My Nintendo Rewards Start on 17th March in Japan, Alongside Miitomo Launch

A little surprised by DLC not counting but still sounds good, lets hope we hear about western launch soon

Maybe I should've held off on the Super Mario Advance games to get some gold coins. Oh well, at least there's my big plan for Hyrule Warriors Legends.

Looks like I'll be holding off on downloading anything until it releases in NA.

I feel a bit silly buying all those SNES games now. I'll hold off on spending any more until I can make some coins.

What can the coins be used for?

Even worse than I thought it would be. I'm still waiting on anything regarding if it will ever be physical rewards or anything for physical purchases.

Dunno why I expected them to give rewards for recent games... I don't plan on getting anything that's coming up so this honestly sucks.
Considering all I've gotten have been digital copies of games I could've gotten something good out of it. But really though, not even a physical alternative...?

@Grumblevolcano
I held buying on the eShop except limited offers/discounts. I think the buy 3 for 2 on the Super Mario Advance games are worth it than waiting for My Nintendo.

@Moon depending on the type of coin, discount coupons for digital purchase or digital downloads like 3ds themes.

I would hope that it goes live for everybody before friday, when a certain pokemon game goes on sale.

Eshop purchases only? Wtf that's even worse than before.

I prefer to go retail whenever possible so i probably won't be reaping much rewards from this.

Seems like Nintendo is going for a strong digital push.

Physical games >>> lame nintendo programme

Can't wait for this to launch in the USA

@LordGeovanni Thanks for the answer.

So we don't get any rewards for buying boxed games anymore? That sucks.

I miss Club Nintendo.

This, along with Nintendo's ability to restore your digital purchases in the event your console is lost or stolen (as happened to me) is making the prospect of going all-digital very tempting.

So where's the link to pre-register for the platinum coin?

I hope the servers don't crash again....

@Yorumi And then the NX will end up like the initial reveal of the XB1

guess this isn't going to be for me after all. i don't buy a lot of games digitally

At least you could still get rewards for playing games with the physical version... right?

@DefHalan It sounds like the platinum points are for Nintendo's smartphone apps, not Wii U and 3DS games.

As a physical buyer of games, I will not be earning a lot of points. I buy a fair amount of eshop exclusive titles, but those won't add up quickly.

Stop cluttering your rooms you dorks with physical purchases.

Do your social life a favor - go digital.

@Grumblevolcano I am pretty sure they never said it was mobile only.

@Yorumi Well, it is launching in Japan in a few days. Still waiting to hear when it launches in the USA

I can't for the life of me understand why Nintendo would not include the purchase of physical games in this royalty scheme. If the old rewards could manage that, then why not the new one?

Nintendo's eShop is so overpriced that I only once purchased a new game from there, and it was because Fast Racing NEO isn't available in physical form.

Seems like a backward step but hopefully theres more to be announced on the service before it comes west.

@Moon at this time nothing's been mentioned for physical. We are all hopeful

@Yorumi We will see. I don't speak or read Japanese so I don't really know what information is out there. Also this is just the program launch. That doesn't mean it will be running smoothly from here on out. It could take a while to get other games/purchases working with the service.

@ThomasBW84 "For one thing there's no retrospective rewarding of coins,"

Is that typical British usage for "retrospective"? In the US it would probably be "retroactive". Retrospective would be looking back at something. But I've been wrong as often as right trying to interpret language on this site.

No physical media is a big downer, and opens the way for NX to be digital only. I still don't think NX will be digital only, but now I'm starting to be concerned.

@rjejr If the NX a is digital only, it will be an instant fail. Most people still do not have fast internet speeds and often still have caps on their usage. Also I don't know if I trust Nintendo on the hard drive space they'll provide with the system... Or the pricing of their online games. 😛

Gold Points for buying the more expensive Digital Version seems kind of transparent to me...

I don't buy a lot of games digitally other than Virtual Console games, hopefully this promotion extends to them. I'll probably still register, but I'm unsure how much use I'll get out of the service if the gold coins are linked to digital purchases only.

There isn't a reward for physical? Then I'm afraid this program is a regression from Club Nintendo. The only times I've bought retail games digital are for PW: Dual Destinies and FE:A because it was out of stock in my local store. I regretted it so much because the had a restock like three weeks later....

Most of my purchases from Nintendo have been physical when you exclude digital-only games and DLC so I doubt I'd be able to use this much if you can't get any points for physical games.

I only buy physical games, so if I won't get points for them I may as well forget about this reward system. Paying £10 more on digital just for some lame discounts isn't gonna be worth it.

@LordGeovanni @DarthNocturnal There won't be any rewards anymore for physical purchases. They made this very clear right from the start. You should view My Nintendo more as a replacement for the Digital Deluxe Programme instead of one for Club Nintendo. Club Nintendo is dead.

Pretty typical of Nintendo. I think my honeymoon is over with them.

If this is another way to get DLC, I'm all for it. Of course it might not be but who knows?

