Absolutely not. One of the biggest feathers in Nintendo's cap is backwards compatibility, and you can't buy squat for the DS digitally. And what you can find for the current consoles is usually max price. The fact that virtual console titles aren't cross buy is a bit concerning as well.

Hold out

DeVeAn said:

Nope. A buddy recently sold his Wii U, bought one on Black Friday got his ID and all VC games he bought. I am 100% DD on Wii U have zero issues.

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It's not as easy as other consoles and saying it has an account system is technically correct but it's not the same as the other consoles either. It's almost 2015 and Nintendo doesn't let its users manage this stuff easily. That needs to change.

Team Top Hat said:

Which ends in 10 days...

Iwata said they would do a loyalty program for repeat buyers. What happened to that!?

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that's the sad part... but I'll probably keep going digital on WiiU thanks to the various eShop credit sales... still cheaper than buying games off retail

Next year in Malaysia WiiU price will increase...
No DDP, no eshop credit sales... I have zero faith in Nintendo next console...

People still defending this bullshit of Nintendo is really sad. Yeah, if you know perfectly what to do you are fine but sure the average customer knows how to deal with it especially when every fucking other company in the world manages to have a proper account system. I would think even OUYA has one?
By the way, it is even sadder that people feel the need to point out that there is actually an account system even though they know what everyone means when they complain.

Nobody should support this archaic way of doing digital downloads. The problem even runs deeper as shown by the save game issue.

nampad said:

People still defending this bullshit of Nintendo is really sad. Yeah, if you know perfectly what to do you are fine but sure the average customer knows how to deal with it especially when every fucking other company in the world manages to have a proper account system. I would think even OUYA has one?
By the way, it is even sadder that people feel the need to point out that there is actually an account system even though they know what everyone means when they complain.

Nobody should support this archaic way of doing digital downloads. The problem even runs deeper as shown by the save game issue.

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I don't think anyone is defending it and saying they don't need to improve. But it's not as dire as some people make it out to be. You do have an account, your licenses, transactions, and balance are tied to it. That's way more than what we dealt with two years ago when everything was tied to the hardware.

Nintendo just needs to provide account management options to the user, including management of device activations both on the console and remotely.

My PS3 just died yesterday. I know that if I get a new PS3 tomorrow I can simply download everything again if I wanted.
Until I can say the same about nintendo there's no way I'll buy anything digital from them

Is it "worth it" ?

The only platform where it is worth going digital is on PC. By any measure. Initial investment, long term performance benefits, long term availability.

Can OG Xbox owners still play the original XBLA games?

nampad said:

People still defending this bullshit of Nintendo is really sad. Yeah, if you know perfectly what to do you are fine but sure the average customer knows how to deal with it especially when every fucking other company in the world manages to have a proper account system. I would think even OUYA has one?
By the way, it is even sadder that people feel the need to point out that there is actually an account system even though they know what everyone means when they complain.

Nobody should support this archaic way of doing digital downloads. The problem even runs deeper as shown by the save game issue.

Click to expand...

OUYA actually has an account system far better than Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. You could then say that neither Microsoft, Sony nor Nintendo have proper account systems. Saying that there isn't an account system on Nintendo platforms is factually incorrect. Saying that there's no proper account system requires a baseline for what's considered proper. Is region locking accounts proper, for instance?

As for the rest, what chaosblade said. There's more misinformation than actual facts being passed on to OP in this thread. People are just trying to point that out.

I only buy digital if I can't get a game on disc.

I'd recommend this strategy for every console.

protomouse said:

OUYA actually has an account system far better than Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

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Kindly share some faqs regarding Ouya account system comparison vs Sony/Microsoft or links please.

Thoraxes said:

I only buy digital if I can't get a game on disc.

I'd recommend this strategy for every console.

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Yep. For every single console + PC out there (unless it's 100% DRM free, see GOG).

Digital means that "your" games are tied to server hardware, that you have no control over.

It's been a life-saver for me. By far cheaper than going physical, and I get the games that same day rather than waiting a week. But that's just my specific situation.

Bowl0l said:

Kindly share some faqs regarding Ouya account system comparison vs Sony/Microsoft or links please.

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I can only speak from personal experience as an OUYA owner. I'm not sure if it's documented somewhere. On OUYA, accounts aren't locked to regions - they are global. Prices, currency and content are the same across all regions (actually, I don't think there even exists the concept of a "region" on OUYA's end). Device management works the same as on Android phones as far as I can tell.

