Enhanced Digital Store With Over 2,000 Games Launching Alongside My Nintendo This Week

GIFTING, MAKE IT HAPPEN NINTENDO!

Exxxcellent!

Can you redeem points on My Nintendo for games?

@Warruz We have the technology.

This is pretty great. Although it makes the lack of cross buy just that little bit more annoying. I don't look forward to scrolling through the VC and having Nintendo show me I own some games on 3DS but not Wii U.......

Great!! Don't see myself using the remote download feature (due to backlog) but nice just in case.

Big thing missing for lots of people - linking your digital purchases with your ID and not the hardware

So there will be two shops? Im I missing somthing or does this not make sense to others too?

@Judgedean

Possibly the current setup is in the developer agreements and won't be changed until NX. I hope not, it'd be nice if it were account attached.

I really really hope this makes all my games tied to my account, and not my consoles. My 3DS is pretty old and if it stops working, I'll lose all my games.

is that over 2,000 additional games or in total including the current ones? are they just counting both 3ds and wii u titles together?

Cool, nintendo is very slowly starting to become modern.

@GustavoMaciel you can migrate systems, i am pretty sure. i don't know the voodoo involved with it currently, but the future procedure might be different with my nintendo. might involve plant sacrifice or something.

@Rafx I'm with you in not understanding what this is.

@Jamotello 2,000 new games would've been pretty huge, so I assume the latter.

2000 new games? Or are they already available on the eShop? What's the point in having 2 shops? I'm confused.

Just give us crossbuy and make the eShop available from a browser. Why have 2 shops?

@OorWullie It sounds like a unified "eShop" for all their platforms. Maybe it will eventually replace the eShop?

Edit: Removed pure speculation about NX.

@Warruz
It's cool and all but nah. Begging, hacking, unauthorized gifting and more would ruin it.

@Rafx i think the unified store means that you can buy 3ds games from the eshop on the wii u, and wii u games from the eshop on the 3ds. that's something you currently can't do.

the official website also allows purchase but is far more limited. it doesn't even recognize if i've already purchased a game or not and several games available on the eshop aren't available from the website.

from this item, the new system will have a website and mobile app that allows the same functionality of a nintendo device eshop: recognize previous purchases, allow purchase of games for both platforms, etc.

Interesting! Looking forward to it!

@hiptanaka i remember last year, there was a huge leak of supposed upcoming eshop games that currently weren't in there. don't remember if it numbered 2,000, tho' i doubt it.

@Judgedean Nintendo totally does link your games to your account. Not the hardware. Haven't you heard of people losing or their Wii U being destroyed and simply calling Nintendo and recovering it all onto a new device? It may not be as simple as logging into another system and boom there it is. But it the games are tied to the account. I've lost and broke several 3DS'. Every time all it took was a simple call. To paraphrase it: Me: "Hey I lost one and bought a new one. Hook me back up?" Nintendo Rep: "Sure thing, Boss. Wow you have a huge library of games! You are keeping Nintendo afloat! What is the Serial Number of the new unit?" And boom. Quick 24hrs later and a restart. Access to all the games I bought.

Are the games I bought in the last few years from the eShop added into my account?

So if my 3DS is stolen I can still download those games on another 3DS?

Wow! The number of people falling for this is surprisingly high this year.

Come on, people. What date comes after March 31st.

@Rensch Get ready for a massive stability updates on 1st April.

@Nintendian yup. Sure can. They ask you for your Nintendo network account name and a few other questions. And of course what is the new unit's serial number is. Basically who ever stole your Old one will be unable to play your games the moment he hits a Internet connection. It will see that it is no longer connected to you. Instant brick.

@Rensch That would be hilarious but so bad.

It would be superb if they brought the whole Wii VC library over.That's probably not likely though.

@hiptanaka Yep,that sounds right.It seems strange to add a new store into the Eshop though instead of just replacing it.

One more step toward the digital world. Now we need (among other things):

1 - ALL WiiU/NX/3DS games being offered digitally (and available to browse anywhere, on ANY device.
2 - Better sales. Nintendo eShop sales are always lukewarm. The BigN needs to be more aggressive now and then, just look at PSN and Steam!
3 - Nintendo HAS to leave the "games linked to hardware" thing behind. It's archaic, cumbersome, simply put, a pain in the a*.
4 - Better implementation of cross-buy. Having to buy the same Virtual Console game for both Wii U AND 3DS/N3DS is disrespectful.

