Gaming Forums => Nintendo Gaming => Topic started by: ShyGuy on July 08, 2009, 08:32:27 PM
Title: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: ShyGuy on July 08, 2009, 08:32:27 PM
Now that the Wii has SD card support, any game on the system could technically be made available as a download, since you could fit several DVD Wii games onto a 32gb SD card.
So that got me wondering, what if Nintendo offered Super Mario Galaxy 2 for $40 via download instead of $50 for the retail disc, would you do it?
If for $40 isn't low enough, what if it was only $30 (savings of $20) but you had to have the first Mario Galaxy disc inserted for assets?
If Mario Galaxy wouldn't entice you to do this, how about if High Voltage did the same scenario with the Grinder? Only $30 for the full Grinder game via digital download, but you need to have the Conduit disc to play it.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Mop it up on July 08, 2009, 08:40:10 PM
Now that the Wii has SD card support, any game on the system could technically be made available as a download, since you could fit several DVD Wii games onto a 32gb SD card.
I was under the impression that the Wii still can't play games directly from an SD card, it just loads them temporarily into the Wii internal memory. So games are still limited by the 512MB limit... and I'd guess half of that is reserved for firmware updates and messges. So really it's a 256MB limit, and that means no other game saves either.
Am I wrong about this?
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: ShyGuy on July 08, 2009, 08:43:06 PM
I don't see why you couldn't stream the data off the SD card instead of off the DVD. Hax0r people are all over talking about playing the Conduit from a USB hard drive.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Mop it up on July 08, 2009, 08:51:56 PM
It looks like I'm right:
Quote
What the SD Card Menu actually does is place a "phantom" copy of a game that's on the SD Card in your Wii's system memory. For example, World of Goo - a 320-block game - still requires 320 open blocks on your Wii. However, if you launch another game, like Onslaught (a 308-block game), the 320-block reserved space then changes to a 308-block reserved space. You can always delete this phantom image from the Wii's Data Management menu to free up the space entirely.
It may be possible to have the Wii play games directly from an SD card but right now it doesn't do it.
And to answer your question: no, I wouldn't buy any digital version of a game available at retail no matter what the difference in price is.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: kraken613 on July 08, 2009, 09:04:36 PM
You know how big Wii games average? About 3-4gb. Some are smaller (Wii Sports is around 800mb) then others are larger (Smash Bros is around 7gb). We would need HDD's because SD cards are still crazy expensive for a large enough size. Plus we are limited to 32gb SD cards.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: stevey on July 08, 2009, 09:09:51 PM
SD cards are too small and expensive too most people (that don't find magic deals; 4gig cards at best buy are still something like $20-40). On the other hand, Nintendo does have special Wiis that run games off HDDs that they loan to Cancer patients at Hospitals, so it's not a big leap for Nintendo to do it for all of us by DLC with USB HDD...
(not to mention that it just takes 6 hours to make one by homebrew :faust: ) (http://hackmii.com/2009/03/my-6-hour-trip-to-the-dark-side/)
What the SD Card Menu actually does is place a "phantom" copy of a game that's on the SD Card in your Wii's system memory. For example, World of Goo - a 320-block game - still requires 320 open blocks on your Wii. However, if you launch another game, like Onslaught (a 308-block game), the 320-block reserved space then changes to a 308-block reserved space. You can always delete this phantom image from the Wii's Data Management menu to free up the space entirely.
It may be possible to have the Wii play games directly from an SD card but right now it doesn't do it.
And to answer your question: no, I wouldn't buy any digital version of a game available at retail no matter what the difference in price is.
Nintendo's software engineers are brain dead and wrote the wii's OS (and VC games) in such a way that it is near impossible to give it a real upgrade to allow it without updating every single Wii DLC along with it and even then there are still problems...
With Wii disk games, they don't assume that they are on the internal memory so all Nintendo needs to do is either Quickly updated the games to rewrite calls to the disk drive with calls to the hard drive or Be extra lazy and in real time patch the game like Homebrew does...
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Deguello on July 08, 2009, 09:28:42 PM
Quote
SD cards are too small and expensive too most people (that don't find magic deals; 4gig cards at best buy are still something like $20-40).
