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greenmedic88 on 12 July 2010
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WilliamWatts said:
greenmedic88 said:
kitler53 said:

e-books are small download size in comparison though.  i just checked the rates of ATT and they charge $10 per GB.  offhand, i think i remember that the 3DS carts will go up to 1.5 GB which means the delivery cost could be up to $15.  

In regards to the "free" piggyback 3G access, I said "wishful thinking" to keep things civil. Pipe Dream is a better way of putting it.

But sure, Nintendo could arrange for pre-paid 3G bandwidth similar to AT&T rates, which would bring the cost of DD games from $30 to about $45 for the convenience of being able to buy and DL your game anywhere you have 3G connectivity.

Maybe it's just me, but not worth it; I'd just as soon DL my games at home using my existing network at full speed.

If they offer some sort of "pay as you go" per GB service through a deal with existing 3G network service providers, that bandwidth will probably be better spent on network enabled apps, rather than downloading large files (ie games and media) over 3G.

You're forgetting that the cartridge costs $3-5 or so. Retail margins are 20% or so, distribution costs are a few dollars etc. If Nintendo approached one of the major networks im pretty sure they could get a volume discount in order to make 3G distribution about as expensive or less so than cartridge if they wanted to. The distribution costs for a catridge based game are $10-15 anyway, so it wouldn't cost any more than that.

I had considered this, but it ignores the current universal business plan for DD games which means selling downloads at the same price as retail.

If you think Nintendo is willing to cut this very profitable aspect of DD games "for the convenience of the consumer" I think you're mistaken. The only way they can continue to sell DD games distributed via a pay per data unit agreement at the same price as retail, is if they eat the fee being charged by the 3G network service provider, in effect making DD distro less profitable than it currently is to every other DD provider.

What Nintendo charges for 3G access (per data unit being the most likely rather than by subscription service) will largely depend upon the conditions of any deals they make with 3G network service providers. Any service through Nintendo (having no 3G network of their own) would be effectively "rented" from the 3G network provider with those costs being passed directly to the consumer.