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3DS

Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, and More Coming to eShop in Japan

by Neal Ronaghan - October 2, 2012, 6:37 pm EDT
Total comments: 28 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlPKCKD-yzw&fea...

Save data CAN be transferred from cartridge to an SD card for use with the eShop version...in spring 2013.

Past retail 3DS releases will be coming to the eShop in Japan on November 1, according to a recent Nintendo Direct. You can also transfer your save data from the cartridge to an SD card to work with your download version of the game if you double-dip. However, that function won't be available until the spring.

The list of the games include a number of first-party titles, and can be seen below.

  • Mario Tennis Open
  • Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
  • Mario Kart 7
  • Super Mario 3D Land
  • Hana to Ikimo no Rittai Zukan
  • Star Fox 64 3D
  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
  • Pilotwings Resort

The video also details how you can purchase the games, either on the eShop or in stores using various eShop cards for money or the specific game. More games will be on the way and will be announced later.

There is currently no word as to whether this will be happening in North America or Europe.

Thanks to Cheesemeister3k for his helpful translation tweets!

Talkback

xcwarriorOctober 02, 2012

I'll take Star Fox 64 downloadable for $10.... it's a stinking remake for crying out loud! I'm sure they will all be $40, which is not how digital is supposed to work...

TJ SpykeOctober 02, 2012

Quote from: xcwarrior

which is not how digital is supposed to work...

Says who? It is common for the digital copy to be the same price or close to the retail version. Nowhere does it say it has to be cheaper

Will players also be able to transfer their save data from the SD card TO the physical copy?

I'm glad they are going to provide a save file transfer utility, but it seems like that is only useful for a tiny percentage of users who would pay for the same game twice. Maybe the audience grows slightly if you factor in people who borrow games and later want to buy their own copy.


Anyway, this is great news. I just hope the games are competitively priced. You can get Pilotwings Resort for about $15 -- the convenience of a digital version is hardly worth more than doubling the going price. I understand Nintendo selling brand new games at equivalent retail pricing, but it's quite a different matter with games that are already over 1.5 years old.

But Jonny, Nintendo has historically indicated that they believe in selling retail 1.5 year-old games at full price. Why would they do something different for digital?

Good news about the save data... maybe one day they'll figure out how to let you do it with the card too...

TrueNerdOctober 02, 2012

Quote from: Kairon

But Jonny, Nintendo has historically indicated that they believe in selling retail 1.5 year-old games at full price. Why would they do something different for digital?



Nintendo needs to realize they don't live in a vacuum and people can punch up Amazon and see that they're selling used copies of Pilotwings for seven dollars. And if not, then consumers, smart and thrifty consumers anyway, simply won't buy these games digitally.

NeoThunderOctober 03, 2012

Just don't buy these.  Retail digital copies are ripoffs. You pay full retail price for the benefit of NEVER being able to sell it

TJ SpykeOctober 03, 2012

Quote from: NeoThunder

Just don't buy these.  Retail digital copies are ripoffs. You pay full retail price for the benefit of NEVER being able to sell it

They are not in any way rip-offs. You may not like paying full price, but that doesn't make them rip-offs, especially to people that don't sell their games anyways.

RazorkidOctober 03, 2012

The #1 strength for buying digitally (particularly newly released games) has and always will be for the sake of convenience. Reselling my games is something that I don't do, but having my library of games centralized and instantly accessible in one convenient package is of great value to me.  I have no problem paying the same price I would pay for a physical copy digitally because it's worth it to me. This is fantastic news and if they would extend this to 3rd party titles (like Ghost Recon:Shadow Wars, SSFIV3D, and RE:Mercs) I will be even more excited.  As it is, now that we know you can transfer saves, I'm gonna double dip on MK7 and Star Fox.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorOctober 03, 2012

You know, I don't resell my games either... but this isn't that great of a deal...

    Mario Tennis Open - New, on sale, $30.
    Mario Kart 7 - New, on sale $30.
    Super Mario 3D Land - New, on sale $30.
    Star Fox 64 3D - New, on clearance, $20
    The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D  - New, $40.
    Pilotwings Resort - New, on clearance, $5

$155 vs. $240. - 35% off.  Yeah, I'll stick with retail. :D

TJ SpykeOctober 03, 2012

Don't you own like 6 GameCube's LOL.  I would be shocked if you don't double-dip on at least a few games.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorOctober 03, 2012

I own seven GameCubes.  And I can do it because I know how to bargain shop.  Can't do that with digital...

HeyItsMeOctober 03, 2012

I think digital is ok. But I think I'd rather stick with retail. Because games are so much cheaper online then in the stores. I got Pilotwings for 20 bucks.

