@EXTomar said:

@StingingVelvet said:

Why anyone would choose this over a DRM-free disc is beyond me. Changing discs can be a hassle, but digital downloads through an account like this put your games in corporate hands, not your own. Too much to give up if you ask me... way too much.

I hate to break this to you but running software from a disk on a DRM hardened system is still DRM. And I also think too many overvalue a physical disks and carts where it is way less valuable if not junk after a few months anyway.

I am all for freedom, information privacy and similar topics but I don't think most games actually qualify the need to maintain or protect them.

Disc checks are not the same. When the servers go down you still own your game. Have fun trying to play all your digital games on a closed platform when the servers go down and your hardware fails.

Typical Nintendo are super vague and don't say if there will be a discount on digital version like PS Vita games

Nintendo: Planning on 2007, during 2012. It's hard not to love 'em.

Well, this explains why the Gamestop employee was so desperate to get a pre-order out of me.

Digital download Animal Crossing 3DS noaw!

At what prices, Nintendo? That is the question!

Sweet! Looking forward to Xbox copying it, Midnight downloads would be sweet.

@StingingVelvet said:

@EXTomar said:

@StingingVelvet said:

Why anyone would choose this over a DRM-free disc is beyond me. Changing discs can be a hassle, but digital downloads through an account like this put your games in corporate hands, not your own. Too much to give up if you ask me... way too much.

I hate to break this to you but running software from a disk on a DRM hardened system is still DRM. And I also think too many overvalue a physical disks and carts where it is way less valuable if not junk after a few months anyway.

I am all for freedom, information privacy and similar topics but I don't think most games actually qualify the need to maintain or protect them.

Disc checks are not the same. When the servers go down you still own your game. Have fun trying to play all your digital games on a closed platform when the servers go down and your hardware fails.

How are you going to play a modern online game with the servers are down? I look at a game like Dungeon Defenders see this as a prime example of a game where a disk is the absolute wrong format.

Okay lets set aside games that have a major online component. If you play something like Fallout 3 today on a new machine today, it can work "out of the box" but be prepared for crashing, bugs, and other problems that have no workarounds. In this case, the disk is not as valuable because it has been superseded by updates that will take a bunch of time in maintenance just getting it up to a stable state.

I do appreciate what you mean but really this is a reflection of the technology. To play MW3, the console only reads a little bit of the physical disk to validate the encryption keys and reads the rest of the data and software engine off the hard drive. If consoles are relying more and more on dynamic content that is just not found on the original media, why do we have these things? Its a lesson learned on PC decades ago.

I'd buy Nintendogs and Animal Crossing if I didn't have to pop a different cart in to play.

Ok, nice. But we all know the titles will be the exact same price as retail which is a complete joke, and that certainly isn't just a Nintendo problem.

@Lucidlife said:

Ok, nice. But we all know the titles will be the exact same price as retail which is a complete joke, and that certainly isn't just a Nintendo problem.

the wording was a bit weird but they were saying that retailers are now able to set the prices for download codes. if that only means the codes they're selling at retail stores or if that includes publishers setting prices for the actual software on the download service (à la steam), I don't know. the words they used were "retailers" and "download codes" but it's reason enough to be cautiously optimistic that it may finally allow for sales and price cuts to happen on Nintendo's download service.

@EXTomar said:

@StingingVelvet said:

@EXTomar said:

@StingingVelvet said:

Why anyone would choose this over a DRM-free disc is beyond me. Changing discs can be a hassle, but digital downloads through an account like this put your games in corporate hands, not your own. Too much to give up if you ask me... way too much.

I hate to break this to you but running software from a disk on a DRM hardened system is still DRM. And I also think too many overvalue a physical disks and carts where it is way less valuable if not junk after a few months anyway.

I am all for freedom, information privacy and similar topics but I don't think most games actually qualify the need to maintain or protect them.

Disc checks are not the same. When the servers go down you still own your game. Have fun trying to play all your digital games on a closed platform when the servers go down and your hardware fails.

How are you going to play a modern online game with the servers are down? I look at a game like Dungeon Defenders see this as a prime example of a game where a disk is the absolute wrong format.

Okay lets set aside games that have a major online component. If you play something like Fallout 3 today on a new machine today, it can work "out of the box" but be prepared for crashing, bugs, and other problems that have no workarounds. In this case, the disk is not as valuable because it has been superseded by updates that will take a bunch of time in maintenance just getting it up to a stable state.

I do appreciate what you mean but really this is a reflection of the technology. To play MW3, the console only reads a little bit of the physical disk to validate the encryption keys and reads the rest of the data and software engine off the hard drive. If consoles are relying more and more on dynamic content that is just not found on the original media, why do we have these things? Its a lesson learned on PC decades ago.

1) I don't play online games, and even if I did those are understood to be time limited when you buy them.

2) Patches and DLC, while nice, are not necessary to play the game. At leas the core game on the disc will be preserved for all time, unlike a download which will require a company to be around to use. Unless we factor in piracy of course, but I expect the internet to be much more regulated in the future, harming that as an avenue for preservation.

3) Yes the PC has been dealing with this a long time, and all that DRM gets in the way of preservation. Still it is different because the PC is an open platform, which gives the user a lot more options to preserve their content or reacquire it.

"Iwata specifically pointed out titles like Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, and Tomodachi Collection as the kinds of games that inspire "daily communication," and thus would be good to have stored on the system, as opposed to only being accessible via a cart."

Seems stupid to state the obvious, but that is a pretty good indication that Nintendo might not fuck up this online thing after all.

@Moncole: I doubt they'd go that far. I'd see $5-$10 cheaper, tops.

But then you'd have to make sure you had enough storage space to keep your downloads, which is possibly where they'd make up the difference.