Amazon Now Offering Nintendo Games For Direct Digital Download

And by North America you of course mean just the USA... As this is not available in Canada..

Nice. So I don't have to click 35 buttons to buy a 5 bucks game again from the eshop?

Nice. There are various ways, including credit card rewards points, to get free Amazon giftcards. I use amazon for a lot of clothes, tools, dog stuff, and stuff for the house, but itll be nice to get a $30 free gift card, and just click "download game" vs the regular process

Time to stock up on Amazon gift cards. Also no more waiting for the eShop to load! Hooray!

That's a really nice option if the prices are the same as the eshop prices.
If it becomes avaible in europe it'll will definitely lead me to buying more games.

Really cool

Nice, it's the exact same implementation as Nintendo's, but this isn't really anything major since they do PSN games as well. Unless Amazon is having major sales, I'm not sure why anyone would want to use Amazon to buy digital copies. I'm still waiting for Nintendo to make a true, dedicated website for eShop similar to PSN (except faster, PSN browser page is so slow) and the Google Play Store. What they have now is just a slapped together extension of the official Nintendo site.
Also, when the hell are they going to turn NinNet into a PROPER account system? As in no system tied BS that breeds nothing but inconvenience.

@PHDragoon Amazon USA accepts several Canadian credit cards. Or you can get USA gift cards. The codes are redeemable on all American Systems (including Canada, USA, Mexico and other Latin American countries with access to the eShop).

Mario Kart 8 is $11.99. Is that news?

Oops, that's the DLC. My bad.

Faster than drone delivery. Nice!

@Nareva that must be the DLC, cause a few rows down from that, mario kart 8 was like 59.99. I thought the same thing.

Why do I need this when I can just go straight to the eShop without going to Amazon as a 3rd party? Does Amazon offer lower prices? Do they somehow have codes for games not found directly in the eShop? I don't get it.

Good i guess?

@DoctorWily Some people have amazon gift cards and promo codes so it would be cheaper for them to buy off amazon instead of the eshop.

WE NEED THIS IN EUROPE!!
I really don't like these damn e-shop cards and I don't have a credit card, this would make my shoping expirience SOOOO much better! ^^

@DoctorWily It also appear that some games go on sale on Amazon such as the download code for Yoshi's New Island is only 15.99 right now.

If something's on sale, I might use this, but otherwise, I don't see the point; I'd rather Nintendo get all of my money rather than having Amazon get a chunk.

For those wondering why people would use it:
More payment options, that's pretty much the main reason. You currently only have the credit card and eshop gift card option.
Fine if you have a credit card, annoying if you don't. Without a credit card you have to buy an eshop card somewhere else anyway and you can never buy the games directly for the price they are offered due to too much or not enough credit left.
There were a couple times where i didn't buy a game for the sole reason of being 1-2 euro short and not wanting to buy a whole new eshop card.

So yes, i would pretty much appreciate this option in europe

@DoctorWily Well suppose you're out and about for the day. This way, you can buy the game and it's waiting for you when you get home.

..and it's another way to burn through amazon credit.

Making it even easier to overpay for digital copies vs. cheaper physical! No thanks Amazon, you've gone to the dogs lately.

I thought this is a European site...
These articles are close to click bait..

There're several seams in this process.

As someone that tends to prefer digital over physical (at least on 3DS, and sometimes on Wii U if the games aren't big), this is great.

My credit card doesn't cooperate with Nintendo for whatever reason so having this workaround (other than having to buy eShop cards via e-mail from Walmart or Target) is rather welcomed from me. Here's hoping they add more content besides just Nintendo first party titles. Stuff like indies and other general releases would be nice to get this way too.

Very cool, I'm checking Amazon right now to see if I can find some deals.

NintendoLife, would it be so difficult to clearly mark articles that only pertain to a particular region with a tag [USA], [EU], etc. in front of the article name?!

