Getting the Games Retail or Digital?

[Wario Bros.]

Smash 4 will be the first Super Smash Bros. games where you can decide to buy the games either a physical copy or a digital download (excluding Smash 64 on Virtual Console).

Even though either Smash 4 game are long ways from getting release dates, we still don't even know the release date for the Wii U (but Nintendo has confirmed retail titles will be available as downloads), and we don't know the full potential of the 3DS' and Wii U's eShops, are you going to get the games at your retailer and/or are you going to download them?

For me, I'm DEFINITELY getting the 3DS game as a digital download since I know I'll be playing that game a lot and don't want to keep on switching cartridges. However, I'm still deciding what to do with the Wii U game.

How about you?

 

[N3ON]

I like having a physical copy of games, so I'll be getting the retail version for the Wii U (plus it's the game that's going to spend the most time inside my Wii U, lol) but I'm still undecided on the 3DS, though you make a good point, I might end up getting it as a digital copy, I plan to play the hell out of it. Or more likely, both. I have a habit of buying unnecessary copies of Smash games.

And I know some games will be coming to Wii U as both retail and digital, but has it been confirmed that all of them will? If it has, I guess I haven't been paying attention.

 

[Wario Bros.]

Well, actually, nothing has been confirmed saying that the Sm4sh games will go digital but if Nintendo wants to be up to date, they most likely will have to have the games digitally too.

This is more of a fun topic as we currently don't know much of the games at the time.

 

[~automatic]

Digital copies for the 3DS are great because you can switch from one game to another in a second without having to turn off your console, eject, store, insert and turn back on the system. I'll probably take the 3DS version as a digital download.

This whole process isn't half as tedious with home consoles imo; hard copy for me on the WiiU.

 

[VictoryIsMudkipz]

I like the idea of Digital copies, because it preserves the game just fine, unlike disc that get scratched up & unable to fix, like my Brawl, who lasted 4 years & stopped, but I'm definitely getting a physical copy

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

From what I've heard, if you purchase a digital title, you can only play it on the system that you've made the purchase on, which can be a major inconvenience.

The retail copy, on the other hand, can be played on any system, and in the 3DS's case, you get to keep your game data as well.

Anyway, instead of a full game download, Smash 4 3DS should have a downloadable game demo, while the full game is retail-only.

 

[Kink-Link5]

Smash 4 will be the first Super Smash Bros. games where you can decide to buy the games either a physical copy or a digital download (excluding Smash 64 on Virtual Console).

Wait what

Did I miss something somewhere

 

[Amazing Ampharos]

Digital copies are also not subject to resale which is a big problem. After a few weeks, they'll be a far inferior buy to a physical used copy.

On the other hand, digital may load considerably faster. In Brawl, we already saw considerably different and game affecting performance in matches involving Zelda & Sheik, Pokemon Trainer, and the stages Castle Siege and Lylat Cruise based on the disc reader speed of the Wii in question as well as the condition fo the disc (all final smashes also have to be loaded on the fly, but those are not very big files and aren't used competitively anyway). I can say from observing various dubiously legal means to play Brawl without a disc that it loads WAY faster; heck just using file replacement to put those specific files on an SD card speeds things up a lot. Now, Nintendo might give us an out by giving the game an "install" feature that will smooth all that out (at the very least, an install should include all files that would have to be loaded mid-match), but if they don't, we might have to consider that going digital or physical could affect matches significantly; PT with a far faster Pokemon switch really is a different and better character, and Castle Siege's value to various characters definitely changes when the transition form is more or less removed. I'm sure smash 4 will have parallel cases though perhaps it will up front load everything like melee did even though with HD textures in play that seems like it might be even harder for them to make happen than it would have been for brawl. What we do about this is pretty non-obvious given that most tournaments would probably have a mix of stations with digital and physical copies with insisting on something else being hard given that you don't want to limit the set-ups you can have, and obviously each player will have their own preferences for what they want to play on based on their personal advantage in the match at hand.

