Video Game History Foundation Calls Out Nintendo's "Destructive" 3DS & Wii U eShop Closure

At this point I’m happy Nintendos tech is so far behind I’ll easily be able to emulate it when the time comes.

Nintendo hates their fans.

I miss the Iwata era.

I agree with the Foundation. Nintendo is ridiculous when it comes to making its titles easily available for future consoles.

I’ll throw some shade at my favorite platform maker too. Sony is barely above Nintendo in that department.

What I would to see is a fundamental rethink of how digital game copyrights work. I’ll admit this is off the top of my head, but I think it could work. Although I’m sure the companies would fight it tooth and nail.

When a game is copyrighted, at the date of release that game is given a ten year copyright claim. If the game is not available on a current platform at the end of the ten year period, the game becomes classified as abandonware and is free to be traded by the gaming community for non-profit purposes, including archival on internet repositories for access through emulation.

Now, to incentivize the companies to keep their games available to purchase so they can continue to generate profit, if they continue to make the game available past the initial ten year mark, they keep their exclusive copyright claim to the title in question as long as the game is available on an active platform.

The key part of the plan is availability. As long as the publishers keep the game available, they keep their copyright on it. It’s an incentive.

You know Nintendo...the Virtual Console would be a super easy fix to this...just let us buy the damn retro games instead of a subscription service...especially the expansion pack. I'm not paying $50 just to play a couple of N64 games here and there.

Don't the 3DS and Wii U eShops run on the same server network as the Switch? Could running these extra few servers really be costing them that much?

Video game history foundation should probably realize that Nintendo is a business and not a charity service, and that running a digital store that doesn't justify the running cost makes no business sense. Whether we like it or not (we don't, obviously), this was bound to happen one day.

It's not that the world would fall into middle age if some videogames are not preserved

I would argue MS selling the HoloLens to the U.S. Army for training purposes is more destructive than anything Nintendo or Sony has done, but that's just me.

Not that that excuses Nintendo, but 'destructive' is a very dramatic term for what they're doing.

Things like this really makes me think twice about buying Switch games online unless they are priced closer to a rental

So worried that I actually called Nintendo about it a few days ago... I can see so many errors they have made with the 3DS. I suspect Nintendo is struggling with finding security specialist to deal with 3DS eShop. Honestly the idea people have had lately where they allow purchase from Nintendo switch or PC, and let you download it on your console. That's their security option.

If this is your biggest problem in life, you have no problems.

nothing is being lost, all of the data still exists to think that all media must be available in the most easy to access forms is both unfair and unrealistic. If youre hoping Nintendo will condone piracy, stop waiting because people are going to do it anyway because they never cared it was illegal in the first place.

@IronMan30

Why?

The US military contracted them to test HoloLens for the Future Warrior Program. Long term, the plan for the US military is to digitally integrate its combat units so that different units can see what they can’t see from their current positions across the battle space.

If the digitization effort works as planned, it could significantly lessen casualties for US Army and Marine units in the field. Since they would have a better idea of what is happening across the Battle space in real-time.

In addition, it can be used for training soldiers in scenarios that is difficult to replicate with practical set ups at a cheaper cost.

@Tourtus The problem is the software on the 3ds itself. In order to allow purchase from the system, the server has to allow an older and easier-to-exploit client to connect to their servers.

Frank Cifaldi is one angry nerd rn

Selective outrage, let's not forget they didn't say a word when other consoles have gone offline.

This situation is why I laugh whenever a video game publisher claims that this medium is art. If it were art it would be important to publishers to preserve their creations. If it were art, publishers would take steps to ensure that their art is available to as wide an audience as possible. Notice how every work of literary fiction is automatically by law registered with the Library of Congress? Notice how you can stroll to your local library and borrow thousands of years worth of literary works? That’s cuz it’s art, and is treated as such. Films are also lightyears ahead of video games when it comes to this. Video game makers love to hold the game awards, and love to talk of art when it serves their marketing interests. But they are absolutely disgraceful when it comes to actually treating their works as art should properly be treated.

While I would love to see Nintendo provide better options for older games, I don't think tehy are obligated to. They don't owe that to anybody. It is what it is.

@Rika_Yoshitake Xbox live arcade games are still up. And Sony backtracked on shutting down their stores after similar outrage. So don’t really know what you’re talking about.

@Rika_Yoshitake So... technically the PS Vita you can download all your games to a computer and then sync it over, Sony lets you backup and archive your library. PS3, less so.

But... Nintendo actively fights game preservation, not just rom sites, but organizations that try to archive and preserve older titles.

Sony is real nasty when it comes to home brewing their systems, but I haven't heard of them lobbying to make it even more difficult to even say talk about old games. Nintendo once tried preventing YouTubers from reviewing games, they go after strategy guides that don't even include copyrighted material.

Nintendo doesn't want people playing old games, or remembering them, except when its the small collection on their virtual console.

@Screen nah dawgg. If Nintendo hates piracy then making their games as easily accessible as possible would combat piracy. Music piracy decreased insanely once iTunes made buying the songs legally way easier than pirating them.

We understand business but are yelling at you for being a business.

Users are the ones that want to “preserve” (or in actuality just want to have constant, cheap, easy access to) games, so the onus is on the one that finds sentimental value to do so. Nobody can reasonably expect any business to keep incurring OPEX on an product past its life. Should Nintendo fire up manufacturing the 3ds and WiiU again too? You need a system to play these games on after all. Wasted budget is always felt somewhere in the company somewhere else. Less hiring recs, lower bonuses, cut hours…the accounting team will have their due one way or another. Which is part of business.

When Nintendo uses VC, “the prices are too high for 30 year old games”, when they go sub “I want to own these 30 year old games that have been around for 30 years”, when Nintendo ports it’s “we don’t want those old games, where are the new games?!” (Even though it’s just a license anyway). Why not find the creators of these games and ask for ports/collections/reprints? Nope, easier to blame the store front for everything. Many of the folks complaining about this were not even interested in those games until they found out they are going away. Consumers are so fickle.

Get those eshop cards and stock up! Has this game foundation considered buying a few 3ds systems and maxing out that 300 install limit until they have a complete/close to complete collection? “Preservation” costs money.

Nintendo should give the option to purchase retro games digitally on Switch. I have no interest in the NSO expansion pass, but I would gladly pick up Paper Mario if it were a standalone sale.

@Don
Nintendo was thinking about the closure of the Wii U eShop in as early as 2014, when Iwata was alive and still president of the company.

Can’t say I’m too choked about this. I get why people are upset, but I think “destructive” is taking it a little far. Everything will disappear with time. There are some things we need to remember; I just don’t think Wii U and 3DS games are those things.

Nintendo thinks their actions are justified because they have a long-term strategy of rolling out legacy content on Nintendo Switch Online over the course of several years. The problem is, people want it now and Nintendo loves to be coy with this stuff instead of outright telling us it's coming eventually.

@Ultimapunch

It would certainly be a smart move for them.

MS and Sony are in the ESA as well (As are a number of big devs/publishers). I love the spin.

Nintendo is never going to care about preserving outside of repackaging a select few games to use as a means to get/keep people in the current ecosystem. The games are faceless products to the people calling the shots and any other talk is just marketing. Dillon's Rolling Western has been put out to pasture, like it or not. It's on the community to preserve, and eventually come up with some way to keep playing Wii U and 3DS games when the hardware is impossible to find. Nintendo could have made the AVS or NT, but they don't because they don't think it's profitable. They could have kept making the mini consoles, same reason. So long as people aren't being stupid or greedy with their preservation efforts, Nintendo isn't going to swing the legal hammer at them. The focus should be there and not talking to a wall which is what this whole post is doing.

@Solomon_Rambling also to mention that a lot of the Wii U's library is on Switch

So much literature burned or lost to time.
The Internet: Who reads books? Ya Boomer.