@Rensch Pretty sure that's why they said it would happen before 1st april, so people wont think its a joke. Remember, they've been preparing for this for quite some time now..

@Jamotello we can dream

@Captain_Gonru Oh, stop being such an old man, shopping on the web is fun. Every Thursday's eShop download update could link to the eShop so we can just buy the games while we read the articles and have them already on our systems by the time we get there. That's a win for Nintendo. Impulse buys are any retailers friend, don't give people the time to mull it over or forget about it, just advertise and sell. Boom!

@Damo - Is this new news to you guys at NL as well as us? "Enhanced Digital Store" isn't exactly self-explanatory. There is already a website to buy stuff digitally from Ntinedo on the PC even though it isn't the best.

http://www.nintendo.com/games

Is there going to be an mobile app called "Nintendo eShop" or does mobile only work via web browser? Will it just be eShop on the web like Sony does? (You linked to the app, but I buy a lot of PS3 games on the web when flash sales pop up.)

https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/home/main

eShop on the web would work for me, no reason for Nintendo to get all "Enhanced Digital Store" about it.

um, I'm not sure why the Sony website link has those tongues sticking out at you, but I am not insulting you, they just happened. Trying a new link to see if they go away.

So, physical versions won't earn any Nintendo Gold points? Anyway, that's nice! Purchasing and automatically downloaded by the console, that's gonna make shopping even easier, and more irresistible. Take care of your wallets.

We're still missing one crucial element, cross-buy. Especially with the release of NN3DS SNES games, it's great that they're being offered, but offensive that Nintendo think's we want to pay for the same game 3 times...

@Rensch Today is the 28th,it's an article with news about something that's coming on the 31st.If it's an April Fool,it's an extremely bad one.

@Aran As of right now that seems like the plan. It would be Nice to bring back codes for those who buy physical, but I doubt this will happen. It's more likely that Nintendo wants to push digital, which is great, but not for everyone.

I buy digital, but not with retail releases.

@Warruz you can already gift things to people. Go to web store and buy a code instead of sending it to your device

@Jamotello
Where did you see this list?

So this is real? Nintendo actually doing something right with user friendliness of digital stores seems so rare at this point that this sounds too good to be true.

@amak11 eShop only games(and others) are unable to do this. Go look at Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies, no option to buy a code and not available third party.

So with this unified account, will I be able to link my account to my old 3DS as well as my n3DS and not have to buy games twice? I hope my question makes sense lol

I figured they would go for Thursdayton. Even greater is how its the day before the trust-no-one day. (Or will already be that day for some folks.)

Let me rephrase my question...will I be able to link 2 3DS systems with one NNID?

@orravan85 I honestly didn't know that. I didn't think Nintendo was that generous. Thanks for telling us.

@dublae It makes sense, but Nintendo sees as a one man handheld, that's why they never put the option to have more than one User..

@GamePerson19 right here on nlife. i'd post a link but my internet is wonky right now.

Source?

I don't think that I will use it, but it's a great addition.

@orravan85 this guy knows whats up.

@dublae they have a family account Main- like mine for example. I'm the main account and my two boys and wife are under mine. BUT they each have their own unique Nintendo account. Not too sure what it means for download except that I get email notifications whenever they(I) buy something from their 2DS or attempt/input parental passcode.

2000 games??? WUUUUT?

About time, I missed out on several Wii U deals as I was away on holiday and couldn't access the eShop.

As for all these digital rewards, probably will miss out on many as I'll still be buying my games physically if given the opportunity.

@helbertpina not really linked to the hardware...well more like a hybrid of the two. True you can't simply login to your NNID on cousin Jimmy's 3DS and start playing your eShop copy of Ice Climbers. But if you lost or had your Nintendo hardware stolen; it is just a phone call away to transfer your account into a new hardware.

Nice. Since I'm always at work when the eshop update on Thursdays, I can buy it during that time and it will be ready when I reach home.

I buy most of my PSN games via browser, so this is a nice step up for Nintendo.

Where did they get those 2000 games? They must be double-counting a bunch. Even the Wii's entire VC library comes nowhere near that number. They might come close if they digitized the Wii's massive retail library, but that's unlikely.

Here's to hoping these 2,000 games are new and/or in addition to the games we already have on the eshop!

Soooooo...you not only check the E-shop on your 3DS and Wii U, but also the one on the computer too, to actually see all games??? Uhh...there's games on the computer's E-Shop that aren't on the systems themselves? A little confused here, I don't want to have to check all three E-Shop stores, and I hate using my credit card on the computer. Somebody needs to explain this (preferably nintendo)

@skywake You do realize that its difficult to do cross buy and that it has some limits right?

