Nintendo ramps up digital offer on 3DS

Full download titles, online sales, DLC – such things are rarely discussed in the same sentence as Nintendo platforms.

But there were signs of change in last night’s European Nintendo Direct broadcast, in which NoE president Satoru Shibata revealed plans for all three on 3DS.

Following its experiment with New Super Mario Bros 2, Nintendo has made a number of first-party games available to download directly from the eShop.

3DS owners can now purchase digital copies of Super Mario 3D Land, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Mario Kart 7 and Star Fox 64 3D.

However, each one has a price point of 39.99 – something that ruffled feathers when New Super Mario Bros 2 launched in August.

Shibata also reminded fans that DLC for NSMB2’s Coin Rush mode is also on the way, as well as new tutorials for New Art Academy, which launched alongside the 3DS XL this summer.

And amongst talk of new digital titles – such as Fallblox, a sequel to the acclaimed Pullblox – Shibata announced that for the next six weeks, Nintendo would be offering selected eShop titles for a reduced price.

This week’s discounted game is the original Pullblox, down from 5.40 to 4.49.

Clearly pricing is still something Nintendo may face out complaints over, but it’s encouraging to see the platform holder taking its digital strategy more seriously – particularly ahead of the upcoming Wii U console.