There were still be patches and online services involved. You can also bet that they won't eschew online purchases and digital downloads. I know I won't buy it if I have to go back to physical media.
Oh absolutely, and that's the way it is with the 3DS. But keep in mind that Nintendo home consoles have always been the favoured split-screen multiplayer - they're the consoles you play when your friends come round (and they work equally well for solo gamers). Consequently, forced online patches aren't really as obvious as they are on Xbox or Playstation.
On the 3DS, the only forced patches that affect me are OS patches that I'm required to install in order to access the eShop.
The mixed physical/digital distribution model for the 3DS is my favourite of all models right now. You can buy a cartridge, requiring no installation or online activation (which you can readily loan or sell later on), or you can download games from the eShop which, once activated, doesn't require any online call home. Ever. You can transfer games between consoles (e.g. during an upgrade) by going online and initiating a license transfer.
It's a great balance.
My one gripe is region locking. I hope that goes away (and rumours indicate it might). I waited a year for Fire Emblem Fates to come over from Japan and then it hits the US months before we get it in Europe..
If I remember correctly, a major limiting factor of cartridges is the time it takes to get them manufactured. If I remember right only one company was allowed to make those official cartridges, and you had to reserve a specific timeslot 8 months or more in advance, that you couldn't slip that date, in order to get your cartridges made.
I can't remember if I read this or if I was told this by veterans of the game industry (I used to work with some guys that have been in the industry for a long time). I think I was told this, but there's probably articles that mention this out there somewhere.
Anyway, they said it was a nightmare for scheduling, and sometimes you'd have a game finished but have to sit on it for months because that's the earliest you could get a slot reserved.
I think this is still an issue with the 3DS (I think they were complaining about it for DS at the time, why they didn't really want to work on another DS game).
Not sure if publishers would be as keen on this nowadays, especially compared to the speed and immediacy of the mobile world. Might make them stay with Microsoft and Sony, yet again.
> Consequently, forced online patches aren't really as obvious as they are on Xbox or Playstation.
Actually, one of the first Wii U firmware updates bricked a sizable number of consoles that had to be replaced by Nintendo (sizable meaning there were forum threads discussing the issue). My original console went through that process. Haven't had any such issues with the other two consoles this gen, luckily (and yet).
