Nintendo has begun selling digital versions of its video games through Amazon’s online marketplace starting today. Amazon only just this year resumed selling Nintendo hardware directly following a mysterious rift between the companies. Amazon will offer 61 digital download codes for the Wii U game console and 3DS handheld, including classic games like the original The Legend of Zelda that were previously only available through Nintendo’s Virtual Console.
Nintendo starts selling Wii U and 3DS game downloads on Amazon
Super Mario Maker download codes for everyone
Super Mario Maker download codes for everyone
Nintendo
is a Senior Producer on Decoder. Previously, he reported on the technology and gaming industries for more than a decade.
Nintendo now has a digital-only storefront on Amazon through which you can buy a download code as easily as buying a bag of socks. After completing the order, you’ll log in with your Nintendo Network Account on Amazon, redeem the code (which will pop in automatically), and the game will be sent straight to your device.
Nintendo and Amazon are making up
This partnership provides Nintendo fans with a familiar alternative to the company’s eShop for purchasing games and downloadable content, one that Sony and Microsoft fans have long enjoyed with Amazon’s sales of download codes for the PlayStation and Xbox. The eShop has not always offered a particularly smooth buying experience, and the ease of buying through a website like Amazon may aid Nintendo’s digital sales.
It's also a sign of a once-broken relationship that looks as if it's mending. For the last three years, Nintendo games were only available on Amazon in disc format, and hardware sales were restricted to third-party sellers. Nintendo is still not selling its Wii U console directly on Amazon — only the 3DS. Now, though, digital games appear to be a point of agreement for the two companies.
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