Much has been made of Nintendo's move into digital download retail releases; while this kind of distribution is commonplace on consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation Vita, Nintendo is only just finding its feet. New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the first Nintendo game to be available digitally and in stores simultaneously — quite a bold move for the Kyoto veteran.
However, there are signs that Nintendo still has a bit to learn about this sort of thing. It has already had teething troubles in Japan, and Siliconera recently ran a test to see how long it would take to download the 340MB (2,725 block) NSMB2. The total time? A whopping 46 minutes. As anyone who has used a PS3 or 360 before will tell you, that's disappointingly slow.
Siliconera neglected to state what speed connection it was using to download the title, which could be a massive contributing factor to the protracted download time, but it's fair to say that you'll have plenty of scope to catch up on your reading while you're waiting for Mario and friends to digitally download themselves to your 3DS console.
[source siliconera.com]
Comments 87
With any luck, they'll resolve these initial teething problems soon. I'm still not downloading it, though.
I will stick with cartridges, but I understand the need for someone to download, such as those who don't live near game shops but have internet connection, and just want to play right now without having to wait for mail delivery.
Still quicker than travelling to my nearest game shop and back. I think I'll leave the charger in while its downloading.
This is yet another pro for physical; a nightmare for people with unreliable internet.
@HADAA Patience is a virtue. Your making it sound as if "need to play it right now" is a life-and-death situation. Surely anybody can wait a day for the mailman to deliver his or her beloved video game without dying.
Seeing as that's about as much time as me walking to a gamstop and coming back (properly even longer now cause the nearest gamestop near me got closed) I am not bothered by this
im guessing they used direct download instead of sleep mode download (which is usually much faster)
well I have crappy talk talk, so will prob take me 3 days to download ...
Guess I'll stick with retail games then. I don't have a credit card anyway, so to get the Nintendo Points I still need to buy them in a shop anyway.
Sounds about on a par with the PSN to me.
For some people this may be faster and preferable to travelling to a shop to buy the game.
I'm guessing the download speeds from the eShop were capped to reduce load on the servers, in particular that most of the titles available are not particularly large.
46 minutes is terrible. Gladly I'm buying retail and I'm sure times will improve over time.
Still faster than me driving 45 minutes to my nearest GameStop, buying the game, then driving back.
@frod lolno
And Siliconera uses a very fast connection speed. Every professional tech website does.
This number makes sense - the eShop was already painfully slow to download stuff. Anyone remember downloading Let's Golf?
MSF is about half of that, and that took 6min for me. So I would assume it would take 12min. Josh Thomas over at the BitBlock originally said it took him 25min to download the game.
45 minutes? That doesn't seem right...I downloaded a 1000 block demo in about 7-8 minutes last week. The Time Travelers demo didn't take me too much longer, and that's a little over 1500. Something doesn't seem right...
@Tsuchinoko: Well, you're in a completely different region than most of us...that usually results in any number of download speed factors being different.
Indeed, downloads on the 3DS can sometimes be painfully slow. My PS3 downloads super fast, even via WiFi, and the 3DS simply pales in comparison on the exact same network...but then so does my Vita. Moral of the story: handhelds suck at download speeds.Yet another reason to just buy games retail. Whoopee.
I'd just do a sleep mode download. Doesn't really matter to me how long it takes.
I'm getting the retail version though. For other reasons.
@Stuffgamer1 I didn't think that would be a factor. I mean, most of the time I actually think the 3DS is faster than the Wii for downloading things. Its funny because I usually connect at a cafe, which is fairly slow, but still much faster than what this article is describing. I connected to the e-shop once on my friends home connection, and holy shuttlecock it was fast.
Anyway, has someone run a test for Oni-Training?
I will buy this from the shops then
The biggest problem with society is the severe lack of patience. We are a "I want it now and I want it instantly!" society.
Select "download later" and run it while in sleep mode. Pretty simple really. Carts are preferred in my opinion, but it is nice having the option.
