Third Party Companies On Board For Wii U Digital Games, Both Digital and Retail Will Be Same Price

The Wii U continues to move towards its fall launch with the announcement that Nintendo has formed a few key partnerships with third party companies who will not only release their games in retail form but also digitally through the upcoming Nintendo Network.  While a list wasn’t revealed, we’re guessing that companies such as Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and Activision are on board.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained why the pricing should be the same between both versions, despite what’s missing.

“We do not hold such a premise that digitally distributed software has less value,” Iwata explained. “Different people value different things. If we said, this is the only proposal we will make so you have to take it, it would be a problem as there would be no options for the consumers to choose from. On the contrary, what I explained today is that we are proposing the two formats of sales mechanisms from which our consumers can make their own choices.

“Some publishers believe that the digital versions should be cheaper while others insist that both versions must be set at exactly the same price. So, it is not only Nintendo’s idea. Each publisher has various ideas on this point and, among them, Nintendo is now offering both versions at the same price point (the same suggested retail price).”

We expect more details on the system and its price tag and launch games at this year’s E3.