Topic: What's the next step to going all digital?

NOJ has games on the eShop at cheaper then retail

That's surprising. To what discount? They should apply that to the USA and ESPECIALLY the PAL eShop.

It's for the more expensive titles, but they are technically cheaper, here's a link http://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/dlsoft/index.html
Go down and look at Bravley Defult and Samurai Warriors 2nd

I for one, would really hate if they went fully digital with games. more cons than pros if you really think about it...

Well, I had a Gamecube and even though the Wii supported it, the Wii U will not. Therefore, if all title were digital downloads, I would either lose access to those games, have to keep the old system around, or constantly have to buy more and more hard drives. I think that is one reason you will not see all digital. I definitely do not think you will see it in the Wii U generation. The 32gb of save space just would not allow for more than two or three games. Now, I don't mind dropping another 100 bucks for a hard drive, but some people do.

All digital? No, no, and no. As long as Nintendo is offering downloadable retail games at a ridiculous price, then retail will always exist.

Even though I prefer digital, we still need retail because that's what some prefer.

Like has been said before, Internet limitations is a huge problem at the moment. A vast amount of places globally have horrible, if not non-existent, Internet connection, speeds, etc. so they'd be cutting out a huge chunk of customers and would be creating a mess by forcing everyone to get digital-only games any time soon.

As great as it is having Internet for many games, one of the appealing aspects, imo, is the fact that people who are in areas like I described above have access to many great games as well(when offered the retail option).

Ahem: http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A7%...

Ahem ahem: http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%82%A8%E3%83%BC%...

Both of these games are cheaper at retail stores than they are for download. The fatal flaw of Nintendo downloads is that the prices go down very rarely, and certainly not with the speed, frequency, and generousity of a retailer.

Theoretically, digital downloads should be a lot cheaper, as Steam has set the standard for publishing pretty low priced, and you no longer have to go through a retailer like gamestop. When Valve publishes a game for $15, they are making the same amount of profit as a retail game for $60 because they don't have to pay for a retailer or a publisher. So making digital games half price or at least drop significantly more quickly is certainly not out of the question. Companies like EA and Nintendo refuse to do this because, being publishers, they don't have to pay themselves and make more money releasing games to retail for $60.

If digital games were half the price of their retail counterparts, I think that would motivate more people to get better internet, thus helping the infrastructure along and making it so that more people can buy games digitally. The next step right now though, is to make sure that every game released to retail is also released digitally.

The issue there is there are still many, MANY places globally where you simply cannot get 'better Internet'.

Believe it or not, not everyone can just upgrade and go on their merry way; a lot have to put up with crappy Internet, if it even is existent in their area(s). I have relatives who live in such areas where next to no providers can offer even half decent services(and there are tons of far worse off places globally), so they simply chose not to get Internet for the time being.

Something tells me there's more than enough people with reliable internets out there to make going digital worthwhile. I sure a quick google search could figure it out, too...

To make going digital worthwhile? Yes, it certainly is. But to go exclusively? Not a chance.

Worthwhile is fine, but if a company wants to maximize profit, they don't want just worthwhile. They want to be able to sell their products to everybody.

That's what I meant by worthwhile. They don't have to sell their stuff to everybody when over A billion people already have good enough Internet for that sort of thing. But really, I wasn't aware this was something that can only happen tomorrow instead of 10 years in the future when the rest of the world catches up in internet speeds.

I don't ever want to have the option of purchasing a game with its case to go away, until I lose interest in buying new games. That's my way of having an item beyond the game to show my appreciation further than replaying and discussing it.

Imagine walking into a gameshop and going through walls of cardboard download cards... Thats if gameshops and the workers that lost their jobs exist what about the people that get paid for distribution and the company that makes the plastic box? all gone because I would rather pay $10 more for a download. Why?

I could also do a google search about mermaids doing backflips off of pyramids with Abraham Lincoln.

On a serious note, I wasn't saying digital was bad, I was saying all digital at this point would be a bad move in my opinion. Whether you want to take it in or not, there are a lot of legit gamers who'd be cut off by forcing everyone to go digital only; ones who live in areas I mentioned earlier.

I'm not against digital, I'm against all digital. There may be a few problems at the moment with pricing, etc.( I even agree digital should be cheaper despite the fact I'd still buy physical copies) but it is a smart move to give a choice for now. Further into the future when access is much more reliable for everyone, sure; now, no.

I agree with Wobee. I would have gotten to this sooner, but my connection slipped on me.

I think I made this come across wrong. I wasn't trying to suggest that anytime during the Wii U's life we'd see the full transition, just the baby steps. It seems like everyone's getting angry about this, but even though you don't like it, it's the same as moving from cartridge to disk format. I just think it's better to embrace the future now, find the problems and solutions now, rather than having Nintendo drag their feet like they've done for the last 10-15 years.

Would you rather sell exclusively to 1 billion people or would you rather have the potential of that being 2 or even 3?

A billion people with internet good enough to D/L the game means they're only selling to 1/6 of potential customers. Missed profits/opportunities aren't things a company wants.

And ten years into the future? Yes, internet speeds will improve, but it is likely that game sizes will increase just the same making improvements utterly moot.