Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D's Beastly Block Size Revealed

Wow! Just Wow
There goes the neighborhood

I'm getting the retail version.

The 3DSi needs to have at least 32 GB of internal storage.

I have a 32gb sd card. I don't mind games being this large, but I am somewhat worried that even my sd card is going to fill up given a year or so.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe cards larger than 32gb are supported :/

Cart for me, my 16 gb doesn't need to get a right hook to the memory.

@Wowfunhappy You can use up to 128 GB cards, you just have to format them the right way. Only takes a second.

I thought RE Revelations was the biggest? 25K blocks anyone? Lol

And I thought Paper Mario was big at around 5,000...

And wow, the article was updated as I was typing that! I feel special

I only buy retail version on any game.

I forget what size my SD card is...lol. Hopefully I'm fine for now, think its like...16gb, then again I have a crapload of soundtracks...xD (and Sticker Star...and NSMB2...and Dark Moon...lol)

I guessed so! Luckily I bought a 8 GB card, so when I can download my free DKC returns 3D (courtesy of the European promotion), I still have plenty of space for other downloads! By the way this is the only retail download that I get, just because it's free! Retail should be bought at retail, as a cartridge or disc!!

By the way: Overall downloads get bigger and bigger all the time! A worrying sign!!

Wow, compared to that Fire Emblem wasn't bad at all.

good thing SD cards cost almost nothing...(vita -cough-)

I almost always buy retail, so this isn't a problem for me.

I'll stick to the Wii version.

@Forever_Zero say good buy to all your games in 20 years.

@Fusion14 nope

@Fusion14 Say good bye to yours in 10.

And this is why I don't (completely) understand people downloading full price retail games.....It's convenient, sure, but the added extra cost of having to buy larger SD/HDDs to accommodate them doesn't make it seem worth it to me. And game sizes are only going to increase as time goes on...

My 32GB SD card is ready to hold Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D and Animal Crossing: New Leaf soon after!

@ToxieDogg digital download lasts forever. You can just keep on making backups.

I have a 32G card that I don't think is very full, but I'd probably buy the cart. Some games I like to just download, but maybe not this one. Then again, I do have the physical Wii version. Not that it really impacts the decision.

@Wowfunhappy Think of it this way, by the time you fill up your 32GB, you won't have to worry much, either A) The 3DS will no longer be at the head of the hand-held console industry, or B) SD flash memory will be so cheap, you can pick another 32GB for $10.

This is why I stick with carts for retail games. Digital only games are enough for my SD card for years.

Is there a list of block sizes anywhere? I want to know how much space I'm gonna need for Animal Crossing in June.

Retail version, always, unless there is a killer reason to go digital (bonus goodies, significantly cheaper price, or the game just makes sense digital, like Crosswords Plus). The collector in me really doesn't like digital, anyway.

@Fusion14 Keep telling yourself that. Nintendo doesn't honor your downloads if the system fails or is stolen and you get a new one unless they repair it alone. Figure that and they'll only support those downloads only so long after they move to the next system and it's a setup for losses in hundreds or thousands of dollars into the crapper.

Buy a real game, keep a real game.

And where's the benefit paying for a full price game + memory card replacements and upgrades? Pay more, no insurance policy, and less stability.

I just upgraded. From 8 to 16 and I only had 3.71gb filled so yeah no problem here

I didn't need the digital version anyways.

If you loose a retail game, you think Nintendo will replace that too?

25,795 blocks for RE: Revalations! I have a class 4 32GB SD card that I purchased for about $22 if I recall correctly. I never knew how much I'd enjoy downloading over physical carts but so far have eight retail games and a handful of other downloads. I believe I still have over 103,000 blocks so I don't see myself running out of room on my SD card anytime soon.

@TheFantomButler

A) I think it's going to happen in a year or so
B) Money isn't the issue, it's being forced to swap out SD cards. The reason I buy games digitally is so I always have them on the system.

