TMCnet News
NINTENDO TO DEBUT DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT FOR HAND-HELD SYSTEMTOKYO, Dec 19, 2008 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- Nintendo Co. (TSE:7974) will launch a software download service for its DSi portable game system this coming Wednesday with a menu of 13 titles. The Nintendo DSiWare service is similar to the services that download application software to mobile phones, but in this case the software is downloaded via a wireless Internet connection and stored on the DSi. By offering downloadable games, Nintendo hopes to push sales of the DSi far above the 20-million-unit level in Japan -- a barrier that game systems have always had trouble breaching. Efforts in the past to attract women and other new categories of gamers have worked to expand Nintendo's market, but up to now all efforts have focused on packaged software. The new download service will be able to tap a new marketing method that many Japanese are already familiar with from their use of Internet-capable cellular phones. In related news, Nintendo announced Thursday that it will cooperate with blog service provider Hatena to run a Web site where people will be able to upload flip-page animations created with Moving Memo, one of the DSiWare applications that will be available free for download. (Nikkei) |