This needs to come to america AND needs to be done using WiFi. Internet demos and updates would be a HUGE selling point to western gamers, especially if done wirelessly.

FYI, I updated this a little since Jonny first put it up.

The demos will only be available while the DS is turned on (or asleep), but the Band Bros. content can be saved permanently to the game card.

Holy CRAP this is awesome...Please localize the game, Ninty! And give us awesome songs! (ASHLEY'S THEME YES!)

It would be nice to get these bonuses through wi-fi, but I think it would be neat if there were exclusive downloads available only at the flagship store they are opening in NYC this spring.I'm planning on visiting NYC this summer, so it would be nice to get a little something extra by visiting the store.

Nintendo has to pull more off fast
this is small compared with the recently announced i-tune clone type deal sony made with yahoo

2 demo's and 13 nes type games, and a few songs doesnt scream out
need a demo of earthbound 3 or something to get people talking!

This is cool but I don't like the fact that demos only last as long as the system is turned on. I like having the ability to keep the demo. I like having the ability to play when I want at my own pace. This doesn't allow for that.

And I agree with PaleZer0 in that they need to make this a WiFi thing. Going to a store just to play a demo isn't convienent for everyone. It's a good option to have but as the only way to get the downloadable content it is ridiculously limited. Online downloads are a must.

To me this is like a classic example of Nintendo being stubborn and forcing everyone to do things their way. We want demos. Physical demos like Sony and MS have. But Nintendo doesn't want to do it that way. With the Cube they thought in-store demos was the way to go and now they're altering that concept but still being stubborn and restrictive. I WANT TO KEEP MY DEMOS. This is cool as an option but it's inferior as an outright replacement. I also want downloadable content. Again in store downloads are a cool option especially for those not interested in online gaming but it sucks as the only option.

This idea is really solid but it has to be one of several options. Nintendo can never seem to understand that concept. Doing what the competition does plus MORE is an advantage. Doing something different but more restrictive is a disadvantage.

If this was online third parties would make good use of it and the concept would really take of. Limited to stores only it will only be used by Nintendo themselves.

I might have to get Band Bros. (is it coming out here?) if they offer something like this. Wow, this certainly sounds like it could be really awesome.

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And I agree with PaleZer0 in that they need to make this a WiFi thing. Going to a store just to play a demo isn't convienent for everyone. It's a good option to have but as the only way to get the downloadable content it is ridiculously limited. Online downloads are a must.

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"See, I disagree. In this case, not only does it bring people into the store, but it works as a sort of viral marketing - people coming into the game store will see actual DS owners interacting with each other, probably jumping into multiplayer games and striking up conversation."

And by having online downloads as another option this ruins this marketing plan how? If you want to spend gas money driving to a store then go ahead and meet with everyone and chat it up all you want. Some of us don't feel like driving out of our way just to play a damn demo. Why are so many people here so against giving people options?

Ian, usually I don't mind you, but will you EVER stop complaining?

I'll stop complaining when Nintendo stops being a restrictive stubborn jerk all the time and others stop defending them for being so. Most of my "complaining" is directly related to others being all "Nintendo is perfect in every way so don't criticize anything they do ever."

Ian, this is also good for realtions with retailers.

Foot traffic is generated by this as a result more sales, which means more shelf space for ninty.

I think it's better on a more social level to interact than doing it remotely (online), but I would still appreciate the option nevertheless.

A point out is who has Wireless Internet at their home? *raises hand and looks around*

What I meant, Ian, was that you could be optimistic when you hear the news and start pushing for something like you're suggesting a little later. They don't even have an online service yet. You've got to take this stuff in steps, for Christ's sake.

"It would be cool to keep the demos - but in this case there's just no way to do it (the DS' memory is volatile), but the fact that you can put it to sleep and play it when you get home seems like a decent compromise. The only other option would be some sort of "demo cart" - a flash cart that would let you save the demos to it. "
what are u talking about?
to download a game, u will need a SD card.....which well do have memory to save 100k nes style games and a few japanese demo's
and hopefully some cooler stuff later on

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This is cool but I don't like the fact that demos only last as long as the system is turned on. I like having the ability to keep the demo. I like having the ability to play when I want at my own pace. This doesn't allow for that.

