Nintendo 3DS gets paid DLC
Reggie Fils-Aime says "it makes sense to the consumer"
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has confirmed that the next 3DS system update will allow for paid DLC.
"In terms of what the next system update will allow, it will allow developers to sell add-on content, and whether that's for a physical game or a digitally released game," he told AOL Games.
"In terms of how it will work, it's up to the developer whether they want to make it to buy new levels, new items - all of that is up to their imagination. Essentially, what we're doing is creating the framework for those transactions to happen."
The update for the handheld is due next month. Previously Nintendo has offered DLC for DS titles, but those have all been free.
"I've had this conversation with a number of our key developers, and their mentality is, 'Reggie, when we sell a game, we want the consumer to feel that they've had a complete experience,'" he added.
"Now, in addition, if we want to make other things available, great, and we'll look at that. But we're unwilling to sell a piece of a game upfront and, if you will, force a consumer to buy more later. I think the consumer wants to get, for their money, a complete experience, and then we have opportunities to provide more on top of that."
Following its financial results late last month, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata promised "new genres of software" to attract more gamers to the company.
It would be nice if Nintendo enforce that, becuase that sure as heck doesn't seem to always be the case on other platforms. I know a few people still reeling over the last Tiger Woods game.
"it makes sense to the consumer"
Most consumers are probably finding it makes more sense to use their smartphones for gaming instead of a 3DS.
You know what's best for the consumer....choice. Stop trying to take that away from them.
And you're right - choice is good. However, if you take a look at the pricing of titles on the DS / 3DS compared to iOS and Android devices, I'm not convinced it's providing value for money. A prime example of this would be the relative prices of Street Fighter IV on iOS / Android systems, compared to the 3DS version.
See also: Plants vs Zombies
Don't get me wrong - I like my 3DS, I just think the system could end up finding itself in trouble.
When Mario, Mario Kart, Zelda, Pokemon, Donkey Kong, Star Fox, Kid Icarus, Super Smash Brothers, Uncharted, God Of War, Resistance, Wipeout, Killzone, SOCOM, Twisted Metal and others find that their audience is better served on an iOS platform than on dedicated hardware, you may be on to something.
Until then, all the analytics, pricing discrepancies and portable convenience factors in the world won't change the reality....dedicated portable gaming devices have a valid and purposeful market.
Meanwhile, back to Skyrim... another game you won't see on a device and I'd say Bethsoft has no plans to do a TES game for one.
BTW, Rockstar has recently ported GTA III to the iPad and while it's fantastic from what I played, it's still something that wouldn't have been possible without the original PS2 game.