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

theverge.com

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

#51

Post by scblock »

jlarocco wrote: post #31
raytopia wrote: post #22

This 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…

Meh. People knew when they bought in that the platforms were closed. If they wanted "open platforms" they should've bought PC games.

PC games aren't particularly open. Most are heavily DRM encumbered.

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

#52

Post by adra »

notamy wrote: post #4
buildbuildbuild wrote: post #3

This 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.

Yeah, I mean I "bought" my Godfather DVDs two decades ago, so it's totally fine that I lose the ability to watch it now, of course.

This sort of well-we-have-planned-obsolescence-built-into-our-product should be a hard red line that's worth fighting now, because pretty much any game released today from AAA studios have at the very least lip service online functionality. If we continue down this path, it'll be like the dark ages of tv where entire libraries of important cultural works were lost due to neglegent preservation (see BBC tape reuse).

It's likely that when this comes to a head, there will be countless titles gone forever and nobody with the skill/licensing to repair the loss of culturally relevant material. If EA decides dragon age is no longer worth their servers kicking, will I lose my BioWare collection? Probably.

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

#53

Post by godman_8 »

jlarocco wrote: post #31
raytopia wrote: post #22

This 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…

Meh. People knew when they bought in that the platforms were closed. If they wanted "open platforms" they should've bought PC games.

Exactly! That's why I can still play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive...oh wait, nvm.

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

#54

Post by NoMoreNicksLeft »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #36
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 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…

> Some are even calling for copyright to be eternal because the public is showing that it cannot handle public domain responsibly.

If someone is saying "public domain is bad because the people who want to control works they don't and can't really own can no longer control these works they absolutely do not own"... They're really missing the point.

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

#55

Post by bakugo »

goosedragons wrote: post #8
notamy wrote: post #4

Earlier 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.

The 3DS wasn't discontinued until 2020 and the Wii U 2017. Games were still released for a few years after too. There are older Switches than some 3DSs.

> The 3DS wasn't discontinued until 2020

Damn, I didn't realize it happened so recently. So it only took 2.5 years after discontinuation for eshop to be taken down, and 3 years for the remaining online services (other than redownloads of owned games) to be shut down.

At the rate Nintendo is going, I wouldn't be surprised if Switch online services are shut down less than a year after they stop manufacturing it.

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

#56

Post by smoldesu »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #46
frostiness wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that really the fault of the public domain or a reaction to the fact that Winnie the Pooh was copyrighted for so long? The appeal of horror Winnie the Pooh in almost every single instance has been due to the novelty that it's even possible to do legally, and somewhat as an act of rebellion against the company arguably responsible for holding it hostage for so long.

I don't think so. The appeal is in spoiling childhood innocence and not getting sued for it. Case in point: Peppa the Pig had problems with exploitative knockoff videos being uploaded for years, that were deliberately designed to be offensive and shocking. If Mario went public domain tomorrow, I absolutely guarantee you that 90% of what goes online or gets made will be content intended to shock, traumatize, or offend…

Copyright be damned, I have many photos of Mario that would shock, traumatize and potentially offend you. Please email me if you'd like a copy.

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

#57

Post by derstander »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #46
frostiness wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that really the fault of the public domain or a reaction to the fact that Winnie the Pooh was copyrighted for so long? The appeal of horror Winnie the Pooh in almost every single instance has been due to the novelty that it's even possible to do legally, and somewhat as an act of rebellion against the company arguably responsible for holding it hostage for so long.

I don't think so. The appeal is in spoiling childhood innocence and not getting sued for it. Case in point: Peppa the Pig had problems with exploitative knockoff videos being uploaded for years, that were deliberately designed to be offensive and shocking. If Mario went public domain tomorrow, I absolutely guarantee you that 90% of what goes online or gets made will be content intended to shock, traumatize, or offend…

> 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.

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

#58

Post by _aavaa_ »

ibejoeb wrote: post #34
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…

Hmm. I don't think I agree with the philosophy of it, even if the outcome is good for consumers. For one, just because something is not available for purchase does not mean that the creator is not deprived of the would-be revenue. 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. Secondly, that puts an unfair burden on creator…

> 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 anything with is counter to that whole purpose of providing copyright in the first place.

> Secondly, that puts an unfair burden on creators. If I do a run of of my book, and it sells out, I don't think it becomes open season on duplicating it digitally, and I shouldn't have to always carry excess inventory just in case it's a hit.

This is a strawman interpretation. There is a lot of room between "I ran out of stock today" and "this game hasn't been on sale for 3 decades".

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

#60

Post by Zambyte »

buildbuildbuild wrote: post #3

This 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.

Not just open source, it should be in the public domain.
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