Nintendo: Downloads Won't Replace Retail

Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, has said that there will always be call for boxed retail games.

In an interview with VentureBeat, Fils-Aime said in reference to the upcoming DSware for the DSi, “It’s a nice added business model but it’s not something that’s going to take over retail game sales. We’ll be able to see the sales growth and plan for it.

“But I guess similar to home consoles, the consumer will want an experience that’s best delivered through physical goods, simply because of the memory size required. There will always be those opportunities for big, in-depth games on retail products.”

While that might be the case as far as Nintendo's concerned, content is cropping up on the PS3 and Xbox 360 that's looking closer and closer to what Fils-Aime describes as “big, in-depth games”.

Just yesterday SPOnG told you about the new episodes planned for Tomb Raider Underworld on the 360. While that content is an addition to a retail game, the promised six hours is not to be sniffed at. The same can be said for the upcoming GTA IV episodic content.

Similarly, we're seeing titles crop up like Watchmen and The Punisher: No Mercy, which look very much like 'full' retail games shortened a little. They might not quite qualify as what Reggie calls “big, in-depth games”, but the wind would seem to be changing.

Then, of course, there's the full release of Burnout Paradise as a download.

Back on hardware, Reggie was asked what he thinks of Microsoft’s price cuts. He answered (a tad smugly), “They’re trying to get their consumer value proposition in line. Today, I have no need to adjust my prices. Consumers are voting with their wallets and pocketbooks. The Wii and DS are tremendous values.”

You can read the full interview here.