Comments on: Wii Shop Channel Monday – Tetris Party, The Incredible Maze, Digital Champ Battle Boxing, and Gradius II

By: ff

ff — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:54:15 +0000

WHERES MARIO PARTY 1

By: daverage

daverage — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:44:13 +0000

The same deal can occur with PSN cards or MS cards. Also, storing the credit card is an option.

By: ejamer

ejamer — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:21:24 +0000

Ah, not bad! I keep hearing about the PSN cards finally being available, and figured that Sony ran the same deal as Nintendo for selling points that can then be redeemed for product. Storing a credit card is much easier, although not necessarily better for parents with kids buying stuff online.

But since I’m a Wii fanboy (yes, it’s true) I’ll point out that at a recent sale I got a number of 2000 Wii Point cards on sale for a smart 25% off. Sales in the US offered even greater savings. Bet that kind of discount doesn’t come around often when you use a stored credit card for direct purchases.

By: daverage

daverage — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:06:03 +0000

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t all three consoles use the same points model for online purchases? T.”

Nope. I’m not sure about MS, but Sony uses the same model as Itunes. You can store your credit card on file, and the exact amount is deducted. Downloading new games couldn’t be easier.

And as far as a “smart” business model for Nintendo’s system. Well, if eliminating “impulse buys” is your definition of “smart”, Nintendo has certainly achieved that.

By: ejamer

ejamer — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:19:17 +0000

“Being forced to pay more than what a product costs is absurd, inefficient, and just plain wrong.”

Actually, it’s a good business decision and also very efficient (for the companies selling games, not necessarily for consumers). So this assertion depends on your viewpoint.

“But no, because Nintendo can do no wrong this system is absolutely perfect and anyone who questions it just doesn’t love Nintendo anymore.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t all three consoles use the same points model for online purchases? This isn’t a Nintendo issue, and the comments above are just saying that people probably shouldn’t get so worked up complaining over small issues.

(Yes, this is a small issue. If you want to gripe about Nintendo and the Wii console, there are many problems more pressing than the way Wii Points are sold.)

By: EdEN

EdEN — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:47:33 +0000

DLC is a new model and as such it’s a still evolving proposition. Maybe next time Nintendo will allow for the exact amount of points to be bought, who knows. But for now it hasn’t been a problem for me.

By: daverage

daverage — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:27:54 +0000

ResEvil is correct. Being forced to pay more than what a product costs is absurd, inefficient, and just plain wrong. But no, because Nintendo can do no wrong this system is absolutely perfect and anyone who questions it just doesn’t love Nintendo anymore. Shame on them.

By: ResidentialEvil

ResidentialEvil — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:51:28 +0000

“When was the last time you bought a $10 game at Gamestop along with $6 worth of extra content?”

Ummm…that’s my point. If I was able to get all this at GameStop, I’d pay $16, not $20 and have $4 credit left over. If I want to pay the $4 at GameStop, then let me make that choice, not give me currency that forces me to spend it there.

By: ejamer

ejamer — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:42:47 +0000

While I agree with EdEN in principal, not everyone will be buying downloadable content for their Wii like I will be. It’s easy for me to talk about how having extra points is never a problem, because there are always games that interest me and I know that I will be buying more points later on anyway.

But not everyone is like EdEN and myself… For people who only want Tetris, there should be a way for them to get exactly the 1200 points they need to buy *only* Tetris.

It’s a shame that all three companies seem to run their online business differently, forcing consumers into buying large chunks of points at a time. Of course, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon because the gaming companies benefit from that practice.

By: GradiusFan

GradiusFan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:35:16 +0000

Yeah this is totally the best wiiware/vc week ever imo. I have been waiting for tetris for almost a year. I was amazed to see that they released Gradius II today also. I pretty much had an organism when the shop channel showed up. Even though Gradius II is 900 points (Turbo duo CD and also an import) it is an awesome game and definately worth it to any true shooter fan. I’ve allready got it on the Saturn and this one seems to be true to the original. TETRIS AND GRADIUS WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!