@Socar
If the game exists on both platforms and they know I own it on one. Why should I have to pay full price for the second? With VC titles especially.

Surefire signs of an actual account system!
Let's hope for real single purchase cross-platform games in the future!

@orravan85 #24 That's nice to hear! I hope they'll make it a bit more modern in the future, though.

I think this new shop will be managed by DeNA, while the eShop will be managed by Nintendo. Seeing what happened with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and GameSpy, I hope Nintendo won't rely too much on DeNA, especially for online gaming functionality...

@skywake And its because the versions are technically different.

Super Metroid works different on N3DS than how it works on Wii and Wii U. And really, if you chose it for the system you decided to buy it on, you should stick to it regardless. Pirate's curse is on Steam but I don't feel like getting it since I already got the game on the 3DS.

Have they made a cross buy? No. But do they need cross buy? No. Because if you like the game, why play it on a different platform if you can just play it on the existing platform?

Its not that simple providing a cross buy option. Its all because of how technically different they are.

@cwong15 all the indies on Wii U and 3DS, most likely.

definitely will try this out

This is the biggest thing happening Thursday. Just wish they'd add cross buy. But based on their annual revenue numbers dropping, it won't be happening.

Cross buy? Unified accounts?
Do we get MyNintendo bonus for buying retail not just digital?

I wonder if there is going to be any type of system in place to prevent/warn people buying games for systems they don't own.

@Socar
When you buy a Blu-Ray they often give you a code for a downloadable copy. When you buy a CD they'll let you rip a copy so you can put it on your phone. If I buy a game on Steam on my desktop PC I can still play it on my laptop. If I buy an app on my phone I can play it on my tablet.

Yet if I buy Super Mario Bros for the 100th time on my 3DS? Nope, have to pay full price to play it on the Wii U. And now they have a shop that knows I own one version and not the other. A shop that will automatically download the game once I've purchased it.

I don't think it's unreasonable to say that Nintendo should catch up with cross-buy. They are literally the only company left that don't do it. And now the excuse that the stores are entirely separate is gone.

So my wallet will by crying this week.

@Splatburst I am confused by this, never had any of these issues on steam. I just want to gift people Phoenix Wright, its not that much to as for.

Nice, this is something I've wanted for years. I've got fibre broadband, but Nintendo's servers appear to be slow so a disc-release can take hours. Being able to kick that off from work would be welcome.

I've been able to do PS3 purchases from work, but they don't automatically download. I don't know if I'm doing it wrong or Nintendo trumped the PlayStation Store here.

Surprisingly, VERY surprisingly, it works just the way you'd think it would. Just buy a game and it to your system. Just like PSN and Google Play. Hopefully in the future Nintendo will unretardify themselves and allow more than ONE OF EACH console to be linked to an account and make certain cross platform software like the entirety of the Virtual Console cross-buy. Considering it took them 10 to get this far, I suspect it'll take another 2-3 years to finally fix those issues and reach parity with everyone else.

EDIT: Also, let your goddamn consumers have some goddamn control over our goddamn consoles and accounts, Nintendo. Let us remotely deactivate consoles we don't use to add in others like with PSN or don't put a system limit at all like with Google Play (but still give us account control).

@RoomB31 it seems so, I also like to buy digital games, but retail are better physical, just for the love of collecting. Let's hope we get those codes back, or I'll just have Nintendo points with indies or VC games. Anyway, it's nice they're making a new reward system, let's hope this gets better and better with time.

That whole thing about calling Nintendo when your 3ds is stolen seems a lot less complicated than doing an actual system transfer. I may have to keep that in mind if I upgrade to a New 3ds.

@dublae
I'm sorry, but NOPE. Nintendo is still very behind in terms of account systems mainly due to this (and user account control). I suspect it'll be another 2-5 years before Nintendo can reach a point where they'll allow more than 1 of each device on an account.

Quality can't wait too see what it's all about now.

@skywake @socar

The whole "seperate eShops, different versions of the same game" excuse went right out of the window when some indies started offering cross-buy on their games (OllieOllie, Squids Odyssey off the top of my head).

Nintendo has been tracking your digital purchases all the way back to the Wii. I can go to my Wii U's Wii mode and look at my digital receipts all the way back to my first VC purchase in 2007. There is literally no reason why, at the very least, cross-discount isn't a thing. I can understand not wanting to give away games completely free. Somebody had to get paid to make SNES games available on 3DS, after all. But at the very least, give people who already paid for the game a discount, a la Wii-to-Wii U conversion.

