These days you can load up almost the entire history of gaming on a dozen different PC handhelds, choose from a thriving Android ecosystem of less-powerful but cheaper handhelds, and run emulators on iPhones and Android phones. Their walled garden is on the brink of ruin, unencumbered hardware and software have surpassed what they offer. I don't think it's existential yet but if they don't have a digital buffet ready for PC/Mac/iOS/Android then they are in real trouble IMHO.
Nintendo isn't just attacking emulators [video]
21–30 of 77 posts
Re: Nintendo isn't just attacking emulators [video]
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US belongs to various international copyright conventions. The assumption is that countries will respect each others' copyrights. And the US currently has an extremely long copyright period, life of the author + 70 years. Some (Larry Lessig and others) have argued that this violates the constitution's establishment clause for copyright, but so far the supreme court disagrees, and copyright reform also seems dead…
A large part of the US economy depends on IP law, including copyright; they're not going to suddenly abandon it. They could, however, shorten the terms to much more reasonable lengths. It wouldn't hurt the US economy to shorten copyright terms to 50 years, for instance. If they shortened them to 30 years, it would have no real effect on the software industry, though Nintendo would be pissed. I don't think Microsoft w…
> If they shortened them to 30 years, it would have no real effect on the software industry, though Nintendo would be pissed. I don't think Microsoft would care much about people passing around copies of MS-DOS 3.3.
Well Windows 95 is coming up soon on its 30th... (and come to think of it MS already open sourced MS-DOS "4.0" for any retro-masochists who might want it.[1])
I'm sure MS Word and Excel must have improved slightly in 30 years, but by how much? They don't seem much more responsive than they were 10 years ago, and most of the shiny new Windows/Office features seem to be things I hate like annoying autocorrect, pointless UI redesigns, new advertisements and telemetry, and worthless and intrusive AI nonsense. Maybe with some incompatible save formats and clunky "cloud" features added in for good measure.
Office's largest enhancement seems to be Office 365, which offers an inferior and sluggish imitation of the desktop apps running in a web browser. This is possibly useful for people stuck with crappy Chromebooks, ARM-based tablets/phones, or Linux.
Re: Nintendo isn't just attacking emulators [video]
#23These days you can load up almost the entire history of gaming on a dozen different PC handhelds, choose from a thriving Android ecosystem of less-powerful but cheaper handhelds, and run emulators on iPhones and Android phones. Their walled garden is on the brink of ruin, unencumbered hardware and software have surpassed what they offer. I don't think it's existential yet but if they don't have a digital buffet ready…
Its definitely existential or they wouldn't be trying to nickle and dime everything related to them whilst squandering all their good will in the process.
Re: Nintendo isn't just attacking emulators [video]
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
The interesting question to me is how piracy (or unlicensed downloads) affects the company. In many cases, it seems like it has little effect at all. Are people really going to stop subscribing to Switch Online because NES ROMs are readily available for emulators? What I think might (?) have some impact on Nintendo is downloading Switch games for execution on competing handhelds like the Steam Deck.
Yuzu and Ryujinx are the real threats to its business as a number of highly anticipated game titles have been leaked and pirated several days (if not weeks) before their releases. This is not acceptable for both the developers and legit purchasers. I actually suspect that the recent Zelda title leak (2 weeks before its release) was the main motivation of recent takedown of Ryujinx.
I have read comments from game developers that copy protection, and anti-piracy tech, does seem to have a significant and positive effect on a game's sales for the first few days after release, which seems to be a hugely important window in a market with a short attention span and a constant flood of new games.
I agree that the big deal that Nintendo must be worried about is Switch emulation and piracy/leaks of new games before or close to release.
On the other hand (refuting my GP speculation perhaps), are Switch (and Switch game) sales really going to tank because pirates can run Zelda on Steam Decks? Regular Zelda fans who can afford one probably own a Switch already, are planning on buying a Switch 2 (or an OLED Switch after a price drop), and preordered the game.
Re: Nintendo isn't just attacking emulators [video]
#25Better source: Comment last week on /r/SBCGaming: https://safereddit.com/r/SBCGaming/comments/1frjcaa/hey_ever... --- It appears that my suspicions are true, and that I am being specifically targeted by Nintendo. My recent Wii U video was taken down and I received a second copyright strike, even though this showcase video was no different than all of the tech demos and reviews I have made on this channel previously.…
Here's the proper link: https://old.reddit.com/r/SBCGaming/comments/1frjcaa/hey_ever... I don't know what the fuck "safereddit.com" is, but it is an unnecessary layer of obfuscation when the literal source is right there.
