Nintendo Rolling Out New In-Store Digital Distribution Service For The UK And Europe

I suspect most Wii U customers don't hang around on Nintendo forums and websites (no offense!) or browse the eShop for the latest games, but instead find out about what games are for the system by seeing what disk boxes are in the shop. So hopefully this will help increase visibility for the mostly-indie devs on the eShop who otherwise are invisible in store.

Edited after having re-read, it seems this isn't what I first thought...

"Do you plan to make use of this system in the future..."

Nope, and I never will. No matter what system is implemented I will always buy retail.

For those that do buy downloads, anything to make their experience as pleasurable as possible must surely be is a good thing.

The primary reasons for buying prepaid cards for consoles are a) that you don't have a credit/debit card, b) you have a gift card/store credit somewhere, c) you're getting the cards at a discount, or the probably less-common d) you're paranoid about putting your card info into your system.

If the option is there, it's almost always easier to just buy it direct from the console, especially when that means you can pay exact price and sometimes get your game the moment it hits the eShop.

This new system sounds more customizable and convenient for those who do use prepaid cards and vouchers though.

@JamesCoote very true! I know I'll be picking up some retro codes for my niece for Christmas as she can't buy things from the eshop.

On another note, here in Ireland in Gamestop all WiiU and Wii and DS stuff has now been moved upstairs to the second hand DVD and blu-ray section at the back so you can't find the games cause no one goes up stairs and its the same with the vita, which only has 5 tiny shelves. Only the 3ds is down with the PlayStation and Xbox. Hopefully these codes/cards move the WiiU games back down to the games section rolls eyes, they won't.

Sounds like an improvement over the other system, at least from a retailer's point of view, but there's still so much work to go in terms of digital pricing before I'd seriously consider it on a Nintendo console.

well there are no video game shops where I live and the nearest town with one is miles away so it's not a service I'll be using anytime soon

unless Amazon start doing it that is

@readyletsgo Actually I edited my above reply, because having re-read it, seems customers will instead browse the tablet and make selections on that. Or maybe it was as I first thought that there'll be more physical cards that customers take to the counter, with sales assistants using the tablet to put the purchase through? I'm really confused now

But yes, definitely as an 'ordinary' consumer, you walk into a game store at the moment and the selection of Wii U games looks anaemic, simply because not that many of the Wii U's games actually make it to boxed disks on shop shelves

I'd like to browse the eShop and buy stuff from a web browser. Can we have that?

I would hope to see a price reduction of some kind. Otherwise, the only benefit is saving on shelf space and that's no good for us.

@Pigeon Exactly! I only buy downloads from a shop when they have sales on, this system sounds kind of stupid imo
A better system would be allowing us to buy games from the eshop on our phones or through an internet browser whilst on the go i.e. at work etc. Perhaps even allow the 3DS/WiiU to start downloading the game straight away (if its on standby) so its ready for when you when you return.

@JamesCoote yeah I think if there is a wall of different eshop cards for each game on there or VC cards or whatever, it would take up a descent wall space beside all the physical disc games and people would see the hundreds of 'other' much cheaper great games for the system. I hope it helps sales here. I still only know one person who has a WiiU and she never uses the eshop, even when I told her about the Zelda sale last week, she just wasn't bothered, and she loves Zelda since PoT on the 3ds, but I think that's Nintendo audience at the moment, they need to advertise this and get the word out to the people that there IS games for the WiiU and Nintendo are ahead in the digital world at the moment with so many great (almost) cheap indie games for the system with so much more to come. Get ahead of Sony and MS on this one.

Advertise advertise advertise and it'll work.
I still haven't seen a WiiU ad on tv in about 8 months and I have the tv on most evenings between 7 and 11, I just don't get it.

I'm starting to rant, and on Nintendo's birthday an all! Forgive me

@WYLD-WOO @Pigeon - Kids dont have credit cards, kids have cash and gift cards, neither of which work on the eShop. Think of the children.

Why would I go to a store to get what I could just get at home? Do they really think that people don't have the mental capacity to open the eShop? I thought they were moving away from casuals!

@rjejr - Very good point.

@readyletsgo Could be worse. One of the for box stores I live close to won't even sell the Wii U system, and if they have any in stock, they're automatically sold at clearance prices.

Gamewise, not much better. The majority of the games they haveare in one little section with the 3DS, are are mixed in with all those crap Wii mini games compilations no one wants. No wonder everyone dumps on Nintendo...

@ryanator008 they are for kids to use and for people who have a fear of using their credit card, or even stupid people who just don't know what the eshop is, not people like us.

@VrginX wow, now that's bad! Where is that?

Game have sometimes discounted download codes or put them on offer, so maybe then...

@JamesCoote I play wii u and check nintendo sites, I also watch nintendo directs and check the eShop weekly. I literally NEVER use the high street to see what's new, it's just not as convenient in today's world. I buy pure digital, whether it's direct from the eShop or codes from Game.
Presenting more codes in store is good as it opens competition with the eShop
Hyrule warriors eshop £39.99
Game eshop download code £31.99? Which one wins?

@Pigeon - B/c Shovel Knight, armillo, Swords & Soldiers and all those other DOWNLOAD ONLY GAMES have retail releases. Or did you not see the big part at the bottom of the photo were it said eSHOP EXCLUSIVES? Think before you type

Add-on content is interesting. Wonder if that applies to 3DS as you have to buy that in-game there (I guess they don't want accidental buys of content for games you don't have)

@Pigeon Gifts maybe. This begs the question though, if this tablet is essentially doing that, why can't I do it from my own home?