So many Silent era films thrown away.
The Internet: Those movies were terrible!

So many video games lost to poor preservation practices.
The Internet: Who cares about kids games?

I agree with nintendo. These are old consoles. If ya haven't got the games ya want by now... well time to have some concrete and harden up.

@Ultimapunch they still shut down the PSP store but left the Vita and PS3 store alone for the time being. But Sony will eventually try again and shut down the Vita and PS3 store.

That being said, I think the loss of VC is the biggest impact of the closure of the Wii U and 3DS stores. Pretty much almost all of the Wii U's best games are on Switch. Unfortunately, I don't think Nintendo will try and port 3DS games.

@Joeynator3000
They ended the Virtual Console because outside of the big Nintendo titles and cult classics, none of the games sold well

@Ultimapunch
I'm sick of people white knighting Sony and Microsoft when they're literally monopolizing the industry, and the former shut down their own Japanese studio while refusing to even promote independent games.

@westman98 Yeah, based on what one guy said. Specifically, a disgruntled anonymous American former employee. Nintendo was more pro-consumer during the Iwata era.

At this point the Wii U has been out for almost 10 years now, the 3DS is roughly 11 years. Remember that when these two consoles launch hardly anyone bought em and even so it wasn't until Nintendo announced a price drop that sales pick up. Almost 90% of digital third party titles on Wii U is already available on PC and other platforms anyways, a majority of first party titles were already ported to Switch. As for 3DS, 95% of its library are already out there in physical form anyways (the only issue is collecting them for preservation), the few that are digital either had better versions on Switch, PS Vita, mobile, or other platforms. If you want to collect for 3DS, 95% of its library is physical, for DS 98% is physical, for Wii U it's 90% but like I said if you own a Switch, PC, or other platforms you probably own some of those games already (probably the better versions as well).

I love how these clowns think they have to make an official statement on this. Nintendo is a business. They are likely losing money keeping the service up. It has been 10 years. I highly doubt the hardcore audience has not gotten the games they want and future gamers will likely not give a crap. My introduction to gaming was with the Wii. I didn’t give a crap about all the small games on past consoles because they meant nothing to me. These small games that mean something to you don’t mean anything to future gamers.

@Coalescence
Thanks for the reminder I need to pick up dillins rolling western. Is the third one any good, because it is pretty expensive for a 3ds game and not as high on the priority list right now.

@Willo567 bruh, Sony literally shut down the PSP store too. Do some people not remember that.

I understand the frustration. But at the same time I wonder why a lot of people are surprised about this? Isn't that just how it went down every time on every console so far?

Good luck with that. You know what Nintendo are like, it's like talking to a brick wall with them.

@bloodycelt Anyone that wanted to play games unofficially on 3DS and Wii U already did it. Nintendo found a way to stop the apps that connected to their digital stores directly and that's enough because it stops traffic and downloads on their servers by people that don't pay. Nintendo is getting extremely rich with Switch, there's no reason to shut the Wii U and 3DS shops down. It's like they don't care about their fans nor about their games and just about making money on Switch with new releases and awful paid services.

@Don You think all this stuff started under Bowser? Nope, the only difference between Iwata and Furukara or Reggie and Bowser is that the latter are more brazen. Stop worshipping CEOs.

@blindsquarel It's not like a majority of the games that have become popular in the modern generation were heavily inspired by earlier games aesthetically and/or gameplay-wise... or a kids' movie about a fictional 80s video game grossed $420 million at the box office in the early 2010s... or Nintendo are actively promoting games they don't provide in modern crossover games... or that kids were the ones who gave 2000s-era "angry reviewers" their fame... or that children are capable of the basic human emotion of appreciating history... or that your PFP is from a game that came out before the Wii.

This situation is free advertisement for piracy. But anyway, I'm going to buy all the 3DS games I never played and leave it at that.

Also, some of you live in an echo chamber repeating the same thing the last guy sitting next to you said. This time "it's just business!"

@Banjo-
Nintendo: Puts in Sora and Banjo as Smash DLC, announce 48 new courses for MK8 Deluxe for only $25

Fans: Nintendo doesn't care about us

@Euler
If you have issue with the validity of the source, then take it up with NintendoLife who conducted the interview.

Until then, I'll choose to believe them over random internet forum posters claiming invoking a dead man to criticize corporate some decisions they don't like.

@Willo567 That's a weird simplification.

@bloodycelt

"But... Nintendo actively fights game preservation, not just rom sites, but organizations that try to archive and preserve older titles".

Exactly!

"Sony is real nasty when it comes to home brewing their systems, but I haven't heard of them lobbying to make it even more difficult to even say talk about old games. Nintendo once tried preventing YouTubers from reviewing games, they go after strategy guides that don't even include copyrighted material".

They are absolutely arrogant and ungrateful. They accept everyone's money but won't even let you share what you play even if fans are full of appreciation, nostalgia and love. Preservation? They don't care about that either. Just give them money for the latest thing until they kill it and give you a new thing to pay for.

@Troll_Decimator Agreed

Remember not too long ago when Sony announced the closing of it's PSN shop on PS3 and everyone freaked out? Well it actually did some good because shortly after Sony backpedaled and decided not to close it yet. Why can't Nintendo do that? I Mean i Know the Wii U wasn't exactly popular but if you honestly believe it didn't have alot of great games you are either delusional or you never owned a Wii U.

It's not the library that hurt it. It was that damn gamepad which was a clever idea but it just wasn't what it could have been. Some games forced it on you and others barely used it at all.

@Banjo-
Every time Nintendo makes a decision that's unpopular, people yell about them not giving a ***** about fans. I'm not happy that the stores are closing either, but I'm pretty sure they're closing because the Wii U was a big flop, and the 3DS sales declined heavily after the Switch released, with this very site calling it dead in 2019.

It doesn't even matter, because people soon forget about whatever Nintendo did to make them mad when their next game comes out or announced.

If you're that unhappy with Nintendo, stop buying their products and stop following news about them

@westman98 Nintendolife conducted the interview. I'm not going to "take it up" with them for doing their job (conducting interviews), but it is up to every reader to question how credible any given source is. "We report, you decide" is useful to keep in mind.

@Truegamer79

"Remember not too long ago when Sony announced the closing of it's PSN shop on PS3 and everyone freaked out"

Yeah I remember that.

"Well it actually did some good because shortly after Sony backpedaled and decided not to close it"

Not really. Yes they stopped the closure of the Vita and PS3 store but they still closed down the PSP store though. Wouldn't be surprised once Sony tries this again.

"if you honestly believe it didn't have a lot of great games you are either delusional or you never owned a Wii U"

1. I never owned a Wii U. I did play it at a friend's house and it had a lot of good games.

2. I believe the Wii U had good games

3. Many of the Wii U's best games (1st party especially) are on Switch. In terms of 3rd party wise, you can find it on Switch or on other consoles/PC

"Why can't Nintendo do that"?

Because Nintendo doesn't listen to their fans much? I mean, they sometimes (rarely) do listen but most of the time they don't

@Tourtus
The 3DS/Wii U eShop server is separate from the Switch server

@Willo567 "If you're that unhappy with Nintendo, stop buying their products and stop following news about them".

Don't need your advice but thanks. I think that the problems related to Nintendo are partially caused by fans like you that ask everyone else to accept everything and behave like sheep.

Fans defending the closure of two digital stores and attacking those that criticise these actions is certainly unbelievable but explains why things are like they are... What a shame.

@Euler
Cool. For me, until I see evidence that the source it flat-out lying about Nintendo and that NintrndoLife would knowing interview an untrustworthy sourcr, I have little reason to doubt him.

@Banjo-
The Wii U was a massive flop and the 3DS sales have been declining heavily since the Switch launched. I'm not happy about the store closing, but it makes sense from a business perspective.