@eSocrates lol? Doing a system transfer is super easy. Plus you keep ALL of your data.

Welcome to 2016 Nintendo

Now allow me to merge my two accounts dammit. I didn't realize I couldn't transfer to a system with an ID without games on it getting lost until it was too late, now my older games are stuck, abandoned, on the old 3DS.

@Nintendian Stability update hype!

@skywake There's a difference between transferring data from a cd to another cd and device and getting a digital code for a game on a different platform. What you can request is bringing your download to another platform instead of gettin a digital code to redownload the game again. While you're at it, ask them to bring your saves to the new platform that you want to play it on.

Transferring requires technical upgrades which is something that's not possible to do currently because they need to make their networks powerful which requires more data which is something that's too late to do.

The whole Nintendo getting behind times is laughable honestly. Intoday's days where microtransactions are now on AAA games and games not delivering quality, Nintendo omits those and ends up doing fine.

What's the big deal about this? You can do it with Sony & Microsoft too. It's just a small convenience...nothing more.

2,000 sounds a lot, anyone know if this means a lot more games are being added very soon?

@burninmylight
And TBH I'd be fine if it was just a decent discount. That's how the Wii -> Wii U transfer worked and I have "upgraded" quite a few of those. I think either way I'd end up buying more content.

@Socar
How is are the 3DS and Wii U so different from the other examples I gave? I have Steam games I can download on Windows, Linux or Mac. I've brought Blu-Rays where they've given me iTunes/Google Play codes. I've brought physical copies of music online and been emailed a digital copy so I can listen to it then and there. I pay for an app on my phone and I can download it on my tablet.

But if I buy a NES VC game on the Wii U that's also on the 3DS? I have to pay full price for the 3DS version if I want to play it there. There's literally no extra work on Nintendo's part to make the other copy available to me. Other digital stores are even doing things that allow you to create a shared family account. Nintendo won't even give me a discount on the same game on my own account.

@orravan85 Glad to see someone is keeping up with news and such.

It has been known for quite some time now that, if your Wii U or 3DS gets broken or something, and you go out and buy a new one, like you said, a simple call to Nintendo, and it is all sorted.

The Wii U even now, has a option in the settings Menu, for transferring all your data from one console to another.

@Socar It wouldn't really be that hard to make crossbuy for Nintendo exclusives. There is Nintendo ID with download history for both 3DS and WiiU games. When you go to eshop page it could check if you have already downloaded game for another system and give new price. It's pretty much how those "buy game X to get -50% of game Y" sales work.

I'll be interested when there's cross-buy/platform sharing.

I'm confused about the 2000 games. 2000!? Where? Is it nearly the entire WiiU & 3DS library? It seems weird that there'd be that many titles with how limited the shovelware has been in comparison to the Wii & DS gen.

@helbertpina Yes on so many levels. I want to have all the games that I have on my 3DS be on the New Nintendo 3DS. That would make things so much easier.

Might we see some sales to go along with the launch of the new store? I'm not getting my hopes up, but it would be a great opportunity.

@DarkJamD @skywake So what? if you already have the game, why demand a cross buy for it if you already own it? I just don't understand that dumb mindset. You might as well ask them to transfer the game for you instead of demanding a digital code seeing that even a simple thing like generating codes is costly.

You do realize that there is a small audience for the Wii U right and that its to satisfy 3DS owners that they did this right? Why complain when you can just be happy with what you got? I never can get my hands on SNES games until now so there's that.

Cross buy is appealing but; I have to agree with @Socar on not needing on another console. Quick pick up and play games sure. Ollie Ollie is perfect for cross play. But Super Metriod? Earthbound? If I am investing hours into the Wii U one; why would I want to pick up a new/different save on my handheld? Perhaps if the save file transferred and updated one an other somehow automatically via "cloud" service/spot pass? What if someone is at home currently playing it? Will it cause issues to the point that the save file is erased? Maybe a big WARNING splash saying to turn off the other console to update the save? I know steam does a nice job of it. I go From laptop to desktop. Quick server sync.

This is just a myth! You don't lose your games if your console goes out of business. You give a call to Nintendo and they send your games to your new console. It is that simple.

Has me confused: "This new Nintendo store will appear as an additional purchasing option on the Wii U and 3DS eShops, too."

Gifting?

