fabricated backlash
Member
And, sucks for them, but digital distribution is a future that cannot be stopped. Note, I did not say the complete eradication of retail says, but the growth of digital. It's not an inevitability, because it has already begun. When Microsoft/Sony, and Nintendo, realise the growing acceptance of digital purchases has wormed its way into the mind share of average joe, and that they can make a greater return on digital distribution versus retail, they won't stop for a second to do just that.
Digital distribution is only going to get bigger than it already has, and it is, for most part, good for everyone. As I like Nintendo, I don't want to see them get left behind, especially when they too could make great use of a digital, connected world.
Well didn't Iwata himself say that they're preparing exactly that? They're currently looking into finding ways to not piss off retailers, while finding a viable DD offering. From my experience, neither Sony nor Microsoft have thus far found a DD offering that is a serious alternative to physical media. For one the price difference is negligible and is often higher than what you can find at retail.
I absolutely agree that Digital game sales are the model for the future. The convenience and benefits it can possibly bring to consumers is just too enticing. But as long as there are no clear legal rules to keep MS, Sony and Nintendo in check, I'm not hopping on this train just yet.
A reasonable amount of flash memory should really be enough for most consumers. I'd say 16GB or upwards should be enough for most, with the option to get some cheap external HDDs to expand the capabilities.
But this also means, that Nintendo can't rely on installs to make up for shoddy disc drives and horrible reading speeds like MS and Sony did this gen.
I wonder what Nintendo will do to keep load times reasonable. Wii U is slated to have 2-3 times the amount of RAM as XB360/PS3, and uses 25 GB disks. Think the disk drive will be faster than PS3's ? Will they use another pool of slow memory to act as a buffer? Or will they use some of the flash memory for that purpose?
Just thinking out loud
I sure hope that we won't have to endure another round of crappy disc drives like this gen.