Thursday, October 04, 2012

How badly do you want to play Donkey Kong: Original Edition?

I'm guessing most of you have heard this news elsewhere, but just in case a few of you haven't: Nintendo of America will soon make Donkey Kong: Original Edition--aka the NES port of Donkey Kong with the arcade version's "cement factory" level added back in for good measure--available to select 3DS owners.

I say "select" because the game will be given (for free) to folks who buy Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone, Crosswords Plus, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask or Style Savvy: Trendsetters via the 3DS eShop by Jan. 6.



Is the promise of Donkey Kong: Original Edition enough of an incentive to prompt any of you to pick up digital copies of one or more of the above-mentioned 3DS titles?

For more information about this promotion, pay a visit to club2.nintendo.com/donkeykong/ at your earliest convenience.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

18 comments:

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Well, this could make me buy Art Academy sooner, since I already want it! Right now, though, I'm broke broke broke. Like...so broke I have given up on getting a Wii U on launch day. Sad day.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, that's too bad, Justin :( I hope you're the opposite of broke soon.

As for this promotion: I like that it's being offered through Jan. 6, which means those of us who get Nintendo Points cards for Christmas, etc., can use them to buy a game via the eShop and get Donkey Kong: Original Edition.

I've already pre-ordered boxed/physical copies of Art Academy, Paper Mario and Style Savvy, so the only one I'd consider buying via the eShop would be Crosswords Plus.

I'm still very much against the idea of buying a full game via the eShop, though, so we'll see if I actually go through with it or not...

Terry said...

It's enough incentive for me. I bought the digital version of "New Super Mario Bros. 2" and was already planning to buy Paper Mario, so this nudge in that direction is all I need.

Zack said...

I like having a physical copy for my collection. Also right now with out an account system if my 3DS breaks or whatnot I'm screwed.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, that's interesting to hear, Terry! How are you liking NSMB2, BTW?

Also, I can't wait to get my hands on Paper Mario. Ack! :P

Bryan Ochalla said...

Zack: I'm with you -- I like having a physical copy I can hold, share with friends, sell if need be, etc.

As such, for me, Nintendo's going to have to implement some sort of account system for me to buy more than the odd (very odd) retail game via the eShop.

That said, I think you're already covered if your system breaks, etc.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I'm hesitant to buy a big boxed game on the eShop, too...maybe if the 3DS had three times as much space to store games on, I'd do it...but I don't want to fill it up with titles I could have in physical form instead!

2D2Will said...

Oh wow, I originally thought you could buy the physical copies as well. Guess not.

My general rule of thumb when it comes to modern games is to almost always buy the physical version of the game. This is especially true in the case of the 3DS since there are far more advantages to buying the physical copy over the digital copy.

As for Donkey Kong, I would rater try to import the game. Even if I can't find it, it's simply not worth the download.

Anonymous said...

I'm such a sucker for this kind of stuff!

Too bad I'm not much of a modern nintendo gamer though :/

p.s: Bryan this might be a stupid question but, you do realize I'm Trxd right? xD It's weird people calling me Josef... that's just my google name :)

Reggie White Jr. said...

I was already gonna buy a physical copy of Art Academy, but I guess I can opt for a digital version, too. Even though it feels strange to buy a full fledged 3DS game on the eShop. But man, an NES version of DK with all the levels? That's too cool to pass up!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Well, you can always get a bigger SD card, Justin, if space is your only worry. Me, I just don't like that I'm paying the same amount of money as I would for a boxed game, but I don't get any of the added benefits of a boxed game (can loan it out, sell it, etc.). I'm old-fashioned, I know, but I can't help it!

Bryan Ochalla said...

2D2Will: Yeah, it would've been nice for Nintendo to make it available to anyone who bought any version of those five games, right -- boxed or digital? Sadly, I think they're doing this simply to promote digital titles.

As for importing Donkey Kong: Original Edition -- I hate to break it to you, but I'm pretty sure that isn't possible. So far, the only way it's been made available was as a special pack-in with the red European Wii and as a free giveaway to Japanese 3DS owners who bought digital copies of NMSB2 and/or Onitore. I seem to remember it being made available to Japanese Wii owners, too, but I can't remember how or why.

It's rather surprising that Nintendo hasn't just sold the damn game via the Wii or 3DS eShop, but I guess they want to keep using it as an incentive to prompt certain game and system purchase :|

Bryan Ochalla said...

Josef, er, I mean, Trxd! No, I didn't realize it was you. Thanks for letting me know, and welcome back :)

This promotion must really suck for you seeing as you have to buy a modern Nintendo game to get an old one. Like I just said in the comment above, it's really too bad Nintendo just doesn't let all of us buy it directly from the eShop...

Bryan Ochalla said...

Reggie: I hear ya. We'll see if I end up buying the digital version of Crosswords Plus. If not, I guess I'm going to remain Donkey Kong: Original Edition-less. Hope you get to enjoy it, though, regardless!

Unknown said...

Bryan, I'm like NSMB2. I've "beaten" it and cleared the final boss, but now I'm in the wrap-up stage of getting all the big coins and secret exits, etc.

I chose the digital version because the coin collecting aspect is addictive and it seemed like the kind of game I'd want to have in machine until I hit 1,000,000 coins. The file size was reasonable, too; 400MB on a 32GB card means I still have plenty of room.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Thanks for sharing some of your thoughts on NSMB2, Terry! I haven't picked it up myself yet, but I'm sure I will at some point. I loved NSMBWii and this looks similarly good, so I can't imagine I'll be able to ignore it forever. You just reminded me that I need to buy a larger memory card for my 3DS, BTW. The one I currently have is far from full, but I know it'll fill up eventually so why not cut that bit of drama off at the path, eh? :)

2D2Will said...

Oh. I was originally under the impression that the Famicom Disk Drive version was complete. Guess not.

Either way, it's still not worth buying a download version of a retail game at the same price of said retail game. At least to me it isn't.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Sorry, 2D2Will, as for as I know, the FDS version of Donkey Kong is the same as the cart version. I'll check on that today and get back to you, but I'm pretty sure that's the case -- which is too bad, as the FDS version of Ice Climber is different from the cart version (more like, if not exactly like the arcade version), and Clu Clu Land is the same.

As for your other point: I agree. Personally, I believe digital versions of games either need to be cheaper ($10 cheaper, if you ask me) or the folks at Nintendo, etc., need to come up with a way for those of us who buy said digital versions to share them with friends and/or sell them when we're done with them. Until some or all of those things happen, I'll be buying very few digital games (download versions of retail games) on handhelds or consoles.