RasOctober 03, 2012

I like the idea of digital because I love having the game on the system without having to swap out a cartridge, but I still like having the physical copy as well.  I might get over that soon as space has become a big consideration, but it's going to be tough to break away.  It would be fantastic if I could buy the game physical and install it, but I guess it would be tough for Nintendo to stop people from giving out copies.  I'm probably going to move to digital for games that I don't have to own the cartridge--maybe Professor Layton, which I've never even played--but I can't see giving up having Zelda and Mario games in my possession, with the box art and everything.

Still, I bought NSMB2 digitally and love having it always there.

tendoboy1984October 03, 2012

Nintendo will bring eShop retail games outside of Japan, they are already doing that with NSMB2, Art Academy, and Paper Mario. Nintendo loves money.

MiyamotoOctober 03, 2012

I've been boycotting the e-Shop for a while now and will continue to do so because Nintendo charges way, way too much for their online products. They're missing out on a crap ton of money by pricing themselves out of competition. Nintendo, you continue to over-charge and I'll continue to spend my money elsewhere and build up loyalty with other suppliers.



RazorkidOctober 03, 2012

Quote from: UncleBob

You know, I don't resell my games either... but this isn't that great of a deal...

    Mario Tennis Open - New, on sale, $30.
    Mario Kart 7 - New, on sale $30.
    Super Mario 3D Land - New, on sale $30.
    Star Fox 64 3D - New, on clearance, $20
    The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D  - New, $40.
    Pilotwings Resort - New, on clearance, $5

$155 vs. $240. - 35% off.  Yeah, I'll stick with retail. :D

I agree that  older titles being put up on the eShop should be at least priced comparitively to their reduced retail brethren if not out and out discounted (25%-50% would be nice). And if you typically wait until most games are discounted before picking them up, then buying retail games digitally from the eShop exclusively won't be something you will do anyway (me included).
My comment is specifically aimed at games that I want day 1 with lots of replayability (NSMB2, MK7,Animal Crossing,etc.) To me, buying those types of games (especially day 1) digitally only makes sense.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorOctober 03, 2012

But the only two of those I didn't buy day 1 was Star Fox and Pilotwings...

Bman87301October 03, 2012

For those complaining about having to pay full price for digital games on the eShop, keep in mind retailers sell the download codes too. If a game is on sale at a retailer, the bargain should also apply to the download code as well (at least by the way I understand how the system is setup for the North American market, though that's apparently not the case for Japan). Of course, that only applies to new games as digital copies can't be re-sold, but it is still possible to get deals on digital copies.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorOctober 03, 2012

I am unaware of any retailers in the US that are selling individual download codes...  GameStop, maybe?  They sure don't have day-one sales though.

According to Nintendo of America, the only way to buy a download code in stores is by buying one at GameStop (or other retailers) and then they print it on the receipt. No fancy game-specific cards here. :(

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorOctober 03, 2012

Yeah, GameStop sales suck. :D

Do any other retailers offer this service?

Where can I get Pilotwings Resort for $5?

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorOctober 03, 2012

Multiple times during the holiday season last year Best Buy and BestBuy.com kept running Pilotwings, Steeldiver and the Nintendogs games for $5-6.99.

I picked up the third Nintendogs game at $7 and the other two (including two extra copies of Pilotwings as gifts) for $5 each. :D

You should visit the forums more often. :D

I almost bought Nintendogs just because it was $7 somewhere. Then I realized I likely wouldn't play it ever.

I would probably rebuy Steel Diver if I ever came across it for like $5. It was cool, but I sold that after I reviewed it because I knew I'd never play it again. (how's the copy, JP?)

Quote from: NWR_Neal

I almost bought Nintendogs just because it was $7 somewhere. Then I realized I likely wouldn't play it ever.

I would probably rebuy Steel Diver if I ever came across it for like $5. It was cool, but I sold that after I reviewed it because I knew I'd never play it again. (how's the copy, JP?)

Uh, I think it was part of the last batch of games I traded in toward my Wii U purchase. If it were ever available on the eShop for $10 or less I'd probably grab it, so knowing Nintendo I'll probably never play it again.

tendoboy1984October 05, 2012

Quote from: Miyamoto

I've been boycotting the e-Shop for a while now and will continue to do so because Nintendo charges way, way too much for their online products. They're missing out on a crap ton of money by pricing themselves out of competition. Nintendo, you continue to over-charge and I'll continue to spend my money elsewhere and build up loyalty with other suppliers.

Then you might as well boycott Xbox Marketplace and PlayStation Store, because they also charge full-price for digital retail games.

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