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I don't know if this is something that Nintendo would ever consider doing, but releasing a GBA cartridge as a memory card to store downloadable content on the DS would be cool.

If they really had a problem with people holding on to demos for some reason, they could make them self-delete after a set amount of time or number of plays. Either way is still less limiting than having to have to go to a store to get. Of course, having a GBA cartridge as a memory card would only be worth getting if downloadable stuff becomes a more common thing. And hackers might use it to grab multiplayer data and keep it...for whatever reason.

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to download a game, u will need a SD card.....which well do have memory to save 100k nes style games and a few japanese demo's
and hopefully some cooler stuff later on

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Originally posted by: Avinash_Tyagi
Ian, this is also good for realtions with retailers.

Foot traffic is generated by this as a result more sales, which means more shelf space for ninty.

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"What about demos for games that don't have levels, such as Yoshi Touch & Go? If a demo is released that you could keep for as long as you wanted, there would be little incentive to purchase the game."

That's Nintendo's logic right there. They think that demos hurt sales despite strong evidence that on the Playstation demos help encourage sales. The only time a demo would kill a game's sales is if the whole game was on the demo but that would be pretty stupid. I assume Yoshi Touch & Go isn't like Pong or something where it would be impossible to demo the game without giving away the whole thing.

"What I meant, Ian, was that you could be optimistic when you hear the news and start pushing for something like you're suggesting a little later. They don't even have an online service yet. You've got to take this stuff in steps, for Christ's sake."

Okay that's valid. Realistically this could be just part one of Nintendo's plans and they will offer online downloads as well. The problem is Nintendo has a history of doing something non-traditional and not going beyond that. The fact that they were so stingy with demo discs with the Cube makes me assume that they probably think that this in-store stuff is good enough. If they had a reputation for providing options then I would assume better. If demo discs were widely available for the Cube for example then my response to this would be "great, that's awesome" because I would have assurance that this is just another option instead of some wacky new Nintendo way to do something that doesn't need fixing.

Ian, we all know you're frustrated with Nintendo. You make it clear in thread after thread. Many of us here do not just bend over and take whatever Nintendo is willing to give us just because they're Nintendo. Yes, there a few here who are fanboys and will never see anything Nintendo does as wrong, but it's not the majority.

What I do think is a majority, however, are people who are tired of hearing news that is optimistic only to know that what is coming is a post from you ranting about what is wrong with said announcement and how Nintendo sucks and on and on.

That said, I do wish there was the option of downloading online and/or being able to keep the demos. But, whatever, I'm not going have a coronary over it.

Attempt #2: Who has wireless connectivity at home?

It would defeat the point of even having wireless online oxygen if no one has the hardware to do so.

I think this is great. Looking at my perspective, as an owner of Daigasso Band Bros. (Jam with the Band), this is incredible. Nintendo is doing something that is going to help me get MORE out of the game I paid for... and free!

So you could, essentially, do something like download new characters or trophies for a Nintendo DS Smash Bros. (they'd have to be pre-programmed in, but this would be a way of unlocking them, giving the casual gamer the illusion that the Nintendo DS Download Kiosk is loading it into your DS) or little kiosk exclusive tech-demo games, sort of like the little Garage Games for Play-Yan... or even demos of games that are not out yet! Think about it!

I see MUCH opportunity for this. It's a step in the right direction, it really is...

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Originally posted by: Plugabugz
Attempt #2: Who has wireless connectivity at home?

It would defeat the point of even having wireless online oxygen if no one has the hardware to do so.

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I'm not saying that cost is prohibiting people to get it. I have it myself.
Here in South London I know next to nobody with WiFi, minus businesses - It's yet to get "out there" on a mass scale.
If all my friends wanted to play (for example) Metroid Prime Hunters 8-player online co-op against another group, they would all have to come here to do that, or go trekking to a Wifi Zone to do so.