Take you 3Ds with you and your whole collection! Portability at its finest!

Monster Games! Wow. Wouldn't have guessed this was what they've been on.

Disappointed it wasn't a new Excite Truck, or F-Zero, but this looks like a good game.

@Wowfunhappy A) I'd say that's a fair assumption. B) To each their own, but is it better to bring 2 or 3 SD cards, or 10-20 game cartridges?

17,693 blocks? No problem. I GOT 161,575 OF EM! BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!

@Salnax
Why? That'll just bump up the price unnecessarily. Just buy a Class 10 32 GB SD card for $20 off Amazon.

meh... never really planned on getting it anyway. too many other excellent games to get throughout the year.

I buy retail games on cart, but I have a 32 GB SD card in my 3DS ready for eShop-only "retail" games such as Unchained Blades and the big amount of smaller eShop games.

got the retail version pre-ordered at GS, only downloadable retail game I have is Mario 3D Land and that's only because of the free game promotion through Club Nintendo (recently upgraded to a 3DSXL and got a Club Nintendo code from the Pokemon game that you could register to get the free game offer.

Not even Donkey Kong's banana cave could store that many blocks!
It would take me quite a few hours to download this game. So many that I could easily go to town to get the game and back AND be able to play the game for 2 hours before the digital version would be downloaded. I'll be sticking with retail for sure.

@TheFantomButler Where do you live where 3DS carts are apparently monstrous? 10-20 carts(or more) don't take up much room either. You do realize there are cases that serve that purpose, don't you? If you don't like that, get yourself one of those little pouch-like things to take them with you.

I'd also rather have a physical copy because it just gives it a bigger feeling of owning it and I can lend games out to friends or sell it down the line if I've really lost interest.

To top it off, and as everyone knows, Nintendo is still about a million years behind everyone when it comes to central accounts...

@Dpullam There's a Gamestop and another game place near where I live at the moment, so I feel the same way as you to when it comes to that.

@Chriiis If my internet was much faster then I would reconsider. As it is, I'd rather keep buying boxed releases. I have nothing against buying digitally though.

A game like this I would want as a cart. Games like Animal Crossing are the ones I want to download for quick and regular play sessions, between your other games.

@tanookisuit I've read that they will cover your downloads if you spare the laziness to make a list stating what you downloaded and proof that you downloaded it. So I have you beat. Besides who is to say they won't adopt an account system in the near future?

@solcross If memory serves me correctly, the Japanese game was about 5000 blocks.

Yikes!

I always buy the cartridge so this does not concern me.

I bought the Eshop version of Castlevania Mirror of Fate, thinking it'd be around the same size as Paper Mario's 5000-ish blocks.
As it turns out, it was about 11000 D: I had to delete almost every downloaded game off my SD card. SO now I'm gonna buy a new SD card and redownload it all As for save data, most of the games I'd either not made much progress with or already beaten. Either way I have to start from scratch again in all of them

@tanookisuit Yeah, but SD card prices are getting very low these days, so it's not that bad if you buy lots of games.

I hate the term "real", and even "real life". If the data is stored on a disc or cart instead of your system, that doesn't make it any more "real". It's still just data. "Real life" is stupid too. I'm real, your real. Internet is real. If it's not, what are we doing then?

^ Having a really long, super realistic dream.

Why "blocks"? Does Nintendo always need to find a way to be stupid? OK blocks aren't as stupid as coming up with your own propriatary overpriced memory card format, but if they are going to include a 2GB or 4GB card in every 3DS shouldnt they measure the file size in GB?

@rjejr Blocks need to go away soon. I agree.

Not an issue. Upgraded my SD card practically on day 1. Do not want Nintendo to include more storage, as it would cost me more that way. Exact same situation as Wii U. Move along, nothing to see here...

I got penlty of space since I bought a 16GB SD card last year, so I am good!

