Nintendo Still Envisions Selling Retail Games Digitally

While I wouldn't use this option too much, I would probably get Animal Crossing digitally, just to be able to carry it around with me at all times.

Please do. Only problem is storage on SD cards and what not. Full retail games would take up a very large number of blocks I imagine (??)

By the way, NoE is still to bring Space Invaders Extreme 2 and Puzzle Quest to DSiWare like they have elsewhere. I've owned them both in my time though as the reatil carts

providing they'd sell at a competitive price, I'd be happy to purchase some games digitally.

I would too. I don't carry around multiple games, so if I had them downloaded instead, it'd be a better option for me. Also would cut out one of the last advantages of using a flashcart (as in having many of your games on one card).

I prefer to own to things digitally. I don't spend more than $5 for a game on Steam because I don't own a physical copy. I would imagine I'd have the same barrier with the eShop. And since eShop still doesn't do weekly sales, I would think I'd be buying most games physically since there are actually sales in stores.

@Legend_Mario Most likely. The majority of games are 2GB, but at least you can get 16GB Memory Cards from Amazon for around £10, as opposed to being forced to pay a ridiculous amount for a propietry memory card, like its 2001 all of a sudden...

I won't do this but am happy for the other people who would. I would rather have the physical game because I like the game cases.

Dont do like sony does either, release them at full price. Digital should be 10$ below retail.

As long as they don't copy Sony's pricing (£58 for a game? Seriously?) this could be interesting.

download+cartridges(or whatever)is the best option it pleases both sides unlike pspgo.....lol what a failure

It's a shame they couldn't come up with some way of doing Free Digital Copy that prevents people from just buying the retail box to get the digital copy and then selling it again. Perhaps by requiring you to insert the original cart from time to time to make sure you still have it. I'm the kind of person who would like the best of both worlds ― tangible ownership and full control over my software, along with the convenience of having all my games on my SD card. I guess that's what hacks are for, though.

In regards to size there was a article not long back that mentioned some sizes which was really surprising with games like Pilotwings Resort fitting on to a 512mb cart, so that would mean that the game would be even less than that and would be a perfect example of the retail download. Pricing on the other hand im not sure it would be as cheap as picking up the retail cart.

As long as the price drops as well, obviously. $30 for a 3DS game digitally versus $40 at retail would be excellent.

The only problem would be SD Card size. Other than that it sounds great!

@Raptor78 Ya, but the standard 3DS cart holds 2GB of memory and games like Resident Evil: Revelations used 8GB.

Why has it taken sony over a year to do something the vita had at launch.

Would love MK7 and animal crossing as DD.

I'd hate this. There's no way I'd buy any retail games from the shop, EVER. Not only would they take up major space on my sd card, and not to mention it's stupid. I like getting limited edition cases and stuff for actually pre ordering games. I even like the plain cases! I just hope they don't go through with this. I can't afford all the sd cards I'd end up needing.

@1takauchiha Then buy the games. No one is forcing you to purchase these on the eShop. This just provides another option for those who for some reason can't buy the physical copies (i.e. overseas, etc.) or who don't want to keep up with their physical copies

The space thing is what really concerns me. Just the Resident Evil: Revelations demo was enormous.

Oh I when I said 512mb for Pilotwings I ment to say 128mb.. 512mb was for Nintendogs & cats.

As the Resident Evil demo was about 140mb these would definetly be considered as the are only on 128mb carts and would pretty much fit onto most peoples SD card.

Brunswick Pro Bowling, Bust-A-Move Universe, Cubic Ninja, Frogger 3D, Mahjong Cub3d, Nicktoons MLB, Petz Fantasy 3D, PilotWings Resort, Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, Puzzler Mind Gym

...again my concern isnt the space (sd cards are resonably priced) it is how much Nintendo would be willing to sell them for and wether they would have sales on the prices over time to represent reduced retail prices.

I would love to download Animal Crossing and Monster Hunter so I could have them always in my 3DS.

"SkywardLink98 said:
@Raptor78 Ya, but the standard 3DS cart holds 2GB of memory and games like Resident Evil: Revelations used 8GB."

Revelations was only 4GB and less than 20% of 3DS titles actually use the 2GB or above. 55% of 3DS titles are on 512mb or less. Doesnt seem too unrealistic for Nintendo to sell digitally especially seeing as those are the cart sizes and actually no indication to how big the game actually is. a 512mb game such as Pokemon Rumble will actually be somewhere between 256 and 512 and providing is priced aproprietly would probably sell as a download and with the eshop accepting code redemptions this could be done as easily as buying a code from a highstreet retailer rather than having to buy eshop credit.

