Nintendo DS Download Trials Begin

From GamesIndustry.biz – Nintendo trials DS downloads in Japan:

Nintendo has begun a Japanese nationwide test of its content download service for the Nintendo DS, allowing gamers to wirelessly download demos and bonus game content from special kiosks in locations all over Japan.

Very cool! Nintendo are positioning this as way of preventing the sequelitis which the GameBoy suffered in a very bad way. I can imagine this enabling a form of long-tail-esque discovery for original games content, if they design the kiosk in the right way.

If each game on the DS had a unique signature, then the kiosk could look to see what games you owned and played, and could then recommend games in an Amazon-type manner.

There is a rather strange bit in that article, though:

The service was originally announced … last year, where Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced that time-restricted demos would be available to download at said kiosks. As the service rolls out for the first time, however, it appears that demos will instead remain on DS units until they are powered down.

Seems to me that that is a time-restricted demo.

Bonus content seems to be loaded straight onto the game cards themselves though, which rocks.