I've registered around 150 Wii, Wii U, DS, 3DS games and consoles combined on Club Nintendo. But I only owned and paid around 30 of them. I will not complain if Nintendo is rewarding only digital purchasers this time. But who knows if they'll include codes for physical games again.

@manu0 they've said nothing about physical Rewards or physical purchases. Not that they have no interest in rewarding with physical or for physical purchase. Additional perks and rewards are going to be rolled out with time, so there's plenty for us still be hopeful for. Also, without a flat denial, they can always decide to add physical later.

Welp, maybe pre purchasing hyrule warriors legends was a bad idea after all.

@FragRed I know, to any sane person digital only is fail all around, but that didn't stop Sony from making PSPgo 7 years ago. Maybe Nintendo thinks it's time?

BUT - to look at if from an entirely different gaming perspective - see all those literally Billions w/ a B smartphones and tablets (1 billion each for iOS and Android) playing a million clones of Candy Crush - how many of those were purchased on cartridge or disc? And Nintendo has seemed to have a bit of Apple in them since the all white Wii and DS designs, and proprietary go-it-alone hardware and software. Why not go all digital?

I know why not, and you know why not, but this is Nintendo we are talking about, where almost anything goes.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/27/7924919/apple-shipped-its-billionth-ios-device-this-past-november

I still think it won't be all digital, but I've gone from 100% sure to 80% sure over the past year, and My Nintendo - if it is all digital - isn't helping that percentage any.

Meh...
I'm not going to start "Aarrgg nintendoooo!! You stuPidS!!!1"
But if there's not physical rewards then im in the same boat as everyone here. Like.... Um.... What about the collectors editions for games? Like... We're all supposed to say no to those in lieu of digital?
Anyone who knows me on here (which admittedly is nobody) knows that I am digital only, only until recently when all these cool games started flying out of the big Nintendo butthole but until now I've been digital only. So I don't know... I hope this pleases everyone when it comes west.

@LordGeovanni Not gonna happen. They have been very careful to mention DIGITAL in "rewards for digital purchases" every time.

Going eShop only, makes me wonder if Nintendo is using this as a precursor to how the NX will be going the go-to-market. I still hold fast to the idea the NX may be designed to compete more with the likes of Apple or Fire TV.

If this is indeed the case, My Nintendo may be the attempt to get their customers used to purchasing via online. I'm not saying I like it necessarily, but this could be the method to the madness.

As an aside and completely off subject, if the NX has a handheld aspect to it, it is my hope that they introduce cover plates similar to what the New 3DS has. Just a thought.

I think people are reacting too soon. There's no evidence that we won't get any sort of reward for physical purchases, it just said gold coins are only for digital purchases - the gold coin prizes may only require one or two digital purchases and might not even be good. We might get straight rewards for first party games, whether physical or digital. There might be another currency for physical purchases like silver coins, which could be worth half that of gold coins (can't blame a company for at least encouraging digital purchases, they get more money from that). We simply don't have all the information yet. Wait until it launches before you start rioting about how much it sucks.

most of e shop game still 39$ for 3DS and 49$ for wii U while you can buy them from amazon hard copy for 10$ less for 3DS and 30$ less for wii U games ... i don't support digital games unless there is no hard copy ... I'm a nintendo big fan ( collector ) i like to keep my physical copy's of the game ...

most ppl like to give it to family/friends share it ... or sell it after beating the game ... not all people are rich nintendo !!! I'm not sure why nintedo keep taking steps back year after year

the worst part they are proud of the 32GB wii U capacity and cal it deluxe lol ... well done nintendo and it can't handle most games like oddWorld or fatal frame !! and i know i can buy extra hard drive I'm not waiting for fan boys to me that ... but i already spent 350$ for wii U ( a shitty console with few nice games only bad spec ) while you can get a great console spec like xbox or ps4 with 500GB min and amazing spec !!!

This confirms the NX is a micro-console that is digital only
/sarcasm

@FragRed I would only be on board with a system like that if they take the route of Android/iOS where any future Nintendo hardware I buy, I can expect for the game to run on it. Then, I think I can be okay with a largely/only digital environment, knowing I'll be insured I'd have the game for the foreseeable future and across future hardware. If that's not the case (and even if it is, depending on implementation), then not a chance I'll be buying into that. I'm just starting to enjoy my 20% off Amazon Prime promo, and unless they add that onto digital codes, it'll be hard for me to let go of new Nintendo titles for ~$50.

Used to being dissapointed by Nintendo now. I don't see getting many rewards from this system as I buy mainly physical. I have no desire to get any platinum coins if they are mobile only. Looking easier and easier to skip NX for me.

I thought Nintendo talked about a tiered discount system. IE the more you buy, the more you save on future purchases. I guess it was too much to ask them to match the Best Buy/Amazon 20% off games.

@Meowpheel I will be getting it once the thing comes out.

