Cipher

@Linkstrikesback So what happens if they don't sign that contract? They're basically saying to retailers "we have the power and the right to undercut your prices, and we will practise that right". No retailer in their right mind would ever stock Nintendo software again. And yes, the RRP should standardise pricing, but games stockists almost always undercut the RRP to gain an immediate advantage, so whatever the RRP would be set at, you would not find it at that price in stores.

@RupeeClock Yeah, that's my thinking - if the RRP was £29.99 the game would be sold for between £20 and £25. Selling at £20 wouldn't be a good idea - low profits, potential bad name for the software - and £25, well, you might as well round it up, it's not likely to result in any major difference in sales figures.

@RupeeClock It could be that Nintendo's set the RRP to £39 to make sure it gets sold at retail for around the £29 mark. As we've seen with Freakyforms and New Art Academy, they both retail for around £19, yet evidently their RRPs are £25 and £29 respectively.

@Linkstrikesback Just because a retailer doesn't sell a game for £39.99 doesn't mean that game's RRP isn't £39.99. Just because twenty retailers choose to undercut an RRP by £10 does not change that game's RRP.

Two points I'd like to make here, since nobody seems to be taking them into consideration.

Point #1: There are no manufacturing costs, but there are server and bandwidth costs, and I dread to think what those must be like. It costs Nintendo money to host games on their servers and it costs them money for people to download them.

Point #2: This is not the only download price for this game. Download codes for retail downloads will soon be made available across Europe and there is no way in hell any good retail will charge £29 for a boxed game and £39 for its digital equivalent. The chances are, if you buy a download code for a game at retail, it will cost less than the boxed game.

LollipopChoSaw is correct that Nintendo must set an RRP for every game they release and they must stick to that price whenever they themselves sell the game. If they dared to undercut their own RRP, a lot of retailers would jump right out of bed with them.

Interesting to see a developer create two different versions, one for each store. It'd be nice to see others doing this whenever suitable.

Surely this depends entirely on your own internet connection. If this file took 46 minutes to download, they must have been using a terrible connection - that should take ten minutes to download, tops.

@LordOtakWiiU Yeah, there are a few puzzles I haven't got access to yet, hopefully be able to get them all at some point.

This and the Super Mario 3D Land puzzle I picked up from a StreetPass hit yesterday mean I'm now well under half in terms of pieces (146/313), so hopefully I'll grab loads more with Play Coins soon. Once the Mario & Sonic Virtual Card Album's stopped hogging them. 8D

@FonistofCruxis I noticed that as well. It's my primary reason for attempting to stay away from this game for as long as possible.

Speaking of deprivation of titles, I'm still pining after A Kappa's Trail. Good to see Japan's still getting its share of decent DSiWare, though.

Good. Can't wait to get this. With any luck we'll be graced with the presence of Picross E2 in a few months' time as well.

Huge congratulations, James. Hope you have a fantastic time at Nintendo!

I'm a grown man and I don't care because I WANT THIS THING

Regarding the question of why the Sparkle Snapshots 3D add-on content is available at launch: this title launched in Japan in December 2011 and add-on content distribution started in February. We're just playing catch-up.

"This is the most realistic part of Topoloco, as the professor does indeed move with the wretched slowness of a senior citizen who no longer cares about his job and yearns for the sweet embrace of death."

I choked on a cookie. Just wanted to share that.

Great day for rhythm fans, and both games are sensational.

Need that blue 3DS. Like now.

I've been playing Theatrhythm for a while now and I can safely say there is more than enough great content on the game card. There are more than 70 songs on there already - 77, I think - and for Final Fantasy fans who want a particular track, this add-on content is perfect. There'll be more than 50 songs available as add-on content by the time Square Enix is finished. Sure it costs a lot if you're gonna get all fifty, but that's not the point of the add-on content - besides, songs on iTunes cost the same these days, and you don't get to play fun games with them!

I'm very sad to see this happen, but I live in hope they'll come out on the other side stronger than ever before, and it sounds like shifting from retail to digital with the exception of major titles is the way to do that.

I have one little wish, which comes from SEGA's appointment of three outside distributors - I'd like to see them sign more details with Nintendo of Europe in the future. If they had Nintendo handle distribution, sales and marketing of all their games for Nintendo platforms, it'd be a great help to them, I think.

