With Microsoft and Sony (not to mention third party publishers) racking up tons and tons of revenue in the downloadable content space, most figured it was only a matter of time before Nintendo wholeheartedly followed suit. While there might not be official confirmation it looks like the company might be doing so next March.
According to Nikkei, Nintendo will begin to roll out DLC with their highly anticipated 3DS title Fire Emblem. The DLC can be purchased using either a prepaid card for Nintendo’s Eshop or using a credit card.
A long time staple of Nintendo’s catalogue, Fire Emblem is a title that is popular enough to get the ball rolling, but not a property that is instantly comes to mind when one thinks of Nintendo (i.e. Mario or Zelda).
It is however, still a very popular property in Japan — where this source suggests that the DLC will begin. The one saving grace for those gamers not living in Japan is that this news seems to be only connected with the Japan, so perhaps Nintendo is just testing the waters.
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There is also a strong indication by the source that Nintendo will also begin offering DLC for the Wii U at some point, which throws the whole testing phase theory for a loop. Like it or not it looks like Nintendo, in trying to be more competitive with Microsoft and Sony, is looking to adopt one of the more unpopular business models: the paid DLC.
I can see Nintendo DLC go both way though. If the company were to include more levels/tracks for a first party title like Mario Kart 7 or Super Mario 3D Land that would be a more than welcome avenue for DLC. But if they are looking to try things like making additional Pokémon only available with a secondary purchase, that would be a real shame.
There’s a ton of possibility contained within the idea of Nintendo finally committing to DLC wholeheartedly. It’s most likely here to stay starting with Fire Emblem next year, and the Wii U’s release, but how they choose to institute it could be a different issue.
What do you think of Nintendo finally committing to the DLC business model next year? Are there any positives that you can see with DLC now being available for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U games?
Source: Nikkei