14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher and hardware developer Nintendo has recently announced that it will launch digital versions for the core 3DS handheld titles at the same time as packages hit retail stores and now the company says that the move is designed to give gamers more options and not to undercut retail.
Satoru Iwata, president and chief executive officer at Nintendo, has told investors that, “We do not hold such a premise that digitally distributed software has less value.”
He added, “Different people value different things. If we said, this is the only proposal we will make so you have to take it, it would be a problem as there would be no options for the consumers to choose from. On the contrary, what I explained today is that we are proposing the two formats of sales mechanisms from which our consumers can make their own choices.”
Iwata says that his company has previously consulted with other publishers and has seen a number of different attitudes when it comes to digital distribution and pricing.
Nintendo has already announced that all retailers will be free to set the price they want for their downloadable copies of games, which means that they can include them in promotions and can offer them as trades for used games.
Nintendo has often been accused of lagging behind other major console developers, like Sony and Microsoft, when it came to digital strategy, mainly because of the poor connectivity features included in the Wii home console.
The company is keen to change that with both the 3DS handheld and the new Wii U home console and plans to make it easier for gamers to get new content and connect with their friends.
The Wii U does not yet have an official launch date, but it will arrive on all major markets before the end of the year.