Monster Games

Where their games have monster filesizes

I'm getting the retailversion of this, just because it's cheaper. I'll get the download for AC:NL because I'm getting it free with the European 'So Many Games' promotion, and I can only get the free game as a download. Anyway, AC:NL is the game most suited to a digital copy, 'cause you can dip in for a short blast and then out again and play something else without having to continually swap carts.

"IT'S OVER 9,000!!!!!!!!!!"

"WHAT!??? 9,000??!!!!"

Me: "XD XD XD "

I've got around 150,000 left but had 200,000 just over three months ago. Monster Hunter , Luigi's Mansion, and Fire Emblem plus a few eshop games have really taken a hit on me. If this keeps up I might need to get an even bigger card soon and I'm already at 32 gig. I might just go retail on this one since I also want to dl Animal Crossing, Pokemon, Mario and Luigi, Zelda LTTP2, and Mario Golf plus what ever else comes down the pipe line I can't think of at the moment.

Jokes aside, Nintendo should offer a Memory Card for this game but I don't know how they would go about it...

I find it pretty amazing that a Wii game is getting ported to the 3DS!!! I can't recall any other Wii games getting ported to the 3DS at the moment. DKC Returns could actually be the 1st. Hmm.

Great leaping monkeys of the fourth dimension! That's... WOW. Man! I doubt I'll get this game because I already have the Wii original, and the bonus content doesn't--for me, mind you, I can't speak for others--justify a re-purchase. So, I guess I won't have to worry about this 800 pound gorilla of a download size.

@Salnax "Agreed."

Resident Evil: Revelations takes up 25,795 blocks!

I'm going to try to stick to buying carts when it comes to retail games. But it wasn't always the case for me, because I wanted to get that FREE NES Donkey Kong (original edition) game from Club Nintendo when Paper Mario came out.

I'll be getting the Download Version, unless the Retail Version has a 50% off sale when it's released?

It ain't so bad. At least Nintendo lets you buy cheap, cheap, did I mention cheap SD cards.

Meanwhile over in Vita land, 32GB cards still cost 100 bucks. SMART!

@KaiserGX "If you loose a retail game, you think Nintendo will replace that too?"

No, but I would rather lose a 3DS with one cartridge in it than a 3DS filled with 30 downloaded games that will be gone forever!

@Fusion14 "Forever_Zero say good buy to all your(physical) games in 20 years. digital download lasts forever. You can just keep on making backups."

Huh? it is like the OPPOSITE dude! Carts will always work in ANY 3DS (you can still get old Atari 2600 carts that play in any 2600 unit!) , while your DRM filled downloads will only work as long as the 3DS that they are locked to is working. When Nintendo moves on and "EOL (end of lines)" the 3DS all of your download stuff will be gone!

Making backups? You know those backups have DRM and are totally USELESS other than on the unit they are locked to right? When Nintendo moves on to another system and your 3DS breaks, say goodbye to all of "your" games! Those "backups" will be useless on your replacement 3DS.

@HeatBombastic " If the data is stored on a disc or cart instead of your system, that doesn't make it any more "real". It's still just data. "

Yeah but with one important difference, the "data" on a cart is not locked to a single piece of console hardware like a downloaded game is. It can be moved at will, be sold or bought used, outlast the support from Nintendo etc.

This was always a day-one cartridge buy for me anyway.

I'd planned on downloading this, but when I read comments like @DaveC 's, I feel inclined to go the retail route...

I know a lot of you will disagree with me vehemently, but I'd be up for an Other M port on the 3DS.

@Chriiis I'm not saying the carts are huge, nor am I saying they are a pain in the tush to carry around, I too prefer the physical copy. What I am saying is that, if it was the portability issue that Wowfunhappy was worried about, SD flash memory is getting cheaper all the time. I have no qualms about sticking 20 carts in a Ziplock baggie and bringing them with me.