I'll always buy a game from a store if I can. Why? Just pretend I buy a really nice 100something GB SD card. I download, idk, 10 games. let's pretend I accidentaly do something that makes it so I can't do anything with the SD card. Not only have a lost a really nice SD card, but also I also lose not one, but all of the games I got. Also with downloading full retail games, I don't get anything physical, not a cool box(sometimes they are pretty cool)not a physical manual, nothing. Also, for a collector like me, physical games are better. I'll stick with physical games as long as I can, but if they have to sell them both ways, ok. Hopefully there will at least always be a choice.

@3Dangerous3Dash

pop in a new SD card and re-download the game

Seems like a good time to ask - what's the lastest on WiiU onboard storage? I'm in the process of upgrading my 80GB PS3 HDD b/c it's been overflowing for a couple of years now (more free stuff form PS+ than people give them credit for). If Nintendo wants to sell digital copies of games they NEED onboard storage. I'm guessing the 4GB Xbox360 have a lot less sales than the other models. SD card support is great, but I think the WiiU would still need some basic storage - say 32Gb - to get people started. I don't think having as much storage as a phone or tablet is too much to ask.

I like having physical copies of games so I'll ignore this option and continue to use the eshop for vc, DSiware and 3DSware.

If that's the case, then there's no excuse not to introduce GBA and even DS games to the 3DS Virtual Console.

I would actually use this option if it was available. Here's hoping that DS games also become downloadable from the eShop!

I have nothing against this,but wouldn't downloading full games take a lot of time/loading and how much space will it take?

I remember back when i had an X-box 360,i bought Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and that took a full day to download(granted my internet isn't the fastest).

I think some have already stated that space would be the main issue here if they do this... if they go through with this( im sure they will) then im hopig to at least get a decent sized SD card that wont be so costly. Or they can use the actual Cart port and make a cart thats a huge SD card with a nice menu and everything.

As long as the games are still offered physically, I'm all for digital downloads, so everyone can have it thier way.

Would I use it, not much. Simply because of storage issues though, and I personally like having the box (and that oh so wonderful new game smell)

By the time Smash Bros. 3DS comes out, the feature would be implemented. And it may be the first game I'll get as a downloadable title. Want to have that (and Animal Crossing) with me everywhere.

I feel like NSMB2 may be the first game to be downloadable as well as FE: Awakening.. E3 may shine light on this...

@Sony_70 That's not nearly the problem as is if something happens to the server and/or your console. If you have a physical copy, as long as you bother to keep it safe, you're guaranteed to have it for a long, long time. Can you really say that the server offering you your various titles will be there for 20-30+ years? Imo, highly unlikely as by then a lot of people probably wouldn't care what they got years and years ago. I'm all for having both though, so people can pick their preference.

Other than maybe a couple of titles I want with me all the time(although seriously, game cartridges are how small? I mean the handhelds at least, which is what you would be carrying anyways), I probably won't buy the digital versions, regardless of if they are cheaper.by $10 or so. If I do end up making purchases of digital copies, more than likely I will get the physical copies as well, to be safe.

I'd like to buy a few games if they come at a cheaper price. Like if the retail was $40 and the download was $25-30 I'd be all for it. While I wouldn't be able to trade the games back in, I'd have the satisfaction that I can always redownload it should anything happen to the data.

Digital game releases are ok I usually only get them when I won't be able to go to a gaming store any time soon and I don't feel like waiting to have them delivered, they're also good when you can't find them at your local stores. I just hope Nintendo picks up the pace I'm getting irritated over the fact that it seems like ever since the E3 where they announced the 3DS I feel like all Nintendo does is make Promises that never seem to come or at least come soon.

This really won't help retailers!

As long as there's a way to copy the card data to digital form, I can imagine rebuking mk7 again just to have it in digital form

by how large these 3ds games are in terms of bytes. some games are 8 gigabytes. guess we have to buy some new sd cards. nintendo should sell nintendo brand sd cards that are bundled with the 3ds point cards

@KromCompany
more than half of the current 3DS retail library are on 512mb carts or even less. They start from 128mb and go upto 4GB in some cases.

No games are 8GB at moment but the company that develops the carts have given that as a realistic figure of what they can go up to at the moment.

As for me, it would depend upon which games are getting released. New Super Mario Bros. 2? That I'd get as a physical copy. If something else were to come out, say, a remake of Sonic Adventure 1 or Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, then I'd download it. Pricing is a factor too. I just hope that digital distribution isn't going to become the only way to get games.