Nintendo Digital Purchases Through PC And Phones Coming This Year

Nintendo, have been struggling with less-than-stellar financial results for some time now, and to climb their way back up to the profit ladder, they look forward to expanding their digital business. A NicoNico News report gives us a closer look at their plans.

One of the biggest reasons smartphone games have found success in the market is largely due to their social networks that allow friends, acquaintances, and strangers to interact and share information. Those same functions are available through the Wii U’s Miiverse network service. Miiverse is one part of Nintendo’s plans.

Upon turning on the Wii U, you’ll immediately see the “Wara Wara Plaza,” where plenty of Miis gather to share information and show off the latest games they’ve been playing. This is an example of one of Nintendo’s way of following a similar structure of social networking features found in smartphone games.

In addition to the Miiverse, Nintendo is currently working to further expand their “digital business,” as quoted by president Satoru Iwata.

“It is crucial for expanding profitable opportunities,” Iwata says, and reiterates that Nintendo plans on strengthening download sales of the company’s software. While it may sound like a simple idea of just having the same product of the packaged version in a downloadable format, it creates exposure to other products found on the Nintendo eShop. In fact, there’s already data to suggest that people who’ve downloaded a title are very likely to download again, and NicoNico News’ report reiterates this as well.

Furthermore, Nintendo’s popular life simulation game, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, boasts a quarter of its total sales from downloads after half a year since its release, which shows that the way games are being purchased has in fact changed.

Nintendo also provided some other interesting information. For starters, currently, the Wii U’s Internet connectivity rate stands at 80%. For the Nintendo 3DS, Japan has an 87% connectivity rate, and the US sits at 83%.

By the end of this year, Nintendo will be adding a new system that allows players to manage their Nintendo Network accounts through smartphones and PC, where they’ll also be able to make their purchases. This is a part of Nintendo’s plans to further enforce their downloadable sales, while showing players what else there is in store for them.