@OddworldCrash haha, thats pretty much my sentiment too, its soooo annoying to see an exciting headline, get hyped just to spot "only in North America" at the bottom

@DarthNocturnal - "we are NOT the 51st state."

Puerto Rico is the 51st state, your more like 54th after the Virgin Islands and Guam. Actually your more like the 2nd District, Columbia being the first, nobody cares about them either. In fact we'll give you D.C.

I get the annoyed thing though. Imagine how Mexico feels, nobody seems to know if they're North or Central America. Probably half of the US - well the half not from Mexico - think Mexico is part of South America. They speak spanish, must be.

For anybody wondering what's good about shopping on Amazon - I currently have $109.70 in "points" from my Amazon Visa card. I'm currently saving most of that for the XCX Limited Ed but I'd be more inclined to pick up $5 games on the eShop like Full blast for credit than cash. And this way I don't need to store or enter my CC info on the Wii U, Amazon has it all saved away.

Know maybe when Nitneod gets it'a act together adn gets the new Club Nitneod up and running - morons canceled it how many months before the new one? - then maybe. Or a renewed DDP. Right now they have no incentive program to shop on the eShop, none at all - at least Amazon offers me 3% on Amazon purchases on their site. Not much, but more than eShop.

And with any luck we'll see some sales.

@ollietaro I don't think that's a DL code, I think that's a card that gets shipped in the mail, it says Prime eligible sold by Exuby and not available until Sept 3rd.

http://smile.amazon.com/Yoshis-Island-Full-Game-Download-Code/dp/B00QSK6U2S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1441120264&sr=8-4&keywords=eshop

Here's the actual DL code from Amazon, still $39.99

http://smile.amazon.com/Yoshis-New-Island-Digital-Code/dp/B014G0GNVY/ref=sr_1_23?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1441120695&sr=1-23

Great! Another way to complicate my life. Something like remembering how to sign to make this comment. Time to KISS.

Another thing that is not coming to Uk. NA gets all like the Nindie Bundles, more game on the Club nintendo now Nintendo Downloads on Amazon. hopefully Uk gets this on Amazon .co ,uk soon.

So far the best - as in funniest - deal I've seen is the physical boxed version of Super Mario Maker w/ the book is 11 cents cheaper at $59.88 than the digital download where you need to order the book seperalty which costs $59.99. And the prices are right next to each other on the same page.

http://smile.amazon.com/Super-Mario-Maker-Digital-Code/dp/B014GEF6QI/ref=sr_1_17?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1441120887&sr=1-17

If ever there was a great example of why digital should be CHEAPER than physical - besides the actual cost of manufacturing and shipping boxed discs halfway around the world - it's something like this when you get something extra in the box. I just bought Mario and Sonic at the 2014 Sochi O;Olympics new for $18 and that included a Wiimote Plus in the box. I wonder what that would cost for a digital download? They'd have to pay me $10 to take the game.

@DarthNocturnal So you can't be a part of the US b/c you are a British colony? Well that would explain the allegiance to the Queen.

@DoctorWily both my credit card and a market research group give me amazon gift cards every month that apply automatically when i try to purchase something. i can use that on anything, sure, but paying for a vacation on my credit card got me a $100 amazon gift card- i could just click Buy several times, and purchase the full virtual console library.

@manu0 totally agree. seriously. just put a flag icon before or in the headline. and also have an option for USA users like myself to filter out UK and JAPAN news. i really dont care if UK is getting more club nintendo items.. if anything that makes me more angry.

Also, having an option to filter out certain topics like new features in a game like Mario Maker that spoils the enjoyment of discovering things yourself. Maybe dont reveal it in the headline. but rather require a click to the actual article to reveal it. you could put something like this "New Character Unlockable Mario Maker" instead of "Be Windwaker Link In Mario Maker"

@rjejr It is good news for me because it simplifies a process i already use and let's me skip the shipping costs. For years, I've used Bing search in order to earn $5 MS point cards. When I switched to Wii U, I switched to earning $5 Amazon credit. Now it is essentially $5 eShop credit that I get roughly every month.