On PSN, for instance, there are US-only releases (or early releases). To buy them I have to set up a US PSN account. Last time I tried doing that, it wouldn't accept my non-American credit card or PayPal. I had to buy US PSN cards from a third-party supplier, which was a pain and something that I find unacceptable for a system where games are supposed to be region free. On OUYA, I can just buy whatever I want and it'll deduct the corresponding amount converted from USD to my local currency from my local credit card. For this reason alone, OUYA severely trumps PSN. I can't speak for Microsoft, but I assume it works similarly. If it doesn't, please correct me and I'll remove them from my list.

regions are a tax thing. Ouya probably never got to the point where they built out their shop to support it.

as for account systems - if YOU can't manipulate any aspect of that account - only Nintendo can - then it largely doesn't exist. phoning and begging Nintendo to move your stuff that you ought to be able to do yourself (known as "signing in" to most people) is not really a solution. I think it's on purpose though. this is like the old friend codes. Nintendo just being weird and retrograde.

So I bought a Wii U a few months back, I see in my Club Nintendo history from 2008 I registered my Wii system(shows serial#)and some other games, but I don't have access to system anymore. If I call Nintendo can I get my Wii Virtual console games back on my New Wii U?

Nintendo's outdated account system is holding me back from doing it.

Just buy whatever you want digitally or not. If something where to happen you can still get your games back and if your not comfortable with it just stick with physical. Just don't let it stop you from getting games you are interested in.

Also, post by people calling others out for saying he should digital or going "lol NDF" are even worse than what they accuse people of IMO.

it's never worth going full digital for any console or pc, never, imho

Probably not but with my 3DS it is a lot easier going digital. I know the account system is gimped and if I lose or break my 3DS I could be in trouble but I still download most purchases due to convenience.

I'm sure people have their reasons, but as a person who never sells games, and has a brother in another state, digital is the only way I purchase, I can't stand the thought of physical media, ESPECIALLY for a handheld. Why would I want to lug games around?

For my particular situation, Nintendo's digital business model doesn't work for me.

The moment I realized I'd have to physically buy all of these great DS games, backwards compatibility on the 3DS became pointless. Nintendo really needs to up their game in digital presence.

All digital owner here for the Wii U and 3DS. I think many people can be missing out by listening to what amounts to scare tactics and memes about Nintendo's digital infrastructure but rather than try to convince people of how good it is in comparison to other systems, I'll tell you why I have no problem going all digital at this point.

First of all, going all digital not only makes a ton of sense for a handheld due to the convenience Nintendo also has done the most to make me confident I will have my games on all future handhelds. Every digital game I have purchased across a DSi, a 3DS, and a 3DS XL are all on one system. Once I get a n3DSXL next year that will be four systems I have retained my games across.

I admittedly wasn't keen on purchasing digital games for the Wii but since they are still accessible on the Wii U it's nice but not great. There is less that convinces me that the games I have purchased for the Wii U will transfer cleanly to their next system and it may end up like the Wii again if the games are compatible at all but I have started this generation under the assumption that they have learned from not taking the Wii seriously as a digital platform. For one, they've made strides with the eShop even unifying the name and wallet (and account) across their handheld and console. There are day one digital offerings for retail games since launch and the ability to connect a hard drive. The quick start menu makes selecting a game a breeze. With my USB power cable for my hdd, all I need in addition to take my Wii U on the go are the Gamepad, the AC adapter, and the hdd with it's cable and possibly a USB charger cable for the Gamepad. It's still a ways from being comparable to a handheld but it's clear Nintendo is thinking in those terms based on the tons of speculation from fans and media as well as comments that suggest it is something they are keeping in mind. With a universal OS they will be able to make many of the possibilities a reality. Now, that may not mean that the features some people want like being able to share games across multiple systems or ease of downloading games on your account from whatever system you are playing on may be any closer, for me someone who has only one handheld and one console (that I'm playing at least) and rarely borrows games or resells them, I think whatever solutions Nintendo has in the future will still be to my benefit.

In terms of deals, I have saved over $140 on the WiiU since launch with the DPP. Additionally, the Best Buy sales on gift cards for the eShop have saved me/will save me over $150 on both Wii U and 3DS games. I have also bought many retail and indie games on discount if I haven't bought them day one. I've got deals on retail stores 3rd and 1st party games for up to 50% off and (some for free with promotions) and considering what the physical copies were going for at the time I think they were great deals even if I could have saved a little more on some since the convenience is worth it many times over. Having also gone all digital on my PS4 there hasn't been as big a discrepancy on deals as it seems people assume. In fact if I alligned launch dates I've probably saved more on the Wii U with my purchases due to the DPP and that I don't need to pay for PS+(which is debatable in how useful it's been to me personally).