You also have to consider that if the Wii U is as abuseable as the Wii, a digital copy will make it way easier to include various mods on the game. You won't have to run gecko or anything like that or include any unusual hardware; you just have to mess directly with the ISO on your Wii U's hard drive. Most players would just use this for mostly innocent things like custom music and costumes (though seriously, playing with the eye-bleeding costumes some people make isn't cool), but there's nothing stopping more blatant cheating like making their mains kill moves do slightly more knockback or making transforming stages more likely to pick forms advantageous to them or various other shenanigans. It's something we'll have to watch carefully on a lot of fronts and make informed decisions about; the question raised by this topic could be a lot more serious than it seems right now depending on the details of things we don't know yet. I really hope the development team is thinking about these things now so we don't have to later!

 

[fogbadge]

im sticking to the physical copies

 

[Robert of Normandy]

From what I've heard, if you purchase a digital title, you can only play it on the system that you've made the purchase on, which can be a major inconvenience.

The retail copy, on the other hand, can be played on any system, and in the 3DS's case, you get to keep your game data as well.

Anyway, instead of a full game download, Smash 4 3DS should have a downloadable game demo, while the full game is retail-only.

Yeah, until Nintendo improves their digital store practices, it's hard copy only for me.

Also, I hope the 3DS version includes some sort of download play(does the 3DS still have that?).

 

[Big-Cat]

I'll get the physical copy of the games. Since I play games with numerous people and we share the discs occasionally at get togethers, it makes more sense to have the discs. That being said, I would love an install option since that reduces loading times greatly.

 

[Ghirahilda]

I prefer both in retail. I love to see that my games to have a boxart and manuals. It's give me a sensation of originality authenticity.

 

[Kink-Link5]

I prefer both in retail. I love to see that my games to have a boxart and manuals. It's give me a sensation of originality

I think "authenticity" is the word you're looking for, not "originality."

There's not much original about owning a video game

 

[Ghirahilda]

I think "authenticity" is the word you're looking for, not "originality."

There's not much original about owning a video game

Oh sorry for that. I'm brazilian and sometimes I really lost my english sense.

I will fix it, thanks.

 

[~automatic]

That being said, I would love an install option since that reduces loading times greatly.

Omg, sooo much this.

 

[ItsSilverLPs]

I prefer retail, but I think that making a digital copy available is a must nowadays.
Judging by how things are going with Nintendo, with a lot of 3DS games being available digitally, I'm sure that both SSB games are going to be in both formats.

 

[Deleted member]

I'm getting Smash 4 (Wii U version) as a retail game. Downloadable games I'll stick to smaller games for that.

 

[Norm]

I'm all about owning a physical copy I like to have something tangible in my hands so I'll be buying it from a store no question.

 

[Claire Diviner]

I might get both a physical and digital copy of Smash 4 on the Wii U. as for the 3DS version, that all depends on how save data is treated; if the data saves onto the game cartridge itself, then I'll get only the physical copy. If it saves all of its data into the SD card, then I might opt for both physical and digital.

 

[Kazyx]

As much as I'd really like having a digital copy (as I've been doing a lot of recently with finally starting to use my Steam account like I should have years ago) of the next Smash Brothers game, I think having a physical copy of the game would probably be better for me.

I don't think I'll be getting the WiiU version anytime soon, as they really need to make the WiiU something I'd buy rather than what they've shown us so far, so all of my opinions stay with the 3DS version.

I don't have much on my SD Card, so I'm hoping I'll have enough space on there for the next Smash, provided I got a digital. But like I said, I'll probably get the physical copy, just to be on the safe side.

 

[Mypantisgone]

I'm against digital copys for game I'll probably sell after.And I want the retail for games I'll never sell.


So don't be surprised if I choose retail/never choose digital.

 

[Super FOG]

I'm getting Smash 4 (Wii U version) as a retail game. Downloadable games I'll stick to smaller games for that.

[2]

But I will buy the 3DS version in retails too.

Good thing that Wii U will allow the consumer to choose the storage space by supporting SDXC Cards, pen drives and external HDDs.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

I get a discount if I buy them in store, so I'll continue to buy them in store