Finally. Still, I might try to look for an used copy instead, as it might be cheaper.

@DoctorWily Some people don't want to put their credit card info in the eShop. So this way, you can buy from home without going to the store to get eshop cards.

Very Cool!

Getting ready for NX?

Good. In the end, I want retailers to compete on price for digital as they are doing for physical. In the end, if they don't, they will be obsolete anyway.

Times are changing for the better

Alas, region locking exists, otherwise would have been nice to use this.

But will the prices be slammed?

What should I do guys?

I already preordered physical copy from amazon with $10 discount with Amazon Prime.

But the physical copy could be scratched someday.. I have little kids who do that sort of thing from time to time.

Amazon doesnt give 10 dollar discount for digital.. (as far as i know) so my question is to this community..

Mario Maker Digital for 59.99
or
Mario Maker Physical for 49.99 (potential of scratching and.. disc load time and.. possible for loosing disc)

One more advantage for Nintendo to offer digital on Amazon is exposure. Right now, a parent who goes to Target usually doesnt go to the electronic department. And the definitely do not go to eShop on the wii u. But, they do get slammed with Amazon ads and offers.. I can imagine many amazon users seeing mario maker for the first time through amazon. Not really knowing what it is.. and if they know that their kid or grand kid has a wii U. then purchasing a game gets much easier for them. theyve also always had the physical option too. i suppose.

One more advantage for Nintendo to offer digital on Amazon is exposure. Right now, a parent who goes to Target usually doesnt go to the electronic department. And the definitely do not go to eShop on the wii u. But, they do get slammed with Amazon ads and offers.. I can imagine many amazon users seeing mario maker for the first time through amazon. Not really knowing what it is.. and if they know that their kid or grand kid has a wii U. then purchasing a game gets much easier for them. theyve also always had the physical option too. i suppose.

@ledreppe Amazon has always had games available physical. The physical games will continue to be available.

All Amazon is doing here is offering more options which is great since some people prefer digital over physical. I hardly see how offering more options means Amazon is "going to the dogs" unless that suddenly means something positive nowadays. I can't keep up with slang anymore.

@KoiTenchi

I'm not saying they're offering digital only, but rather they're offering another way of getting downloads that are, in themselves, more expensive than physical copies anyway.

That's pretty cool. Hope we start seeing indie games on there soon.

@ledreppe and all I'm saying is:

"All Amazon is doing here is offering more options which is great since some people prefer digital over physical. I hardly see how offering more options means Amazon is "going to the dogs" unless that suddenly means something positive nowadays. I can't keep up with slang anymore."

If you don't want it, don't buy it but some people prefer options.

@KoiTenchi

I don't like how their business practices have changed since they 1st came on the seen. Using auto bots to raise prices to inflated levels. Yeah your right, if I don't like it I wont use it (and haven't done for some time now). There are plenty of competitive alternatives nowadays!

Does that mean we'll see a lot more digital Nintendo games on sale, or does NIntendo regulate these prices? I have a 1 TB hard drive waiting for more downloads, but the only games I have were either free from a promotion or from a sale.

what is the point of this again?

How do the WiiWare titles like Pokemon Rumble work? It must be a traditional code that requires manual entry on the Wii Shop?

Can't you just buy the game in USD and send it to a Canadian NNID??

I have in the past had Amazon credit from gift cards and wished I could at least buy some eShop credit via a card from them, but that's not been the case that I've seen - unlike the old Wii points cards. In addition to that if I'm reading the instructions correctly it appears the content is also sent to your device, meaning if your Wii U is configured to do updates in standby, you could be out and about, buy a retail release and come home hours later to find it waiting to be played. That's worth it right there!

If this rolls out in the UK I would totally use it to get games remotely.

Aw sucks that it's only for North America; I hope it hits Japan soon

Digital download games really should be less expensive than boxed retail versions. There's no packaging expense, shipping cost or retailer mark-up to factor in.
Am I the only one bothered by this?

