GoNintendo 'End of Day' thought - Digital or retail?

Rain...all week rain. NJ is rather gloomy this week and there's no end in sight! At least it's nice to fall asleep to the sound of raindrops hitting the windows. The chill in the air...that's not so nice! Time for me to snuggle up and get some rest, bad weather or not. See you in a few, short hours!

Nintendo hasn't exactly been the most forward-thinking company when it comes to online offerings. Their titles that support online play are few and far between. Their consoles and portables seem to have online as an afterthought. That has lead third parties to ignoring those types of features in their content, save for a few exceptions. Some might have thought that all was lost, but now we see that Nintendo is getting serious about online.

The 3DS is clearly Nintendo's most connected platform yet. It shows an evolution of Nintendo's stance on the world of online gaming. It might be too little too late for some, but I believe most are just happy to see that the Big N is finally putting time into creating reasons for third parties to implement online features in their Nintendo platform games.

Obviously, this push is going to get a major kick in the butt once Nintendo starts rolling out their digital/retail simultaneous launches. The first title that will take advantage of this approach is New Super Mario Bros. 2. It's up to you whether you're going to purchase through retail or online, finally making the entire decision up to the gamer instead of Nintendo.

We also know that the Wii U is going to offer digital titles on day one, another big step for Nintendo. Right out of the gate, we'll be able to enjoy the option of staying home to pick up some of the latest/greatest in Wii U software. To have that kind of option from day one goes to show that Nintendo is very serious about turning their online image around.

With this new digital frontier for Nintendo just around the corner, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say. Do you think you'll be doing your purchasing through retail or the new online option? Is the ease of use something that will make you a more frequent digital purchaser, or do you enjoy actually owning a physical copy of your games? Leave a comment and let us know!