_________________________________________________

While I'm getting Hyrule Warriors Legends digitally, that's the only retail game I'm wanting to get for a while unless I can get some on sale on the eshop, I do like digital games but like getting bigger games physically, imagine a massive game like Xenoblade comes out, much rather get it physically then digitally. I can see maybe they didn't want to bother making more codes and slips, but they really should do something for people who get physical games.

The Platinum coins sound kind of like Ubisoft's UPlay. I play a lot of Nintendo games, so that could be cool. The Gold coins, however, don't sound so good. Since they're the ones that come from actual purchases, I'm guessing they're also the ones that get you rewards, like games or posters. My problem there is that it says you have to buy digital versions of games to get Gold coins. Aside from digital-only releases, pretty much all of my purchases are physical retail copies, so I won't be getting many Gold coins. Not cool.

I don't know why they bothered with another rewards program.
I mean the majority of people hated Club Nintendo everywhere it was available (yes the plenty of Japanese hated Club Nintendo Japan for being not as good as the others).

It's funny that Microsoft and Nintendo both have a rewards program, yet are getting trounced by Sony who killed their rewards program a few years ago to save money.

Though this new program is better than most rewards programs offered by the majority of companies.

I'll probably make out like bandit like I did on Club Nintendo!

@peeks Why did you even buy a Wii U then? Kinda your own fault.

@manu0 I did because im a big fan of Mario Zelda ... Etc .. I enjoy playing these games more than anything else

I saw the concept of Wii U before buying it and I loved it but after trying it it was a but failure specially for a late 2012 device ... Very basic ... It looks like it came from 2006

Well this is a nice way to sweeten the pot for digital games since the end of the 10% back DDP the Wii U had over a year ago. Now that I think about it, the gold coin are supposed to act as discount coupons for digital games. Less club nintendo and more Deluxe Digital Promotion which should be a bad thing unless physical buyers now feel cheated

Hard for me to be upset when I'm on the side that will benefit more from it Hope it comes this week or so in NA. I want the coins from Pokken Tournament and I can't wait longer to play it.

@manu0
Again, you are not listening to my point. @ShadJV is actually on the same thought as me. My thought is they may introduce physical reward later and/or rewards for physical purchases. Them specifying "digital" over and over only encourages this. It leaves the door open for them to change their mind or improve the system with time.

Since 90% of my games are digital this could work out pretty well.

@LordGeovanni Again, the chances of this happening are close to 0.

@manu0 but there is still a chance

It's a good thing there's a couple games on my wishlist coming out soon as well as old hits I missed. No way I was gonna push back purchases though. Lol

@ultraraichu Digital for Life lol

@manu0
Nintendo has reconsidered things in the past because of fan requests. (See Earthbound, a VERY difficult thing they managed to do finally) As such, I wouldnt write it off, instead I would rather write Nintendo asking for it. Couldnt hurt.

@LordGeovanni thank you, I really think people are jumping the gun. Something I see all too often with gamers, especially in the Nintendo community. Nintendo releases a few details about something and people have a fit, before the game/device/service is even out. We don't know every detail about this, it's not out yet! We don't even know what gold coins will be used for exactly, yet everyone is pissed they can't get them for physical purchases.

@ShadJV
Biggest problem I see often is Nintendo fans jumping the gun on information. I feel as if it is a problem with feeling inadequate compared to Sony or Microsoft because their install base is bigger and they tend to get more 3rd party support. Then Nintendo fans "deserve" and "demand" more and immediately expect things to be screwed up because... you know, "Nintendo".

I always expect not the best, but not the worst. Nintendo rarely screws up a lot and they would have extra motivation to get things right with the next system. If we, the fans, make it apparent that we dislike and disapprove of Digital-only, the My Nintendo will fail without alteration. And why would Nintendo not alter it if it is failing as well?

We just have to work together at being fans. Not ridiculing things that are not even announced. People were saying for THREE YEARS that Dragon Quest VII wasnt coming State-side (or to Europe at all, as they never got the first PS release *Congrats Guys *) All I did was say SE didnt say "no", and I wrote them constantly to consider it. Gyess what I have pre-ordered

@Yorumi
Then we will find a way. Either through YouTube postings and comments, Sites like NintendoLife, E3 and other gaming conventions. Telling Nintendo our feelings WILL happen as long as we work at it. In fact, maybe we should also request an easier way to talk with Nintendo

How I managed to contact SE for requests to localize DQVII was silly. I had to call up the FFXIV Support Desk and get transferred about a dozen times until I got to the people I needed to talk to. But I was able to talk to them

...so, no more long boring surveys?..
A. Yes
B. No
C. Maybe

@Yorumi
I make myself a target for trolls because t focuses them away from others. I dont think they figure out that it really doesnt bother me.

I don't plan on buy many digital games soon. For one thing, my Wii U hard drive doesn't have enough space for any more. Plus, I like the boxes, and also getting physical items in special editions.

If Nintendo starts pushing too heavy for a digital only future, then I won't be happy.

As a digital-only gamer, if DLC doesn't count, I'm less than enthused. Seriously Nintendo, for digital purchases just give a flat 10% or so back, like you did with the Wii U Digital Deluxe promotion. The whole Platinum versus Gold points system also seems to be adding unnecessary complexity.

