Iwata Talks about eShop Improvements, Demos and DLC!

During an investors meeting held in Japan, Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, spoke of company's upcoming plans to improve the eShop. The first two points he spoke of will be added in next month 3DS update, whilst the other will come at a later date.

The first is the ability to now download demos. Developers will be able to set limitations on the number of times a demo can be played, but Iwata hopes this will help promote eShop software to more people, along with the current rating system already in place.

The second point is the ability for developers to now add expansion content for their games on the eShop, better known as DLC. Iwata said that this is something developers have really been looking forward to. Speaking of downloadable content, you'll also be able to download eShop content whilst your 3DS is in sleep mode. Though it wasn't clear, Iwata did say: "This will lessen the need for the users to patiently wait by while downloading several software titles at once or while downloading software with a large memory capacity." Could this mean you'll be able to download more than one piece of content at a time?

Finally, Iwata spoke of expanding the eShop outside of the 3DS system in a future update. This is going to allow 3DS owners to download eShop content on a computer or a smartphone by allowing web access to it. Nintendo hope this will help spread the word about games through social media. Initially, users won't be able to buy content directly from the web eShop and instead will feature QR codes that can be recognised by the 3DS camera. However, Nintendo plan to add direct purchasing through PC and smartphones in the future.

In summary

- Demos will be available, with a limited amount of plays.
- Developers will be able to add DLC to the eShop.
- Download content when the 3DS is in sleep mode.
- Download eShop content from a computer or smartphone in the future.