Nintendo's eShop Revenues Hit a New High, Driven By DLC and Generation I Pokémon

It's scary that we are paying €10 for each GB ROM these days.

@VanillaLake Makes one wonder what they'll charge for the NDS main pokemon titles when they reach the eshop.

@VanillaLake : I'm more worried about DLC skins/characters that cost more than a full retro/indie game.

Nintendo are still lagging so far behind the others though, due to a combination of prices higher than physical copies (in Europe at least) and a lack of a reliable account system. Sony have been putting out their financials too, and they made more money off PSN sales alone than Nintendo made overall.

I'd love to digital only, but Nintendo just have to sort their prices out. It's not even a minor thing, as pretty much every new release costs TWICE as much to buy on the eShop as it does for a physical copy from some other non-Nintendo retailer.

They shouldn't have stopped the Smash DLC hype train, especially with the large drought of nothing coming to Wii U between July and March outside of Color Splash.

I've bought more on the eShop since My Nintendo launched than I ever have, so yeah it's working.

DLC is here to stay, isn't it?...

I'm amazed the older Pokemon games are selling as much as they are. Gives me hope for Gold/Silver.

@Ralizah I'm pretty sure they'll release Gold/Silver after those sales. My guess is it will be some time near the Pokemon Sun/Moon release.

I tend to prefer physical versions of games unless there's a really good deal for the digital version.

Now can we get more of those VC games we've been missing out on already??

Well, better get to work on Gold, Silver and Crystal rereleases then...

So...Gen II, when?

There is such an opportunity to give us way more VC, at least the VC thats just hanging out on the Wii, I really don't know why they haven't put more of an effort on this. Also it would be cool to see the Wiiware games in the Wii U eshop, that would give them new life.

Hangin' in da club with the big NT. Loggin' in 2 download sum D-L-C

@BensonUii Yeah, they are charging way too much, more than what many NEW games not developed by Nintendo cost. I like Pokemon but come on don't rip me off, these games are 20 years old.

I admit I'm not a big DLC fan, but there are certain things I will purchase, such as some DLC for the games I own, and my VC copy of Pokemon Yellow. So yeah, I use it, too, but being a collector, I prefer physical copies of the games over digital copies (for the whole game, that is).

@Peach64 This.
Here's to hoping Nintendo keeps overshipping 3DS titles <3

They didn't do so with the Wii U, though. Only overshipped titles are the worthless ones. (And the third-party ones, but, alas, my brother happens to be too young to "watch" them.)

@wazlon same here, I'm picking up a used copy of Rune Factory 4 today at GameStop that between discount and a coupon will cost me $25. On the eShop that game is $39.99.

Gs up. Im glad to see NA reppin for the eshop lowlifes out here as we look towrds the future and this weekend.

@Mr_Zurkon I should've bought that back when Datablitz was offering that for ~USD20 (900 pesos at the time).

Now they're offering it for 1900 (~USD40)...

Kind of makes me wonder how much is the number or ratio of digital retail copies compared to physical retail.
Physical game sales are released to the public somewhat (ex.vgchartz.com), yet digital sales have been more hidden.

I sure hope this means they'll put Gold/Silver/Crystal on the Virtual Console next.

The eshop is still lagging behind playstation store mainly because games are still expensive to buy on the eshop. There needs to be more sales.

Retail games are way too expensive on the eShop. As someone on a limited budget, I tend to go where the best deal is, and that's almost always physical. I haven't bought a new game since... umm... can't remember actually. Oh wait, I got Codename STEAM in a box a couple months ago for £10. That would have cost me £39.99 on the eShop. Insane...

My point being, if they want to see more growth on the eShop, they need to embrace more sales or lower their prices a bit, especially for older games. When the eShop prices are better than they are in shops, that's when people will make the change over to digital.

I am not one of the downloaders.

I am not short of a Bob or two either, but I would never pay more for less.

Wow, Europe sales are pretty appalling aren't they?

@ThomasBW84
what does contibuting mean "Notably the most success is being found in North America, contibuting more than half of all download sales on the eShop".

@Peach64

I really hope someday Nintendo takes a note from Sony on the digital front. Their pricing is brutal and the account system is underwhelming at best.

Anyway, it's like if you give people what they want they'll buy it, who knew?

@VanillaLake I guess I disagree. I've gotten 20 hours out of a quality game and have much more coming. I am in no way dissatisfied paying $10 for an optimal way to relive a classic RPG.

@ThomasBW84
sorry for any offence

@Link41x Digital is not s popular in Europe as it is in NA. Even companies like EA have stated that, which is why games like FIFA have a lower digital attach ratio than most other titles.

@VanillaLake

9.99 USD as well.
This is quite a bit higher than other GB games on the Virtual Console, suggesting that they're charging higher due to (A) the additional connectivity features, and/or (B) the popularity of Pokémon.

I have said it before and I will say it again downloads are here and they will increase as the years go by.

That's odd, games that were super popular years ago are still being sold relatively well today?!

Shocking revelation!

I never download a game unless it's not available on a retail level. Simple

I am a major downloader on 3ds myself, as I couldn't wait to get most of those darn carts outta my pockets, and ditch the old carry cases to boot (its been a long wait for me on this subject lol). I do still prefer physical on a home console howevs.

Anyway, considering the EU's bizarre eshop/retail backwards pricing debacle, its no wonder that NA accounts for half of those DL's.

Even with me being a staunch retail buyer I have a ton of eshop games on both systems. It kinda crept up on me. So um good job Nintendo?

@Shogun474 Yeah, they should be even more expensive, €10 is not enough for GB games in 2016. These kind of comments (like yours) is what are driving Nintendo to their loneliness, only followed by a bunch of unconditional fans.

@marandahir Because we are suckers.

If Nintendo really wants to add value, why not add colour to Red and Blue? Sega (M2) worked hard on their 3D classics. Some games were quite challenging to be remade, like Streets of Rage II, and they added special features like a manually created 3D effect. These games cost €5 each (part of that money goes to Nintendo), why does the owner of the shop charge €10 for these slightly modified GB ROMs? It's exorbitant.