Unless unavailable, I've always purchase physical, so if all this is to push for a digital only, then I will simply thank Nintendo for the good times and move on for the most part. But at this point, there is far too much unknown so for now let's wait and see what will be.

@Tsurii i was thinking of much more colorful language than that. maybe it will be retroactive when it hits the rest of the world, but that seems unlikely.

i wonder, if i peel away the platinum and gold covering of the coins, will there be chocolate inside?

@Grumblevolcano The more I see if that game the better it looks. Can't wait for it.

@Hamguar I suspect will physical games will link somehow. I would disappointed if it didn't since, like you, I buy physical when I can.

@getyourak Because owning a game in digital form somehow grants a social life but the physical version keeps it at bay?

Nintendo: download all your games on your 4GB 3DS and 32GB WiiU thats gonna fill up in 10 seconds!!!

"for those that have setup a Nintendo Account"
And are in available region, because there are countries where it won't let you.

"Global" sounds more like lucky few with Nintendo.

If I read correctly, My Nintendo will be fully launched globally this March. So, we can wait for a bit, right?

I'm actually surprised at how shocked everyone is about this, as if the writing wasn't on the wall during the first couple years of the Wii U's existence being the Deluxe Rewards program was practically a test bed for My Nintendo Rewards. All this does for Nintendo, is bring some sort of parity with the rewards programs that Microsoft and Sony currently have (Though XBOX Live Rewards, to be fair gives you 15,000 points [$15] for pre-ordering physical games from their store)

None of this means that they are abandoning physical sales, I'm sure there will still be physical copies for those that prefer that method. Though I see how it sucks being that for those who prefer physical. My Nintendo Rewards feels like a step down from Club Nintendo.

Also, just because they may not be doing rewards for physical buyers now, doesn't mean tweaks to the program won't be made. For now, I'll just be happy with the points I get from Gamestop and Best Buy and the discount I get from Amazon when I purchase hard copies.

Let's be real here, we all knew My Nintendo would only give rewards for digital purchases. That was obvious.

Nintendo is pushing towards all digital like everyone else. It's where everything is heading, whether we like it or not.

Will the NX be digital only? I doubt it. We are not there yet. Companies are still in the process of conditioning consumers to buy digital.

Glad I've held off on all digital for the last couple of months! Still going to buy physical where possible. Whatever the reward conversion, it's not going to beat the often 25% discount for retail over digital. Plus, I can resell a game when finished. If there do happen to be any rewards I desperately want, Ebay will be my friend.

Nintendo is really pushing digital purchases... but I'm staying physical! Like others have said, I like physical because of the disc, box, and sometimes the bonuses that come with it. Club Nintendo might have not had the best rewards, but at least we got points/coins for every purchase! Hopefully physical games will count, but it's not looking like they will be. As of now, I'm disappointed with this new account system, but hopefully that'll change when more info about it is released.

I have a feeling it is digital only because those Club Nintendo cards were too easy to find in used copies of games and people registered a ton of games they didn't own, and the My Nintendo rewards are going to be better than Club Nintendo. Discounts and eShop credit is better than most Club Nintendo rewards.

@DefHalan Discounts and eshop credit are nice, but Xenoblade is currently £49.99 digital, but only around £32 physical - there's a £17 saving. Twilight Princess is £39.99 digital for the game only, but I got it for £35 with an amiibo and soundtrack. Most games are like that in Europe. I have no issue with digital in general, but the reward scheme would have to be uber generous to make me go for digital with costs so disparate. Hope I'm wrong, but can't see the potential free credit ever matching the original discount on buying physical. But I do agree those cards could be exploited in ways Nintendo did not intend.

@Sakura In USA it is normally the same price. You might be lucky and get a sale a few weeks/months later, but at launch the physical price and digital price are normally the same, and that is normally when I buy games, during the launch week. (I don't pay sales tax on digital items, so they are kinda cheaper for me lol) So for me it makes more sense to buy digital, and now I get a reward too.

@Grumblevolcano So much for me buying them right away, ol.

@DefHalan Yeah, I guess if the cost is the same and there is a benefit to buying digital, then that makes sense. It's not so great a deal across Europe. I'm not that bothered about rewards really, but am awaiting a proper, unified, in the cloud, transferable-across-owned-devices account system. That would be nice.

@Sakura Yeah, that probably won't happen on Wii U.

@DefHalan No, it doesn't look likely. All details for Nintendo Account seem to point towards an entrenchment of the current system. Maybe for NX, though.

While I'm also disappointed about retrospective buys not counting for rewards, I don't understand the anger against digital-only. I think it's actually a good incentive because digital-only is far more ecological, just think about how much waste it prevents.

@Mario-Man-Child: You mean the same way as buying a disc is paying money for nothing? I don't see a difference there.