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: kraken613 on July 08, 2009, 09:56:16 PM
That's still only 2 games on the 8gb and 4 on the 16gb.... Then the max 32gb would be about 8 games. Where a cheap external HDD could 40+.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Deguello on July 08, 2009, 10:10:25 PM
I was just concerned about the price. I am against Digital Distribution because it only benefits publishers who wanna slice off a little on shipping and deprive customers the rights to their products.
It'll also block out the childrens, because instead of them having a DS and Pokemon or Mario or CONTRA IV, they'll have to get their parents to set up their subscription information and sign up for a service and submit credit card information and social security numbers just to access a game, which they will reasonably balk at. That will result in children's tears, lost sales, and lowered revenue. Just for the "convenience" of having something electronically transmitted to a hard drive. No thanks.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: ShyGuy on July 08, 2009, 10:11:22 PM
I don't think most Wii games are close to pushing the 4.7gb DVD limit...
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: kraken613 on July 08, 2009, 10:36:53 PM
A good majority of the games are somewhere in the 3-4gb range. I have all my games installed to a HDD so I know the sizes of them.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: ShyGuy on July 08, 2009, 10:50:59 PM
SOOO kraken, you aren't using your Wii DVDs anyhow. Would you buy a digital version of a Wii retail game?
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: kraken613 on July 08, 2009, 10:59:41 PM
Yeah, then I wouldn't have to go find a store to get a game and then we would have it on the release date. Not have to wait for a store to get it because it was a "ship date". I have gone 100% digital with PC games.
I wish every console would go digital...
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Mop it up on July 08, 2009, 11:04:56 PM
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: kraken613 on July 08, 2009, 11:12:32 PM
Why? Well you will be quitting gaming in the next 10-15 years I guess....
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Mop it up on July 08, 2009, 11:22:07 PM
That takes the fun out of shopping.
I doubt it's going to replace retail releases, I think instead there will be the option of both.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: kraken613 on July 08, 2009, 11:27:26 PM
Its not fun trying to find a game they say will come out one day but then ends up the "shipping date" and the store doesn't get it so you have to wait longer....
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Mop it up on July 08, 2009, 11:31:02 PM
Then you impatient people can just go download it. Don't take away from us the thrill of shopping and the enjoyment of owning a physical copy just because you can't wait a few more days.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: King of Twitch on July 08, 2009, 11:36:15 PM
mop is a girl, shopping is automatically good.
Nintendo doesn't understand the internet, how are they supposed to use it to "sell" products? 10-15 years is when they'll get around to dropping friend codes.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: kraken613 on July 08, 2009, 11:38:30 PM
PC games are just about all digital, in store purchases have drastically dropped. Once consoles go digital not many people will buy games in store. So stores will slowly stop carrying as many games. Look at any stores PC section compared to just even 5 years ago. It is drastically smaller.
I bet when we see the PSP2 it will not have a slot for a disk.
EDIT: Wow that lest sentence made no sense! lol
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: ShyGuy on July 08, 2009, 11:41:23 PM
digital isn't the only thing that shrank the PC section. World of Warcraft and Piracy played big parts as well.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Mop it up on July 08, 2009, 11:44:06 PM
There is already a PSPGo which is all-digital that's destined to fail.
PC games weren't selling even before digital distribution so that's not an accurate comparison.
We recently had a discussion about this, there are some good points for both sides here:
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: UncleBob on July 09, 2009, 12:51:40 AM
If consoles go digital only, I think you're going to see a change in the way the hardware is sold. Right now, retailers make jack squat on hardware sales. They make their money on software attachments. If you take that away, retailers are going to either want a larger percentage of the initial hardware sales (makes me wonder about the $250 price tag on the PSPGo) or will just opt-out of selling the hardware (leaving companies to direct sales and such).
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: ShyGuy on July 09, 2009, 02:07:13 AM
Kraken makes an interesting point, when the Conduit was released several people on this board where scouring the local retailers to try and find a copy ASAP to play online. Are we all going to go throught the same thing when The Grinder is released?
