Most Recent: 3DS

Rounding out a strangely slow week for digital releases is Nintendo’s latest eShop update. Three games will attempt to fight for your downloadable dollar and they are:

Wii U eShop

Mr. Driller 2 – Armed with a mighty drill, dig deep through multicolored blocks until reaching safety. Not all of the blocks will be breakable, but be careful that the blocks you break don’t fall on you or cut off your air supply. How deep can you dig underground?

3DS eShop

Strike Force Foxx – Take control of Captain Raymond Foxx as you guide your Razor-One helicopter through intense missions, battling the enemy and saving your citizens. Take to the air in your helicopter in more than 35 missions to eliminate numerous obstacles, including gunmen, tanks, helicopters, planes, machine-gunning jeeps, heat-seeking missiles, gunboats and submarines.

Comic Workshop – With Comic Workshop, you will be able to easily create Comics and Manga, step by step, thanks to the various tools available. From frame’s management to text entry, everything you need to make the best creations is gathered in this software.

Take me out to the ballgame, take me out to the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and Crackerjack, I don’t care if I ever get back. So let’s root root root for Bases Loaded, for it’s… One! Two! Three! Strikes, you’re out, at the old ballgame.

Yes, Bases Loaded, one of the greatest baseball sims to ever grace the NES, is now available to download through the 3DS and Wii U. Sadly, Nintendo still hasn’t figured out the whole Cross-Buy thing, but Bases Loaded is so good that you should buy it on both platforms so you always have it with you.

Also available this week is One Piece Unlimited World Red, a game adaptation of the popular manga/anime. It can also be downloaded for the 3DS and Wii U. While the handheld version of the game is also available on store shelves, if you’re looking to pick it up on Nintendo’s home console, you might be interested to know that it’s a Wii U eShop exclusive.

More information on both of these games (and a trio of additional new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)

While Nintendo has often been criticised for its late arrival to online gaming and downloadable content, the company’s eShop for Wii U has become a thriving hub for gamers, filled with spectacular titles and exclusives. However, Nintendo’s store prices for games also available in physical disc form are hardly competitive with “High Street” shops or online retailers. The only store selling eShop download codes is GAME, which has an exclusive deal with Nintendo in the UK for the sale of cards and codes online.

However, this deal does not cover smaller, independent gaming boutiques, and as a result, they will be able to begin selling eShop cards and codes in the middle of July, thanks to distributor DLCSoft. The company believes that this will allow retailers “to establish their stores as a true digital destination on the High Street.” This seems like a win-win for the market and consumers. Not only will this help these smaller businesses compete with larger retailers, but it also means that gamers could find eShop codes at competitively reduced prices.

While the UK is a small but significant market for Nintendo, other European businesses may be watching with interest to see how well the eShop cards sell. If DLCSoft is correct in its analysis, it could lead to the scheme expanding to other countries.

[Source: MCV]