@TerrapinJess Collector's Editions are basically a big rip-off, I never understood why anyone would fall for that. They add some paper and plastic to the game and charge you a whole lot more for something useless that will only draw dust on some shelf.

@FragRed @rjejr and anyone else who thinks digital-only would fail: You clearly aren't following recent events and live in the past. Playstation Plus is a big success, as is Steam.
Gamers tend to be lazy, so going digital is actually pretty smart. The only problem is that gamers also tend to hold on to outdated, meaningless traditions. I still know how great it felt as a child when you got a new GB or SNES game and opened the box on the way home, while reading the manual.
But that doesn't change the fact that it's outdated and only still exists because of nostalgia (the unwillingness to adapt to progress).

Coins are only obtainable through digital downloads? Pretty much wraps up Nintendo's last 5 years of terrible decisions.

Considering the sheer lack of hard drive space they provide with their consoles, digital only would be a terrible idea that would limit the usefulness of this reward system. If you want to take advantage of this deal you'd have to constantly shell out for extra hard drives. Hopefully they'll allow physical games as well.

@shani
Digital-only is also still completely owned by the company. You only rent the right to play the game. Effectively, you give up the right to own the game. It is a very large thing to give up when you are dropping $60+ on a single game.

@shani Its not just about people not wishing to move forward that is keeping physical alive. It's also a lot to do with the fact that PSN, eShop and Xbox Live are all incredibly overpriced. £49.99 should not be the price of a new game which is digital. How can it be more expensive to buy a digital game than it is to buy physical?

Also what about people with slow internet speeds and those with internet download caps? It's not like they are necessarily the minority.

And last of all what about trade ins? A huge amount of people trade in their games they no longer want. In fact here in the UK there is a chain of shops that specialise entirely in trade ins, with video games making up a large percentage of their stock. And it's always very busy.

@LordGeovanni Arguably even physical is a rental when considering the PS4 and XB1. You have to install the games to the hard drive (mandatory) so Sony/Microsoft could easily take that away from you if they wanted to. Nintendo's the only console maker left which if you buy a physical game then you own it though even that may change due to NX.

@Grumblevolcano
It isn't exactly the same. If I buy a physical game, I own the game. If I have to download part of the game to the system, I still physically own the game. If they update their system to prevent me from playing, I can get a different system and still play the game.

Digital only is different. If the company feels I'm in violation of one of their policies, they could break my system. They could disable my ability to download that game. They could disable all online content.

Basically, the company is ensuring that they can punish people when people buy digital. I believe the laws of different countries dictate physical games can not have such restrictions.

EDIT: Best way I can put it. NintendoLife already discussed this a year ago. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/05/talking_point_the_fragility_of_buying_download_games

@shani What @FragRed said, though he also left out Redbox, and Gamefly, which makes up a not insignificant part of my gaming.

And you can play up PSN and Steam, but Microsoft shot themselves in the foot with their draconian practices about disc management and basically sold as many PS4 as Sony did.

And while I didn't bring it up earlier - there is a great difference in the size of game downloads between Blu Ray disc games in the 10's of GBs, 2-3GBs for infies and 100MB for a mobile game. Also price. People will download a lot for free, and a bunch for $10, but not as many for $60.

@DarthNocturnal
I do remember seeing an image from nintendo's announcement of the program that there would be special rewards at retail or something

I just bought hyrule warriors digital yesterday. Either way, I certainly won't be getting many points if it is digital only. Unless the decide to give me points for my previous digital purchases, then I might consider going mostly digital.

For download codes for Virtual Console titles that you can get in GAME, do you get points for them when you download them?

Don't get gold coins for buying retail games? Only eShop? That's poor, Nintendo.

I understand no retrospective coin rewarding, no complaints there.

But no coins for DLC, and therefore I would assume things like buying goes on the Badge Arcade, is just very Scrooge like.

If physical games won't be rewarded at all, then I guess I won't be earning many coins. That's a shame because I really liked Club Nintendo and the rewards scheme. I have a feeling that the rewards will be digital only, too :-/

@rjejr I also forgot to ask, @shani what difference does it make to you whether people chose to buy their games physically over digital? Is it really hurting you to see people having a different opinion to you in how they should buy their goods?

And let us look at other areas of the entertainment industry, music and film, where they have been pushing digital for years. There are still large numbers of people buying their films on DVD and Blu-Ray and music on CD. In fact, there is a massive surge in the sale of VINYL right now, at least here in the UK. So if anything, no matter whether you are into gaming, films or music, don't expect physical to go away completely, at least for a good long time coming.

Oh and perhaps something you don't normally consider, but if we went fully digital, then a lot of people would lose their jobs. I am talking about people who work in factories where the discs are made, the cases are produced, the people who design sleeves and artwork for the physical goods, the distributors and retailers etc. That could actually damage the economy quite a lot.

@Yorumi "I guess it's nintendo's turn to fail with a digital only system."

Nintendo is failing just fine on it's own w/ Wii U, it doesn't need digital only to do that.

