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

[robometal cowboy]

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

[LegendofSantiago]

Digital for super smash, mario kart, etc (games i want to always have on my system) Digital for games like Xenoblade where it's probably going to stay in my system for a while. A lot of people seem to bash digital but i think being able to have a game like animal crossing on the system at all times is probably worth it.

[XCWarrior]

I'll stick with retail whenever possible. For one, stores put games on sale, so it's going to be cheaper. Not to mention I won't have to worry about hard drive space being eaten up.

And Nintendo doesn't do sales. So while people choose to pay $50 for a game digitially, I'll head to the clearance rack at Target and get it for $15.

Digital games shouldn't cost more than $10 ever, because you don't physically own it. I know I'm in minority on this, but just the way I feel.

[LegendofSantiago]

@XCWarrior "I'll stick with retail whenever possible. For one, stores put games on sale, so it's going to be cheaper"
Well if the store wants to they can also discount digital games. (at least for Nintendo)

"Digital games shouldn't cost more than $10 ever, because you don't physically own it. I know I'm in minority on this, but just the way I feel."

I'm sorry, but that's bull. So you are saying that the CD/cartridge is worth $50? You do own the game, it IS yours, it works just like it would on a disc. I do think they can afford to be $10 cheaper, but i don't believe anyone is offering a proper solution on dedicated gaming systems

[jesse himself]

this just occured to me. if wiiu games are going digital and of coarse vc games aswell, then surely everything in between is possible, including including wii games.
same logic for the 3DS, DS games could be offered as digital downloads aswell. just as soon as nintendo gets round to putting gba games on the eshop already!

anyway, staying on topic. i can see some games would benifit from being a constant fixture on the wiiu. mario karts, smash bros, animal crossings. games that will be played more frequently.
i'm down for digital!

[Jet Pilot]

Until Nintendo stops tying digital purchases to specific hardware rather than a persistent account, I'll be sticking with retail. The risk is too high to be purchasing full-priced games under Nintendo's current antiquated system.

Once Nintendo finally wises up and ties purchases to a persistent account, the only types of games I'd by digitally are games that are "pick up and play for a fee minutes" type, such as Animal Crossing. The drawbacks are too great for most digital purchase.

For one, you can share the game (with two kids, that's a deal-breakaer).

Second, if the game turns out to be less than good you have no recourse (meaning you can't stick it on eBay).

And third, as someone who has a large library of games on my shelf dating back to te 1980's, I like my physical collection.

So for me, under Nintendo's current system I'm completely retail. If they ever modernize their system then I'll be purchasing about 95% retail.

[LegendofSantiago]

@Jet Pilot are you the one who complained at nintendoworldreport about this very issue? I believe the person said pretty much the same exact thing and was also named jet pilot. Their answer also applies here.

[Koopzilla]

I would never buy anything digitally that I can get a physical copy of. This applies to movies, books and music as well as games. I want to physically own stuff I am buying. Plus, I have a large collection of physical games, and I like them. It's a nice option to have for people who are in to that sort of thing though.

It would be really nice if you could save your physical copy on to your system for certain games though. For instance, I would like to have something like Mario Kart or Super Mario 3D Land saved onto my 3DS since they are games I might decide to play for a little bit at any given time and I wouldn't have to carry them around everywhere I go. But, if that means not owning a physical copy of the game as well, I will go with the physical copy every time.

[Red Dragon]

Im going to go digital on most things. The biggest reason is that I just don't have the space. Saying that I will most likely be getting big single player games as boxed retail discs. Zelda games or stuff that comes as collectors editions. But then, Im wondering if stuff that is going to come with some extra bit of plastic for an attachment or NFC toy thing will have the option to buy a disc or download code with it. Its going to be interesting to see in the coming months.

[varoennauraa]

I only buy retail games at throw a way prices anymore, if even then. Many times I have bought digital game, even if it was cheaper at local store because I like to keep my games inside my system. I also fukking hate, when a long waited game don't arrive at my local shop on release day, or even week...or ever. Perhaps because digital distribution the "risks" of localization are that small bit smaller, that even europeans get some games once in a while.

[TheBitBlock]

Retail, I like having boxes on a shelf.

[Swedish_Otaku]

I really don't like all this downloadable stuff, games and DLC extra. I regret buying so many VC games. It has it's perks but I really just want the physical games, I hardly wanna count my digital collection. Almost feels like then I might as well pirate the games. =/ I want to own what I buy, being able to put it where I want, loan it, and SELL IT. I hope the day everything goes digital isn't within my lifetime.

