It’s been confirmed in the last few days that the Nintendo eShop pricing on the 3DS will be higher than the physical, retail copy. Now, I’m not sure how they work this one out as surely it would cost far more money to make the cartridge, the box, print all the leaflets and box liners…
But what do I know? Average retail price for the retail version is £29.99 and the eShop version is selling for a whopping £39.99. That’s an extra £10 a copy. Yes, Nintendo are giving you a massive 100 Club Nintendo stars for the digital purchase, but is that enough compensation considering that it’s just a digital file at the end of the day? At least with the retail version you can sell it on, pass it to friends to play, and just general keep it on a shelf so should you ever stop playing the game- you can just pop it back into the box and put it on the shelf. Physical games are good like that.
I’ve no insight into pricing in the US, but as soon as I get wind of anything- I’ll be sure to pass on the news.