..of course, this makes impulse downloading even easier..($) Cha-Ching..how much ya wanna bet you'll get a platinum coin for using this once...

Argh Nintendo goes with two shops? What's wrong with these guys?

Seriously: cross buy and family setup accounts. It's not that hard a concept.

@Socar There is no need to make digital codes so there is no real cost. Eshop just needs to check download history and that is it. If they would make games cheaper for people owning them already digital for other console they would just make more money by selling those games again with special sale price and make customers happier.

It still drives me nuts that the "games tied to hardware" nonsense still exists.

People, SOFTWARE IS TIED TO YOUR NNID, NOT YOUR HARDWARE.

@Captain_Gonru @Warruz 😂😂😂👍🏻

Sounds promising.

Indeed @EVIL-C More people need to know this

People, SOFTWARE IS TIED TO YOUR NNID, NOT YOUR HARDWARE

@damo source?

@jsty3105 @EVIL-C If you lose your console or it gets broken there's a very high chance Nintendo will refuse requests to get your games back. If it was properly attached to your NNID, you could just login to your NNID on a new console and redownload everything you own from the eshop straight away.

@Dankykong Currently eShop has 3DS and Wii U games (both retail and digital, including Virtual Console) + DSiWare games. DSiWare on it's own has a huge line of games, so 2000 sounds reasonable.

@KoopaTheGamer Well I doubt they're making the number up, I just can't believe it's that many, but I guess DSiWare would add a butt ton of stuff and there's stuff that gets ignored by most that's added weekly...

@Grumblevolcano
Just prove its your account and they will help you. I've had no issues with Nintendo customer service.

@Grumblevolcano I don't know about that. My sister had her 3DS stolen, and she was able to get all her digital games back by calling Nintendo. Hell, she did that TWICE, apparently (her husband's 3DS was stolen at an earlier time). The process was easy.

Nintendo are still way behind Sony I'm afraid.

@erv They aren't two separate shops. It's just a web browser version of the eShop in the catalog on Nintendo's website.

Good to see Big N getting a little more interested in the magic glowing box labeled "router" in their office. I for one get most of my android apps from the google play website because it lets me have multiple tabs open, and look forward to this minor convenience.

@Moon more than likely like Sony. One shop is on console. The other on the Internet. The Internet shop allows you to also purchase Sony products. You can't use repurchased game points to buy hardware or Sony products, but the online shop lets you use cash/visa & points, combined to buy games.

@DarkJamD If that was the case, then why is it that Mario VS Donkey Kong tipping stars gave you a digital code if you got either version?

Again, you and @skywake are seriously making this a big deal. Just let it be. Its not making many happy, yeah but for wrong reasons.

@EVIL-C @jsty3105 The problem is that not every country is supported by Nintendo costumer service.

@Captain_Gonru Fight the Flash!

And its my birthday on Thursday too so it'll be nice to hopefully treat myself to a new game or 2 😀

@Judgedean actually that's been done already. I sent proof to Jose Otero but he didn't write a story on it.

@Socar

Because back then (March 2015) Wii U and 3DS didn't have same profile connected to both eshop. Back then codes for both services was necessary. Things are different now when there is new ID with all purchase history between platforms.

@orravan85 you are right. I have picture proof. I bought a wii u for my gf and it was used. She had a few games on their tied to another account and after we deleted his account off the wii u, but not his ID, we were still able to play the games. But then 7 days later we got a pop up when we started ocarina of time saying it was tied to another account that is no longer on the system. So I called nintendo and they change over his ID to my email and now I own the rights to his games that he bought.

@DarkJamD Again, you're seriously making a big deal out of it. Its really not going to make such a big deal for Nintendo and it doesn't look like Nintendo even cares about such a feature.

@Socar Heh, you (yourself) don't have to make a big deal out of it, but many others have been wanting this ever since the 3DS came out with its eshop.

@Grumblevolcano There's plenty of evidence that Nintendo can and does restore purchases in the event of a lost, stolen, or destroyed console.

It's not as easy as many would like certainly but it's also not the case that there's a very high chance Nintendo will refuse requests. What evidence do you have to back up this claim?

@electrolite77 But cross buy is already available on some non-Nintendo releases and Mario vs Donkey Kong holds the honour of being Nintendo's first ever cross buy title.

@jsty3105 And your hardware is tied with your NNID. Right?

Nintendo just wants to make sure people don't "abuse" the account system. That's the only reason they don't allow System Transfers without an active internet conneciton. And they allow new Log In to other consoles only if you contact them, so they know the situation and refuse games' licenses to the old console.