@FragRed Oh, thanks for reminding me, my library just started lending out videogames as well. (Your comment on the entertainment industry, I get most of my DVDs from the library.) They do have digital books, so I suppose they could get in on the digital video game racket (it's a racket when there is only 1 distributor, Nintendo, to set prices) but if kids are taking videogames out of the library they probably don't have broadband at home. And carrying your home console to the library would be such a pain.

Edit - forget the pic, duh. (pic, not pick, double duh)

@Captain_Gonru "I actually think we need a retrospective on all the things that were said about this program before that are now being shown to be false."

You mean Iwata's autobiography, where everything he ever said about Nintendo - no SSB DLC, no free-to-start, no Wii U price drop in 2013, no games on mobile - is shown to be false?

I respect the guy as a gamer, but Abe Lincoln he was not.

@Yorumi Well it won't be long before Ntineod is comparing NX sales to Wii U sales and alking about how great NX is doing by comparison.

@Captain_Gonru "releasing at an unannounced date at some point in the future."

And that's before the inevitable delay.

@dizzy_boy Does Pokken come out then?

@Joshua_Hylian Pokken Tournament is out friday, so it would be nice if the My Nintendo thing comes out world wide the same time as Japan.

I'd be up for going all digital if Nintendo's digital policies weren't far and away the most viciously anti consumer in the industry.
I've been digital only on PC and Sony since it first became viable.

Unfortunately I'm doubtful Nintendo is ready to catch up to where everyone else was a decade or more ago.

@Captain_Gonru
Would you really be the petulant child that would throw stones if they delayed the system? I can easily think of three reasons why that would not be a bad idea. Just off the top of my head:

1 - New technology shown to Nintendo can be added to the new system with a slight delay, new technology such as a way to easily implement fan-requests like CrossBuy.

2 - New technological advances show ways of making the device in a cheaper format and therefor justify the delay to explore the advancement for durability and productivity.

3 - Possible continued advancement of games on Wii U would also play a factor on the "end" of the Wii U. If, for example (not something I think will actually happen, mind you chat) Zelda U had a major issue that pushed its release back from Sometime 2016 into March 2017, Nintendo would be foolish to release the NX Device earlier than the game. Which would encourage a delay of the system as well. (this being, regardless if Zelda U is a Wii U/NX release, or just a Wii U release. Either way, releasing the NX earlier would be a mistake.)

There are a lot of other factors that must be considered. In addition, Nintendo only informed the world about the NX system in development because of the Mobile Gaming announcement with DeNA. If they didnt confirm such, we would have had over a year of people making "Nintendo is DOOOOOOOMED" announcements and then the NX would just be described as a means to counter that overreaction. They most certainly showed info about the current Codename: Nintendo NX to quite soundly make apparent that they are not leaving the console systems anytime soon. Not that they were rushing the end of the Wii U.

@Captain_Gonru Man, that's a lot to read first thing in the morning. That's what I get for reading your email first I guess. How long until we change the clocks back?

@Captain_Gonru Are we still talking about the NX launch? Yeah, a hardware delay from before to after the holidays might make NX still born. I still believe 3DS got off to a slow start b/c you don't release $250 hardware in the spring, that's a holiday release w/o discussion. Even Sony realized "1st half" of 2016 was a bad choice for $400 PSVR, as I knew they would.

NX needs to come out during the holidays, whether it's a home, handheld, or expensive 2 piece combo. I'd rather see them wait until holiday 2017 than release in spring 2017. Though I don't know what games they might have to keep their 2 current consoles going for an entire other year?

Have I mentioned I was really surprised that Paper Mario is a Wii U game, not NX? And how nonchalantly they mentioned it in the middle of the ND, with so little fanfare; but played up skell Kirby and it's unnecessary re-skinned amiibo so big at the end? Should have opened w/ Paper Mario if its worth a look. I haven't played much of Sticker Star - maybe an hour or 2 - but I can see why people were complaining. It's a new Mario game, announce it loud and proud if it's any good. Don't throw it in the dirt w/ AC:aF, Metroid Soccer and Mario Tennis.

Anyway, my long winded point being, NX can launch next to Paper Mario on Wii U, Nintendo doesn't seem to think Color Splash is all that worthy of promotion anyway. Not that it wasn't nice to see it announced in a ND, but they tried so hard to hide it in plain site. Mario deserves better. Ultra Smash not withstanding.

@LordGeovanni As far as I know, the same applies to physical copies. You still have to agree to the EULA of the company and you're not allowed to do what you want with your copy of the game. So essentially (and as far as I know, legally), you don't really own your physical copy either.
Besides, what difference does it make as long as if you can play the game?

@rjejr: Yeah, because MS just didn't think it through. But no one wants to pay just to have access to online features, that's why Xbox Live was such a big fail. PSN on the other hand actually gave people an incentive to sign up for a subscription, because giving away a few cheap games for free or discounts for specific games doesn't hurt Sony that much, but on the other hand they get a lot of subscribers. The reason why PSN works is because it makes the subscriber think that they're paying for discounts and free games (even if they might end up not playing most or all of them), it basically feels like a membership for a club. So Sony improveded Microsoft's idea in a clever way and made it work. Nintendo could do the same with free VC games and discounts for (Nintendo) eshop titles.

