Nintendo's Digital Sales Have Increased Almost 50 Percent Year-On-Year

Digital is the future, it's just so convenient.

It would be interesting if Nintendo reported the divide between physical and digital on a case-by-case basis, or at the very least, do so for the highest selling titles. It would be interesting to see.

I do always get nervous when I hear digital is doing well, given that I much prefer my games on a physical medium.

So wil Nintendo stop pretending it's 1993 as far as internet is concerned then ?

I only have 1 physical game - Luigi's Mansion 3 and my next purchase will also be physical as I am buying the Metro package. then ACNH will be a download. I have BOTW, DKTF, MM2, MK8, Cup Head, Resi RM, Revelations 1&2, Resi 4 and quite a few other indi games.
I think I'm going to need a new SD card soon

Not in my house it hasn't.

Convenience is one thing but I refuse to pay the ridiculously high prices compared to physical games.

@Kalmaro Very convenient in some ways. But not so much when you realise you've made a mistake. Then you've paid £50 for a game you spend half an hour on, and no way to sell it on! It's a shame you can't "rent" games like you can do with films.

How does Switch online count as a digital sale?

Well when you're given the option between digital or not owning the game at all, most will pick digital. There's been lots of physical game stock issues recently.

I generally prefer physical, but between games that lack a physical release - or lack a reasonable physical release (I really dislike those limited run things, "Oh look, if you aren't online, right when we put it up, and it sells out in like 12 minutes, too bad! We're never restocking!" ) - I have about 55-45 physical/digital collection.

So hey Nintendo, on Switch Pro, could you add a second SD card slot? It would be really helpful.

@Yas That's certainly a danger. That's why I tend to wait until after reviews come out and see what problems folks are having before I buy games now.

@Marios-love-child I agree and even when the big games have 30%-50% it only makes them the same price as physical

That's good news! I usually go physical for major releases and digital for Indies, unless I can find a really good deal on a download code somewhere. However, I think the upcoming Animal Crossing game may well be an exception in my case - it's something I will play daily for years, so I'm seriously considering going digital to always have it in my console. Besides, I like the idea of being able to pre-load it so I can play it first thing in the morning on March 20th.

@Kalmaro "so convenient"--while taking away almost all of the benefits and rights afforded to you when you buy physical, such as: Just having something physical and cool to actually touch (discs/carts, boxes, manuals); no real price savings despite not getting any of that physical stuff anymore; genuine ownership of the thing you've paid for; ability to resell; ability to pass down to siblings; no DRM; no chance of games being removed/deleted at whim of company or even just altered beyond all recognition of the game you actually paid for in the first place; etc.

Yeah, going digital does have some convenience and environmental benefits, but until they address all those other issues, at what true cost to the consumer--at what cost. . . .

Honestly, I used to be bullish about owning physical copies of games, and I still am for some systems (the only retail digital game I own on Wii U is one Nintendo gave me for free, lol). The days of games that were mostly or entirely complete out of the box are gone, though. Games these days are usually a mess without patches and update. Numerous Switch games are half-digital, making the physical media a bit pointless. On PS4/Xbone, the game also installs to the system, making the physical "game" little more than an installer disc and a bit of physical DRM.

I've not completely abandoned physical distribution yet for modern systems (really excited to get my FF7R special edition, and will probably grab Breath of the Wild 2 physically), but it's becoming increasingly clear that the medium is rapidly growing beyond what physical media can reasonably offer it. This emphasis on collecting physical games is becoming a generational thing, as an aging population of primarily millennial gamers struggle to come to terms with the changing industry around them.

I wonder what switch digital sales be like if the Switch came with more internal memory.

They're going to make a all digital model and force people that route. It's just a matter of time. I don't care personally as long as my digital games can be backward compatible with with the next two systems.

@Marios-love-child
Or wait until digital sale

Once eb games/gamestop is officially bankrupt there won't be such a need for a retail presence. Gamers aren't going to toys r us to buy games. Wait is toys r us bankrupt too?

The Switch is the only console I buy physical games for. The eshop prices are just too horrendous and sales are laughable.

Of course they did, a lot of games aren't coming out in physical media.

@Ralizah I started buying physical games only for my switch but i have transitioned to more digital as the realization sunk in that my physical cartridges were more of a security blanket than something i really owned, between incomplete games with massive downloads to start and broken games needing patches we are far from future proofing a switch collection. The best thing you can do is regularly backup your microSD image and pray it doesn't get corrupted.

@Skalgrim

It would have to be one hell of a sale though. From what I've seen more often than not the digital sales might just about bring prices in line with retail prices at a push.

But even then I still prefer having a physical game that's mine to hold on to, or lend to a friend or even trade it in and make some money back when I've finished with it.

@impurekind Well you made my argument for me. Physical has advantages too.

My Switch is 100% digital, and I know a lot of other people who chose to do the same.

Now whenever I play my 3DS or Vita, I just wish I went fully digital instead of 50/50.

Well I was always a strict proponent of physical games but with the Switch I finally went 100% digital and I’m not regretting it a bit. For me, it’s the perfect solution for my gaming needs. I’ve got my full library of 50+ games with me at all times and never have to worry about losing those tiny carts.

