Nintendo’s eShop in Japan is starting to get interesting. Tomorrow, August 4th, will see the release of Nazo Waku Mansion, Capcom’s 3D sound game, as a physical product in Japanese stores for 4,800 yen ($62).
Coinciding with its release will be the first episode of Nazo Waku Mansion on the Japanese Nintendo eShop for 200 yen ($2.50), for people to try the game out. A message on the game’s eShop page says that eShop distribution of the second episode (and onward) has not yet been decided upon.
If you followed Ghost Trick beyond its Nintendo DS release, this eShop situation with Nazo Waku Mansion may look familiar. After releasing Ghost Trick on the DS, Capcom ported the game to the iPhone, and began to release it in chapter sets, which probably made it easier for on-the-fence users to buy, bit by bit.
Unlike Nazo Waku, however, the first two chapters of Ghost Trick were made available for free on iTunes. Still, seeing hints of eShop releases for games like Nazo Waku Mansion is encouraging, as more people would be inclined to try quirky games out at lower prices.