@FragRed: While I partly agree on the pricing policy, I also have to disagree. Online shops like the eshop etc can make temporary discounts or permanent price cuts while a physical copy might still be sold for 60 in an electronics store although the official price was lowered.
Just think about how everyone goes crazy whenever steam makes one of their big sales. If done right, it can actually mean cheaper games (even more if you buy them from keyshops) if you buy them at the right time. For example, I almost never buy PC games for the initial full price of 50 or 60€. If I don't want to wait too long, I usually buy them something between 30-40 and if I wait a little longer, I get them for 10-20. After a few years, they might even be sold for 5-10€. You don't have that with console games because of the simple fact that most people still want physical copies. If digital copies were more dominant, you would never have to pay those £49.99.

For people with slow internet or download caps: I wrote this before and there is a really simple solution: SD-cards, USB-Sticks or some other cheap flash drive. Alternatively, there could be download stations (in a shop, for example) where you could plug-in your flash drive and get the game.
But before all that, if someone agrees so have slow internet or download caps although there are other competitors with faster or unlimited connections, I think it's their choice and they have to live with the consequences or just change their provider.
If there are no alternatives where they live, well that's sad and of course there might be individual cases where they really have no other choice when (something more important forced them to live there, for example). But personally, I wouldn't want to live anywhere where I don't get fast and unlimited internet access (unless I would for some reason decide to live without internet etc completely).
Regarding trade-ins: Well if it was digital-only, trade-ins would obviously have to be allowed digitally. I think this will come sooner or later, unless the digital prices became so cheap that trade-ins wouldn't be worth it anymore. You can already borrow games from friends & family on Steam, it's a first step.

@Mario-Man-Child: I don't know what relevance it has to have "something in my hand" when you just want to play a videogame? To me, that's a purely emotional and meaningless thing and if I want to have the game physically in my hand, I can just take the Wii U or my USB stick with the games on it in my hand. But what difference does that make when you're actually playing the game? I don't get it.
And regarding the savings: Well apart from server costs etc., they could put the savings to good use with a thought-through online membership service (hopefully MyNintendo will develop into that), as I mentioned above in my answers to @rjejr and @Fragred, with free VC games and discounts on Nintendo games in the eshop (that way you would actually get your games cheaper in the end), ideally with frequent sales and more 3rd party keyshops (there are a few already, they sell keys for Nintendo games about 5-10€s cheaper than they are in the eshop. A blend of PSN and Steam, if you will.

@Mario-Man-Child I agree, Using a HDD would be really stupid, I prefer flash drives since they are more durable. BTW optical discs are even less reliable than HDD's and modern cartridges like in the 3DS are just flash drives, you know...
And if the drive is damaged, you just redownload the games like you can already do from Steam or the Nintendo eshop. When your physical copy gets damaged, it's gone for good. I got a friend who bought GTA V three times because of that.

@shani
You have some good points but I think you missed my major focus. First physical games must always work. If the game is officially licensed it must always work on different versions of that same system. Digital games can have their license revoked and therefore every copy of that game digitally copied. Physical copies cannot be prevented and no patches can be made to stop physical games from being played. Additionally, you physically own the game and therefore have the right to sell the game. Digital copies cannot be sold because you do not own them.

Again regarding the first part, you will always be able to play a physical game. Digital copies can be Bricked by the companies involved, so no. You may not always be able to play the digital game that you yourself brought.

@shani "The reason why PSN works is because"

If you mistakenly typed PSN instead of PS+, the reason PS+ works is b/c it is required for online play, ant here are several games on PS4 that work better w/ online play. I think SFV only works w/ online play. And Destiny. And SW Battlefront.

@rjejr Yes I meant PS+ and with "why it works" meant why people actually care to sign up and pay for it. Xbox Live never gave people a proper incentive to pay, Microsoft just demanded money to unblock the online features of every game (which was a really shitty thing to begin with). Sony thought about "how can we make people pay for online services without them feeling ripped-off?" and they came up with discounts and free games. That's why it works.

I'm sure many people wouldn't pay for PS+ without those benefits, even if it meant you'd get a fully functional SFV, for example. In fact, I believe if that was the case, Capcom wouldn't have emphasized the online features that much because no one would sign up for PS+ and therefore no one would use SFV's online features. Just as it was for Xbox Live, no one wanted to pay the monthly fee just to play GTAV online (for example). especially while the same thing was for free on the PS3.

@Captain_Gonru

First, I would like to apologize for taking several days to respond. I have been slightly busy with work, however I was quite eager to respond to your comment as well.

You start with my list and responding to it which is something I appreciate greatly. Your responses are below.

