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Nintendo 3DS to Get eBookstore in Japan

Japan and Asia in general usually gets the coolest stuff first and today is no exception. The Nikkei  reported yesterday that Librica, a company with past experience in delivering ebook content to consoles,  has been tapped to provide an ebookstore service for the Nintendo 3DS.

The new service is going to be called eBookstore Anywhere. It’s due to open next month, and Nikkei reports that it will stock around 100 current manga titles with prices expected to be in the range of 400-500 yen. It’s expected to expand to add more content besides manga, including magazines and light novels. Readers will be able to download the ebook app via the Nintendo eShop. Content can be bought inside the app.

While this is the first ebook service that I know of for this particular console it isn’t the first for Nintendo’s gadgets.  A couple years ago Harlequin released a Nintendo DS cartridge with 100 titles on it. Right about that time another cartridge was released for the DSi which contained 100 public domain titles. There are probably a number of other similar products for this console (including a couple I learned of via Librica’s press release archive), in addition to the numerous hacked reading apps which have been released over the years.

To be honest I think most handheld game consoles are too small to read on, given the generally bulkiness of the device. Don’t get me wrong, I know that the older model iPod Touch has a screen not much larger than the one on the original Nintendo DS but it was also a lot easier to hold. The iTouch could be held and used with one hand and the same cannot be said for the Nintendo 3DS. And even the current 3DS is too bulky for me given the effective screen size; I’d much prefer a tablet.

Still, this is a service which should be watched. Rumors leaked earlier this year that the Nintendo WiiU would be getting some type of ebookstore for its tablet like controller. While that service has not yet materialized, it seems likely that Librica might also be the company who supports it on behalf of Nintendo.

Nikkei

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Comments


Thomas September 21, 2012 um 4:01 pm

This would have been a better idea five years ago than now. I used to use a hacked PSP for reading on the go, but now tablets and ereaders are dirt cheap and much better for reading.


Nintendo 3DS als eReader – In Japan eröffnet ein eBook-Store für Mangas und Magazine | eBook-Fieber September 24, 2012 um 6:14 am

[…] eShop zum Download geben, die eBooks werden dann aus der App heraus gekauft und heruntergeladen, wie Nate von The Digital Reader schreibt. Nintendo 3DS als eBook-Reader? (c) […]


Nintendo 3DS eBookstore Now Live – The Digital Reader December 19, 2013 um 7:03 pm

[…] has been promising to launch an ebookstore for the Nintendo 3DS for over a year now and it has finally arrived – in […]


Nintendo 3DS als eReader – In Japan eröffnet ein eBook-Store für Mangas und Magazine | eBook-Fieber.de July 15, 2015 um 9:42 am

[…] Der eBook-Store soll jedenfalls im nächsten Monat seine Pforten öffnen und zuerst einmal rund 100 Manga-Titel im Angebot haben. Pro Manga wird ein Preis von 400 bis 500 Yen aufgerufen, was ungefähr 4 bis 5 Euro entspricht. In Zukunft soll der eBook-Laden dann um Magazine und Kurzromane erweitert werden. Die entsprechende eBook-App soll es im Nintendo eShop zum Download geben, die eBooks werden dann aus der App heraus gekauft und heruntergeladen, wie Nate von The Digital Reader schreibt. […]


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