@Willo567 You (and others like westman98) don't talk like a gamer or real fan but like someone that only cares about Nintendo making money and nothing else. Using your logic, if Nintendo found a more profitable business they should abandon video games and do that other thing because it's business, right? And nobody should complain because business is business.

@Banjo-
How about you stop making judgement calls on me because of my opinion? Don't you dare say that I'm not a real gamer just because I stated my opinion on the matter. I already said that I disliked the decision, but you seem to be mad that I understood why from a business perspective. It's not like that Nintendo's going to backtrack on the matter.

And nice straw man argument by the way.

Brand recognition and loyalty is a poison that prevents any sort of problem from being solved, and this problem might just be the nail in the coffin. At least Nintendo should've had the courtesy to wait until the Switch's successor came out, considering the Wii Shop Channel was shut down when the Switch was around.

I dont get it, they are giving everyone a full year to buy the games they should have missed around release date, And its not that they are burning the code, they have every right to do as they please whether we like it or not.

I say buy the games you want, they are giving you plenty a time.

@Willo567 "How about you stop making judgement calls on me because of my opinion?"

That's what you are doing. You are the person that is calling my name all the time. If you don't want my replies, don't quote me. Easy. I didn't even know about you 10 minutes ago until you started replying in a negative way to every single comment I make. All I did was replied to that.

"And nice straw man argument by the way".

It's not a straw man argument, that's what you did when mentioning SSBU DLC and MK8D DLC when we were discussing game preservation.

@sixrings Wow that’s actually a very valid point I had not considered.

A virtual console for switch or an option to buy the games on the Online account would be grand.

@Banjo-
All I did was say that if you weren't happy with what Nintendo is doing, stop supporting them, and I was being sincere. You were the one who was claiming I wasn't a real fan for expressing my opinion on the matter, calling me a sheep and not a real fan

@Willo567
It takes a certain understanding of passion and a different perspective to see why people disagree with your statement. Not everyone is willing to accept a loss that could easily be prevented with a successor (Virtual Console on the Switch) rather than a substitute (Nintendo Switch Online).

Nintendo isn't shutting down the Wii U and 3DS eShops because the former was a commercial failure and the latter had declining sales. Keep in mind, it was not too long ago that the Wii Shop Channel was shut down, and sales have been way below "declining" at that point.

It's simply a strategy for them to bottleneck everyone into the Switch ecosystem, which sounds good in theory, but the execution is way too slow and like I said before, owning an old video game is becoming increasingly more difficult without digital storefronts to supply and preserve it.

@YuzuRibbon
It's easier said than done. There are some who don't want to get into legal trouble, some who want a cheap method of getting older games, and some who want the novelty of playing on something official.

@Willo567 "All I did was say that if you weren't happy with what Nintendo is doing, stop supporting them, and I was being sincere. You were the one who was claiming I wasn't a real fan for expressing my opinion on the matter, calling me a sheep and not a real fan".

Lies. I said that you don't talk like a real gamer or real fan because of your businessman arguments. I didn't call you sheep either. I said that you asked me to accept everything and act like sheep since your comment is accept what Nintendo does or leave. Your words: "If you're that unhappy with Nintendo, stop buying their products and stop following news about them".

Now all of a sudden everyone is trying to act like they use the eshops everyday, and are buying all sorts of stuff from them. I'm sure there are people using them, I just bought some stuff off the Wii U eshop earlier this year. I'm also sure the amount of revenue it generates vs its cost to maintain in money and manpower isn't worth it anymore for Nintendo.

Now everyone will flock to the eshops and buy up games they likely never cared about in the first place, otherwise they'd have bought them by now. Games they clearly can live without, since they've been doing fine without them so far. Much like the ps3 shop probably got a huge surge(I know I bought some stuff) and is again probably slowly dying down to its former low numbers.

As to this article, the preservation etc, this stuff is likely safe. It's not the 70s. Everyone and their mom is preserving everything. People will be able to pirate stuff they want to try in 20 years, pr they'll buy it now and hold onto it to play(like I will do). To expect them to forever maintain and sell every game ever made from now until the end of time is stupid in many different ways. To think it's some sort of right owed to us is just as dumb.

Remember, we will all be dead in the next 100 years, gone to nothingness like a tree chopped down in the forest. Play the games now while you can, and you can't play them all. Or do something with your life and stop reading this!!
Fyi, Ima play to I DIE!!! YOLO!!!$!$!!$

@westman98 You have little reason to doubt, but as long as you keep an open mind and don't just accept it as gospel, then that's all anyone can ask for. Trust, but verify. In this case, I didn't read the article and am not sure what you guys are actually talking about lol. Just reading comments!!!

It was inevitable that this would happen. Sure, it can easily be fixed if Nintendo put Virtual Console on Switch but they don't want to. Which is on them.

I know a lot of you aren't happy but if you are thinking that by causing an enormous backlash, Nintendo would listen and have the stores open. Which is similar to what happened with Sony and them attempting to shut down the PS3 and Vita store (they still closed the PSP store). I don't think causing an enormous backlash will convince Nintendo to have the stores remain open

@ModdedInkling
Both the Wii and 3DS eShops will end up with very similar lifespans (~12 years).

This is absolutely an issue of declining usage of the 3DS and Wii U eShops anymore, with the Wii U eShop in particular having been effectively dead for quite some time (Nintendo shipped a near-nonexistent 30,000 retail + digital Wii U games last quarter).

@ModdedInkling You are right mate but these people are apparently Nintendo's stockholders. It's basically the same as trying to talk to Nintendo (a brick wall).

The association's statement is short and sensible. I thought that we all would agree that shutting Wii U and 3DS shops down so early with no substitute would be sad for gaming but apparently not.

I supported Wii U and 3DS since launch. I hope more people enjoy their software, better than Switch this far. I guess there's always piracy for game preservation since Nintendo and some of their fans don't support it.

@Joeynator3000 You know Nintendo...the Virtual Console would be a super easy fix to this...just let us buy the damn retro games instead of a subscription service

I don't think 'buying' vs 'subscription' is the issue here. The VC wouldn't fix this, if they could just put all the games on VC then they could put them on NSO and you would still have access to them on the Switch either way.

Can you explain how VC would fix this?

I always hate to see a digital storefront close, or even physical stores for that matter - signs of changing times is usually bittersweet at best. VGHF said it perfectly…. On the business side yes it makes sense, but also, as we’ve even seen with physical titles over the past 40 years, if something isn’t actively done to preserve video games, then they’ll be lost forever. Not to mention, if the companies don’t take a stance to help preserve and present, other people or places will… legally or illegally.

That all said, I’d had a number of titles wishlisted on 3DS eshop that I’d been stalling on due to constant release barrage of Switch titles…. Now these 3DS items have become i higher priority. Dragon Quest 7, DQ8, and FE Shadows Season Pass were the top ones…..

I do hope moving forward that Nintendo and other companies can take note of instances such as this, and work towards making more permanent digital store fronts…… Xbox for example has kept a fair amount of games through each generation present on Live, or ported them forward. On my Series X I have KOTOR 1&2, Fable 1-3, Fallout 3,NV,4…. Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, Blue Dragon, etc…. Stuff ranging from OG Xbox, 360, XB1, and Series S/X…. This is the way things should be done.

I hope that NSO/NSO+ is Nintendos attempt at future proofing past titles and allows NSO/NSO+ on all future systems with the ability to maintain all the retro collections.

@Crono1973 I'm not paying $50 for N64 games...or any other systems they decide to throw on there. The NSO is a complete joke, and a trashy one, too.

@Dm9982 Xbox is the best in that regard and I love how all games except those with licence issues are available on newer consoles with no extra payment required, with cross-buy, cross-save, free cloud saves and even free remasters (enhancements).

