Digitally distributed DSi games sell better and longer than packaged games
The world is about to discover the Nintendo DSi, six months after Japan!
At the Game Developer Conference today, Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, confirmed the availability in the United States of the new portable video console for $175 on April 5.
The DSi added many hardware improvements over the current generation:
- 2 integrated cameras;
- an SD card slot to store data, sound, music;
- enhanced microphone and speakers.
Nintendo is pushing the digital distribution of video game with DSi Shop
Masato Kuwahara is a project leader for Nintendo's DSi hardware group
DSi’s online game store But perhaps the most exciting news for game developers is the online store dubbed the “DSi Shop,” where users can download games or “DSiWare.”
A Nintendo study also shows that sales of online games in Japan are higher and last longer than packaged software.
“Sales of packaged software drop from 100% to 31% after the first week. For DSiWare games, sales are above 90%, even after the third week. So with the DSi Shop, there’s the potential to make higher sale for a longer period,” explains Nintendo DSi project leader, Masato Kuwahara.
The second-hand market is also another reason for the quick drop of packaged software.
“After the fourth week, games hit the used market, which does not happen for the digitally distributed games,” adds Kuwahara.
i got it on da 3rd of april (uk) and i have downloaded
wario were snapped,paper plane and pryo
wario were is 500 nintendo points and the other two are 200 but you get 1000 free!!!
The Nintendo DSi’s a great thing, but Nintendo should bring out more games for it…
Nintendo will come out with new dsiware after the dsi has been out for a while