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: KDR_11k on July 09, 2009, 02:59:45 AM
Iwata said about digital distribution that while he can't predict what'll happen in 20 years he's pretty sure customer habits don't change fast enough to make purely digital distribution viable this generation.
Kraken makes an interesting point, when the Conduit was released several people on this board where scouring the local retailers to try and find a copy ASAP to play online. Are we all going to go throught the same thing when The Grinder is released?
I hope that by then retailers will have realized that there's a massive market for FPSes on the Wii and order more copies.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Smash_Brother on July 13, 2009, 02:02:08 PM
I was just concerned about the price. I am against Digital Distribution because it only benefits publishers who wanna slice off a little on shipping and deprive customers the rights to their products.
It's more about selling games and concepts that no one will take a publishing risk on. Who would pay $50 for Megaman 9?
Or about indie devs not wanting to have their game ideas beast-raped by a publisher.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: KDR_11k on July 13, 2009, 02:19:53 PM
WiiWare is an experimentation platform first and foremost, make things with little investment to try it out.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Smash_Brother on July 13, 2009, 02:35:19 PM
It's like Iwata said: Tetris probably wouldn't be able to find a publisher in this day and age.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: BranDonk Kong on July 13, 2009, 02:39:45 PM
The Wii can play retail games off an SD card or USB HDD already. I don't see the cost being any different for downloaded games though, at least not by more than $5 or so. Sure shipping costs would go down, but dropping the price by $20 would kill retail stores.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: KDR_11k on July 13, 2009, 03:08:08 PM
And dropping the price by 20$ would make Wal Mart kill the Wii.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: NWR_pap64 on July 13, 2009, 10:47:43 PM
To those that are worried about digital distribution taking over conventional shopping; chill.
While I do see all companies embracing digital distribution it will take YEARS before everything is done through digital distribution. People still rely on conventional shopping methods and there might be methods that would royally screw the consumer over. Its going to take a while before we find a digital distribution method that is quick and everyone can agree with.
Why do you think many people think the PSP Go is a rip off?
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: BranDonk Kong on July 14, 2009, 12:22:06 AM
Because it's $250.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Mop it up on July 14, 2009, 12:30:00 AM
While I do see all companies embracing digital distribution it will take YEARS before everything is done through digital distribution. People still rely on conventional shopping methods and there might be methods that would royally screw the consumer over. Its going to take a while before we find a digital distribution method that is quick and everyone can agree with.
And by that point there will probably have been hundreds of thousands of games released on physical media so I'll just stop buying new games when that happens.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: ShyGuy on July 14, 2009, 01:13:33 AM
How long did it take music? about 15 years?
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Deguello on July 14, 2009, 01:49:17 AM
But digitally distributed music is pretty much free. Just go to youtube and type in a song. Sure it might not sound the best but it's better than paying $.99 for the same amount of product.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: KDR_11k on July 14, 2009, 04:24:51 AM
That and retail music still exists.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on July 14, 2009, 11:00:36 AM
& you have the ability to pay for your music, download it, then burn it to a disc to take with you anywhere. Nowadays you don't even need to do that since you just put it on your MP3 player and you can share it with friends and there is almost nothing restricting your use of the content you just paid for.
With games, it won't be that easy.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Smash_Brother on July 15, 2009, 12:22:49 AM
The DSi has DSiware, which is basically the same concept as an MP3 player but for games. The iPhone has tons of apps, games included, that only exist digitally.
I think it's all very possible.
Title: Re: A Hypothetical about Wii Digital Distribution
Post by: Stratos on July 15, 2009, 06:34:50 AM
Kraken makes an interesting point, when the Conduit was released several people on this board where scouring the local retailers to try and find a copy ASAP to play online. Are we all going to go throught the same thing when The Grinder is released?
Conduit is the first game I have run around like that for. I like to order my games from Amazon. I only ran around for Conduit because that night was the Wi-Fi night for it. If not I would have ordered it online like any other. I've kinda lost the thrill of hunting for games and line camping on game launch days.
I don't even pre-order games unless there is an interesting enough prize for doing so.
Though system launches are a different matter.But I still don't like doing stuff like that alone. Waiting in line for Star Wars and Lord of the rings was only fun because I went with friends. Same with game/system line camping.
