Digital vs Physical for Smash Bros for 3ds

I'm having a little bit of trouble deciding. I love to have a real cartridge I can hold, but I also love the convenience of being able to quickly switch between Fire Emblem Awakening and Azure Striker: Gunvolt without hassle. Which do you think is better and/or more convenient?

Since Nintendo still stupidly ties games to the hardware instead of just tieing it to your account, I wouldn't trust buying any 3DS games digitally. If you buy digitally and you lose your 3DS or it breaks then you lose all of your games.

I'm getting both. Well my sister plans to get the physical copy while I get the digital.

false...if your 3ds breaks call nintendo and they will either fix it or tansfer your games to a new 3ds...but you need both serial numbers to do it. so when it breaks dont sell it or throw it away until after you call nintendo.

as for the thread...im going digital. its a game ill play everyday online...no need for a cart.

Until Nintendo starts tying your digital games to your account instead of your hardware I will always buy physical copies of the games.

That's not good enough. Everyone else ties the games to your account and that makes more sense and it's much easier for users. Everyone else does it, there's no excuse for Nintendo not to. This isn't even a new thing, everyone has been doing it for years since the beginning of last gen. It's my #1 gripe with the 3DS and Wii U. The only digital games I've gotten from Nintendo are because they were free (Pikmin 3 and DKCR3D from platinum).

Physical all the way if there's a choice..no chance in hell Im getting digital unless its free. I've been thinking about getting Shin'en game (digital only) cause I believe they deserve the support..but I don't want to support Nintendo's policy atm.

Pretty much this ^ ...you didn't buy the system from Nintendo directly ...any warranty you only need to get a replacement from the store you purchase...then just log into your account & re-download your games. IF you cannot do this & have to call Nintendo or send stuff to Nintendo, then the policy is wrong. :P

Digital promotes laziness. People are too lazy to get their asses out and go for a drive to a store and actually have to interact with people to buy a game, and are too lazy to have to swap games in and out of their systems. They'd rather give up their rights to ownership and be at the mercy of a company's redownloading policy than actually have physical copies, and what kills me is most DD versions aren't even cheaper than physical.

/rant

Anyway, go physical.

^lol you could walk to the store. I will get physical, just because games like this, I want to always have access to, with no problem. It will stay in my system.

I don't see the problem. The main gripe when it came to the games locked on a system was that you couldn't transfer them. Now there is a way to transfer them. In the end you get your games on your system and everyone should be happy. As for the subject I'd go with digital. Mainly because it will be more convenient to go this route. Unless you plan on reselling your game, then I'd go physical.

Better? Physical. You can sell it later, collect it, lend it to friends, trade it for other games, gift it to family, etc. Your system gets stolen or lost, you don't lose your entire library of games. PHYSICAL = BETTER BY FAR.

Convenient? Digital, but not by much. And what you give up is not nearly worth it. Not worth the convenience in the long term. Plus, Nintendo's Digital eShop setup is anti consumer so I will NEVER buy digital from them until the rectify the issues.

I own two Wii Us and it's a long story I don't wish to repeat for the 1000th time on Gamespot.com on Nintendo's anti consumer DD approach, but if you are truly interested, read my last post a few days ago in this thread.

@munstermash: These guys know the score on why Digital is stupid and a huge ripoff (they also mention the problems with Nintendo's anti consumer DD policy). Again, my post above covers my viewpoint to an extent, and this recent thread may also help you.

The problem is just fanboys (for any company, but in this case Hardcore Nintendo fanboys). They have the right to post like any of us, but they don't care/or understand the full ramifications of such lazy DD purchasing behavior in the longterm. Many of them I've discovered are still living at home with parents and don't have a way to get to the store. Corporations are taking advantage of their laziness.

I'm a huge fan of Nintendo games (they make some wonderful games!), but I'm no fool. I'm not going to blindly support anything, like DD games, without doing proper research and consider the future. My future. Our future. It's just stupid. When you consider how much companies save by making digital (no shipping fees, no overstock, no plastic cases expenses, no disc expenses, ask the consumers to store the game...) and then they have the temerity to charge full price to see if consumers are stupid enough to do so...I won't reward such greedy behavior. Then factor in Nintendo's even more backward and very late to the game DD approach, and millions of gamers like me are at an impasse. Superfanboys will defend every decision to the death, but it's not worth it to engage in such behavior and support rip off DD games for full price at this stage.

Stand up to the man and eventually they will crack if the sales numbers are low enough.

Physical all the way. Others have given legitimate reasons why.

That's not really true.

I'd rather buy digitally because I get it faster than going to the store and honestly, I'd rather have the games on one device rather than carrying around multiple cartridges with me when I'm out. On top of that, it's far less clutter. I no longer want to collect game boxes when I really don't want to have them all displayed on a number of shelves in my home.

Also I really have to laugh at the sentiment in this thread. Nintendo's policy certainly isn't the greatest, but trying to be a warrior of change here is just too funny.

I haven't bought a physical game in over a year for any system. Being able to see all of my games right there, wherever I am, and being able to choose which to play instantly is the absolute best gaming experience there is. Switching discs or carts is a remnant of old technology at this point. It's the difference between recording a TV show on VHS or using DVR. We only did the former because the technology for the latter didn't exist yet.