One potential way to "fill any hole" could be for Nintendo to partner with Netgear to offer wireless hardware.

All their wives and children know what broadband is and have it - Knowing what broadband is is no longer an issue (vs pre-2001 to most) whereas it'll take a little realising that you don't have to be a millionaire to go WiFi.

But do your friends have broad band? My point is that it is only a 50 - 60 dollar accessory if you already have broad band and i think that is low enough that people are likely to do it even if their only use for it is the DS.

I have no idea if kingvudu's question was answered, and I don't feel like digging through this angst pool to find it...DS carts are slightly cheaper to produce than GBA carts, which still makes them fairly expensive...Definitely not worth the price for making demos...

I think this would work great with the Play-Yan. It could act as a little harddrive saving the extras and new data. The characters wouldn't even have to be preprogammed in, the game would just need the capability for added characters. You could save the demos onto the flash card, and when you ran out of room on the card you could just dump it onto your computer, and put whatever you needed or wanted back onto the card. I'm sure some sort of secuirty tag could be applied onto the files to stop hackers. Not only this but you could go to Nintendo's website and download the demos onto your computer, then upload them to the card. This would provide for the internet distribution, instead of Wifi. You could also trade demo's with friends who couldn't get them.

But I think game stores offering the demos would be cool too. You would meet people with DS's and could play multiplayer, it would seriously bring out the communication feature. Even more so if the demos were multiplayer based. All in all I find it to be a great idea, it just needs to be expanded a little bit.

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Originally posted by: Robotor
The characters wouldn't even have to be preprogammed in, the game would just need the capability for added characters.

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So while Band Bros.' expanded song list is neat, it would be cool if isn't just unlocking them, like Mew/Celebi/Jirachi/Deoxys of Pokémon, but actually adding them in.

Um, that sounds like what the download is actually doing from the article...The songs are actually saved on the DS card...

Bill is correct. In fact, if you explore the Band Bros. website you'll find that they have PDFs of (at least some of) the scores of these songs. Downloading is simply an alternative to transcribing by hand...both will save to one of the 8 save slots. In fact, it's likely using the exact same protocol as for transferring custom Band Bros. songs among game DS systems.

Sadly, this means those songs will have the same limitations found in any other custom song.

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Originally posted by: JonLeung
I don't know if this is something that Nintendo would ever consider doing, but releasing a GBA cartridge as a memory card to store downloadable content on the DS would be cool.

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Originally posted by: TheYoungerPlumber
Bill is correct. In fact, if you explore the Band Bros. website you'll find that they have PDFs of (at least some of) the scores of these songs. Downloading is simply an alternative to transcribing by hand...both will save to one of the 8 save slots. In fact, it's likely using the exact same protocol as for transferring custom Band Bros. songs among game DS systems.

Sadly, this means those songs will have the same limitations found in any other custom song.

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Originally posted by: Robotor
I think this would work great with the Play-Yan. It could act as a little harddrive saving the extras and new data. The characters wouldn't even have to be preprogammed in, the game would just need the capability for added characters. You could save the demos onto the flash card, and when you ran out of room on the card you could just dump it onto your computer, and put whatever you needed or wanted back onto the card. I'm sure some sort of secuirty tag could be applied onto the files to stop hackers. Not only this but you could go to Nintendo's website and download the demos onto your computer, then upload them to the card. This would provide for the internet distribution, instead of Wifi. You could also trade demo's with friends who couldn't get them.

But I think game stores offering the demos would be cool too. You would meet people with DS's and could play multiplayer, it would seriously bring out the communication feature. Even more so if the demos were multiplayer based. All in all I find it to be a great idea, it just needs to be expanded a little bit.

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I'll stop complaining when Nintendo stops being a restrictive stubborn jerk all the time and others stop defending them for being so. Most of my "complaining" is directly related to others being all "Nintendo is perfect in every way so don't criticize anything they do ever."

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I'm going to have to agree with Hostile and say stop complaining. Those little game carts cost money. Nintendo doesn't like to give up money. Most companies don't. Plus, what are the chances we'll see widely available PSP demos?