Order up is is almost the same size and it only took less then 20 mins for me. Can't see it being that long. I'm still downloading no matter what. Plus when you install PlayStation 3 games it can take anywhere from 5 mins to 20 so I don't see what the problem is. I've complained about that before. When I buy a retail copy I expect to play it right out of the box but that's not always the case with the ps3!
45 minutes is a lot better than me having to wait over a week for the game to be delivered to me! That's the only way I get new retail games. Still not sure if I will download this though.
I hope people don't get too enraged over this.. I mean.. it's 45 mins, have a coffee or something, geez.
I only have mobile broadband (the kind with the sim card) and it would take around 20-30 minutes to download something this size on PSN, though I haven't downloaded much onto my 3DS to be honest, so I can't compare.
i don't care either way because i'm getting the physical but I don't see why this is a problem. this is the first big download that's been on the eshop. it takes a bit to work out the kinks. 45 mins isn't that bad. I do all my downloading at night anyways so it will be ready when I wake up in the morning
Sounds like enough time to chug down a 6 pack of brew then play NSMB2 totally out of my rocker
I do agree about the whole patience thing, though 45 minutes still seems off to me. I guess I would be more invested in this topic if it was about a game I'm wanting to buy, but the NSMB games haven't been all that interesting to me. What I AM thinking about is when Luigi's Mansion 2 comes out. I'm considering buying it digital.
45 minutes isn't a big deal for me. I'll just put it in sleep mode download. And I'll be back in school when it comes out, so I'll be preparing my next day's clothing, lunch, and textbooks. Also, it's faster than me going to GameStop and buying it physically. $20 3DS cards are sold closer to my house than GameStop, so I just walk there and back. And on top of that, I just want to try the digital download. Since a lot of you won't be getting it digital, I guess I won't have to worry about too much slow down.
45 minutes sounds quite reasonable.
We have 30mg broadband and it can take well over 2 hours to download a demo on the PS3 so 45 for a full game doesnt sound bad at all.
Just did some quick playing around with math. Looks like their speed is 1mbp.
45 minutes? I could drive to my local GameStop in 10 minutes, make a purchase in 5 minutes, then be back home in 10 minutes. That's only 25 minutes to play New Super Mario Bros. 2 at home.
From the occasional PSN download, while slow, I find 45 minutes to be reasonable. Especially when it comes to sleep mode downloads.
Not a big deal because I can download it in the background and go play other games. No biggie for me
I'll be waiting up at midnight the night it's available to download it. Can't wait.
Don't see why it would be an issue to be honest.
Cant you just judge it by how long it took you to download Mighty Switch Force (about 1/2 the size)? Can anyone share how long it took to DL MSF?
not worth it. i can just pay for it up front at a local gamestop, without wasting half my spaceblocks, and having the ability to play instantly, so long as i have my 3ds with me of coarse.
GameStop is right across from where I work so I can have this game in about 10 minutes. Also, I've had numerous issues with my 3DS forcing a reboot from games I've downloaded (I've had 4 instances of this with 4 different titles - one being the MGS3D demo). I'm not going to risk repeating this with a massive $40 dollar download. Also, why waste blocks on my SD card when I don't have too?
@NTELLIGENTMAN But some people don't have game stores near them. And if you want to play it as soon as possible, then buying it digital might be faster in some cases. (Luckily for me, it would only take a minute or two to walk to my local Gamestop.)
I downloaded mighty switch force(Which is around 1860 blocks so just 900 less then NSMB2) in about 10-15 minutes. NSMB2 would be about 20-25
46 minute guy has a meh connection compared to mine I guess
Well my game shop doesn't open till 2 pm on Sunday my 3ds can download it at midnight
Surely this depends entirely on your own internet connection. If this file took 46 minutes to download, they must have been using a terrible connection - that should take ten minutes to download, tops.
I'd be annoyed if the download messed up at the 44th minute :/
It is better in retail. Why? The cost. A single program doesn´t cost the same that a package and distributed game.
