????數字化銷售是目前視頻游戲界的新寵兒.換言之，玩家可以直接從網絡下載游戲。用戶獲取游戲的方式更簡單，而且游戲無需包裝也不需要任何運輸成本，從而提高了制作商的利潤。不過，假如可以說數字化銷售油水充足的話，那么也可以說任天堂此前（Nintendo）一直葷腥不沾。

????不過，在過去幾個月，任天堂終于開始試水利潤頗豐的數字化游戲市場。目前，該市場的銷售額每月已達4億美元。

????今年8月，任天堂在3DS掌機平臺推出了扛鼎之作《新超級馬里奧兄弟2》（New Super Mario Bros. 2），游戲將同時提供卡帶和下載兩個版本。借助馬里奧東風，任天堂本月宣布，在圣誕節前，公司將在任天堂在線商店eShop上推出多款游戲。

????eShop上線新游戲恰逢在線視頻游戲市場競爭加劇之時。目前，已經有超過九家公司涉足這一領域，既包括傳統游戲機制造商微軟（Microsoft）的Xbox Live Arcade，也包括視頻游戲開發商電子藝界（EA）旗下的Origin。任天堂加入數字化戰局的時機有些太遲了，維爾福（Valve）的Steam平臺憑借先發優勢，幾乎不費吹灰之力就確立了領導地位。Steam于2003年發布，為PC平臺和索尼（Sony）PlayStation3提供下載服務。自發布時起，Stream就一直牢牢統治著數字化市場，市場份額已經高達50-70%。

????相比之下，發布于2011年的任天堂eShop仍顯稚嫩，其游戲數僅為Stream的三分之一。而且，在任天堂的整體營收中，eShop的份額仍然微不足道。韋德布什證券公司（Wedbush Securities）分析師邁克爾?帕切預測，eShop的銷售額可能僅占《新超級馬里奧兄弟2》全部銷售額的5%。

????帕切稱：“人們不習慣把網絡在線和任天堂扯上關系。這些東西都是eShop發布后才加上的。我并不認為eShop會失敗，但也不會得到什么積極的成果，因為人們需要時間去了解，eShop上確實有些好東西。”

????任天堂認為eShop的基礎很好。根據該公司執行副總裁斯科特?莫菲特的說法，3DS用戶的配售率為4.7。所謂配售率，是指用戶為每臺游戲機所額外購買的軟件數。這一數字與競爭對手不相上下。Xbox Live Arcade發布兩年后，也就是2006年，其配售率在6到7之間。

????eShop的配售率未來數月肯定還會上升。莫菲特表示，任天堂計劃仿效《新超級馬里奧兄弟2》，為今后自行開發的絕大部分游戲提供數字版本。此舉將有效提高任天堂的競爭力。

????The gem of the video game industry these days is digital format sales -- games you can directly download from the web. After all, downloading is convenient and eliminates packaging and shipping costs that hurt profit margins. But if there's money to be made at the digital profit trough, Nintendo has been fasting.

????In the past couple of months, however, Nintendo has been trying to nose its way into the profitable digital format business, which drives around $400 million in sales industry-wide every month.

????In August, Nintendo released its first big budget title, New Super Mario Bros. 2,for the handheld 3DS system in both packaged and digital formats. Building on the Mario momentum, the video game maker announced plans this month to release a whole slew of games in its online store, the Nintendo eShop, in time for the holidays.

????This eShop ramp up comes at a time when the online video game market has reached new competitive heights. There are over nine major competitors in this space, ranging from traditional console competitor Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox Live Arcade to video game developer EA Games' (EA) Origin. Nintendo is pushing the boundaries of what it means to be fashionably late to the digital format, while established industry leader Valve's Steam is reaping the benefits of its almost-awkwardly early arrival. Launched in 2003, Steam, a download service for desktops and Sony Playstation 3, has dominated the business ever since. Its estimated market share ranges from 50-70%.

????Nintendo's eShop debuted in June 2011, and the shop's in-store catalog, which is just one third the size of Steam's, shows its youth. The shop also has yet to have a major impact on Nintendo's overall revenues. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter estimates that eShop sales will comprise about 5% of New Super Mario Bros. 2's total sales.

????"People are not accustomed to going online to do anything with Nintendo. It's an afterthought since the company launched it," he says, "I don't think it'll flop, but I don't think you're going to get immediate positive results because people have to learn that there is something there."

????Nintendo believes that the eShop has a strong foundation. According to the company's executive vice president of sales Scott Moffitt, the average 3DS owner's attach rate -- the number of additional purchases for each gaming system it sells -- is 4.7, which is comparable to Nintendo's competitors. Xbox Live Arcade's attach rate in 2006, two years after its debut, was between 6 and 7.

????The eShop's rate should only increase in the coming months. According to Moffitt, Nintendo is set to release the majority of its future internally developed games in the same fashion as New Super Mario Bros. 2, bringing company policy up to speed with the competition.