Nintendo announced plans to begin making their first-party games available for download this past April, and this new policy will begin with the release of New Super Mario Bros. 2 next month. This move was thought to be a revolutionary step forward for a company that is often criticized for falling behind on current gaming trends, but it was disheartening when we learned that downloading a new title will cost gamers the exact same price as it does for a boxed copy.
With very little incentive to purchase 3DS titles through the eShop, Nintendo has finally confirmed that gamers that take the liberty of buying New Super Mario Bros. 2 via eShop will not only become pioneers of the Big N’s new digital venture, but will also receive a small bonus in the form of 100 Club Nintendo coins. Meanwhile, those that purchase the retail version of NSMB2 will receive a mere 50 coins.
Club.Nintendo.com revealed the news, much to the delight of gamers who planned on downloading the game anyway, but it’s really not much of a deal breaker. In Japan, on the other hand, digital connoisseurs will be rewarded with a free downloadable copy of the original Donkey Kong, which is a much more enticing offer than a few extra Club Nintendo coins.
Anyone who plans on securing a digital copy of New Super Mario Bros. 2 upon its release will have to do two things to obtain the extra Nintendollars:
- Make sure they’ve linked their Nintendo 3DS to their Club Nintendo account.
- Complete the registration survey on Club Nintendo prior to September 30th, 2012.
While the extra coins are a nice gesture, and an easy way to help fans reach the coveted Club Nintendo Platinum Status, they just aren’t enough to make it worth missing out on a tangible instruction booklet and box. Then again, travelling 3DS owners who’d like to have their game collection on the go may disagree.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 will be 1-Upping the competition on Nintendo 3DS this August 19th.
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Follow me on Twitter @TheRileyLittle.
Sources: Club Nintendo, VG247
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Well, to be fair, the instruction booklets inside 3DS games aren’t much more than two or three page pamphlets.
Well, you’ve got a point there. Instruction booklets aren’t anywhere near as awesome as they were in the good ol’ days.
Wait, you get rewarded for buying it digitally? That’s ridiculous! You should be rewarded for buying the physical copy! Gah, I just hate the idea of everything being digital download…
I agree 100%, it’s basically saying to the game retail industry ” screw you for being a staple part of the culture around our products for decades.” That aside, I think the prospect of download only which experts say is the future is especially unappealing for Nintendo. 1. Being that most of their games rely on being over-overwhelmingly charming to be amazing. A game just looses so much intimacy when you download versus put the game in and have a chance to hold it IMO. 2. A much greater part of their audience does not connect their device to the internet or use it’s features very sparingly if they do. Those aside, I think that download should be an option but never the only one.
EDIT: Only option for games that cost more than $10 at launch.
Hopefully there is a space solution my 3DS has 38 downloaded apps. Well hope it does not suck the space out of devices.