Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April • Hacker News Board

Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April

#101

Post by _aavaa_ » Wed, Oct 04, 2023, 7:12 PM UTC

ibejoeb wrote: post #92

_aavaa_ wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> An existing owner of a copy of the media should have access to it for the duration, but I can't get to why it should become freely shareable. Because copyright laws (in the US at least) are (supposed to) provide to creators a limited time monopoly on their work in order to "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts". Getting the right to squat on a piece of art that you claimed copyright over but not doing…

I'm just describing a potential disincentive. It's not a straw man. That's why the notion of expiring copyright works out. I didn't suggest removing that. And sure, there's plenty of room in between there. What would call for, then? If there is any demand, the owner of the work needs to front the expense to fulfill it, otherwise lose the rights to the work? There are lots of ways for this to go wrong. Anyway, copyrig…

> If there is any demand, the owner of the work needs to front the expense to fulfill it, otherwise lose the rights to the work?

This discussion started with the topic of video games, and this thread is about digitally distributed video games.

The upfront work needed to host an executable online is essentially zero, especially when there are platforms like HumbleBundle, GoG, and Steam which will do the hosting for you in exchange for a cut of sales.

Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April

#102

Post by wnoise » Wed, Oct 04, 2023, 7:16 PM UTC

cultureswitch wrote: post #33

I think having pure data IP protected by copyright should require said IP to be uploaded to a national database in each country. After the copyright elapses, everyone can simply download from that database. Sure, there are a lot of works to copyright every year. That's a lot of data. But we need to save all of that somewhere, so it might as well be some place that can't go bankrupt.

There are still a lot of non-digital works produced, though it is shrinking in proportion.

Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April

#103

Post by INTPenis » Wed, Oct 04, 2023, 7:17 PM UTC

Aww the 3DS is still a very nice retro console where you can play anything from the Nintendo store. I'm assuming they mean the nintendo store for 3DS will shut down then?

I gave mine to my nephew a while back, it's probably broken by now. But it's still sad.

Sometimes I just feel like playing some classic games like Castlevania, Metroid and Earthbound.

Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April

#104

Post by slothtrop » Wed, Oct 04, 2023, 7:30 PM UTC

DoctorDabadedoo wrote: post #32

paul_funyun wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They didn't buy the games, they just bought licenses to use them in certain ways. Their mistake

Wonder why digital games usually go the same price of physical media, then if their ownership is conceptually different.

They're no longer conceptually different in the case of discs (though maybe for the cartridges Nintendo still uses). Inserting a disc into a ps4 for the first time often just triggers a download for all of the game data, rather than copying from disc. Add to the fact new releases are heavily patched these days which requires download. At least in the ps3 era launch titles were a fairly complete product.

Once Sony phases out support for the ps4, the console is rendered useless for playing anything that isn't already installed. Hence my copy of Bloodborne is staying on there. I know they'll probably release some "remaster" but I'm not keen on re-purchasing what I already own (there are gamers that do this... buying a game multiple times, even in the same console generation, it's crazy).

Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April

#105

Post by skeaker » Wed, Oct 04, 2023, 7:33 PM UTC

paul_funyun wrote: post #25

hoherd wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're missing the point of the parent's suggestion. > Regulators should force companies to open source any games and associated server software that consumers paid to "own", yet companies are no longer willing to maintain. Nintendo shouldn't be forced to support them, but consumers should be able to continue using them. The hardware still works great, and even if not, we have virtual hardware. This should be…

They didn't buy the games, they just bought licenses to use them in certain ways. Their mistake

I think this is what's being criticized

Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April

#106

Post by kelnos » Wed, Oct 04, 2023, 7:36 PM UTC

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #68

derstander wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The appeal is in spoiling childhood innocence and not getting sued for it. Unfortunately this happens under the current system. See E.g., Star Wars. I’m not super invested in the franchise but entries after the original trilogy have been polarizing, as probably the vast majority of us here have been made aware.

True. But the reason why we talk about Public Domain so positively is that we view it as there being so much creativity that is contained for 70+ years for no reason. It's starting to turn out, and I fear the perception is getting set, that almost all of that creativity is garbage, or at least perceived as such by a growing percentage of people. Seriously though, if I was Disney, I'd bankroll secretly as much garbage…

> almost all of that creativity is garbage

Almost all creativity -- regardless of its source -- is garbage[0]. This sort of creativity that you don't like -- Winnie the Pooh horror and porn -- is prominent because the media has seized upon it. And the reason they've done that is precisely because of how unusual it is for big media properties to have their copyrights expire.

I just don't see the problem here. If you don't want to read Winnie the Pooh horror stories, then don't read them.

[0] Someone else here mentioned Sturgeon's Law, "90% of everything is crap", and I think that applies quite well here.

Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April

#107

Post by kelnos » Wed, Oct 04, 2023, 7:37 PM UTC

makapuf wrote: post #47

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if this would work. Right now, Winnie the Pooh has gone public domain, and if you've seen the reaction to "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" or a new video game called "Winnie's Hole"... most people really, really do not like that Winnie the Pooh is being expanded in the horror direction. Some are even calling for copyright to be eternal because the public is showing that it cannot handle public domain r…

Uh ... I don't like what Disney made of Cinderella, pinocchio or pocahontas. Commercial reuse handle copyright miserably. Anyway, people having fun with Winnie ? Who will care in 2 years? Do you often see shock content of cinderella ? Or xxx content of beauty and the beast?

> Do you often see shock content of cinderella ? Or xxx content of beauty and the beast

And I guarantee you that, if you want to find this stuff, you can find it, regardless of the copyright status. Rule 34 exists for a reason.

Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April

#108

Post by slothtrop » Wed, Oct 04, 2023, 7:42 PM UTC

The interest surrounding these issues suggests to me that PC gaming is going to win greater market share. Steam placed a big bet on this well before the Deck, but they were too early.

The ability to upgrade, and still have easy access to your long-standing library, will be increasingly appealing to consumers, at least those who aren't merely casual. Either consoles will go from glorified locked-down PCs to actual PCs, or gaming PCs will just resemble consoles more through quality-of-life features.

Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April

#109

Post by phendrenad2 » Wed, Oct 04, 2023, 7:46 PM UTC

derstander wrote: post #16

It’ll never happen, but I think codifying a concept similar to “abandonware” in law would be a huge step forward. If a person can’t buy or rent a piece of media, then it should be able to be freely shared. Maybe add a short time-out period in case there are momentary hiccups with a creator. Make it apply not just to videogames, but books, movies, music, etc. After all, if you can’t buy it, you’re not depriving the cr…

I've suggested that if a book/software/song/movie has not been sold by the copyright holder for > 25 years, it should lose copyright and DMCA protections (but not trademark protections). But the more I think about it, the less I think it could actually work. If something hasn't been sold for N years, chances are the copyright holder doesn't consider it valuable, and won't go after pirates. For example, Nintendo, before they realized that people like old games.

Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April

#110

Post by jcotton42 » Wed, Oct 04, 2023, 7:48 PM UTC

INTPenis wrote: post #103

Aww the 3DS is still a very nice retro console where you can play anything from the Nintendo store. I'm assuming they mean the nintendo store for 3DS will shut down then? I gave mine to my nephew a while back, it's probably broken by now. But it's still sad. Sometimes I just feel like playing some classic games like Castlevania, Metroid and Earthbound.

The 3DS and Wii U eShops have already shut down.