It has been, in essence, confirmed that downloads won't be free. It's plausible to imagine that Nintendo might "give" or "present" x-number of free downloads with the purchase of first-party game. What does this mean? Nintendo might include a coupon in every personal license (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Pokemon) to download other Nintendo personal license.
EX: You buy Fire Emblem: [unknown title] for the Revolution. The coupon included says you get 3 free Nintendo Downwloads. You go online with the Revolution and find NES, SNES, and N64 Fire Emblem games that you just have to have, and they just so happen to number at 3. You can download all three for free, using the coupon to waive the "nominal" fee (tbd).
Nintendo could also offer this idea to third-parties. As another example...we'll use SquarEnix.
EX: You buy Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles [tbd full title], and it comes with a coupon for 2 free Square or Enix games. You find Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V, and you can't live without them. You can use the coupon to discount the price to zero.
Now. The preceeding had nothing to do with the topic at hand. I'll comment, as I love the Mario Kart series.
I, fortunately, have a WiFi router in my house ^_^ This is how I access online, in fact, from my laptop. That USB connector is sweet, nonetheless. I'm glad Metroid Prime: Hunters was held back just so it coudl be online like Mario Kart DS ^_^ I'm getting both games. I'll have to play some people online and see how it turns out