If Nintendo allowed simple log in like Google or Steam, one could simply turn off internet connection from his/her 3DS and log in into the new. They could download again a game they bought only once. I know this is the expected case in a Sony platform, and with Steam on PC, but Nintendo wants you to buy a game per console. It's not that I like this, but it's what Nintendo is like.

It's not a technical problem, nor anything like that. Nintendo today has enough infrastructure for allowing to log in on multiple devices and allowing cross-buy, but they just don't want to.

And yes, everything is saved to your NNID. My 3DS was destroyed once as it fell from a fourth floor, and all my purchases were restored to my new console by calling to Nintendo (including the Club Nintendo Flipnote and some other limited time apps). As I said before, it's not a technical problem, nor that your account is still "hardware tied", the thing is that Nintendo doesn't want you to take full control of your account because you could abuse it from their point of view.

That's all.

@Olmectron Heh, that's one way to put things.

My Wii U and my 3DS have different NNID's. How will I be able to use my new Nintendo account (when it opens) information with either of these consoles?

@Socar
You keep saying we're making a big deal about this. But the question is why are you so against the idea? You say that there's no reason why I should want it on both but ignore the fact that Nintendo is expecting me to pay full price for the second!

Surely cross-buy is going to only make the VC more appealing. I can say as someone who has an old-3DS the SNES VC didn't tempt me. If Nintendo had cross-buy and I could download the SNES games I've already purchased? I'd be very tempted. $270AU for a New 3DS and 5x SNES games I already have? Hard sell. $220? A bit less so and I'd probably buy a few more SNES VC games while I was at it.

@skywake sounds like you are trying to get it in free. "If it's free. It's for me!" "I'll buy the new 3DS I swear!...if you give me freebies that is." But,, in the end. Maybe at the end of the New 3DS cycle they will give in to your demands. Pay your admission ticket and quit waiting for handouts.

@orravan85
How am I asking for freebies? I've already paid full price for the content.

I don't have to buy music again when I upgrade my phone. I don't have to buy a separate copies of a movie for my TV, PC and tablet. If I buy an app on my phone I can use it on my phone, tablet and even my TV. If I buy an indie game on Steam for Windows I don't have to buy it again if I want to play on Linux.

.... yet when I have Wii U VC game I paid for it's somehow different. Hell, some of them I have the cartridge for. Most of them I also owned on the Wii VC and paid the upgrade fee for Wii U VC. Some are games I've effectively paid full price for twice and a bit! In response to that? You say I'm asking for "freebies" when I say it'd be nice if the New 3DS copy was at least not full retail. What a load!

@Grumblevolcano not true.for my 3ds games back 4 times,Wii u once and they just added my old Wii account one my Wii u.which I lost that years ago.

@skywake in regards to gaming; the commonality of all those items you mentioned? Same Hardware. Laptop/desktop? Same. Ditto for Steam that operates on PC platforms predominantly. But from a full blown console to its handheld that is different beast. Takes man hours to make that work flawlessly. Give the folks their hard earned money.

@orravan85
Windows, Linux and Mac are not the same. PS3, PS4 and Vita are not the same. 360 and XBOne are not the same. Need I go on? Nintendo are not in a unique position here.

And again, I'm not saying I want the game for free. I'm saying I want my purchases to mean something. I don't see why I should have to buy VC games again and again. If Nintendo would make it clear that these purchase would carry? Even if it's just a discount on the other side. Then I'd be more than happy to buy more of them. As it is I don't see the point.

The next generation will come out and anything I buy on the VC now won't be on it. Those VC games I brought will be on a shelf with my old system. There's no reason for that because now they have the infrastructure to do better.

@Judgedean I really hoped they would do the update so that accounts would no longer be locked to hardware.

@skywake while Nintendo may not be in a unique position (as you pointed out. I concede to that fact). It still costs money and I believe when pressed on the subject of cross play; Nintendo stated the reasons of one) being costs and second) being if the developers are fine with that fact. Which basically; if the developer was fine eating that cost of giving it away free. And yes, sure it feels crummy to have to repurchase a game you literally own the real physical copy, but that is the cost of the convenience of playing it on a updated system. Owning GTA 3 for the Xbox doesn't mean you get to download it free on the App Store for your tablet. Why should it be the same with good old Ice Climbers? It costs money to transfer and have servers to store it ready for you to download it at your leisure into the NX's infrastructure. Bottom line; yes others have and Nintendo can too. But it costs money and money needs to be made from that investment. Is it a shameful to be given the opportunity to download the same game you just bought on a different console? Sure, it stings if you do it. But not everyone has the same games or both a Wii U and a 3DS. Perhaps someday Nintendo will finally join the rest; but that day I feel will be a different defeated Nintendo. "Sales!" they will scream; "discounts!" they will say! It deappreciates the games outlook if people know to just wait it out till the annual summer and winter sales. I believe there is a whole article on that fact somewhere...can't recall where I read that... But yes, you sir; I appreciate your existence and it has been a enlightening exchange. I surely would not object to cross-play functionality with my faithful handheld and favorite Home console.