@HawkeyeWii - there are six games:
Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Kirby's Dream Land (GB)
Kirby's Dream Land 2 (GB)
Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES)
Kirby Super Star (SNES)
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)
And a bunch of new extras as well.

@C-Olimar I support this motion!

Taking the opportunity to get Super Mario Land and Dillon's Rolling Western while they're on offer. Maybe even Mighty Switch Force! as well.

A highly interesting concept. I can certainly see some form of interaction between 3DS and Wii U beyond the obvious "let's use the 3DS as a controller in multiplayer games" and into a more advanced type of data swap. Further into the sort of thing we see in StreetPass exchanges. HomePass, if you will.

Don't expect me to wake up at all, try as I might.

Great, overlapping presentations. Just what we need. But I thought Japan's was an hour before Europe's?

Very, very much looking forward to this.

I didn't expect to see online multiplayer, and given Miyamoto's comments I'm quite glad they decided against it. I just think, with a game like Pikmin, multiplayer (co-op or competitive) is so, so much more fun and fulfilling when everybody's in the same room.

@BenAV Nintendo Land - it's a launch title, so going on Reggie's description it'd be one of the launch window games. Unless he's discounting it for that very reason, which'd free up at least one of those four slots depending on Nintendo's other launch titles if any.

@rjejr That's a very good point, five are slated for launch window and five are slated for Q4, and that's coming from Nintendo. I'd suggest some of them are digital titles, but Nintendo released a list of digital titles and none of their own are on that list, so... hmm.

Four games in the launch window? They've slated five. Which is going to be the unlucky one, I wonder.

@Polaris Nintendo is, Nintendo are... it's interchangeable, really. I can never remember which I used last.

...Sometimes, I actually hate you a little bit.

Personally, me no likey, but we'll see what it's like to use come E3.

Great review, but despite what I'm hearing from various reviews, I just want this game even more. Mainly because Mario Tennis on the N64 is probably my favourite of the series and I don't care for the series' RPG aspects at all.

I did a thing while watching this. Felt pretty good. Still not as good as the video, mind.

And now all the sensible folk are picking Wuhu Mountain Loop in celebration.

I imagine this is purely a combination of Aqua Blue being the worst-selling colour for the system (an assumption only, mind) and Nintendo seeing Cobalt Blue as something of a replacement in light of this. It's a sensible decision to make, if so.

You no longer have any excuse not to own PiCTOBiTS.

Confirmed! Out on May 20. Lovely.

Looking forward to this, didn't expect it quite so soon either - it'll be interesting to see how online and offline play works, too.

I'm not keen on RPG modes in sports games and much prefer the Mario Tennis console games anyway, so this is fine by me.

I like that Nintendo's offering videos for download via Nintendo eShop, there are some that have been on Nintendo Video that I'd happily download for a couple of quid. The 3D Machine isn't one of them, even at 90p, but I'm still happy this is happening.

I want Pandora's Tower now. >_<

I think Kids' Gear was just a rebranded and remodelled Game Gear aimed at a younger audience. It certainly never left Japan and there weren't many games rebranded with Kids' Gear packaging either, only those that were aimed at kids anyway (I've only ever seen three, which were G Sonic, a Puzzle Bobble game and Virtua Fighter Mini) - and Virtua Fighter Mini came bundled with the system anyway.

And people called Nintendo systems "kiddy".

North America has a number of Nintendo 3DS Download Software titles that we don't have yet. I would call that a fair trade-off.

Yeah, we already know from notable developers that Wii U is more powerful than the X360 and PS3. These people are just trying to cause trouble.

Yeah, ThruSpace is the WiiWare game, SpeedThru is the 3DS game.

To say this is by Nintendo and Brownie Brown, I'm gutted this isn't available in the UK and Europe. I want it badly.

The very best to everyone working at GAME and Gamestation, and to the Game Group itself. It's a fantastic company, it's never let me down and I hope they can still somehow manage to survive. I'd be very sad to see them go.

So next week it's the Game Gear games and Mega Man 5. We've had a few really good weeks so I think we can afford this week a break. Definitely downloading the Pyramids demo, I was hoping we'd get demos of download software eventually. Might even get Dr. Mario too.