@45: That shouldn't be a problem. The 3DS supports resuming donwloads.
Remember that there are two factors involved here - the client-side connection, and the server-side connection (and everything in between, but generally that's not too slow.) The problem could have either been at Nintendo's end or Siliconera's end.
However, it doesn't look like Siliconera repeated the test. This could have just happened to be a particularly slow test. Also, Nintendo may be rolling out a greater number of servers come release day and that would serve to reduce download times. It may be that Siliconera was downloading from the sole, wheezing server that Nintendo has set up for the time being.
I dunno, but there are many reasons why this could have been particularly slow (it should really take 10-20 minutes on a reasonable broadband connection.) I wouldn't get too worked up about it until release day, when we can see what kind of infrastructure Nintendo has set up to meet demand. If it's still bad then, then maybe start getting worried.
well its the quickest way for me, but it will probaubly be my last retail download.
@GeminiSaint I know, that's one of the nicest things about the e-shop.
That's nothing compared to some Steam and PSN downloads
I'd be interested to know what percentage of people are going to buy it digitally, ive heard all of the arguments but SIMPLE TRUTH is Nintendo are ripping you off, its not as expensive to get to your door its got NO resale value, publishers have tried all of this same GUFF with ebooks also.
@Chriiis My exact thoughts.
I still download from the eshop cause now i have $45.00 in the shop for this game to spend!
Does it come out at midnight? 'Cause that would make it easier and faster for me to download it than to get it from a store the next day.
@Dark_Oddy_Rises I find what you said funny considering what your avatar picture is.
On an unrelated note, does this download come in black?
Seriously though, I doubt it's that long. And if it is, no problem, I was going to be busy on release day anyways.
45 min? That's all wow I thought it would be slower, like all night slower, I'm glad its not going to take long. I remember my friends PS3 game took him about 10 hrs, so this isn't bad
@Dark_Oddy_Rises No it will come out at 9:00 AM PST
That's not even that bad Still think I am getting the actual cartridge though... For a game like animal Crossing I'd definitely DL it
If I were going to get this game, I could walk to GameStop faster than this would download. I live five minutes away 😄
Their wi-fi connection is slow. I downloaded Order Up! by direct download (311 MB file) and it downloaded in 20 minutes.
@Knuckles OK, thanks. I didn't know if it was the same time as Nintendo Downloads since it's releasing on a Sunday.
I'm wondering how long it'll take to download with my download speed. If it's really about 45 minutes, then pretty disappointing. Though, I personally find downloads on PS3 to be pretty sluggish on 20 mbps, too.
Just another reason to pick it up at my local Gamestop. Let's see, 15 minutes there, 5 minutes (or less) to pick it up, 15 minutes to drive back. That's 35 minutes, still less than downloading it from home. Lol
My internet is pure crap, so I'm just gonna stick with retail games, unless I can get a great deal. Plus my nearest gamestop is right in town so it'll take me like 10 minutes to get it.
Downloading 1 game onto 1 3DS over 1 wireless network is hardly the way to make an overly broad generalization about how long this is going to take anybody else to DL. If I try to DL a PSN game tonight at 8PM it will take 4 times as long as a DL at 8AM tomorrow morning. If you don't want your DL to take a long time, wait 3 days after it's released to DL it, I'm sure their servers will be crawling at launch.
My God, I might as well drive to the store and back in that time.
Or, I could just do the "Download Later" feature. That comes in handy SO much...
That must be one slow connection...but really, that's nothing compared to Steam downloads.
I can't help but think that it won't take everyone that long. Mighty Switch Force was well over half that size at 1800 blocks, but it didn't take 20 minutes to download when I got it. As I recall, it took under 10 minutes. The same goes for various demos weighing in at more than a third the size of NSMB2. They only took me a few (2-5) minutes each to download.
@Viceroy_Khaoz Ah, the days of waiting...days for Portal 2 to download.