It's necessary when using a VPN, Reddit blocked anonymous access a few months ago
Re: Nintendo isn't just attacking emulators [video]
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Nintendo currently rent out NES games as part of Switch online If Nintendo really cared about this they should create their own version of Spotify for legacy video games and charge a monthly subscription fee for the entire library that’s cross platform and mobile friendly. The strength of Nintendo really is their games, not the hardware. I don’t understand why Nintendo is so attached to their hardware in 2024, espe…
> I don’t understand why Nintendo is so attached to their hardware in 2024, Yes, you do not. Nintendo makes a lot of money selling hardware. Switch is the third most successful game console of all time, behind the PS2 and Nintendo's own DS. Switch was always profitable vs. component and manufacturing cost, and this has largely gotten better over time with the exception of covid-related supply chain disruptions. Ninte…
> Physical media are important in Japan
Genuinely curious: why is that?
Re: Nintendo isn't just attacking emulators [video]
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
The interesting question to me is how piracy (or unlicensed downloads) affects the company. In many cases, it seems like it has little effect at all. Are people really going to stop subscribing to Switch Online because NES ROMs are readily available for emulators? What I think might (?) have some impact on Nintendo is downloading Switch games for execution on competing handhelds like the Steam Deck.
Yuzu and Ryujinx are the real threats to its business as a number of highly anticipated game titles have been leaked and pirated several days (if not weeks) before their releases. This is not acceptable for both the developers and legit purchasers. I actually suspect that the recent Zelda title leak (2 weeks before its release) was the main motivation of recent takedown of Ryujinx.
Your comment about the effect on customers is interesting. I could see that as a Switch owner I might be a bit disappointed/envious to see the game running on other systems before I get my hands on it legitimately? Maybe it deflates the excitement a bit, especially if it is widely publicized. On the other hand, I'm still probably going to buy the game and enjoy playing it.
Re: Nintendo isn't just attacking emulators [video]
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Nintendo currently rent out NES games as part of Switch online If Nintendo really cared about this they should create their own version of Spotify for legacy video games and charge a monthly subscription fee for the entire library that’s cross platform and mobile friendly. The strength of Nintendo really is their games, not the hardware. I don’t understand why Nintendo is so attached to their hardware in 2024, espe…
> I don’t understand why Nintendo is so attached to their hardware in 2024, Yes, you do not. Nintendo makes a lot of money selling hardware. Switch is the third most successful game console of all time, behind the PS2 and Nintendo's own DS. Switch was always profitable vs. component and manufacturing cost, and this has largely gotten better over time with the exception of covid-related supply chain disruptions. Ninte…
Physical media in Japan is important for a lot of reasons. Just looking around, the Music CD rental market is still big here... I have spoken to many people who have no streamers, they buy or rent all their DVDs and BluRays. There's the collectors thing, too, with "special edition" and "limited time" offers, etc. Physical media has a lot of love in Japan.
Re: Nintendo isn't just attacking emulators [video]
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I don’t understand why Nintendo is so attached to their hardware in 2024, Yes, you do not. Nintendo makes a lot of money selling hardware. Switch is the third most successful game console of all time, behind the PS2 and Nintendo's own DS. Switch was always profitable vs. component and manufacturing cost, and this has largely gotten better over time with the exception of covid-related supply chain disruptions. Ninte…
> Physical media are important in Japan Genuinely curious: why is that?
“I’m not a prophet or anything, but I believe that physical media will have more longevity here for the same reason that I think magazines do, which is that anyone can step out of their house and walk five feet [to buy one],” says Ricciardi. “It’s just easier to get to these things in Japan.”
https://www.theverge.com/24055863/akihabara-japan-retro-vide...
Re: Nintendo isn't just attacking emulators [video]
#30I'm probably the only person on HN who sympathizes with Nintendo. I think the law should be stronger against internet piracy without hurting other freedom. Let's be real. I'm guessing only 1% will rip the ROM off their purchased cartridge and play on an emulator. The 99% will pirate games they never purchased.
Either way your so called "piracy" helps preserve the games and keep them playable for much longer.
IIRC NES, SNES, and Game Boy cartridges have a battery for game saves that eventually needs to be replaced.
The point is a good one though: can we preserve the games so that they'll be playable hundreds of years (or more?!) from now, much as we can still play tabletop games from antiquity (backgammon, 9 man morris, chess, mancala, go, senet, etc.?) Whether the cyborgs of the 25th century will still want to play Mario Kart is unknown however.