Nintendo now allows digital purchases to be made on the web

Digital Wii U and 3DS games can now be purchased on the Nintendo web store.

The platform holder has at last followed in the footsteps of Sony and Microsoft by allowing owners to pay for a digital download on its website and then have the content automatically downloaded to any system associated with their Nintendo Network ID.

This applies to pre-orders, too, which despite not pre-loading will automatically begin downloading on the day of release.

Buyers still have the option of getting a code should they prefer, which is useful if wanting to give it as a gift or download onto a different machine.

So far it appears that it’s only possible in North America but presumably a European rollout will follow.