How is nintendos digital game store experience?

[G9XFTW]

I am highly interested in getting my 2nd nintendo console (2DS XL) since the Gameboy advance SP. Im in India and Nintendo is not officially supported here. I will have to import it straight from Japan and pay 28% tax too. I would like to know what the digital store is like before I finalize my purchase.

 

My questions are for users who have used their online service and have official support in their region.

 

Do they have game discounts occasionally?

 

Are the download servers reliable?

 

What payment methods do they accept?

 

Would I even be able to use their online services from my region ( India)?

 

 

  Finding games physically is also a challenge here. For the most part 3ds games seem overpriced. Guess that what happens when you get used to Steam discounts and sales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[minibois]

- yes (They often have sales on relevant games, when new ones come out)

- it doesn't seem super fast, but in my experience they are never down

- (in the Netherlands) I can add funds with MasterCard, Visa or Nintendo's fund cards (that I can buy in basically ant store that also carries Steam cards, but you might have a harder time getting your hand on).

- no clue, but you could ask Nintendo's support directly.

 

I know the 3ds is region locked, but not sure on the 2ds XL.

[AG1233]

5 hours ago, G9XFTW said:

Do they have game discounts occasionally?

Yeah,the game discounts happen quite frequently.

5 hours ago, G9XFTW said:

Are the download servers reliable?

Yes,they are quite good from my experience 

5 hours ago, G9XFTW said:

What payment methods do they accept?

VISA,Mastercard,Paypal all are supported there,but I am not so sure if another region's card would work cross country,I know they work on Nintendo E-shop for switch not so sure about the 3ds.Also if you card doesn't work you can just buy a in-store currency card from any reputable 3rd party website.

5 hours ago, G9XFTW said:

Would I even be able to use their online services from my region ( India)?

Yes,pretty sure you won't have any problems since I live in India as well and haven't faced an issue since start.

5 hours ago, G9XFTW said:

Finding games physically is also a challenge here. For the most part 3ds games seem overpriced. Guess that what happens when you get used to Steam discounts and sales.

It won't be too much of a problem if you are looking for major games such as any of the Mario,Pokemon games.Others might be a little difficult but you can find them easily, also if nothing else works you can always go digital.Also you would need to pay a premium on most games of around 500 INR for physical games.

 

Lastly before buying you should know the 3ds/2ds both are region locked so be careful which region you pick up.Also the Japanese 3ds as far as i know can't change its language to english without installing cfw so be careful about that as well.

[ono]

The 3DS/2DS line remains region locked so you'll be restricted to Japanese games if you execute your current plan. You could explore CFW, but you probably should just by the right model in the first place. The Switch is region free if you want to consider a more recent Nintendo device.

 

My issue with Nintendo digital stores is that purchases are tied your device. Migrating your purchases from one device to another is easy if you have physical access to both. If not (trade in, lost, stolen, etc), you're at the mercy of Nintendo customer service okaying the transfer. But sounds like since you have to deal with importing and associated taxes for physical releases otherwise, I guess digitally is still the less painful way to go.

[linkboy]

8 hours ago, ono said:

The 3DS/2DS line remains region locked so you'll be restricted to Japanese games if you execute your current plan. You could explore CFW, but you probably should just by the right model in the first place. The Switch is region free if you want to consider a more recent Nintendo device.

 

My issue with Nintendo digital stores is that purchases are tied your device. Migrating your purchases from one device to another is easy if you have physical access to both. If not (trade in, lost, stolen, etc), you're at the mercy of Nintendo customer service okaying the transfer. But sounds like since you have to deal with importing and associated taxes for physical releases otherwise, I guess digitally is still the less painful way to go.

Digital games on the Switch are tied to your account.

 

The biggest issue I have with the Switch is that there still isn't a way to backup save files. They added the ability to transfer saves from one switch to another, but you can't back them up.

[G9XFTW]

23 hours ago, AG1233 said:

 

Lastly before buying you should know the 3ds/2ds both are region locked so be careful which region you pick up.Also the Japanese 3ds as far as i know can't change its language to english without installing cfw so be careful about that as well.

That is really useful information. Was not aware of that. Thanks! The red Pokemon version for the 2ds seems appealing so I thought. Lets see.

[G9XFTW]

23 hours ago, AG1233 said:

Btw, which version should I get then? since its region locked, which version will be most easy to run considering im living in India? where should I buy it from.

 

[AG1233]

16 minutes ago, G9XFTW said:

 

It usually depends on which region's physical games are more readily available near your location.For example here In New Delhi,the games I am able to find the most are usually for the NTSC-U (US version).PAL (Europe,NZ,AUS) games are a tad bit difficult to find and NTSC-J (Japan) or NTSC-C (China) games are not avalilbe at all.

 

Also have you checked any video game retail stores near you if they keep the 3ds or the 2ds,because I was able to find one for quite a good price near my place,Otherwise I would suggest Amazon.in or Amazon.com 

 

[G9XFTW]

3 hours ago, AG1233 said:

The CEX stores. They sell them, but they only have the 3ds. The one which is couple kilometres from my home may have. But the 3ds doesnt have the smaller analog stick right? guess that makes a difference.

 

[AG1233]

3 hours ago, G9XFTW said:

 

Are you talking about the regular 3ds or the new 3ds xl?

Because as far as I know New 3ds Xl and 2ds Xl are pretty much the same, the only difference are

1-2ds xl doesn't play in 3d

2-The micro sd is slot on 2ds xl is along with the game cart slot,rather than hidden behind the backplate.

[G9XFTW]

21 hours ago, AG1233 said:

Are you talking about the regular 3ds or the new 3ds xl?

