90% of 3DS Users Prefer Retail

[sethisjimmy]

I think it's good that they are looking to improve instead of twisting this information to make it look like digital downloads don't work for the 3DS.

Right now digital sales are low because the quality of the product is low; the 3DS store is pretty crappy. Add more full titles, and more virtual titles that people actually want and ask for, and I think it's doubtless they'll see an improvement.

in areas where WiFi signals might not be present (on planes, car trips) means that the only way to bring your library along is with physical media.

I agree with the hard drive space being a real problem, but I don't understand this part. You can bring your digital library with you and not have a wifi signal, you just have to download them once and you can then play them whenever you want, offline. Much the same way that you can take your physical library with you, but you have to buy the physical library first.
Personally I think it would be more convenient to take a digital library because that means less to carry, less to worry about losing, damaging, etc.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Once Nintendo/Game Freak get Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow onto Virtual Console. Then I'll prefer digital over retail.

oh yeah, If I could buy them on my DSi then I would.

 

[Charli]

...the 3DS has a digital store?

This was mostly my reaction. Yes including the footnotes.

When you make something unfriendly to your user then of course they're not going to use it. Complete with a very lackluster selection and not alot of backlog. Why would people bother?

 

[kurupt87]

Nintendo have a shite online presence, this shouldn't be a surprise.

 

[xPixelatedx]

Yeah I can happily say I contributed to this. When I buy I game, I want the game. Not an extended rental that could be lost because of:
Loss of service
Loss of internet
Incompatible new model that cannot be transferred to
A post I leave on a Nintendo message board that the mods aren't fond of
[insert any # of other things here]


I also like video games outside of just playing them, which means I really do want the box and everything to put up on my shelf.

 

[Epona]

The biggest problem is that there is not an account to tie your purchases to. They are tied to the hardware and cannot be used on other hardware, just like digital downloads on the Wii.

Why would anyone buy a retail 3DS game (Zelda OoT, NSMB2, etc...) via digital download when it is the same price as the physical copy and can only be used on one 3DS?

 

[kir4]

There's nothing to buy on that store. That's why.

 

[GAunderrated]

I've heard that this is because

1) No real sales to speak of
2) No real library to speak of
3) No real hard drive space to store them on

Of course, I don't own a 3DS so I can't verify any of that, but it wouldn't surprise me.

As a 3DS owner I can confirm all 3 of these are great reasons why I prefer retail. The console/handheld market hasn't quite yet figured out that digital copies are supposed to be cheaper than retail (or at least go on sale more often). Steam sales have gotten me to try hundreds of games I would have never played because the price was too high. Also when I talk about digital sales I don't mean $3.75 off a game like some meager vita attempts have been.

 

[kortin]

There's nothing to buy on that store. That's why.

Was gonna come here to say this.

Pretty much, there's absolutely nothing of value on the store. Sure there's Zelda: Link's Awakening, but that's just one game.

 

[Risingblade]

The store is full of overpriced crap, even the applications are a joke.

 

[Reginald the Butler]

Snip

I just have to say your avatar is awesome. It caught me off guard when I scrolled back past it. Very unnerving...

OT: The 3DS just doesn't have enough space for entire gaming libraries. That and the lack of available games for download makes this statistic no surprise.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

I don't even remotely prefer retail, and have a big enough SD for it not to be a problem, but the prices are silly. £10-15 less if you buy the games off amazon. It's just not worth it in any way shape or form.

If you want it to work, cut the price. I don't mind paying for convenience, but 30%+ extra is a no-go.

 

[Sylveria]

Snip

Well yea, but it's only recently that Nintendo began offering actually GOOD games for download (like the Legend of Zelda).

Talk to me in a year or two when the program is fully implemented and THEN I might take your point seriously.

So you've decided to ignore reality because in the future it may change?

 

[mygocarp]

I think this is a big part due to their crappy estore. Their selection is minuscule, and it feels like Nintendo doesn't care. If they had more virtual console games available, also combined with full games, I could see it getting more popular. Oh, and also their ludicrous system of tying purchase to devices.

 

[Grabehn]

I don't really see how this is really news, for most gaming platforms I prefer retail copies. Even though it becomes more and more difficult here, games go from 80 to 120 dollars, and some DS games are still at US $60.

 

[weirdee]

i think the main deal here is that since the virtual copies are priced the same, people will opt for the one they can resell later, notwithstanding the memory requirements for holding the games on the sd cards, although that shouldn't be as big an issue given the constantly dropping prices of those cards

compared to sony anyway

 

[Nami nom noms]

A lot of this can be attributed to their online store being overpriced and full of games that people already own 3 times over, or random ones no one has ever heard of.

That said, I will always prefer retail over digital myself.

 

[hickwarrior]

A lot of this can be attributed to their online store being overpriced and full of games that people already own 3 times over, or random ones no one has ever heard of.

That said, I will always prefer retail over digital myself.

Basically this. I bought the games hana samurai for 7 euros and liberation maiden for 8, but those prices don't quite match with the length of the games. They are quite short.

And if I wanted to buy a game for 40 euros or more, I'd run out to the store to get it for my 3DS. But I do know that the reason they do this is to not anger their retail partners.