Piracy is the only real alternative
Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April
21–30 of 130 posts
Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April
#22This is sad. I really wish consoles were more open platforms than they are today so people didn't have to jailbreak their devices to run stuff like pretendo and install homebrew. Also imagine how cool a replacement E-Shop would be.
Someone really needs to work on creating a open console or even one with a form factor similar to the 3DS/DS. I mean imagine how cool a analogue pocket DS would be or maybe even a fantasy console based on the DS. But regardless I really wish consoles weren't so locked down.
Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April
#23This an evidence of gaping holes in digital consumer rights. People bought eShop software and physical hardware that they can no longer use or update. 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.
The 3DS launched in early 2011 and the Wii U launched in late 2012. I don’t know that it’s unreasonable to discontinue supporting them after a decade.
Nintendo is happy to make money off the NES intellectual property, defending it more aggressively than anyone else in the industry. They will do the same for the 3DS and WiiU.
That they are releasing emulator-based ports shows that the platform is still alive, and yet, they stop supporting the actual hardware.
It is totally within their rights to discontinue support, and it is not even unreasonable, but unlike some companies that offer some nice "parting gifts" when they do that (ex: open source, DRM free version, or just free credit), you will get nothing but lawsuits from Nintendo.
At least, you will still be able to play the game you bought, there are more evil companies out there.
Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Honestly, I hate blockchains, but I feel like they're the ultimate solution for digital goods. I don't want to own NFTs for their own sake as "speculative assets" or "stores of value" or nonsense like that, but an NFT that is my certificate of ownership of a copy of like a videogame or a streamable movie, etc. would just make sense. Combine that with a requirement that (a) binaries be freely redistributable, and (b)…
> a requirement that (a) binaries be freely redistributable, and (b) binaries must authenticate against a blockchain and not against private servers If the software runs on general-purpose hardware, it would be trivial to modify it to bypass the blockchain authentication step. If the software is only compatible with some sort of locked-down platform that won't run modified code, then it already has an enforcement mec…
Blockchain is not redundant because blockchain provides non-first-party ownership authorization and would enforce the transferability of the product.
Like, right now, if I buy a digital good on a game console, my "ownership" of that good is controlled by the vendor. They can take it away on a whim, or simply because they no longer want to maintain the server that says "yes, Pxtl owns this".
If that ownership is stored on a record outside of the first-party infrastructure and the software must authenticate my ownership against that 3rd-party, then that 3rd party is the one that controls whether or not I own the software, and is responsible for keeping that service live.
And a blockchain, flawed as it is, is a decent solution for managing ownership of goods without having the infrastructure owned by a single entity who has to maintain it and can take it down on a whim.
I mean, an ICANN-style neutral 3rd party with specific policies about lifetime and transferability of ownership that just runs this on a regular-ass SQL server would be fine too.
Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
The 3DS launched in early 2011 and the Wii U launched in late 2012. I don’t know that it’s unreasonable to discontinue supporting them after a decade.
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
Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April
#26Fortunately there is a fan run project that's working on recreating the online services for these consoles/games, in the same way that Wiimmfi has gotten the DS and Wii's multiplayer functionality up and running. See the Pretendo project here: https://pretendo.network/ It's not exactly feature perfect yet, but 2024 gives them time to fix up many of the features they haven't gotten working, and hopefully expand suppor…
I know it's not realistic but it'd be cool if pretendo made a e-shop replacement.
Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Honestly, I hate blockchains, but I feel like they're the ultimate solution for digital goods. I don't want to own NFTs for their own sake as "speculative assets" or "stores of value" or nonsense like that, but an NFT that is my certificate of ownership of a copy of like a videogame or a streamable movie, etc. would just make sense. Combine that with a requirement that (a) binaries be freely redistributable, and (b)…
Why should society protect copyright for goods that are discontinued? Discontinuation of a product is generally a financial decision; in essecne you are making a public declaration that the product is unprofitable and throwing up your hands. Your right to protection against piracy should end when you discontinue a product.
That argument extends far beyond digital goods. There are a myriad of great physical books, albums, games, boardgames, etc. that are out-of-print, and so the only legal way to experience them is to find somebody with a copy and borrow/rent/buy it from them. The IP rightsholder has decided it is no longer profitable to make more. So the problem you describe is exactly the same for physical media.
I mean, I'm not saying you're wrong but that this is scope-creep.
Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April
#28I hope this help make the could thing vanish
Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you think a person’s cartridge of Pokemon Sun is going to stop working after this? Online services means multiplayer games won’t work anymore, but single player physical games won’t magically stop working just because the online services shut down.
> Do you think a person’s cartridge of Pokemon Sun is going to stop working after this? Actually… I have a legitimate question here. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was broken on launch for the Wii U, and required a day one patch to play. It’s been stated that people who bought a game from the eShop will retain their ability to download it. But has it been clarified whether people who buy cartridges or discs…
Yes, there is still access to patches. They haven't announced when that might shutdown yet.
Re: Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS online services will shut down in April
#30It’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…
But the value of something is often its scarcity...
The owner of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin by Wu Tang would be pretty mad if it was freely shared because it couldn't be bought or rented.
Context from Wikipedia for those who don't know it: "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is the seventh studio album by the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. Only one physical copy of the album was created, with no ability to download or stream it digitally. Purchased directly from the Wu-Tang Clan in 2015, it became the most expensive work of music ever sold."
You'd have to have special categories whereby quantities could be intentionally limited.
But then Nintendo would presumably argue that they intended there to be a limited number of Wii's or Pokémon Red or whatever.