@Noid
I think you misunderstood what I meant. I don’t mean big franchises. I mean franchises like for example dillons rolling western. Good games but they won’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. In 20 years new Mario and Zelda games will be coming out. Indies are a little less certain.

@ModdedInkling
Not saying emulation is right or wrong, but if you aren’t making money off of the games you emulate you will be fine.

@Crono1973
It would fix it until 2032 when the switch eshop shuts down and people start saying Nintendo doesn’t give a crap about the fans again.

@Banjo- Exactly. I found it quite funny that people were loosing their minds when MS bought Beth & ActBlizz, but I had faith in MS. Currently speaking, they’re doin the best in terms of gaming preservation and enabling devs to just dev, not stress over overhead, if the game is gonna sell, and such. They’ve been showing more and more just how consumer, gamer, development, and preservation friendly they are. I mean tossing some of their top hit indies on Switch? That right there just shows how friendly the company is any more….

I wish Nintendo and Xbox would partner up to preserve every possible thing they can over the last 30-40 years. MS has the clout, ability, and seemingly wants, to help preserve our culture…. Create an infinite store front, AND an infinite sub service. Please both sides of that field, rake in cash to maintain servers and gain a profit. Win Win I say….

Edit - If Xbox, Steam, and GoG can create extremely long standing (indefinite thus far) store fronts, then it’s def possible. Sony and Nintendo need to take note

@Crono1973 The concern around a subscription service is that one day, it will end and all the games will be completely inaccessible. With Virtual Console, even if you lose the ability to buy new games, as long as you have the ones you've bought downloaded, you can still access those. Digital has its issues as well (if anything happens to your system, you can say goodbye to all of those games downloaded on it), but it's better than just having everything tied to an online service that will inevitably come to an end one day. Ultimately, I'd prefer physical collections of these retro games, but I know those wouldn't be popular enough to justify production costs.

And before anyone gives the argument that physical copies can break too, yes, I'm well aware. I still trust it over digital personally, and at least in that case, it's just one game/collection that no longer works as opposed to your entire library (plus there's always the option of buying a new copy off the second-hand market).

Well it's a good thing fans have been ahead of that curve for decades. I just want physical copies of my old favorites. I don't expect Nintendo to keep up their old eshops indefinitely either, and it's not as though Nintendo is stingy in their time limits.

@Rika_Yoshitake What about the outrage about the PS Vita/PS3 stores shutting down (which was changed, but the PSP stores are still going down), or Xbox Live Arcade? The rage is far from selective.

Shops gotta close some time. The entitled wails continue. I really hate the "call out" culture.

I'm also a 100% certain that most of the people who are acting like they're personally outraged never intended to buy anything any more on these shops.

@Fazermint I've got games still on my wishlist on the 3DS and Wii U, so I do intend to buy more on these stores.

I do wonder what the actual cost of running the shop for these systems actually is. Surely it is very minimal just to maintain it?

@TheRedComet I do like this idea of yours.

I don't know why I am surprised, because I shouldn't be but I am amazed at what a high percentage of NL comments on any article about game access, availability and utility are effectively stooges for corporate America.

It's either a) there are a lot of game industry sock puppets on here or b) consumers and citizens have drank so much Kool-Aid they inherently support the 'rights' and practices of corporations and their 'property' over what is good for them.

I suspect many on here would call for the closing of public libraries unless the 'rights' of long dead authors estates were respected (or more likely the swallowing up of said rights by the already rich).

As an aside there are some dead game systems which have brilliant libraries which can now be emulated legally (anything anyone doesn't want there isn't there but it doesn't amount to much) long after the technology is basically inoperable. Back then, preserving this digitally would have been impossible, now it's not which makes me think legally preserving old games as a community resource should be easier, not harder.

Is there a reason for this? I can't Imagine It strains switch online, probably related to revenue or customer support not wanting to have multiple consoles to deal with

I feel like the 1% who are complaining about this are the same 1% that are pirating games saying it’s justified because of actions like these. However, Nintendo is making no money from fans on these stores anymore, and probably none from the 1% in first place.
I’m sure there are plenty of music and movies that have been lost to time and those same 1% still complains about Napster being shut down.
Don’t buy digital and this won’t happen. Just wait til cloud gaming takes over. Shows leave Netflix, games leave the Eshop. Enjoy the digital future.

@tylerryan79 The reason I'm concerned with them closing the 3DS, Wii and Wii U shops, is because that means that one day, they will close the Switch eShop. That means that every time I give money to this company, I'm losing out in the event of a critical hardware failure, or if my device gets stolen. If they close the eShop and my Switch gets compromised, I'll lose the stuff I paid for. I don't personally care about being able to buy things on the shops that are closed; I have already spent money on them, unfortunately.

Meanwhile, over on PC, every game is still playable, in some form or another. If my PC gets compromised, all my stuff is safe and backed up on external hard drives and can be downloaded through those services again with no issues. GOG and Steam are doing it right. Nintendo could take a few notes from them.

@Caolan114 Generally, it's because a server at a corporation like Nintendo needs to be maintained. If their server falls behind due to lack of maintenance, it could lead to vulnerabilities in their network and create a backdoor for hackers to cause issues. Server maintenance can get expensive, due to having to buy or repair hardware, pay employees to keep things up to date, etc. So for a company to close a shop, it's actually saving them quite a bit of money, in the long run because they no longer have to maintain it to safe standards.

@Caolan114 I think the biggest is the logistics of keeping up with the changing laws, regulations and data protection across all the different countries and keeping legacy systems protected from hackers.

Then multiply by each system of which their purchase systems will have been designed to conform with older requirements

That's probably why they shut down topping up your account directly by the system first, even though its bound to have reduced their revenue. Its safer to have it go through the website or via eShop cards.

It's probably better in Nintendo's eyes to minimise risk of stolen data and shut the store down than there being stolen credit card data on DSi or Wii 16 years after launch.

Video Game History, Who the **** are they?

Cut down on the negative articles Nintendolife your looking like your looking for clicks now! Maybe I should do some more trolling comments to add to your clicks for you.

@dew12333 google is free https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Game_History_Foundation

Welcome to digital age. You own Your stuff till the store closes. Same goes with physical mediums if they require 1st day updates or a lot of downloadable content.

@somebread Not interested in finding anything further about them. But if there looking for some retro old games then I'd be happy to sell them some of my collection at some extremely high prices.

It is awful. This is why I plan to emulate when I get a new laptop.

Luckily I own metroid prime trilogy on wii but if I didn't, and I don't download it off wii u store in time, what do I do? Pay nearly 100 pounds for a 2nd hand copy or download the rom?

If I have no realistic way of getting the game (and being 2nd hand means Nintendo get nothing anyway) then why not get it for free online?

Games are art and should be obtainable new no matter what. It was the sane when the wii shop closed. So many master system games like Alex kidd in shinobi world and sonic chaos are now gone. Luckily I still have my wii u for my many downloads over both generations and the 3ds with the ambassador games plus regular downloads like oracle of seasons but when the consoles break down and Nintendo won't allow a 3ds system transfer, what is the alternative?

I can't complain about the eshops closing, I have a huge backlog of Switch games as it is!

Nintendo won't back down they didn't for 3D Allstars what makes people they will back down now

@Rika_Yoshitake Possibly they get no funding from Nintendo but they do from the others. I'm glad Nintendo doesn't give them a dime.

@Ultimapunch no music piracy went down once streaming platforms got off the ground. If you think people that were downloading music for free stopped to then actually buy it legally from iTunes then you are crazy. People stopped buying music and they won't be ever coming back.

It's sad the eshops are closing.
Yes I wish I could access it indefinitely or better still have all my vc games transfer to switch (particularly anything without a dual screen or wii remote as I can see they would need extra work to be playable)
Those 13 million wii us ain't going last forever though. Eventually broken or mostly forgotten.
Way more 3ds family systems out there but think the sad fact is most people just move on .
I'd love to see actually eshop figures pre this announcement to see what percentage is using it.