Oh and @Kolzig, read above... Games are linked to NNID/Hardware; kinda of a hybrid..blah blah, read up, friend.

Good night Nintendolife/everybody!!

@orravan85 "Owning GTA 3 for the Xbox doesn't mean you get to download it free on the App Store for your tablet. Why should it be the same with good old Ice Climbers?"

Because Apple has no way of knowing that you brought GTA3 on the XBox. Also because a large % of your original purchase was a platform royalty paid to Microsoft. Basically you didn't pay Apple anything and they have no way of knowing you own it. With a VC game brought on one of the eShops? You paid Nintendo directly, they've got their cut. They know you've purchased it. So it's not at all like your example.

If anything cross-buy on the VC is closer to backwards compatibility. Infact it's almost identical to how backwards compatibility works on the XBOne. Do you think people would have not made a fuss if XBOne BC literally involved you having to buy the game again at full price? I didn't think so.

@DiscoGentleman ah thanks so much. That's very kind. The Toads would be proud of you 😊

@skywake I think you could add that Nintendo does it with Wii VC that already got their Wii U VC release. They cut the price to 2 or less dollars, so you don't have to pay full price again. So, let's ask.

@orravan85 Why can't Nintendo repeat something they did with Wii VC to Wii U VC now that they have the infrastructure to do so between Wii U and 3DS? At least getting a cheaper price is really nice, not needed to be free.

It's okay that Nintendo needs the money for better online services, and all that neat things, but why don't repeat good offers like that? It seems in some other things than online infrastructure, Nintendo is going backwards.

For example, they would have already gotten at least around 14 extra dollars for me, by giving each SNES title on N3DS at 2 dollars (since I own them on Wii U VC). But as full price, they won't see any of that money at all. I'm okay with my 3DS exclusive games.

@LemonSlice Yes, and that NNID is transferable.

Not saying it's seamlessly easy to do but the fact remains that purchases can be restored to you. And there's plenty of evidence to back that up. Already several testimonies in this thread alone. There's also an entire article on Kotaku I think which talked about how much easier than expected it was to restore.

@Olmectron
I already made that point. I for one would be fine with an upgrade fee or some other cost to stop me "abusing" the system. Something like having me spend some rewards points to move my games across would be even better.

That's less than what others do. Plenty of other companies with multi-device ecosystems have your purchases carry. But I'd be fine with just an upgrade fee. I'm just not going to pay full price again for something I've already brought. I'm also less likely to buy stuff if it's going to be tied to a platform that will eventually become obsolete.

@skywake I was supporting you. Just wanted to state that in case you hadn't said it in past comments, that's why I asked @orravan85 why couldn't Nintendo repeat, at least, a promo like that one.

I'm all in for cross-buy, cross-play and whatever else has the cross in its name.

Does this replace the current 3DS and Wii u e-shops? And what will happen with the DSi-titles?

@Olmectron Because the sales that the Wii U is having right now is so low that they can't afford to satisfy that niche audience.

While we're at it, let's ask ourselves this. Has Nintendo satisfied the users who owned N64, GCN and the Virtual Boy? No, and not everyone was satisfied with them. All they could do was to make games for those systems and surely enough, some were satisfied.

People have complained the lack of any exclusives for the N3DS and now when it has exclusive VC games, people are complaining about it. While some are complaining that they got the games on Wii U, others are complaining why it is an exclusive to the N3DS? But that's the whole point of exclusive stuff and that's why people buy them because of them being exclusive.

The idea of playing SNES games on the go sounds like a lot of money went through this process. Emulation isn't easy to do as much as it sounds like its easy.

And don't they repeatedly give discounts for their games? If so, why not just wait for a price drop if you don't feel like its worth full price for getting the same games again?

The concept of cross buy is ridiculous because I personally can't find anyone dumb to buy the same game on a different platform unless that version has some exclusive game content or if that version runs better.

