Nintendo to outline digital games strategy to retailers soon, says Yarnton

Nintendo UK boss David Yarnton has said the company will outline its digital content plans to retailers soon.

Speaking with MCV, Yarnston said: "One of the things we perhaps haven’t been so good at is telling you about the features we have. For example the downloadable games and other DLC – but we have been promoting it.

“One of our big successes has been Pullblox," he continued. "It has done incredibly well, and is such good value, and is so much fun – but not enough people know about it. It’s not there on the shopfloor. But it is there, and we have a lot of games like that. We need to do more about educating people about that.”

While the download market has grown, "it hasn’t eaten into retail in the way many predicted," said Yarnton, and the firm still has logistical measures to sort.

"We want to support our partners and them to support us. So we think there is room for packaged goods as well as digital," he said. "When you go out to retail, the exposure a shop can give a game is incredible. Some people want downloadable content for its convenience, some people like having a games collection. There’s room for both.

"At the moment we have the voucher cards – we’re not quite there to let retailers have just codes for a Zelda game," he said. "Yes, digital downloads can reduce the inventory risk – but if you give someone a card with a code it still has a value. There are some issues to work through, but it will happen in the not-too-distant future.

“I can’t speak for them all, but having spoken to places like GAME, they have seen an incredible rise in the sales of digital content. It’s working for them."

It was announced earlier this month Yarnton would be departing Nintendo after serving with the firm for nearly 20 years