I strongly urge anyone who can to download Affordable Space Adventures on the Wii u while they still can. It is one of the best games I have ever played in my life.

For the people who claim that physical media is the solution for this, nope, it's not perfect:

• It can be lost, broken or stolen.
• Even if you take care of it, it does not last forever, cartridges and discs will someday stop working.
• Recent discs and cartridges are not made to last, made with cheap plastic.
• Preserving the software means nothing without the hardware to run it, many classic consoles and computers are breaking down and can't be fixed.
• It takes space, not everyone can have shelves full of games.
• Older games can have physical copies around, but they may cost a fortune, more than a new current gen console, in recent years, videogame collecting became a very expensive hobby.
• In many cases nowadays, physical media is just a fancy digital purchase, you still need to make a download to play the good or complete version of the game, play online, or just play at all, many games require a download even if you buy physical.

Neither physical or digital media is good for videogame preservation, the only option is piracy.

All ESA members need to change their thinking on game preservation, and Nintendo especially need to stop actively and aggressively campaigning against any attempt from non-commercial institutions trying to do so.

@Ryu_Niiyama Sony aren't the ones that are currently and publicly closing down a web store and any access to a whole host of games, of course any statement is going to focus on Nintendo. When Sony try to close the PS3 and Vita stores again they'll get the blowback they deserve but right now it's Nintendo's deserved turn for the harsh spotlight.

I don't like losing access to purchasing many of the games either. Suddenly, I feel an urge to buy other titles I haven't.... 😐

However...

Accessibility =/= Preservation.

There's ample evidence Nintendo are extremely studious about preserving their materials and games (for example, they launched Mario Maker while showing off older design documents). It's true that it's possible for a small number to slip through the cracks but by and large, they seem to be quite thorough!

Speaking from a business perspective, there's no business justification to continue with the Wii u storefront. It's another thing for them to 'manage'. It's based on a different technology platform. It's highly inefficient compared to their current system (leaving aside the design of the current eshop!). It's backwards compared to their improved ability to let account holders 'share' games with other players on the same console. It uses a different server - so, another thing for them to keep an eye on. It could make overall internal measurements a bit less efficient because data analytics teams might still need to report on Wii u sales and performance.

Speaking as a fan, I imagine there's no better solution than for Nintendo to offer the same experience and opportunity to purchase on the Switch.

I don't like the feeling of losing access to those games (even though I NEVER once thought about buying a single game from the Wii U eshop ever since the Switch launched - I'd guess many commenting here haven't accessed the Wii U eshop much or at all since then either.)

I can also imagine the internet rage at "Nintendo are trying to sell me Super Mario Bros for the Nth time! This is outrageous! It should be free!"

I only recently purchased and downloaded a couple of things on the 3DS e-shop. I hope Nintendo changes their mind, but I cannot see that happening.

@Willo567 honestly that doesn't really excuse not making a section section in the eShop where you could purchase from Nintendo Switch. They migrated most of the DSI games, why not?

@jsty3105 they're not as much about preservation as you think, a lot of the stuff was actually lost and they punish archivers just to take the preserved games. Which is why people have actually found code of emulators for PC. I kind of wish they just would pay the archivers and emulator programmers.

@Crono1973
It is sort of a buying vs subscribing issue though. What happens when Nintendo stops supporting the Switch? What happens to Nintendo Switch Online? If Nintendo stops supporting Nintendo Switch Online, it's obviously going to mean people are going to lose access to those games again, and unless that save data carries over to the next consoles, or unless Nintendo provides Virtual Console, having everything bottlenecked into a subscription service that's only catered to one console is not so future-proofed.

@westman98
Need I remind you, Nintendo wasted money maintaining the Wii Shop Channel, with the only major games being the Just Dance series barely keeping the storefront alive, and that lasted way longer than the 3DS and Wii U eShops.

And do what about declining usage? Because I think they contradicted themselves if that were the case.

I think the closure of the 3DS store needs reassessment purely due to how many people still own one and based on its console/software sales, As for the Wii U store I can understand that, It was a huge flop.

The videogame History Foundation never reacted when Sony decided to close down their online shop. Selective outrage as usual that makes me want more to support Nintendo against the bigger megacorps who are corrupting the industry.

@Roibeard64 I would imagine the percentage is very low.

How many articles can this site make on one topic? Is this number 6?

Edit: following up on what I posted, I expect both eshops will be getting a surge in activity now, it's an old retail trick to shift more units... "Hurry, while stocks last!" "When they're gone, they're gone" etc etc...

@ModdedInkling
Huh? The Wii Shop Channel and 3DS eShop have similar ~12 year lifespans.

The Wii U eShop is the one that will have an unusually short lifespan of ~10 years, but it's also a uniquely poor-selling product that was discontinued 5 years ago (and most of its noteworthy software have gotten Switch ports or sequels).

I'll also note that Nintendo is keen on continuing Nintendo Accounts and other value-added services (i.e. NSO) to future hardware, so I would not expect the Switch's digital storefront to suffer a similar fate:

@R-L-A-George I acknowledged that stuff can get lost but by and large, Nintendo has shown that they preserve their stuff. I mean, it's on video and on the internet.

Whether we get access to their other games in the form of being able to download/purchase them is a separate matter.

When you say punish archivers I feel you really mean Nintendo punishing the hosting and sharing of ROMs, which is again a separate matter.

I support the use of emulation. I support the sharing of abandonware (which some of these games would no doubt fall under soon). I don't support the position that every game ever made NEEDS to be hosted (even the more recent ones) in a playable form on the internet to be freely accessible by all and sundry. I don't think that's preservation.

@glaemay I feel The Videogame History Foundation deliberately has an antagonistic position with Nintendo. Possibly because of Nintendo's active position against ROM distribution - but I really don't know why.

I didn't see outrage from them either for Sony's decision. Did some googling to verify that and I can't find any articles referencing their comments on it either.

@BloodNinja "So for a company to close a shop, it's actually saving them quite a bit of money, in the long run because they no longer have to maintain it to safe standards."

Yeah. They also gain efficiency savings from not needing to have people tasked with stuff like sorting out server usage monitoring, renewals, security checks, analytics reporting, internal training to maintain support, and many of the other 'boring' bits that us fans tend to take for granted.

People forget that the technology platform is different as well - so the reporting and monitoring tools are going to be different - that's another step that someone needs to do on a regular basis for what Nintendo probably sees as a miniscule gain.

It won't be a lot in terms of resources but for a relatively small organisation like Nintendo? It'll probably feel like a lot. Sony has the headcount and the technology resources to do what they did. Nintendo, frankly, doesn't.

@TheRedComet copyright law should be completely changed in this digital age... especially with nft's around the corner (not that i like them)... the laws are from pre-open source even...

It's not destructive though is it? The shop is open right now so buy whatever you want, keep it forever. No one seriously expects them to maintain an eshop for a dead system. No one is complaining that Nintendo stopped making SNES carts.

You know honestly every single one of the games available on the eshop will still be available even after the closing through other methods. It's not hard with a modded Wii U or 3DS and I'm sure some shady characters are already working on compiling the necessary data files needed to add all the Games to some rom site or whatever.

@BarryandWill "It's either a) there are a lot of game industry sock puppets on here or b) consumers and citizens have drank so much Kool-Aid they inherently support the 'rights' and practices of corporations and their 'property' over what is good for them."

I find comments like this one quite unhelpful in terms of those of us who try to offer a more objective perspective with the benefit of knowing the business context. Or there might be some who've done work around similar things who can offer more potential insight into decisions. I personally think there aren't any 'corporate shills' here - just those who get accused as one just for not supporting a particular complaint against Nintendo.

