Nintendo Finally Bringing Add-on Capability to eShop

One of the most glaring holes in Nintendo‘s online shop platforms has always been the company’s inability to provide game makers with the opportunity to release post-launch content for their software. Finally, the company is making moves to respond to gamer and developer feedback and correct this gap.

The Nintendo eShop for the 3DS is getting an update that will facilitate, among other things, the ability for developers to release post-launch DLC.

The news comes from Nintendo’s Semi-Annual Financial Results Briefing. Here’s the word from the Big N:

“…after a software title is launched, content can be added to it via the Nintendo eShop. This is a feature a number of software creators have been looking forward to. With the Nintendo 3DS system update this time, we can create that desired circumstance, so we should see an increase in the number of applicable software titles that will be launched from now on.”

On a related note, I actually had a chance to play one of the third-party 3DS games set to make use of this feature during my time at New York Comic Con. Heroes of Ruin, the dungeon crawling RPG from n-Space and Square Enix for the 3DS, will feature daily DLC after it launches.

Nintendo also announced that the Nintendo 3DS will be able to perform downloads while in sleep mode after this update. Moreover, developers will be able to release game trials onto the eShop. Both of these are welcome, if not late, features.

Finally, Nintendo is prepping the eShop to be available on platforms aside from the 3DS. It won’t be ready for the November update, but here’s the rundown:

“…we are now preparing for the Nintendo eShop to be available on the Web so that you can access it via PCs or smartphones too. As of now, the information available on our Nintendo eShop, including the reviews that I mentioned just now, is only available at the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS and it does not have a great affinity with the social media which are currently being used as a means to spread information. In other words, even if a software title receives an incredible review, majority of people will not know about it unless they access the Nintendo eShop with their Nintendo 3DS system.

We would like to solve this issue by making the Nintendo eShop accessible via PCs and smartphones as well.”

This firmware update is set to release in November. We’ll have more from Nintendo and the Nintendo 3DS as it comes.

[via Nintendo of Japan]

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