Because as far as I know New 3ds Xl and 2ds Xl are pretty much the same, the only difference are

1-2ds xl doesn't play in 3d

2-The micro sd is slot on 2ds xl is along with the game cart slot,rather than hidden behind the backplate.

The regular 3ds is selling for INR 7k. Which I think is a slightly more than I would want to pay for a used one. Still its a nintendo product and having bought used wiimote and nunchuk I know they are built well. Fortunately or unfortunately the new ones selling on amazon.in are actually the Japan version as the seller says. Luckily they will be selling the red pokeball version on amazon.com too, its not released yet. So could try that, that will surely be US version.

[AG1233]

5 minutes ago, G9XFTW said:

The regular 3ds is selling for INR 7k. Which I think is a slightly more than I would want to pay for a used one. Still its a nintendo product and having bought used wiimote and nunchuk I know they are built well. Fortunately or unfortunately the new ones selling on amazon.in are actually the Japan version as the seller says. Luckily they will be selling the red pokeball version on amazon.com too, its not released yet. So could try that, that will surely be US version.

Most of the new ones that I saw on Amazon are all imported from USA so its really weird that the seller is saying its the japan version.Are you sure the seller selling the product and the seller answering the question in the FAQ's are the same one?

For e.g.. with 2ds XL the seller is Amazon Export Sales LLC,and the one answering the question is some other one.

[G9XFTW]

4 hours ago, AG1233 said:

Most of the new ones that I saw on Amazon are all imported from USA so its really weird that the seller is saying its the japan version.Are you sure the seller selling the product and the seller answering the question in the FAQ's are the same one?

For e.g.. with 2ds XL the seller is Amazon Export Sales LLC,and the one answering the question is some other one.

Amazon export llc, our payment (to seller) and customs clearance fee goes through them. Whereas the actual seller is the one replying to the question. Also it makes sense it is Japan version. Amazon.com is still taking preorders for the 2ds xl, it releases on their store on Nov 3 2017.

 

And Oh, is it true the 2ds xl also supports origianl DS cartridges?

[AG1233]

10 hours ago, G9XFTW said:

Amazon export llc, our payment (to seller) and customs clearance fee goes through them. Whereas the actual seller is the one replying to the question. Also it makes sense it is Japan version. Amazon.com is still taking preorders for the 2ds xl, it releases on their store on Nov 3 2017.

 

And Oh, is it true the 2ds xl also supports origianl DS cartridges?

The black and turquoise one is already out in US,the poke ball one is up for pre-order,I would suggest going for that as the price will come nearly the same and it looks better IMO.

 

as for the DS cartridges

[G9XFTW]

4 hours ago, AG1233 said:

The black and turquoise one is already out in US,the poke ball one is up for pre-order,I would suggest going for that as the price will come nearly the same and it looks better IMO.

 

as for the DS cartridges

Ok folks, just pre ordered the pokeball edition for $10 more over the standard one. Thanks for all the input. Hit me up on Steam, id: What. If I ever come to Delhi again might trade games or whatever.

[AG1233]

27 minutes ago, G9XFTW said:

Ok folks, just pre ordered the pokeball edition for $10 more over the standard one. Thanks for all the input. Hit me up on Steam, id: What. If I ever come to Delhi again might trade games or whatever.

Sure would love to do so, also tell me your FC once you get it,if you ever wanna play together online.  

[G9XFTW]

On 10/30/2017 at 5:36 PM, AG1233 said:

Sure would love to do so, also tell me your FC once you get it,if you ever wanna play together online.  

Btw, how do you charge your 2ds/ 3ds xl? the default charger is not working for me. Maybe the voltage is not appropriate.

[AG1233]

3 hours ago, G9XFTW said:

Btw, how do you charge your 2ds/ 3ds xl? the default charger is not working for me. Maybe the voltage is not appropriate.

Oh wow thats strange the chargers I got with mine work perfectly.Although I dont think the one i got for my US New 3ds Xl was a original one I think it was just a generic one.

I usually leave it plugged in for 5-6 hours and just take it out when i see its full.But I don't think it takes it longer than 2-3 hours to fully charge from 0%

[G9XFTW]

11 hours ago, AG1233 said:

Oh wow thats strange the chargers I got with mine work perfectly.Although I dont think the one i got for my US New 3ds Xl was a original one I think it was just a generic one.

I usually leave it plugged in for 5-6 hours and just take it out when i see its full.But I don't think it takes it longer than 2-3 hours to fully charge from 0%

I ordered for a USB cable for charging. Might work, or else I will have to return the DS. Also this is my first time using a DS and the confusing thing is how do I sign into my nintendo account. It just isnt showing the option anywhere. I saw some guides, but that option is missing for me.

[AG1233]

1 hour ago, G9XFTW said:

I ordered for a USB cable for charging. Might work, or else I will have to return the DS. Also this is my first time using a DS and the confusing thing is how do I sign into my nintendo account. It just isnt showing the option anywhere. I saw some guides, but that option is missing for me.

It asks you to setup the nintendo account when you first start the system and it will again ask you once to enter the details when you visit the eshop,You can also sign in if you go the the settings and go to nintendo network ID or something.

Also did you get the DS from amazon? If yes, then just get a replacement amazons customer service is great in that regard.

[G9XFTW]

On 11/29/2017 at 10:36 PM, AG1233 said:

It asks you to setup the nintendo account when you first start the system and it will again ask you once to enter the details when you visit the eshop,You can also sign in if you go the the settings and go to nintendo network ID or something.

Also did you get the DS from amazon? If yes, then just get a replacement amazons customer service is great in that regard.

Its working fine with the USB cable. Whole device seems fully functional. Wont be need a return. Thanks for your input, appreciate it!