I am unhappy with losing access too. However, looking at this more honestly, I'm MORE unhappy about the loss of access only because I lose the OPTION of buying them. I didn't even think of buying anything more from the Wii U or 3DS eshops until I saw the news about them being shut down.

I'll probably do some emulation once/if the ROMs become abandonware.

I've haven't touched my Wii U since the Switch launched and definitely haven't bought anything on that eshop in many years. I sincerely doubt there are people here who've spent much on the Wii U eshop in the past year or two (or, like me, even thought about buying something from there - I know someone shared they recently made a purchase but I think the numbers are negligible).

@Tourtus "I've got games still on my wishlist on the 3DS and Wii U, so I do intend to buy more on these stores."

I've got games still on my wishlist on them too - but only because I never got around to clearing my wishlist. I guess I also harboured some vague intention of buying from those stores but would probably only have done so in the event of some major price drop

@TrueGamer79 "...I'm sure some shady characters are already working on compiling the necessary data files needed to add all the Games to some rom site or whatever."

The files were already on ROM sites, particularly the ROMuniverse site which some defended quite fiercely despite the same site also distributing Switch ROMs and Movies (and I think it also shared ebooks) with lists of them front and centre on the homepage.

"Asks Nintendo to "rethink" things when it comes to preservation"

And lists Nintendo's own incentives/benefits for doing that, outside the bovine manure like "good will capital" and "respect for customers and fans"... wait, it seems they forgot this part.😅

Nintendo need urgently to find a way to preserve it games, it ridiculous, every time Nintendo shotdown a online shop for it consoles, Nintendo fans have to resort to piracy/emulation, Nintendo need to find a similar solution to preserve it games just like Xbox do.

@ModdedInkling VC is just.a digital copy as well and will eventually be lost too. VC doesn’t ‘fix’ anything’ as long as the console stores keep getting shut down.

@Don

Why? Nintendo’s DRM was far worse under Iwata, they region locked their handhelds, and there’s an article on this very site saying they wanted to close these shops as far back as 2014.

I don't really understand why companies aren't acting more to preserve video games when we know how much we've lost in the film industry. Until games are considered art by EVERYONE, I don't think we'll see very many big efforts to archive and preserve games and game development materials unfortunately. Unless Nintendo has a secret vault where they keep all their stuff. 😂

@Ryu_Niiyama you said it perfectly. I feel like video game preservation is a problem with no easy solution atm and expecting Nintendo to provide an answer is misplaced judgement. No matter what they do they would receive criticism and there's no way they can account for every game on every one of their platforms, let alone the 3ds and Wii U. I think people are currently more upset because their having an option taken away from them and "preservation" is a convenient way to leverage your position.

That is to say I think preservation is important, i just dont know that this is the way to go about it.

@jsty3105

I Know a great site for that but I dare not name it here. It's got a name that makes it very hard to search for as the word rom is not anywhere in the address. Very sneaky but it's a good one.

I agree. The respective eShops have a dirth of games which you can download full ownership for as opposed to a online subscription package (ie. the NES, SNES, N64 etc). Many may prefer that style of ownership. I think it's a little soon to shut them down, but that's my opinion.

I mean, we saw this coming, and it still took them a long while to pull the plug (for their standards. )

Glad I've been hoarding the eshop and digital dependant titles for a while now. Almost there! If only I could get a copy of the fire emblem fates games so I can download that third campaign before its lost!!

Nintendo has persevered their titles, most titles in the eshop take. Down are from other developers that contracts ran out with Nintendo for the eshop. Keeping the eshop open or any other game systems shop open for an older system is actually pretty stupid. They pay for the servers housing these shops and start losing money and still leave them open for a few years anyways. As far as that goes digital games are not perservable. You will either loss your account, company will go under or be sold and your account not transferred or you’ll die and it’ll all be gone anyways. Even steam stops carrying games for sale yet no one screams at them for stopping sale of those games. Preservation is physical, take care of what you have and it’ll work, there will always be components for them until you can get another physical for it.
As far as Nintendo goes I believe they are just going to integrate everything into the switches eshop and I can actually see that getting used on the newer system as well but eventually all three of the gaming giants will have to move on from certain titles or their digital platform to another which will cause the use of the digital titles you own useless on newer systems. As for preservation games should be put on physical to preserve them and not these day one patches that we never needed not even a decade ago. The possibility of preservation is pretty much gone for any newer titles.

And what pisses me off the most is the lack of gba support. What is up with that?! You basically got a second snes, you've got the perfect hype material in an already translated mother 3. It's so Easy but they make it so hard!

Sony doesn't have this idiotic rental service. You can straight up buy the games. Subscription or not. I normally side with Nintendo and I've been a fan since the beginning but with this I just can't defend them. It's ludicrous.

I accuse you of treason against the grand army of the Video Game History Foundation.

That's the reason Emulation exists. Emulation will live forever wether people like it or not.

@Yanina The Xbox 360 store is open, and it will remain open. The Xbox 360 is a 2005 console. Do the math!

@Willo567 What a terrible Monopoly when you can have 4 generations of Xbox in one console with 300+ games for U$15 a month!

A requisite to rethink a position is to first think about it.

One game people should really get digitally while they can, is Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D as you can't reset your save in the physical edition of the game, if you want to start over again.

It is pretty simple, if you refuse to support your hardware platform and those games are not available to purchase in another form they should become public domain after like 5 years, screw the corporations hiding behind archaic copyright laws.

@Crono1973
But, it's "more" safer than a subscription because you still "own" the license to play it rather than subscribe

@westman98
The Wii Shop Channel has been around much longer than the 3DS eShop...

@MythTgr I actually only pay the equivilant of $7 USD a month for Gamepass Ultimate because of their rewards system.

@blindsquarel It would fix it until 2032 when the switch eshop shuts down and people start saying Nintendo doesn’t give a crap about the fans again.

The 10 year window ends in 2027.

To hell with those hippies.

@sixrings Steam Deck emulates Switch better than Switch plays it's own games, unless one of your Switch's is hacked and overclocked like one of mine is lol. We are already at the point where Nintendo needs to make a move into the next generation. I don't plan on buying anything new from Nintendo for at least a year but I sure will be playing Kirby and getting those new tracks in MK8 regardless.

I just wish Nintendo would repair the 3DS and Wii U. I have big collections on both of mine, and I’m finding it difficult to go back and enjoy certain titles when I feel the desire. My A button doesn’t work on my silver Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate N3DSXL, for instance, and its loaded with legally purchased games and themes. Nobody will repair it. Not even local console repair shops. They said its a motherboard issue, and to get a new 3DS and transfer everything. 3DS costs as much as a Switch or way more if I find one. Even a plain one. Should I shell out half a grand for another handheld that will inevitably fail? That Nintendo won’t repair? With a shut down eShop? Thanks for the memories. I guess I’ll play all my GameBoy games elsewhere, if you know what I mean.

@blindsquarel If anyone gets back to you, please let me know. I'm wondering the same. The hard part to swallow is it's available physically in Europe, and is going for peanuts physically.

@Crono1973
My mistake

Corporations are not your friends.

As someone interested in (and invested in) game preservation, I think a lot of people are thinking about digital games all wrong. IMO there isn't a difference between Nintendo stopping sales on the eShop and discontinuing production of physical games. From a preservation perspective, you back up games, regardless of their source. Why would anyone rely on a single company to preserve a game? If you want to preserve a game you don't just hope that one company keeps the server alive where the game was sold from, you buy the game and make backups.

@ModdedInkling
The Wii Shop Channel was closed on Jan 2019.

You can still download the games you have bought, after the shop has been closed. Just buy the games before the shop closes down and you'll be good.
If you don't know what games to buy, you have do some homework, like watching Youtube videos, reading reviews, comments etc.