If I had to do it all over, I absolutely would not do it differently. There are risks, some uncertainties, and decisions Nintendo has made thus far I don't agree with but going forward I am completely on board and I'm sure some people will look back and have more regrets that they didn't go digital than I will for going digital. I already had that moment with my CD collection refusing to trust or adapt. I wanted to be able to resell. I wanted the cover art. I wanted to share and find deals. None of that is worth it and I'm in the several month long process of ripping my music to a HDD now. Knowing there likely won't ever even be that option for console gamers going forward due to DRM (Nintendo or otherwise) makes me really pity you guys when you have the same realization about games and end up having to rebuy all the games you still want to play.

Nerfgun said:

regions are a tax thing. Ouya probably never got to the point where they built out their shop to support it.

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I don't claim to know much about tax laws, but if it's status quo at OUYA then international developers have to enter into some kind of registration with the American IRS. If they don't, OUYA will collect a standard amount (30%? Something like that!) from the generated revenue for tax purposes.

LQX said:

Moreover I think you will find better prices buying retail. Just last week BestBuy had a buy 1 get 40% off promo. You will never get deals like that going digital.

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Lets do some quick math on this deal.

Assuming both games are $60, you are spending $84 but the savings are only for games in increments of 2 whenever a deal like that happens.

Now I have the DPP and bought a lot of Eshop cards at Best Buys 20% of promotion. The DPP is $5 back for every $50 spent which is 10% but for the sake of this assuming you won't continue to spend enough to earn the 10% of that additional $10 for a $60 game, we'll just say the DPP works out to 8% rounding down. Add that to the 20% you save with the gift cards and that is 28% off every game. Every $60 game is $43.20 (correction: it would be 20% off- $5, so the actual price would be $43) every day with no limit or requirement that you have you buy 2 at a time.

So if you buy 2 games you are spending $86.40 (actual: $86). For this one Best Buy deal you save a total of $2.40 (actual: $2) for not going digital. Assuming that you do buy enough digital games to account for that 10% of the additional $10, you save 30% per game which comes out to $42 and for 2 games it is $84 so essentially the same deal. To be fair, to take advantage you have to buy 5 games but whatever way you cut it, the more games you buy, unless you are only buying 2 games (which would only be a savings of $2), the digital route will end saving more (28%-30% off per game) if you buy any more than 2 (or any less than 2 for that matter) and you wouldn't have to buy in increments of 2. Even buying 4 games at BOGO 40% off is still $24 more than the alternative method I mentioned for digital.

Add the convenience and that I could take advantage of that digital discount on day one of any game release and the value is clear.

I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo extends the DPP like they said they might considering people are just now getting a Wii U for Christmas and it's served them well so far for getting digital sales, especially since they probably still make more than their retail cut with that included. It's either they will extend it or introduce a new rewards system but if they weren't planning on extending the DPP they probably would have discontinued including it with new systems several months ago.

There have been some decent sales on EShop, I have mostly digital for my Wii U because of the DDP and I just like the quick access to play off the Gamepad. Nintendo retail games do have great resale value. I ended up buying a bunch of Wii games again to play on the system, it wasn't cheap. I am now having a hard time finding the classic/pro controller for a normal price, all I see are knockoffs online.

Cuburt has pretty much sold me on digital with Nintendo platforms.

I don't tend to sell my games, and I am starting to worry about disc rot with my 10 - 20 year old games.

Many of the other arguments seem a little petty when everything is recoverable with a phone call. Still, it will be super nice when we can manage that ourselves, and it'll be good to finally get cloud saves (though to be honest, I've never really cared for saves outside of highscore games and RPGs).

Although there are other concerns when it comes to digital, the balance seems to be ever-so slightly tipped in favour of digital for me, personally. But I think it will vary from person to person.

The annoying thing is that Japanese Nintendo point cards don't go on sale, and the discounts on digital games are almost non-existent. DDP is coming to an end, too. But I guess it doesn't matter so much when the average physical game remains close to its rrp for years on end.

From now, I will buy digital unless the physical release is significantly discounted.

Slightly OT maybe, but I'll try it anyway...

Does anybody know if savegames from retail titles are compatible with eShop ones?

I'd like to switch to digital for MK8 for various reasons, but I really do NOT want to waste my 180+ hours savegame in the process, nor the already bought DLC pack.