New Super Mario Bros. 2 Will Be Both A Retail And Download Title

As previously reported, Nintendo will release New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Nintendo 3DS this August, worldwide. At an investor presentation today, Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, announced that the game will be offered as both a retail title, as well as a downloadable title.

Furthermore, starting with New Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo’s own first-party games will be released as both packaged titles and download games over the Nintendo eShop, and consumers will be able to buy them either way. Iwata didn’t specify if this meant all first-party games would be available as downloads, however. Games that are downloaded will only be playable specifically on the Nintendo 3DS they were downloaded to.

Iwata also mentioned that you will be able to buy download versions of games both via your own Internet connection as well as at retail stores. You’ll do this by paying the store money in exchange for a download code. This collaboration with retailers is being carried out to increase the exposure of download purchases among consumers, as well as to make the ability to download games available to users without credit cards, such as younger children.

Finally, retailers will be able to set their own prices for download versions of games. What this means is that, if you download New Super Mario Bros. 2 off the Nintendo eShop from your own home, it may not cost the same as it would if you were to download it from, say, GameStop or another store. Prices will vary by retailer.