 card they could all be 32 gigs but i if i was to be realistic all the slots should add up to 64 gigs of space to be fare. because nintendo doesnt have the money right now to do all that mass production.

I agree with all that you've said WaltzElf.

It is clear beyond the shadow of a doubt that Digital Distribution is far easier on us and far more convenient, convenient that is more towards us who have a reliable internet connection and all but things will get better in time for those who are now unable to find a reliable internet connection. Even now Google is in talks with various IT developers and thinkers to create a world wide internet connection that all peoples of the earth can access inexpensively and reliably. Besides, folks, panic not. Have you forgotten that Mr. Satoru Iwata made it clear that the Nintendo 3DS would always be online no matter where you were? Mr. Iwata also said that even when there was no hot spot near you that the 3DS would still have online media content "free of charge" and those are Iwata's words and not mine.

To be quite honest, Digital Distribution is far greener to.

Especially considering that with Digital Distribution trees and natural resources are spared from being made into discs or cartridges and there are no manuals to be made and no plastic to create a case to store manuals and the software disc or cartridges in. So not only is digital distribution convenient but it's environmentally friendly. RedBox has announced that they are going to be moving away from the physical little "red boxes" in favor of going digital and more movies and films are being released with digital vouchers and codes as movie companies also plan to go green in moving away from DVD's and BluRay Disc. Alas, it is not hard to acknowledge that the rising future of Digital Media over Physical Media is upon us.

Sony Playstation also features Digital Vouchers in many stores here in the Atlanta, GA area and now Christian Book stores such as LifeWay, Family Christian and Potomic Adventist Book Center all have stands with codes to download movies, Bibles, devotionals and music to either your cellular phone, computer, internet television or iPod. Best Buy also has Digital Distribution in many of their stores.

Like WaltzElf pointed out, digital distribution makes life a lot easier for us all. One can simply lay in bed in the morning and fire up the iPad and watch the news, download a book or play the addicting and enjoyable ongoing Zenonia Saga. If you're a fan of the Kindle or B&N Nook then you'll be happy to know that there is a special text book you can download for your college needs.

Of course some things will remain, as there will always been a need for some warehouses and retail stores of certain kinds even after the far and distant year of 3017. Digital Distribution will cause many brick and mortar facilities to close down become only distant memories but books will always have a special place as I can't imagine sitting in church with a digital Bible pad (the very thought seems anathema and almost heresy like) but I suppose it is worth noting that you can download the sacred Bible and even the Qur'an from the Apple App store and Android App Market.

lol TokyoRed, you make it sound ilke it's gonna happen overnight, but it's not. give it a couple generations and perhaps the world might be ready for it, with better internet and/or whatever-number-GS connections available for all, but as of right now, retail isn't going anywhere yet. :3

No, not overnight. It will be a subtle and subdued transition no doubt. But from what I've read in Wired Magazine and on various internet sites things will be a lot more digital by 2017 then they are today. Technology seems to move quite fast although people are a little slow to catch up with it. After all, how long did it take man to finally learn how to fly?

considering the myth of Icarus is from Ancient Greece, i'd have to say at least 1,903 years if we're talking powered flight, lol. sounds like your 3017 prediction would be a bit off, in that case :3

For digital distribution to become the exclusive standard, first there has to be universal high speed internet access available to everyone for free, or near-free. Which ain't gonna happen anytime soon. We're talking many many many decades here, people. Digital distribution of media will of course increase over the years, but it'll be quite a while until it's the standard.

20 years. Can we all agree that in 2030, developed nations will be technologically capable of doing this? Once the infrastructure is there I can promise you developers and publishers will move there wholeheartedly.

Technologically capable? Probably. Actually implemented? Probably not.

this. it's one of those 'i'll believe it when i see it' kinds of things, honestly :3

It's been over 20 years and there's still no hoverboards or flying deloreans

We're technologically capable now.

In Australia, which really does lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to Internet infrastructure, we're just starting to build the National Broadband Network (NBN) that will provide 100mbps (initially) to 93 per cent of the population. That's enough for digital download to be the default for media delivery, and it can be done now.

Of course, it'll probably take 20 years before everyone treats those kinds of connections like telephone lines - but point is the (developed) world is in the process of implementing this kind of stuff now.

I can assure you, more advanced nations, such as South Korea or Japan, are already more than ready for digital download to become the standard, but the problem is publishers and developers in those countries are waiting for the rest of the world to catch up before the AAA stuff is worth releasing as DD-only (after all, it's a little hard to have a AAA title for one or two regions in the world).

So really, 20 years for America, Australia and New Zealand, and developed Europe to finish implementing and marketing off stable, fast broadband to the majority of the population. The analysts I speak to seem to reckon that'll happen, businesses are expecting it to happen, and Governments are on board.

But Nike has patented an idea for the self-lacing shoes!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38884033

@shpydar: holy crap

HORRID IDEA.

Nintendo already said that there would be an optional amount of games in the 3DS Shop... So the memory should probably be up to 10 gb... But still a horrible idea due to a limited number of games.

Digital download works best with movies and music, but not games. It will never work out, because you can not sell them back and when an old game ages there are no price drops.

Top 5 main reasons digital distribution is a HUGE failure- 1. No trade-ins
2. No selling
3. Download times vary
4. If the online store is all of the sudden disconnected then where will you get your games in the mean time?
5. NOT EVERYONE HAS WIFI.
_{please use the 'edit' link instead of quadruple-posting in a thread -- TBD}

Um, you realise that digital distribution is actually on the rise, right, and not a failure at all? In fact, reports are suggesting it's taking a massive piece of the retail pie.

As for your five reasons that it's supposedly a "failure" - 1 and 2 are essentially the same thing, and irrelevant. Music used to have a vibrant resale scene, especially in vinyl era... and yet digital distribution still took over.

3 and 5) have already been discussed in the posts immediately before yours, but I guess you missed them - the infrastructure will be there. And the analysts are expecting that in the next 20 years.

4) you do realise that the Sony, Microsoft and Nintendos of the world maintain massive and very, very expensive datacentres that, if they go down for anything but maintenance, are basically guaranteed through server redundency and the like to be down for no longer than a few hours? Sometimes they go down for maintenance an I guess that could last for a half day or so, but if you really need to buy a new game every 12 hours, then you are one of the problem gamers that needs an intevention.

And, as we've already discussed the benefits of digital distribution are massive: Becuase it's cheaper to publish games on, start-ups and indie developers can get their stuff out there easier, so there's a greater variety and creativity in the games published on the platforms. DLC and patching is easier so developers can continue to support games after they've been released.