@TheRedComet yeah but we don't fight real wars. We just run around and bomb other countries. Sure our casualties go down but we have no need for a better military. It's the military industrial complex. Any support for it given the last 70 years of destruction is obviously destructive.

@Smt_nerd

Afghanistan was a real war for the men and women who served there. As was Iraq.

Technology ages out over time and needs to be replaced. We have to maintain both a conventional and nuclear deterrent against our largest potential enemy, the PRC. They are modernizing their forces; the PLA isn’t the joke it was twenty years ago.

It’s important that we keep our edge. It gives us leverage in negotiations and ensures that if crap hits the fan, we can kill far more of them than they can kill of us.

My issue with the MIC is that there are wasteful programs that are pushed solely for job creation. The Littoral Combat Ship being one of the most egregious examples ever fostered on American taxpayers.

But some things do have to be upgraded and changed. Mainly because it just ages out. Plus we just fought a twenty year long war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Much of our equipment needs either refurbishing or replacing due to overuse during the war.

@VR32X In the UK, the Nintendo repair centre lists the old and New 3DS systems as options for repair.

Meh, these games are already preserved on many sites and you can play with a low-end PC even WiiU games. Thanks, Nintendo, now I am free for sailing the high seas!

@jsty3105 I wasn't saying it needed to be hosted, however there is a blurred line when something is not even available for legal purchase for years and an archiver just happens to have it. Why punish people for the lack of consideration and action to make it legally available. There's some things that didn't get re-released until 3DS.

Nintendo can f**king suck it. I'm emulating all of their old games and they're never going to get another dollar from me when it comes to digital games. Physical from here on out and I'm also never going to rebuy an old game again. They don't deserve money for that sh*t.

Thank god for emulators and fans who actually care about preserving gaming history.

@R-L-A-George I have stated I have zero issues with emulating abandonware Before Good Old Games came along, I basically camped out in the Home of the Underdogs...

@Dingelhopper I imagine the number of actual fans who are truly interested in video game preservation is an incredibly small proportion of gamers.

They're usually more interested in talking and shouting about game preservation instead of either doing something about it or helping someone do something about it. Dumping a ROM and sharing it with everyone else while actively asking for donations or putting it behind some sort of paywall as some have done doesn't particularly sound like altruistic behaviour to me.

Just a hunch with no solid numbers to back it up.

I will never understand why people think they’re eternally entitled to cheap and legal access to every piece of media ever made. Everything comes to an end. You will survive having not played that one game that you can’t play now. Play something else. There are more games available at any given moment than you could possibly have time for. Just figure out emulation if you’re so hellbent. This is the firstest of first world problems.

Although I love many of their games dearly, the sad fact of the matter is that out of the big three Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony is that Nintendo is in last place regarding game preservation.
That's just how it is it seems..

I fail to see how this is any different from Sony's eventual shutdown of their servers. Why the double standard?

@jsty3105 In America they stopped last year… they actually didn’t send my labels and what I needed before their deadline, or the link to pay. I was ready to fork up over a hundred bucks to get it fixed, and they duped me. I miss enjoying my 3DS. I was dying to replay Samus Returns before Dread and couldn’t. I especially love all my Gameboy games on it, which aren’t on Switch. Kinda hard to play any of them without an A button.

UPDATE: Nintendo service rep actually sent me shipping labels this time! Full service repair! They said if my 3DS couldn’t be repaired, they had another Silver XL edition they could transfer everything to! It cost me over $100 but its a miracle!!!

The Video Game History Foundation can fund the cost of operating the online stores and providing customer service. Problem solved.

@MythTgr Ah I was not aware. I am in EU and wanted to download REZ and JET SET RADIO, but it did not let me.

@VR32X That's an awesome win!!! Glad you tried again! Pretty excellent service from Nintendo USA for you I think

@TheRealMr_Carpainter "I fail to see how this is any different from Sony's eventual shutdown of their servers. Why the double standard?"

shrug People find it easier to hate Nintendo I guess. Don't even need many reasons sometimes.

I also think Sony already got their pain when they tried to shut down their own stores. The difference here is Sony has the technology and human resources to find a solution.

@Yanina
Yes. Indeed. Sony, Nintendo, Capcom. they don't care about games or the community which made them rich. they care about money.This is why piracy will always prevail and is actually encouraged against these crooks and their anti-consumer practices.

@GameManAdvance
Normies are part of the problem by accepting these anti-consumer practices. happy to purchase the Super Mario Bros 1 or Zelda 1 with each generation of console ? Fine. Cannot fix consumerism degeneracy.
But If I pay for something, I m entitled to do whatever I want with it and only I decide when I m done with it.
I have hundred of NES and SNES carts working perfectly and they will outlast me. If I want to play them in 20 years, I can, even if they go out of business.

Regardless these games are available for sale or not, we are not supposed to play these games roms with open sources emulators. downloading these roms is illegal. Rom sites owners got their live destroyed by Nintendo copyright strikes.Nintendo are demons.

@TheRedComet

As things stand, video games are likely treated as literary works, for copyright purposes, which would generally equate to a minimum copyright term of 50 years beyond the death of the author, regardless of how they were distributed.

Copyright law, generally, does not distinguish between physical mediums/publications and digital mediums/publications. More importantly, copyright protection applies both to published and unpublished works. Availability to the general public is not a necessary prerequisite to establish or maintain copyright, physical or digital. On top of that, you have a large number games that feature licensed content that falls under a separate copyright. It's a HUGE ball of wax.

Should these copyright laws and regulations be changed? Perhaps, to some extent. Will they? Unquestionably, no. Especially not for this cause. Not only will content creators and publishers, from all walks of life, lobby hard against it, but it would be nigh-impossible to get all of the necessary international agreements amended, signed and ratified by all of the participating nations (i.e. 80 - 90% of the world's nations).

And yet they still push and push and push for all digital gaming. I lived thru the video game crash in the 80s… it was not a pretty sight. Are they trying to repeat history? Pulling a stunt like closing to eShop to the 3ds is sending a loud and clear message to gamers that digital gaming is always only temporary. Also, a total waste of money. You own nothing. It’s a rental only. And your rental expires.

@Kiyata "You own nothing."

This has been the case for decades.

@pilonium64 You know, I completely agree that Nintendo absolutely partakes in a number of anticonsumer practices. The thing is, the inevitable obsolescence of their old tech isn’t anticonsumer. No reasonable consumer would expect them to keep all their obsolete services up and running forevermore. This unreasonable expectation among all the neckbeards on the internet is sucking all the air out of the room. It’s overshadowing actual issues with Nintendo’s practices and lack of interest in providing products that a large number of people actually demand. It’s a waste of time.

This is why regarding my Switch I buy physical wherever possible and only digital if it's the only method available or when on a really steep discount. (75% or higher)
Regarding any digital purchase it's best to try to play the game asap after purchase and put the hours into the title to get your money's worth. Then if you lose it later at least you got to have a playthrough of the game...
I've got alot if Switch games under £10 and made sure I've played them. If I lost them tomorrow I would have got my money's worth regardless.
But overall of course it sucks and shouldn't have to be like this.

@GameManAdvance It's not obsolescence, or the shutting down of those stores, it's that there's no way to get those games once the stores are gone.

Nintendo are purely focused on selling us "Legend of Zelda" and "Super Mario bros." again (Well, renting them out, with a Switch online sub), but they don't try to somehow bring VC (As it was on the Wii and WiiU) to Switch, which leaves a big gap for Piracy to (Eagerly) fill.

They never think "This worked well, let's expand it on the next console", it's always "Start from scratch, by selling them SMB1 again".

@TheRedComet That’s an excellent idea!