1 and 2) Video Game Systems can and actually have to afford the wait for finalizing development different than TV or Tablets though. If I was designing a TV, when new tech came out that I wanted to consider, I could easily just add it to the next design that will be out by the next Holiday Season. The lack of that tech for a year isnt going to drastically hurt my sales and the inclusion within a year is nothing as I would also have additional development time to make sure it works perfectly. For Video Game Systems, not only Nintendo but also XBox and PlayStation, the gaps between release is usually Minimum of 5 years. Technology Drastically changes in that time. Especially development costs.
Consider if a screen on a handheld could have been made slightly different. Like the 2DS. It actually is an entire touch pad screen that is covered and imitates two screens. Reasoning for this is of course cost. While the idea, utilizing one screen, could be considered the concept to reduce costs, this could also become pricey down the road if the screen has a flaw and constantly requires fixing. This cost would be not only in the $ to fix but also the negative impact of the ease of breaking it. Additionally, there is the possibility that there would become a new way to design the touch pad screens. If Nintendo starts making one screen in mass production and another comes out with a decrease in cost but no reduction in ability Nintendo cannot easily switch the screens without making a new version. You wouldnt want Nintendo releasing two different types as the same thing without considering that there would be a minimum TWO ways the screens could fail. Additionally, if a screen failed, the public would then be worried that ''their personal handheld'' is the one flawed and therefor Nintendo should fix it before it breaks.
All the above is of course just a conceptual idea I made up just now, but it does, at least I hope, show how such a little concept could quickly become a headache to manage right before a system launch. The 2DS is actually not even that dominate in the sale focus and doesnt have a 5+ year development to hold over either. If new tech was available that could be considered for the next system, not only can Nintendo delay their system, but they SHOULD pending a quick consideration for the potential of this tech. Imagine if the next bit of tech can be as important to this "NX" as the Motion Controls were for the Wii. Or the Touch Screen for the DS. Missing out on this tech for that entire system could potentially break any chance this system has.

3) To be completely honest, I cannot remember if Nintendo ever actually gave themselves a constraint on when the "NX" would be released. I remember last March (2015) they mentioned that the next Video Game system (not Console or Handheld, just the system itself) is already in development and wouldnt have more information released until 2016. This type of language doesnt restrain the release window at all. It is like Sony saying that the PS5 is a thing. We pretty much know this is true. The problem is that EVERYONE seems to think that the "NX" HAS to be released no later than 2016 because the Wii U is failing. Not "Has Failed", Is Failing. I say that because it is STILL getting worse with time. The problem with this consideration is that Nintendo DOESNT have to release the next system this year. In fact, Nintendo could stupidly decide to wait until 2018 or even 2020. This is HIGHLY unlikely, but then again it is Nintendo.

With the fact that the release isnt set in stone, if (in reference to the 1 and 2 answer above) another new tech has recently been developed, Nintendo should consider every new piece to see its potential and if it would be cost feasible. With regards, however, Nintendo should have mentioned that the "NX" was coming. As they did. At the time a year ago, the Wii U was suffering (as now ) and Nintendo was CONSTANTLY being hounded, even by Board Members, to make "Mario on iPhone". "Go Mobile" is something that A LOT of Japanese companies have shifted towards and many of them are truly suffering horribly from it. Konami, Capcom, and SquarEnix have all gone that way and while there are some successes that make it to the media, MANY fail because of the higher costs to develop (which doesnt meet the "$1 games, or Freemium" concept eye-to-eye). Additionally many gamers feel slighted because their next expected Megaman or Final Fantasy release is another re-release onto a phone with sub-par controls. Nintendo easily assured many of their fans that this wasnt the focus of Nintendo. Not with the announcement of "New titles designed for the (phone) system", but by ensuring the development of a new system.

Additionally, the announcement of the system drastically affected media exposure for the last year and even further in the future than today. Without that announcement (or another announcement saying the "NX" is being developed), we would currently be discussing the possible end of Nintendo as a "1st party" developer, as the end of "Good Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Smash Bros." games, We would heavily be discussing the possibility of "Mario on PS, Zelda #32 on the XBone". Those seem FAR worse than the extremely premature announcement of the "NX". In fact, the "NX" announcement has called into play a lot ''less'' conspiracy flames from the tin foil hat crowd. Tin Foil people, after all, tend to grow in number without being fed random things. Giving them a focus, this "NX", allows Nintendo to keep things better in organization. Consider this same concept in politics. Often, people going for an office will "leak" somehow a story that gets everyone into a frenzy. In the mean time, they can focus the media on that while they take care of other problems that will have a negative spin no matter what they do. It was the right call, in my opinion, for Nintendo to redirect media (and Tinfoil People) towards the next system rather than the bemoaning of the end of Nintendo because of Mobile gaming.

P.S. I hope I didnt ramble on too much. I really enjoy others giving their opinions and sharing my own. I tend to over explain at times, however I tried to cut it back a bit. I actually didnt take your comment as aggressive but seeing that message at the bottom made me quite eager to respond. It made you seem much likely to consider my comment more rather than a tl;dr response. Thanks.
P.P.S I feel I rambled on too much