[The_Dude1212]

I think retail is likely the best option. With it, you can at least return a game if it isn't to your liking. I haven't ever done that yet, but nevertheless I'd rather have the option to than be stuck with my digital copy.

If Nintendo is the first to permit "renting" a digital game, that would be more than enticing enough for me to switch. Have access to the full game for a week, pay a fifth of the digital price. If you wish to buy the game outright, you can pay the remaining price. If however at the end of this week you choose not to buy, the next time you decide to rent you won't get the discount you had before, to encourage people on the fence to buy more games the first time around.

I think that's a fair system.

[LegendofSantiago]

@The_Dude1212 isn't that what a demo is for?

[ridleysaria]

I'll be sticking with retail, as I like to own the physical copy. However, Animal Crossing is the big exception. That one HAS to be digital.

[Muzy72]

It depends on the game. 99% of the time I'll be getting retail, but for games that need to be checked on everyday, I'll be going with digital.

[Chosenoneknuckles]

Retail. I like owning a physical copy that is mine.

... That said. I've mostly brought XBLA titles on my 360.

And I may try out NSMB2 via the digital option depending on its E3 outing - see if I like another 2D Mario anywhere near as much as Yoshi's Island [ha, ha].

[Sailing_Day]

I do believe in digital, but Nintendo's system of tying it to a specific console is not okay. I already lost about $50 worth of games when my DSi hit the sack, and I'm not going to take that risk with full priced games unless Nintendo ties them to an online account instead.

[Jet Pilot]

@LegendofSantiago

Yes I brought up this topic over there. My issues remain the same as do my answers.

You don't have to agree with my opinion as your situation is probably different. When you have a couple kids and all of a sudden you have the prospect of needing to purchase 3 copies of every game if you went digital, you'd quickly see why it's important to have a retail version available (or Nintendo could just let users authorize a limited amount of systems like I can with my Apple products...when I purchase an App from iTunes I can use it on up to 5 devices).

As long as Nintendo continues to market physical copies it's a non-issue. The problem arises when Nintendo decides to go all-digital like the rest of the industry has been pushing so hard for over the past couple years. Hopefully retail will always remain an option.

[LegendofSantiago]

@Jet Pilot I get it I guess, but I understand why nintendo doesn't implement it. As for the games being locked into a system, I heard that's bong to change in November (near Wii u launch)

[FrenchFryGuy]

Retail for me. Old habits die hard I guess. That and I still see a bigger upside to retail than digital because we still don't know what Nintendo is going to do when it comes to storage as well as accounts.

One would think that these things will be addressed at E3. Especially considering Nintendo's somewhat big push into digital all of the sudden. They have to know i'm sure that the old model isn't going to work anymore.

[FollowMeAround]

@Jet Pilot are you the one who complained at nintendoworldreport about this very issue? I believe the person said pretty much the same exact thing and was also named jet pilot. Their answer also applies here.

I don't mean to derail the conversation but, unless I'm confusing him for someone else, JetPilot is ALL OVER the podcast scene. I heard his tweet on RFN this week and i'm pretty sure i've heard him on the PlayerOne Podcast, too.

I think it's so awesome when I recognize someone from GoNintendo on some other site that i'm a fan of. Also, more people should be aware of and listen to Radio Free Nintendo. That podcast is great.

[kunonabi]

Given a choice I will always pick retail. I have no problem buying digital it it's the only version available.

[The_Dude1212]

@LegendofSantiago

As far as I'm concerned 10AM is still too damn early for me, haha.

At the same time, it's not as though every game does get a demo. Slowly but surely getting there on 3DS, but it often is up to the devs, is it not?

[Carbondog]

I vote retail. You own a physical copy, its not going to suddenly get yanked from the digital store and never return, you don't have to worry about hard drive or SD card space, if your system is stolen you still have your games (unless they are taken as well). I always go with a physical copy over digital simply because iTunes has screwed me out of about 20 albums by not having a way to re-download purchases unless you burn them to a lower quality disc. I know Nintendo is better than apple in that respect but losing your save data for DSiWare during a system transfer to 3DS also really sucked! Digital does not support local stores and Nintendo has rarely had any sales on there downloads where stores constantly have sales and If you really don't like a game or never intend to replay a game you can get a good percentage of your money back.