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Well as far as the DS goes, this is as good as we can expect. Because the media is more expensive to distribute and they will have infrastructure already set up, having demos downloadable is probably a good idea. There hasn't been an announcement stating Nintendo will not produce physical demos. This is the sort of thing Nintendo would never had announced a few years ago. This is Nintendo acknowledging the importance of demos and extra content, and even if it is belated and flawed it can't be a bad thing.

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What I do think is a majority, however, are people who are tired of hearing news that is optimistic only to know that what is coming is a post from you ranting about what is wrong with said announcement and how Nintendo sucks and on and on.

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Omen, don't encourage him. You're second on my list of annoying whiners anyway.

I'd like an explanation, for example, of how Nintendo is f'ing up. You say in the next paragraph that you want freebies. Well, that's what they're f'ing doing, so what exactly is the goddamn problem?
Demos could come out in the future. I think demos are a waste of money. I don't give a crap about them, and no one I have ever talked to bought a game solely because of a demo disc (I'm sure some do, just no one I know well). They're all nice and good, but they're definitely over-rated. Maybe not even worth the cost it takes to make them, even in the long run. But I'm not sure, and you've got to face it and admit that you're not either. I don't think Sony got its success from demo discs.

Nintendo may release them. This is certainly a step in the right direction. So for now, stop your damn bitching.

There have been awsome demo's
The final fantasy 8 demo which has all the summons at the start of the game, which came out like 6months before its release got alot of people buzzing..sure might not be a big deal these days, since u can download a 10min in game movie from most games in 5mins on broadband. same for the orginal crash games, I think the early demo's got alot of people into the game, before it became mainstream.

someone brought up wifi router again, seriously think people are going to buy a new moderm just to download demo's?
I think it would only be a small percent, much on the scale of the people who used warppipe and such

Please do not tell people that you don't like them and therefore should stop posting. Then the discussion won't just degenerate into a flame war

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But I'm not sure, and you've got to face it and admit that you're not either. I don't think Sony got its success from demo discs.

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Like I said, I don't know. I was saying from my experience no one plays demo discs that much, and hardly anyone purchases a game because of them.

I have no problem with them posting and stating their opinion. It's the fact that even if Nintendo did release a demo disc, with plenty of awesome demos on it, all they would do even then is complain. They wouldn't even stop to say thanks, good idea. They could have some respect and not just whine, it's really annoying as it is.

I don't see how this can possibly be a bad thing.

It's an option. It's better than what they've done so far.

You can complain about lack of demos in another thread.

You know, this service may very well end up being offered over the DS wireless network...but we won't know until the details of that service are announced, and who knows when or even if that will happen.

Until then, I think it's a nice offering. Playing games for free is always a good thing. If you really want to get militant about keeping the demos, I'm sure there will be a hack to let you do it. But I can appreciate that publishers might prefer the implicit time limit placed on these demos. Of course, since the DS has a sleep mode that can keep it powered up for several days at a time, AND it can be kept plugged into the wall to stay powered indefinitely, the only thing really forcing you to dump the demo is when you want to play a different game on your DS. Boo hoo.

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I was saying from my experience no one plays demo discs that much, and hardly anyone purchases a game because of them.

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^^^ I don't think it was on purpose, but when I read that I honestly thought you were talking about Nintendo Power.

Things like Nintendo Power (which REALLY needs some work) and demo discs are a good thing in that they build a sense of "involvement" and "community". You feel like you're a part of something.

IMO, Nintendo needs these things. You need to do more than sell good games. You need to make the entire experience of owning a console "fun".

Nintendo hasn't really been very good at this lately. Back to the original topic, these downloadable demos are a step in the right direction, but I really hope that Nintendo isn't "satisfied" with just that.

You know what would be cool? If, in the future, I could download some new games for Wario Ware Touched. I don't know if the DS's writing capabilities can go that far (I would imagine it could), but I'm sure that the game cart isn't filled to full capacity

I doubt they added more changeable memory to the card than necessary.