Looking forward to some sweet Amazon sales

Would be great if Amazon would do the same in Europe.

Cool this is convenient for people like me,where im from they don't sell nintendo cards anymore not even at walgreens and I have to go to another town to get one,they do sell amazon cards so now I can buy digital games again,hope the smash bros 3ds dlc appears on amazon cause I don't see it there yet.

Not bad. I'll check it out

Very interesting... even Wii VC is there... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZDOH4Y/ref=s9_acsd_bw_wf_a_CHANGEME_cdl_14?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_r=0WQJB595NC4KMWD7JMFN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2188124722&pf_rd_i=12597678011

castlevania rebirth and megaman 9 & 10 should be there,great games that should be ported to the 3ds.

I was ready to buy New Yoshi's Island, but... I am European :/ Oh well, I'll wait.

@AVahne : Spot on. I'm still waiting on the unified account. I haven't made a digital purchase in 8 months because of this.

I can confirm that Amazon US does accept Canadian credit cards, and the resulting key code is valid for use on the Canadian eShop.

This is really awesome news, I shop Amazon for about 70% of my video game purchases.

Not bad as the eShop normally charges me tax, yet Amazon does not charge me tax.

It's a little confusing because the instructions talk about redeeming the purchase using your NNID. But that same storefront also sells Wii downloads — like Super Mario RPG — that you cannot buy that way because the Wii is not tied to your NNID.

@ledreppe yeah! like the $10 digital copy of Earthbound, that's $450 physical! Or xbox 360 games like Mirrors Edge, that are $48 for the physical game, and 25 cents on humble bundle for the digital!

I never understood buying games digitally online from a 3rd party site when you can buy them on the online shop on the console. Unless they have a sale on... there is really no point at all and would only benefit is special circumstances.

@Nico07

Where do you live where Amazon does not charge you tax? The only time I get away without tax is if I manage to get it off continent.

Love this super mario game, its a little hard to complete it 100% but an HD treatment would be extremely welcomed !!

@Thecoolmana777 Two-way street, sir. I get annoyed by exciting "Europe only" news.

Some of you have complains about that its not in Europe......
We in Poland have bigger problems. No nintendo club, probably(?),definitely(?) highest prices of digital games (comparing to our salaries) (not only in Nintendo eshop) in Europe (maybe/probably somebody have got worse situation comapring to us in Europe(?)i don't know)(remind me about official price of PS4 in Brazil.....) . I have heard you have sales on nintendo eshop cards. (50 usd card for 35 usd or something, something same in UK). We can only dream about that now in Poland. Since May (?) 2014 we have finally offcial distributor who finally do something (comparing to earlier "official" Stadlbauer who have done almost nothing).

What is the point if the price is the maximum recommended price and they are skipping sporadic eShop offers?

@PHDragoon Yeah and no excuses since it is much faster to just type US or USA compared to typing North America. :S

@russellohh

Humble bundle is nothing to do with Amazon, you're cherry picking.

@ledreppe I assumed you meant digital titles in general vs physical titles, not the price of digital prices on amazon specifically, regarding Nintendo titles.
Digital is far, far, far cheaper than physical 95% of the time. That's not cherry picking, that's ...math

@russellohh

As I mostly play Nintendo, 95% of the time physical is cheaper! I was referring to Nintendo, rather than games in general, as that is what the article is about.

@ledreppe I can see that. Since Nintendo has only had this digital partnership up for a few hours, however, i'd like to see where it goes- Amazon has digital downloads for Steam games and Origin games, but they are quite frequently half the price of either. I'd be interested to see if they can do something similar with a Nintendo digital partnership. I actually saw digital Nintendo as much cheaper than physical for a long time, because there was a ...quirk...in gamestop's trade-in values that let you get a $400 store credit for about $130. Sure, they had a few of the physical games i needed, but not all- it was easier to get a $100 credit for $30, then buy $100 worth of digital games. they eventually closed that loophole, however.