@MysticX Well that’s just not true. There are physical copies of many of those games. Obviously needing to go through second-hand sellers isn’t ideal, but it’s a perfectly viable option if you MUST acquire an official copy. As for the ones that aren’t available physically, I’d like to reiterate that there is an INFINITE variety of games that are available to play at any given moment. Having access to every game ever made is not some sacred right, it’s a first world luxury. These are products at the end of the day. No product is available forever. When there are actual issues with Nintendo’s practices this discussion is nothing but a waste of time and energy.

I'll never understand why all previous gen platform Emulators and corresponding libraires aren't just officially sanctioned and/or hired by each console maker, then just charge a subscription fee and/or sell titles individually that carry forward with each progressive console release. Sure there's a lot of business & legal hurdles to tackle and sort out on the backend, but it's not impossible. Other mediums have transitioned to some variation of this model. Seems like a win-win for producers, consumers and game preservation. People will always still want and buy more new games despite having access to huge past libraries so there's little worry of cannibalizing your own market. Makes the most $en$e to me, but what do I know...

... Wun can only hope.

sigh… Listen Ninty (Navi Voice), I would literally gladly pay $100/year for a comprehensive & extensive Nintendo Virtual Console Subscription Service (basically like every other popular streaming/subscription service currently) if Nintie would just give us all the platforms + catalogues we want on competent legal proprietary emulators i.e. with rewind, fast-forward, turbo, more save states, downloadable/uploadable/transferrable community shared saves, cheats, scanned game manuals, multiple suspend play, custom button-mapping, online netplay with chat, filters, borders/themes and/or widescreen adaptation... most of which is already included notable free emulators out in the wild for some time now.

Nintendo has such a beloved and cherished archive of gaming history... yet they either neglect it, withhold it or give it little TLC. C'mon pick it up and get it together with the NSO service quick, fast and in a hurry please Nintendo! ... Cuz this? This ain't it right now.

... Wun can only hope.

@blindsquarel If the old games don't mean anything to you, that's all the more reason they need to be preserved.

Let's more clear.
1. Nintendo has no obligation to preserve the games
2. Nintendo still have IP/Copyright for those games regardless
3. Nintendo only Publishes the game
4. Whom paying Nintendo to preserve those games? HANDS PLEASE?????
5. When was the last time someone actually preserve the games they own themselves.
6. Nintendo isn't the Smithsonian.

Fact is Nintendo don't care unless they sell them on Switch for $60 or make them part of NSO. Nintendo doesn't care about retro games or its history because Nintendo only really care about the here and now, they don't look to the past nor forward think. 3DS and Wii U and their games are history to Nintendo and they do not give a damn.

@SwitchForce How does your mouth taste now?

@WallyWest tosh. He gave a reasoned comment - accusing him of corporate bootlicking is counterproductive and terribly unhelpful.

Fact is, Nintendo shot themselves in the foot by not planning far enough ahead with regards to technology.

Microsoft are well ahead because they didn't design proprietary software for the Xbox. Nintendo has their own development tools that aren't used anywhere else. I won't be surprised if they have to pretty much start from the ground up with each console release. The Switch account system was the second time they had some sort of modern infrastructure - and that was built off whatever they learnt when they set it up for the Wii U.

There are reams of evidence that Nintendo preserves it's own games and history VERY well - One example is Mario Maker - unless you think the artwork was faked in the Super Mario Maker art book. They just, very sadly, don't choose to make it easy to access.

Lack of access =/= lack of preservation

They're getting there - but painfully slowly.

@SwitchForce
This is the most correct thing on this thread.

The premise that these games will be gone forever, never to be seen or played again is a false one. It's the internet age. Nothing is ever truly gone. You will be able get these games if you wish, even if some might object to the means.

Irrational people on the internet in 2022: Nintendo doesn't care about it's history or game preservation!!!

Nintendo in June 2021: Announces a Nintendo gallery where "Nintendo’s historical products will be showcased, and exhibits and experiences will be available..." by March 2024

@jsty3105 Yup, you hit the nail on the head. Nintendo simply didn't have a long game plan with their infrastructure, which is a bummer to be sure, but nothing to be mad about. Anyone that had used these services should have known this beforehand, I mean, the Wii purchases did not automatically transfer to Wii U. That says it all. Plus, people need to realize all this content is Nintendo's, they can sell it or not sell it whenever they see fit. There are thousands of games available to play in the meanwhile, so just give it some time and they will be on NSO eventually, which is a longer term plan and not going anywhere after Switch.

Nintendo's 'mistake' was made when creating the eShop, not in shutting it down. The same will happen to the Switch eShop, because eventually nobody will be using a Switch, so a store front you can only access through the Switch will not be worth keeping open. Look at how MS handle the Xbox store. Nobody is worried about original Xbox games being taken off sale, because they are not stuck on a store that can only be accessed by a 20 year old console.

Nintendo are just bad at this. Look at the whole Pokemon Bank/Home thing. It looks pretty certain when we move to the next hardware, there will be yet another new cloud-based Pokemon storage because Nintendo either doesn't know how to get things to talk to each other, or more likely, doesn't want to. This is the company that invented so many anti-consumer business practices in the 80s. Of course they want everything to be left behind so you re-buy a bunch of stuff every time you get new consoles.

@Peach64 Nintendo are in a much better position with the 2nd generation of the Nintendo account system. They've finally set themselves up to keep similar technology for the next platform (and they've already stated over a decade ago that they were working towards the kind of account system gamers were used to on other platforms).

Nintendo are definitely bad at this - they still consider their previous consoles to be toys and never planned ahead that consumers might ever want to retain their previous purchases across console generations (sounds obvious to us consumers but isn't always obvious to businesses!).

Microsoft had the foresight to plan this farrrrr ahead of time. Even Sony is playing catchup in that area.

@anoyonmus Sort of -Last I checked, you can still buy PSP games on the Vita and PS3 stores and transfer or use prior downloads to play them on a PSP (though if you have a Vita, I dunno why you'd want the extra step). It may not be ideal, but it is still available.

Once again falling into the trap of the core wanting game preservation then suggesting it's many more people than it actually is.

@SwitchForce,

So true, but the entitlement of some knows no bounds.

@GameManAdvance
Stop Venerating these crooks and giving them excuses.
Then they should provide a way to download and backup these games so I m able to continue to play with them.
They created an emulator in the SNES/NES Classic, nothing stop them to provide their own emulators and roms download.
GOG.com sell and provide download option for thousand of indies and AAA oldies and they do it without any DRM. You paid your game, you keep it, even if the site goes down. simple as that. no DRM bs.
f*ck nintendo.

@pilonium64 Nobody is venerating anybody. I agree that a system like that is entirely possible and should absolutely be implemented. An official Nintendo database where you can redownload titles you bought would be a panacea. Hell, I wish they would just keep the 3DS and Wii U eShops going forever! That said, I think you’re missing my point entirely.

Once you have downloaded your games to an SD card or hard drive it becomes your responsibility to physically protect the device and its data in much the same way you would protect a 3DS cartridge. When you buy a physical cartridge does it entitle you to an eternal copy of that game? Is Nintendo expected to maintain the working order of the object that you bought from them in perpetuity? No! Of course not. Buying a product does not entitle you to an immortal and endlessly supplied copy of that object. Nobody promised that to you. Just because it is possible to create such a database does not mean it is your RIGHT to have this done for you. I sure wish they would but I begrudgingly accept reality so I can move on with my life. So much of this righteous anger with Nintendo over this particular issue is entirely based on a false sense of entitlement. There are actual problems in the world. Whether or not you have perfectly convenient access to the $20 game you bought 10 years ago is UTTERLY TRIVIAL!

@pilonium64 none of the other video game companies operate like GOG. I'm confused why the vitriol is only directed at Nintendo and didn't include Sony.

The PSP shop is gone.

@GameManAdvance "false sense of entitlement" is right

Nin has caved into the evil industry where they want to sell you a service & have control to remove their creation at will to keep selling you the same ones on another system.