I’ve had a Wii U for under 24 hours, and already I’ve glimpsed the future of gaming. And no, I’m not talking about the new tablet controller with it’s opportunities for interesting asynchronous gameplay.
I’m talking about the eShop and digitally downloadable games.
Nintendo, the company that has historically had the hardest time grasping the concept of “The Internet” of the Big Three console makers, has something in the eShop that I think everyone should be paying attention to, and if you’re in the business of selling console discs, be very afraid of. For the first time, we have a console platform that is trying to put digital on a level playing field with retail games, and they’re doing it from the very start. Right now, almost every single Wii U title that you can buy at your local store is available at the same price to download directly from the Nintendo eShop. The notable exceptions being games like Skylanders which have specialized peripherals and figures required to play.
This is potentially a really big deal. If you can buy a game directly from your living room for the exact same price as you’d pay at your local game store, the convenience could easily trump other considerations.
Now, this is nothing new in the world of gaming overall. PCs have enjoyed digital downloads of games for well over a decade now, and Xbox and Playstation have dipped their toes in the downloadable water off and on for years. Sony recently started putting brand new games in their digital store at a slight discount over what you’d pay elsewhere if you’re a Playstation+ member. Nintendo isn’t in a technical sense breaking new ground here. However, what they are doing that sets them apart is very important, and is a lesson Microsoft and Sony should pay attention to.
Digital sales are a cornerstone of the Wii U’s platform strategy. Not an afterthought. Not something Nintendo slapped on the side of the box 5 years into the console’s lifecycle. The eShop is right there front and center as part of the Wii U’s user interface. That little shopping bag icon is always looking up at you hopefully any time you’re not actually in a game. Nintendo wants you to always know, that if you’re looking for something new to play, they’re there for you. Just a few taps of the stylus, and you’ll be downloading a new adventure.
Neither Microsoft nor Sony make it so easy to get into their store and buy content. And even once you figure out how to get to the store, you’re treated to a very limited selection of new AAA games and an onslaught of independent titles that you may never have heard of. Getting to their stores is a chore, discover-ability is poor and it is still exceedingly rare to be able to find day-and-date new titles for download.
The Xbox 720 and Playstation 4 need to have an eShop equivalent in their plans, or else they’re missing a massive opportunity that Nintendo will be able to use to gain even more ground in this next generation. Nintendo may win not on the strength of its hardware or it’s unique controller, but by being the hands-down easiest platform to get new games for. Convenience can not be over-stated. Just look at how the PC market has shifted in recent years. For many publishers and developers, digital distribution is beating retail sales by massive margins (to the point that some have abandoned retail for the online world exclusively).
That said, it’s not all roses and puppies in Nintendo Land. While it’s obvious that Nintendo really “gets it” in many ways, it also really seriously misses the boat on a few crucial areas that could negate their advantage if they don’t fix them before Microsoft and Sony get their consoles out the door.
- Download Speeds
I never thought I’d find a system that downloaded games/updates than the Sony Playstation 3. For ages, it seemed like every time I turned on my PS3 to play a game or watch a Blu-Ray, I’d have to sit through 30+ minutes of updates. Most of that time spent downloading small files at glacial speeds from Sony’s terrible terrible network. They’re obviously either using a budget-level CDN, or rolling it themselves and spending as little as possible, speeds are that bad.Well Sony, congrats, you’re off the hook for being the slowest service for downloads. Nintendo now holds that dubious honor. Updating my new Wii U when I first plugged it in took almost 2 hours. With about 1hr 50min of that taken up just by downloading the update. Today, I’ve spent about 4 hours so far downloading ZombieU, a 5 GB game from the eShop. The same sized game could be downloaded to my PC from Steam in half the time at least.If Nintendo wants direct digital sales to really take off, they need to make sure they’re delivering BLAZING FAST SPEEDS. While the download has been running, I went grocery shopping and passed TWO GameStop stores and a Target where I could have purchased a physical copy. - Improved Storefront
While the eShop is far better than the Playstation Store or the Xbox Marketplace, it still could use some improvements. It’s non-obvious how to get to genre lists for example, from the storefront. While that’s not a problem right now with so few titles overall, once the selection expands it’ll make things quite challenging. A few tweaks here and there to make it easier to filter and sort the catalog would make for a HUGE improvement. - Storage
I have the “Deluxe” 32 GB console, but that’s only going to let me download maybe 3-4 titles before I run out of space. The Wii U really needs a 1TB drive or larger to let digital be an equal player. The console needs enough storage so I don’t have to worry about having space before I buy a game (something I never have to worry about when buying a disc). Sure, you can attach USB drives to the device, but relying on a third-party item like that to support what looks to be a cornerstone of your platforms strategy strikes me as foolish. - Pricing
Sony’s doing this a bit with their new game initiative, giving a 10% discount on new titles to Playstation+ members, and strongly feel Nintendo should be doing the same. For years we heard about how digital games would be cheaper because the costs associated were so much lower (no physical printing costs, shipping expenses, storage, retail overhead etc). This new generation is the perfect time to really make those promises true. You know Sony will expand their discounted digital offerings in the PS4. Nintendo could be a real thought-leader here over the next 6-8 months.
Nintendo has an opportunity here with the eShop that I don’t think many people yet understand or fully appreciate. Physical retail should be looking at Nintendo and be feeling very nervous. Sony and Microsoft should be taking notes and revising their store plans if they haven’t already. And lastly, gamers should be paying a little bit more attention to what Nintendo is doing with a platform so many have already dismissed as gimmicky and “just for kids.”