@SanderEvers - I know, and I see the but in all the years my kids have been getting GC for their birthdays they have never gotten an eShop card. Usually it's Target and Gamestop, w/ the occasional Kmart or Walmart one. And the first thing my kid bought w/ his birthday money this year - Pokemon Troize, which is DL only, and I had to type in my credit card # on his 3DS. Had someone given him an eShop card that would have been nice, then he could have typed in all the numbers

The wii did more long term damage to Nintendo than anyone seems to give it credit for.
The wii u is written off before anybody is even told what it is and they should have dumped the wii name, the wii had huge success and the name should have gone with end of the console as it's fall was as huge as it's rise.
It's abundance of family and kiddie games and bargain bin novelty rubbish is what is was known by the end. "I'm not playing that, it's for kids and [silly people]" direct quote from one of UK's most successful comedies aimed at 15-35 year old males. That comment rang true and supported what most already thought at that time and now you're no allowed to own one apart from as a badge of shame. They held onto the standard definition generation too long, lost major third party support, and lost the market that continually funds the industry as opposes to the fad market thatade the wii a freak success. They should have cut the name lose and marketed the hell out the wii I from day one.
Now they almost have to fight for bargain bin space on the high street.
They were way too late to the HD and full Internet gaming party.
Now they're almost too early for the wholey digital distribution partyand it could hurt them bad.

They need to support both avenues of distribution fully as a lot still view the high street as a barometer of success. I walk into asda I see a whole wall including led tv running game footage telling me all about ps4. I see one copy of Mariokart 8 stick randomly to the top shelf of the 3ds shelf on the shop floor. A new gamer looking for a console I want mum and dad to buy me for Christmas. Which company is working harder to help me with that decision, Sony or nintendo?

The shame of it all is, the wii u is a far greater console.

Fantastic idea. I hate putting 10£ on my account when I want to buy 4£ game... Of course I would use it sooner or later, but until there is a game that I want on an eshop those 6£ would be wasted, while I could buy a couple of beers instead!

@Pigeon everyone (like me) doesn't have a credit card...

@mateq Agreed! There's always some leftover money in there which will, at least eventually, be wasted.

@readyletsgo My local ShopKo. Yet I did recently buy a DS there months ago, thou I already own the game, but I needed to get extra Tornaduses.

I buy games at GameStop. Sadly, it's the only place that takes pre-orders for Wii U games here.

Been able to do this for a while for the Xbox. Nice of Ninty to catch up. Would be good if downloadable version were cheaper...

eShop: the game costs XX, you don't have that nice box and you can't sell it.
Retail: the game costs very often less than XX, you have that nice box with it and you can sell it.

@Pigeon - Is the physical game available at the same place?

A lot of stores don't want to stock Nintendo games, and Nintendo must pay retailers for prime store retail. This might also be good for large cities where stores have very little room for physical inventory. A stack of cards in a display case VS a bunch of shelves and boxes in the back of the store as well might entice more small shops to carry these...who knows?

I personally prefer to buy physical retail over digital download, and I'll grab an e-shop $20-$50 card if I want to get something, but this allows them to raise awareness of specific titles (games like Pushmo, Shovel Knight, Teslagrad etc) in a public space.

May not be for you or me, but I can see the reasons and uses for this.

If you buy Retail from Game these codes you pay exactly the RRP. (But ordering from the Game website you get about a 20% discount - cdkeys.com is less than Game).

Only way this will be any use is if retailers can use it to price the codes how they want. (At least the same price as a physical copy).

Or if Amazon gets it that will be the best for the consumer.

There's still no major reason why we should buy downloads. Retail is cheaper, you can sell it back, and it can be played in multiple consoles. Why would we want to pay £39.99 for a download, when we can buy new or used in good condition for a quarter to a half off the asking price? It's stupid to buy games locked to any account, and Nintendo's crap where it's locked to your console means that if you lose it the games are still lost. Which defeats Nintendo's point about never losing a cartridge again. Digital is not the future, it's as archaic as it games can be.

Huh, cool

I personally download Wii U games because of two reason. 1) Most the time I don't want to share my games, and if I do I'll just bring my console with me. 2) Deluxe Digital Promotion.

I avoid any form of download. Although I can afford to buy as many games as I want to, I also want value for money when I make a purchase and physical games are much better value.

I good 60% of games I never finish and so I trade them. I always have about six games at home any one time. One racing, One RPG etc.

I have just finished the latest 3ds Kirby. I got to the end, collected about 80% of the stuff that needed collecting and then had enough. It was a good game but I shall now trade it and will get more than 50% of the cost back against another title. I'm not going to play it again any time soon, so why have it sitting in my 3ds memory.

Downloading is much the same as setting fire to a £10 note. (Or in the US a $20 bill).

@readyletsgo
You don't need to use a credit card for the eShop. There are always prepaid cards.

It's a good idea as far as a means of getting some retail presence for Nintendo games as losing shelf space is something the company have seen a lot of over recent years.

However I still don't really see the point in creating more hassle for the consumer when you can just download the game at home anyway. But that is a question to the consumer really and not to Nintendo or retail.

Unless they price the games lower than the eShop (which I would imagine is highly unlikely) I don't see why anyone would do this. Those cards they have at the moment at least make sense as a present for someone but a receipt with a code... pfft!

I'd rather they let me fully pay for and preorder games digitally. I've already bought both DLC packs for MK8 months before either of them will be released. Why won't they let me do the same with games?

Excellent

@Pigeon Some people/kids don't have credit cards. You need a credit card to purchase eshop games.

I will NEVER buy a digital version of any game if it's also available as physical retail. The only things I download are the eShop games that you can't get elsewhere. I think the whole digital download thing sucks for reasons that I'm sure are obvious to some.
...and shouldn't a digital version of a game be cheaper than it's physical counterpart? We're getting screwed with direct downloads, and the game companies love it.
I could rant about this forever, so I'll stop here.