@Viceroy: Really? Do you mean at launch, or in general? I've never bought a Steam game at launch, but I don't have too many problems with downloading at other times. Have you set it to pick a nearby server?
This seems a bit on the long side for me too. I'm surprised a tech blog like siliconica didn't give their connection speed as a point of reference, though. This number is meaningless to me if I don't have some way to compare my connection with theirs.
Not a big deal for me either way. I'll just set it to download at night before bed.
Yeah this means nothing if there's no reference download speed. I would expect it to be a bit longer than consoles since every current gen console has a means of getting an ethernet connection (the Wii included) and frankly considering how slow the Vita is in DLs as well my guess is the wireless tech isn't as great on the portable systems to save costs and battery life.
However that is much too long, and considering the lack of reported DL speeds everyone should take this with several grains of salt. I don't consider it proper science if they hide the facts.
Apparently, one of the comments on the original article mentions they were using a 18Mbps connection for DL. That's ridiculously slow of a connection. I live in Markham, Ontario and default speed for me is about 4-5 times (average is approximately 4.33 times) faster than that and that's solely wireless speed for me.
wow, compared to my ps3, that's ridiculously SLOW
@Pikachupwnage
It took 30 minutes to download for me... when it first came out. The update took about 8 more minutes.
@Tsuchinoko yeah me too.
2nd place)wii smb 3 minutes
1st place) 3ds smb 1:30
0th place) pc smb+smb3= 2 seconds
This article from ign Apparently took 13 minutes to download new super mario bros 2. It sure is alot better than 45 minutes thats for dang sure.
Well, that's the point I was missing -and one of the bads- of this download thing..
Anyway i can't wait to download this game!! I'm still playing the NSMB for DS,
and how I wish the background was in 3D, haha.
I just downloaded the REvelations demo and it took me 5 minutes. From that I calculated that it would take me 11.858 minutes to download New Super Mario Bros. 2.. According to my computer, the connection speed of the router is 24.0 Mbps. Hope this helps.
45 minutes waiting inside with A/C > hour and a half going out in the 110 degree heat. I am okay with this.
@Jumpman ... Not sure if trolling, or...
@ymmas626 I'd also rather just get my copy from a store so if there are server issues, certain games I own get taken down after a while(we still don't have actual accounts to lessen this issue), my SD card gets corrupted... I'll still have my game(s) at hand. I can't even borrow from/lend games to friends with digital(without having to give up my whole system).
On top of that, not everyone has completely reliable internet, so that is too much of a hassle for those with such a problem. There are many other reasons besides those that will have me stay with physical.
Btw, It really is a rip-off in a sense though, as you get the box/papers/etc etc(and the retailer, shipping, etc. costs add up) with a physical copy while with a digital(at the moment at least) you just get a digital version of the game... for the same price. Until they figure out how to reduce their prices effectively/how they want it, physical is getting you more(all the extra costs aside like shipping).
To each their own though; if you are in a situation where digital is much more convenient, by all means go do it. Some of you must be unlucky, the game stores around where I live almost always have stock of games, both new and old; I've gone back years after a game(s)' release to get some and I still can find what I want. About the only problem around here is the lack of accessories, still haven't been able to find a CPP.
45 Minutes?! That's pretty long for a file that isn't that big! But maybe that is because this is a pretty popular title!
Anyway, less then a hour means it's still acceptable. In my opinion anyway.
HEY!!!
this seemed to be fake. it seems that the person had a bad internet connection and it actually takes about 20 minutes to download!!
Just another reason I'll be sticking to retail copies.
@Heatran5400
Got a source or are you just making things up?
I know it's smaller, but FE SS took only 30 sec to DL and that's the largest VC game out there
@The_Fox Possible source from IGN Nintendo head: https://twitter.com/RichIGN/status/232939314558955520
Took RIch from IGN 13 minutes. https://twitter.com/RichIGN/status/232939314558955520 I'll be downloading it
I'd rather buy it.
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