The only reason I could fathom buying a physical copy of a game these days is if I think I'll ever sell it. But that makes me more discerning. Funnily enough, the only game I regret buying digitally is the first retail game I ever bought digitally on the 3DS - Paper Mario Sticker Star. The novelty of the eShop encouraged me to download it at midnight on release day, and that game turned out to be pretty terrible. I learned my lesson quickly.

Also, the idea of buying digital games "promoting laziness" is ridiculous. Driving five minutes to the store is pretty convenient... Publishers should just sell the game from their corporate headquarters so that they don't promote laziness. Make it as HARD AS POSSIBLE or we'll all just end up as piles of goo stuck between the couch cushions.

If you're worried about losing your 3DS, on the other hand, then that's a valid concern. Nintendo does work with people who have broken or lost consoles, but it's a hassle. The other companies make it way too easy to recover lost software, so it's good that Nintendo isn't promoting laziness with their use of old technology.

Physical!! C'mon for an iconic series like ssb, it has to be physical.

Because you're not going to play it often?

Retail is a joke

I would say digital but know you have to cover your ass and register the DS BEFORE you buy the game.

Physical. Was originally planning to go Digital, but Nintendo is selling it for £40 for download, while physical copies are ranging between £30-£35, i'd basically be giving them an extra £10 for nothing and that seems stupid.

@spike6958: In the US it's the same price all around. Actually, digital is slightly cheaper due to sales tax.

You just described what I'm talking about. You can't be bothered going to the store. You can't be bothered lugging your games around in a carrying case. You can't even bothered to THROW AWAY boxes! You are lazy.

No, I described being organized and avoiding unnecessary clutter. Saying it's being lazy is funny, you must be one of them 'I'm a hardcore gamer' nerds.

I'm going digital for this. There will only be one Smash Bros game on the 3DS and I'm definitely going to be playing it for years, therefore it'll be more convenient for me to always have it on my 3DS. I also prefer not having to carry around my game case if my friends and I want to play multiple multiplayer games on the same day. These factors are pretty minor though. The biggest reason why I'm going digital is because I've built up enough eShop credit from the Wii U's Digital Deluxe promotion to only pay $10 for Smash Bros 3DS. I'd rather save $30 than purchase a physical copy 4 hours early in the pre-launch event.

When the days of brick and mortar stores are over, I will miss browsing shelves, picking up a game that someone else picks and suddenly chatting games with a complete stranger. I will miss the excitement of midnight launches and just being amongst my fellow gamers waiting to pick up the game. I will miss browsing the shelves and picking up a game I wasn't even looking for.

I hope we never go DD only, and I'm glad that there are still gamers resisting it.

You're just resisting the inevitable.

If the community aspect of buying games at a store is what you'll miss most, then that's good, because there are other ways to have that experience besides the act of buying a game. There are tournaments and game nights, and as more people who feel the way you do get a strong enough desire to keep the brick and mortar experience alive, even more opportunities will arise.

In fact, if you feel so strongly about it, YOU could make it happen. Instead of clinging to the past, create something new and better. Physical games WILL be gone some day, so it makes more sense to adapt.

Also, sorry for the tone of my last post. My strongest reactions usually come out as snark and I'm often too self-indulgent to rewrite a more respectful response, then I start feeling guilty a few hours later. I'll learn one of these days....

Oh, you're one of those people?

I avoid people like that...

This is exactly why I don't buy VC games. Once they sort out their networking, I will throw tonnes of money at VC. But as of now, I'm not paying a cent ( other than the money I paid for Earthbound, but that's a special case :P )

A physical copy of the game on CD/DVD/BLU Ray or SD card/cartridge any day over digital download copy. I always choose the real copy instead of digital.

Hi grandpa, would you like your oatmeal now or after Matlock?

I buy digital exclusively. I got a 2TB HDD for my Wii U and I had a 32GB memory card on my 3DS before it was stolen (the 3DS, along with the card of course).

I called Nintendo to unlink my account from the 3DS. The service rep verified my identity, checked for any suspicious activity to prevent me from getting billed for anything I didn't get myself (I didn't have my CC info saved on it anyway), complimented my digital library, and unlinked the account. All I have to do is log in through a new 3DS to link it when I buy another one. I didn't have to give them a serial number or anything.

I like the ease of having all my games accessible without getting up to swap discs or find a box. For the 3DS, I loved being able to take it anywhere without having to pre-select which games I would take with me or worry if I left any game behind when I returned.

Hey look at that, I downloaded the game at midnight, woke up and it was done downloading. I got to play it on my morning commute.

This is one of the many reasons why I'd get it digitally over retail :).

Also, I had MK7 (one of the few games I bought in physical form) in my 3DS when it was stolen, so now I still have the box but the game is gone for good. My digital library is safe and sound.

@munstermash:

Move beyond your physical need to touch things. Buy the digital version. In the end you get the same 1's and 0's, and those are what matter.

Also it's 2014. what are we? cavemen?

More people need to see stories like this. Nintendo has changed the way they handle digital purchases, but people still believe that if their hardware is compromised, all of the games on it are, too. That's just not the case any more. Save files are gone, but your purchases are safe.

Welp, I got the physical version, but if I ever want the digital version my friend can just buy the physical version off of me