eShop digital copies

[J087]

I'm new to "digital copies" of games which can be downloaded via eShop. I'm interested in obtaining some of the old Nintendo console games but I'm not aware of the risks. Unlike a physical game card, a downloaded game can always be erased and will lose you the money.

What should I be aware of before purchasing such a download? Do's and Don'ts.

Will downloads be registered on my account so that, if I happen to delete the icon on the homescreen, I can still get the game back without charge?

 

[Trent the Paladin]

Your downloads will be registered to your Nintendo Network ID if you've set one up and you'll be able to download them whenever if you delete one. You save data will more than likely be lost unless you back it up.

 

[matt]

A lot of people especially animal crossing new leaf have complained of save file corruption. I'm not sure how common it is

 

[J087]

So my purchase will be registered on my Nintendo ID. The game will be downloaded upon my SD card along with the save file?

I'm more worried about losing money than a save file, but I admit it's pretty annoying.

 

[Joey]

I never kept money on the eshop. 5 mins to midnight on June 13th, I put on my money onto the eshop and then downloaded new leaf. About a week later I downloaded another game. I was afraid that I would loose my money too but I didn't. Nothing ever corrupted for me yet anyway.

 

[3DSfan134]

I guess that when I had a lot of money (now I have only $7.00 balance,) I got MK7, then I got RE:R, and finally at midnight I got Animal Crossing: New Leaf which is the first game I got on midnight.

 

[Iris Mist]

A lot of people especially animal crossing new leaf have complained of save file corruption. I'm not sure how common it is

I never had any issues with my save file, and I've had it since June.

Your purchases get registered to your account, so even if you delete them, they're always there for you to re-download. With the newer 3DS updates, many games now offer save file backups, so you don't need to worry about that either.

One word of advice, especially if you plan on getting lots of digital games, make sure you have a memory card that's large enough to accommodate all your files. The 4GB card that comes with the system gets full pretty quickly. Virtual Console games and such don't take up too much space on their own, but full retail games take about 10 times the space VC games do.

 

[Alienfish]

Prefer physical copies :3 #feelsold

*forever cursing nintendo for not giving us code of princess physical*

 

[Stargazer741]

The only reason I would get digital is if the games were digital only or I cant find a copy anywhere, like Virtue's Last Reward. I dunno if you can transfer stuff from one SD card to another SD card like nothing, but I hope you can.

 

[Iris Mist]

The only reason I would get digital is if the games were digital only or I cant find a copy anywhere, like Virtue's Last Reward. I dunno if you can transfer stuff from one SD card to another SD card like nothing, but I hope you can.

It's relatively easy to transfer stuff between cards, provided you have a computer that has a memory card reader or a plug in memory card reader. It's annoying to realize you need to do this when you start downloading a new game.

I normally prefer to buy physical games, but lately, I've been buying download codes, since the stores sell them as though they were gift cards, I end up saving the tax, with is about $5 on a $40 game.

 

[RobRob]

I bought a digital copy of Bravely Default a few weeks ago, and I sorta regretted having done so when it was actually time to download it.

I knew that it was a big game, but I was not ready for the game to basically fill up my entire 4 GB card on its own. I had to delete every single game I've downloaded just so that it'd fit.

But yeah, overall I prefer downloading digital copies over getting physical ones at the store. Mostly due to digital copies being cheaper (with Bravely Default dropping in price from $75 to $45).

 

[jvgsjeff]

I normally prefer to buy physical games, but lately, I've been buying download codes, since the stores sell them as though they were gift cards, I end up saving the tax, with is about $5 on a $40 game.

The eShop doesn't charge you tax when you buy the game though? I guess it can vary by state, but my eShop purchases have charged me tax.

 

[SockHead]

I bought New Leaf digitally. Never once choked up or lost my save file.

 

[kittenrobotarmy]

There's not really any risks, considering you have save data backups and can re-download any game you originally bought for free. There's no greater chance of getting a corrupted file on a downloaded copy, considering they happen on physical copies too. Unless you care about getting a physical version, downloads are a great option if you lose games like I do.

 

[Iris Mist]

The eShop doesn't charge you tax when you buy the game though? I guess it can vary by state, but my eShop purchases have charged me tax.

They charge tax when you buy them directly from the shop, but EB Games (Gamestop) sells download codes for select games, and because these codes are processed like gift cards, there's no tax.

 

[JCnator]

While your purchases will be tied to your Nintendo Network ID (NNID), it's not possible to just sign up on another Nintendo Device and fetch all of your licenses like Sony and Microsoft do (if my memory serves me right). There's still no seamless and guaranteed way to transfer your licenses to another Nintendo Device without contacting your Nintendo Repair Center or performing the sluggish System Transfer. Should you send your system to repair, I highly suggests you create a NNID and link it to your Club Nintendo account via eShop, as well of taking note of your serial number of your system. By doing that, you will considerably increase your chances of preserving your licenses when you get to give these informations to a Nintendo representative to repair your system. Though, the only thing you will lose are your progression and statistics on games, which will be alleviated if you already have the most recent backups.

Speaking of the backups, some of the softwares will only let you backup it if you decide to uninstall the game. Animal Crossing: New Leaf are among one of those games. If you attempt to manually backup a save data from these games, it'll be rendered useless by the time the game saves once more thanks to some form of constantly changing ID system.

Some people are still worried about a saved data suddenly being corrupted, no matter if you use a physical or digital copy of a game. It's pretty much on "Your mileage may vary" basis, and it's hard to tell when it's going to happen. One thing for certain is, being obsessive-compulsive with saving with a large amount of data being written at a time may rise the odds of getting your saved data corrupted.

 

[J087]

I'll stick to the cheaper digital games that don't have a physical copy, like old console games. Right now I don't have that much interest in other games. I barely play my NDS games either.