THIS is why I'm always gonna buy retail games---I grew up in the 90's when we BOUGHT games in stores to play them....and w/ DL'ing if you hate a game you spent $40 on, and took GB's of memory--YOU can't get your MONEY back!!
WHY risk that? That's the BIGGEST risk---sure you can delete your file, which was a complete waste then, and you're not getting ANYTHING in return as you would if you'd BOUGHT the game in store--and even w/ out a reciept, you can still get TRADE CREDIT or sell it to a friend...

Digital DL's are NOT worth the risk....especially if they're something like this

Why do people need to argue about retail vs downloads? Good for you for still buying retail carts. But do you need to attack downloads because they don't suit you? I'm fairly certain Nintendo once said they were planning to implement an account system in the future. Do you really think they will abandon all their customers buying retail downloads just because their console broke? The Wii proved that Nintendo can transfer over your VC games to a new system and they even let you transfer them over to Wii U.
As for the article, I'll be downloading DKCR. Though I may need to look at upgrading my 16GB SD Card soon. Think I've got about 50000 blocks left.

I love reading most of the comments in the articles of this place! They're entertaining, and you people are awesome. I prefer buying big games at retail and downloading small eShop games. :3

@TheFantomButler It was more a general statement, nothing against you.

@MarioPartyFan999 It isn't just the pro retail who have been attacking...@Fusion14 is a perfect example of the other side, haha. Other articles it's crazy on both sides.

I saw somewhere that the 3ds accept sdxc 128 gb cards (but not all of those cards). In 2-3 years, it would be a great buy.

I'm still fine with my XL 4 gigs. I've dl'd 10 or so 3DSware and VC games, and SM 3D Land because it was a promo freebie. Otherwise, I always go physical cart. I still have 22,000+ open blocks. I may break my rule with Animal Crossing. Not sure yet.

DSiWare eating internal memory is a bigger problem.

Nintendo are shooting themselves in the foot. I'd love to go digital only, just like I have for music, books, movies and PC games. Not having all those boxes cluttering up your home is wonderful, but you also don't have to go hunting for discs and books, and they're going to last forever unlike physical media which can be lost, damaged, or even just degrade (there's plenty of evidence for CDs kept in cases for 10 years and then no longer working when they're taking out due to chemical degradation).

I don't understand why Nintendo are being so stubborn over the unified account thing. It's almost like they don't know how to do it, but that sounds ridiculous. If my digital purchases were backed up and could be re-downloaded to any machine I was logged into it, then I'd pay a lot more digital stuff from Nintendo. If they took the step of making sure every big retail game was no more expensive than the physical version, then it would be a no brainer and I'd download everything. It's easy enough to use a price checker ad change your price to match. Animal Crossing pre-order £25 at Tesco, Donkey Kong £27 at ShopTo, Fire Emblem was £27 at ShopTo etc, but Nintendo want £39.99 for all these on the eShop. The dumbest part is if they charged £25 for a download, they'd still make a lot more profit on that, than what they are for the physical copies. They could probably drop it to £20 and STILL be making more profit than physical copies.

They're making a huge effort to push eShop downloads, but instead of a big marketing campaign they just need to get the basics right. Look at Steam. Almost everyone I know buys far more games on Steam than they will ever be able to play, for the above two reasons. It's so convenient to have these games in your library, and because they're so cheap. Heck, I bought Max Payne, Max Payne 2 and Fable: The Lost Chapters last week. They're Windows only and I have no Windows PC, so I can't even play them, but they cost my a combined total of £4, and now they'll be waiting there ready for the day I do end up with a Windows PC. £4! Nintendo want almost as much for a VC Gameboy game.

I only buy digital if there is NO other choice. Nintendo needs to either make the next system w/ more internal memory for more DSiware games, or make a patch in an update that allows you to plat them directly from the SD card.

