Game News Nintendo: the foundation for the heritage of video games angry, the last decision of Big N goes wrong
At the beginning of the week, Nintendo announced the upcoming closure of the digital stores of the 3DS of the Wii U. A decision which does not please the Foundation for the Heritage of Video Games and which seems especially perplexed.
Summary
- 3DS and Wii U: is it just goodbye?
- Nintendo “destroyer” of heritage
3DS and Wii U: is it just goodbye?
A chapter of history took a turn in 2022. Earlier this week Nintendo announced the permanent closure of the 3DS and Wii U online stores. From March 2023, it will therefore be impossible to buy content from these two consoles. A decision that was not justified, even if it seems legitimate to think that the infrastructures and human resources of these two shops are moved to other more interesting services for Nintendo.
Do not panic to have, for the moment in any case, on the content already purchased since it will be recoverable on the Nintendo eShop “and for a while” after the deadline. In other words, there is a little more than a year left for those who wish to buy the titles exclusive to these two consoles and in particular those which have not (yet?) been ported to Nintendo Switch: the remakes of Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask and those of Pokémon Rubyor the remaster of Wind Waker and the StarFox Zero from PlatinumGames. In the wake of such an announcement, Nintendo implies in its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that it has little or no plans for the future of these titles.. The only solution envisaged by “Big N” is to go through Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo’s large digital market, only available via the Switch and which offers a multitude of retro games. It has a catalog of NES and Super NES games, to which Nintendo 64 and MegaDrive in October 2021.
Nintendo “destroyer” of heritage
As one might expect, this decision has had its share of dissatisfied people. This is particularly the case of the Foundation for Video Game Heritage, which shared its anger yesterday on Twitter following the announcement of the closure of the digital stores of the 3DS and Wii U. And if it indicates to recognize “the commercial reality behind this decision, it does not understand the choice left to Nintendo fans” :
How will players be able to play these games in the future? (…) Not providing commercial access is a decision that can be understood, but preventing the institutional work of preserving these titles is destructive to video game heritage.
It must be recognized that with such a decision, things become more complex for players who are curious or simply nostalgic for a period not so long ago. Especially since by closing their doors to them in this way, Nintendo is indirectly encouraging the trafficking of illegal versions of their games. A piracy she doesn’t mess with, recently testified by Bowser : the Canadian hacker was sentenced to three years in prison for selling pirated Nintendo Switch games.
By chatmhgWriting jeuxvideo.com
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