Nintendo rumoured to be working on micro-transaction firmware update for 3DS

Reports have emerged in Japan's biggest newspaper Nikkei that Nintendo is considering introducing an in-game purchasing model for the 3DS.

Nintendo's digital downloads are currently accounting for less than 5 percent of its total sales figures, something which is not the case for other Japanese games makers.

The report indicates that a firmware update could arrive as early as next month, allowing developers to start integrating micro-transactions into their titles, but the first games to use this feature aren't expected to arrive until 2012.