Well, I've been thinking about upgrading my card anyway. I'm using the same 2gb card that came with the system. Right now, music is taking up half of it (StreetPass and the pedometer work when you're listening to music with the system closed and headphones in). Swapnote actually told me to delete notes today because I'm out of room and couldn't download anymore.

On topic, I'm open to either download or retail for full-priced games. It all depends on the game itself and the price. I'll download if I think I'm going to play it for the life of the machine (Mario Kart 7 or Brain Age, something with staying power, you know?) or the price is compelling enough (Tetris Axis: $10 online vs $15-20 retail). I'll go retail if I can't get it online (Kid Icarus or Street Fighter 4), I think I'll enjoy it but eventually sell/trade it when I'm done (Super Mario Land 3D), it's cheaper in the store (used or otherwise, preferably by a margin of more than just a few bucks coughGameStopcough), or it has a cool collector's edition. In Donkey Kong Country Returns 3-D's case, I think I'd go retail, unless it had a killer feature that boosts replayability exponentially. No doubt I'd enjoy it either way though.

I tend to only download digital for games with long replay ability example. Animal crossing, Mario kart 7, resident evil (raid mode), professor Layton. But lately I have been downloading all sorts. I'm starting to like the ease of it all but I really think Nintendo need an account system coz if my 3DS breaks and i lose my games they will be refunding me everything or they will feel my wrath!

Thats a big game...

I have à 32 GB sd Card. So its fine for me

I have a 32gb card but I will be getting it retail (along with Fire emblem and Luigi's Mansion).

With their unacceptable non-account policy there's no way I would download a so called retail game, so I don't even bother.
The only one will be Animal Crossing since Nintendo is giving it to me for free...

Damn. I'm gonna have to get a second SD card soon. Downloading this will leave me at about 23,000 blocks.

Dammmmmnnnnn.......but How??
I thought Resident Evil should have been the graphics

Wow, that's pretty hefty. Well, it doesn't really matter, sd memories are very cheap right now. I bought a 4GB one for 3'90€ just a couple of weeks ago.

I've got a 16GB card, which is about a 1/3 full of mp3s. I'm down to my last 50,000 blocks, so i'm not too worried... yet.

It really makes you wonder why Nintendo don't include 32GB SD Cards with the 3DS's,considering how they want more people to download.

@Peach64 maybe they aren't using the account system because they got spooked by the PSN hacking incident. Be sure to make your passwords extra complex people.

already preordered this retail but i don't get people's problems with digital downloads. Apple only recently released iCloud so you could re-download all the music you ever bought with your account. You used to have to back up all the music you downloaded through iTunes to even move it to another computer.

And this is why I already pre-ordered a physical copy from Newegg for $28 that will not require such a large download or space on my sd-card

I currently have a 16GB SD Card....it's full....damn.

I go for retail....its about 10,- cheaper than eshop.

Just buy the game from a store like we've all been doing for the last 25 years. Problem solved.

Im getting this one through retail. Anyone who knows how big AC: New Leaf is? I was planning on getting that one through the "buy-3-get-1" thing.

thats it, I'm switching to PS Vita!

@SteveSnowmn

Really? You can use up to 128GB cards now? I didn't think the 3Ds could handle past 32? I should upgrade then.

I would have a SD card for each franchise, one SD card for all the Mario games, another for all the Pokémon games ... etc.

@Jakurdo New Leaf's about 898 ish blocks. Quite a small file.

I'm getting this on cart.

@SuperSah Thanks! I mean, I left my comment over 2 weeks ago, but I still appreciate the answer Good to see that the notification system of this website works

I actually just ordered Luigi's Mansion 2 and plan on getting DKCR:3D when it releases. Already registered Fire Emblem, so I guess I'm getting the digital version of AC for free

@Jakurdo Very welcome! I'm gonna grab this next week and then AC on day one. I'll be eligible for a free game, Luigi's Mansion or FE:A...

I am so glad i got a high speed 64GB sdcard for my 3ds