@impurekind I don't think I have ever had a digital game that couldn't be re-downloaded once you bought it even it if was removed. That is unless they take down the entire storefront. I'd be happy to be corrected though. I can still download Scott Pilgram as an example on my PS3. Even Wii games you have bought can still be downloaded. It isn't perfect but neither is physical as most of the games still have lots of digital data they need and this is what pushed me to just go digital. If games were truly all physical then I would stay physical but now a days that is rare. I feel your pain though as I truly miss those cool manuals and boxes.

It is amazing that they have not added a gift option to the eshop yet given the rise of digital sales

@Marios-love-child The eShop has some pretty good digital sales now-a-days. Coupled that with the ability to buy eShop cards at discounts, gold points, and sales tax, the price disparity isn't that great and the convenience more than makes up for it in my mind.

Plus digital sales are pretty much the main reason game prices haven't risen past $60 in the last decade.

What irritates me mostly are the prices of each game that's been offered onlined. At least in the past when you got your copy of game.. you got a box and with a booklet (sometimes in full colour) and the disc/DVD or whatever... so that was ok to ask 60$ or €60. Now we don't get any box with a game neither a book... just digital download. They shouldn't even ask more than €/$45 per game even when they are new.. because these companies aren't paying any money on those stuff anymore. These high prices online are not justified! we don't get anything just a downloadgame. Stop supporting the high price tagged games people! You're showing that you're ok with it and they get away with it. So stop downloading at that higher price at release. They will lower their price soon when they realise how overly charged people. Lets be honest here... we don't get anything but digital download.. no more books no more covers no more extras no more boxes... those last stuff i meantion made it worth the full price. But now they can't justify

@Alucard83 But the price of games haven't increased for over two entire generations. I guarantee that the cost of making games is much higher now than it was in 2007.

Digital sales are largely the reason. It allows the makers to retain a larger portion of the revenue.

For me the box, the booklet, the disc are definitely not worth the $15 you are implying. I am paying for the software, the game itself. I can get much better/bigger game art elsewhere to display if I really want.

Pretty crazy how selling 50% more systems will do that.

@Kalmaro
Its a convenient future indeed, but a sad boring one

@Kalmaro
Except for when you want to share between consoles in same household

@KitsuneNight
I agree
This puts pressure on them to improve online capabilities
And also hopefully give us folders to organize

@Yas
You can rent games at Rebox and Gamefly

@Marios-love-child
1st party cheaper physical normally, but indies are cheaper digital, specially with sales lately

@Heavyarms55
I haven't done math, but I pick media type with that same thought process

@Kalmaro
Me too unless I'm really hype!

@m8e3point1415
I noticed that with indies during sales because limited physical releases are pricier

@impurekind
The ownership thing doesn't make sense to me
When the eShop goes down you can no longer download the game if something happens to your Switch, that is true
But, if something happens to your physical cartridge you don't have ownership of it anymore

@sixrings
I think that sentiment is a dream

@Supadav03
Advantages and disadvantages
I'm personally split

@Zuljaras
A lot of physical games have additional digital data tag on to it as updates, that's without counting purchasable DLC. Switch storage is definitely not enough, you probably have to buy a SD card anyway.

@Alucard83 I agree with @Shadowkiller97
I'm sure games are more expensive to produce nowadays and although I personally price physical , I don't think is worth those $15 you mentioned for an empty box. Manuals have not been printed for a while.
In addition, if digital games are priced lower, it will be the immediate death of physical because stores will stop stocking them. Remember we are in an era where ToysRus is out and Gamestop is on its last leg. If you want Walmart, Target, BestBuy etc to keep stocking physicals they need to be same. I understand the physical has its value, but unfortunately that is how business-wise it works.

I'll buy games digital if they're 1. Not available in any other form or 2. significantly cheaper than a physical copy. The only digital retail Switch game that I have right now is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and that's simply because the digital version was on sale for a good price at one point.

I buy pretty much everything that's under 5gb digitally, unless it's something I wanna see on the shelf, like the upcoming Zero/ZX Collection. (:

I'll continue to buy physical until it's no longer available. If it sucks, I can get rid of it! (Also, 32GB storage...)

@jamesthemagi "You can rent games at Rebox and Gamefly"

No, I meant rent games DIGITALLY, for a limited period. I would be willing to pay a small amount to have, say, a week's trial. Demos are even better as they're free, but sadly most games don't get one.

@Kalmaro "That's certainly a danger. That's why I tend to wait until after reviews come out and see what problems folks are having before I buy games now."

Yes, research is essential before purchasing digitally. Still doesn't stop the occasional error though. Bought Cuphead as it got great reviews and I do love the presentation. But sadly it's too difficult for me. A waste of money I'll never get back. And no option to sell on.

@Kalmaro same with me. I got Mario + Rabbids over Xmas as it was so cheap. Otherwise I will always buy retail games as physical copies when available.

@Yas
Oh ok
I read somewhere statistically demos make buyers less likely to buy the game.
Guess because games with demos suck or people get so much enjoyment out of them, they don't need to buy the full game. Idk shrug

@Grumblevolcano Not true. I left PC gaming because I was tired of digital. I have twice as many physical games as I do digital. I haven't spent more than $20 on a digital game.