There is no significant difference between the VC games whichever platform you decide to buy. For that reason, I don't see a need to buy it on that said platform.

And in case you aren't aware of, Nintendo did an ambassador program for the 3DS which had free games to get digitally. Why that same thing wasn't done for the Wii U? Because sales of the system were lower than that of the 3DS. It would be expensive for the Wii U to have that same program as for the 3DS.

@Captain_Gonru Nothing you can do about being an old man, but the "grumpy" part is up to you.

@Socar As I said. Nintendo isn't getting any of my money for N3DS SNES VC, which they would get if they discounted them at least a little bit because of having them already on both Wii VC and Wii U VC (with some exceptions).

Nintendo very rarely (never) discounts its VC games. At least in the US, where I am. Don't know about Europe discounts.

It's not about being satisfied, it's about getting up with the times. And, while emulation is hard to get for developers, once they have the emulator, it's easy to adapt other SNES games (excepting the special CHIP ones), so, paying full price again is simply ridiculous.

@Olmectron Yet their games sell huge, yet they still continue to dominate the handheld market and yet, they still make a lot of buck.

These little things don't seem to hurt Nintendo big time so why do they have to get into the times? The Vita does a lot of things that the 3DS can't and despite that, the 3DS outsold it.

Heck, this is even true for Game Boy. The Game Gear is powerful than the Boy and yet the Boy outsold the Gear. Being stuck in the past doesn't mean loss of sales. It just means features that people won't care much of if it isn't there. If they have to get into the times, you might as well ask them to make powerful technology as well.

@Socar You just said my point.

Discounts for owning VC games in other platforms wouldn't affect negatively Nintendo sales, and they would even get a little bit more money from people like me.

@Olmectron Pricing strategy is a tricky thing. For better or worse, Nintendo used a premium price strategy for their products and software.

Plus: It conditions people not to wait for discounts before buying. You want the experience? Buy it now. This runs counter to releases on Steam where people are conditioned to wait for sales and companies rely on the volume-game - they have to sell a lot of units.

I don't yet have time to write out the minus - sounds like a fun topic to write about (Nintendo's pricing strategy) so I may do it someday.

@jsty3105 I only demand the cross-buy feature for the VC games. When talking about "same games" in both platforms, it would be nice, but I understand they were different developments in terms of hardware, so I understand the full pricing for both (for example, Smash Bros. on Wii U and 3DS). I even understand if they decide to never again discount their first party titles.

The thing about VC games is that there's a lot of people that have been with Nintendo since the NES era. And paying premium price each time can be frustrating for said people. Why couldn't they enjoy their old favorite games on the go (with a N3DS), without expending the same price they already paid to replay it on Wii and/or Wii U?

And, should I add. When the VC started on Wii U, they did a lot to promote it here in America. And I'm not talking about the NES games at 30 cents, I'm talking about actual first week only discounts. When they released three games, and buying two of them discounted the third one to less than half its price. This happened several times, with Kirby SNES games as one example. Those were discounted only if you jumped to buy the very first week of release, and after that, you missed the chance to save money.

This year, they are releasing three SNES games on N3DS each time they release on America, they could repeat a promo like that. People won't wait for a discount, since the discount will be first week only, and people will encourage themselves to save a few dollars for the next round of VC games, by buying every SNES title of the week.

I'm not asking for free games, I'm asking for promos similar to what Nintendo has already done on Wii U. It feels bad that they start giving out great promos like that, and then they forget they ever did anything like it.

@orravan85 I know, but demanding a phone call to solve something that should be done with a few clicks over the internet in the connected world we live in, is kind of a pain (and really unnecessary, after all, no other platform asks the user to do that).

Where is the store in Europe actually, is there some one unified webpage for it? I only found the Flipnote Studio 3D page through My Nintendo's link, but otherwise I can't find any shop page.

Is it under UK for whole Europe or how does this work? Our localized Finnish website is just the local distributor Bergsala's page that is nothing like the normal Nintendo webpages.

I would like to test if there is some shopping basket functionality so that you can buy more than one game at a time for better integration of the gold points rewards.

E: Ok, I found somehow hidden under a pile of webpages and webpages the singular pages in Europe for the games that can be bought. The price range is dumb since many games are 9.99€ so you will only get 10 gold points when you should get 20 points. They really need to add that shopping cart functionality in to the 3DS, Wii U and web eshops. I won't be buying much anything before the shopping cart is included.