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Yes, different hardware. Yes, different OS. But when a new downloadable game is available on both platforms and is linked to my Nintendo account I expect I can

Yes, different hardware. Yes, different OS. But when a new downloadable game is available on both platforms and is linked to my Nintendo account I expect I can play it on Nintendo hardware that supports the game without having to buy it twice. Switch even offers the concept of "Active Console" where all your switch downloads can be moved to different hardware.

pjmlp 10y ago
It isn't technically the same game, they cannot match 1:1 in features and gaming experience, given the differences between Wii and Switch.
- Dylan16807 10y ago
  That's getting really picky. It's almost identical.
  - pjmlp 10y ago
    The game was written twice for different hardware, having different CPU, GPU, memory constraints, controllers and operating systems. Who is supposed to pay the salaries of the development team that wrote the Switch version? So all digital assets are supposed to be pay one take two model?
    - Dylan16807 10y ago
      99% of people are only buying one copy or the other copy. Your question is just as valid with the way nintendo chose to do things, and already has an answer. They don't make a meaningful amount of money by requiring some people to buy two copies on the same account. They make a marginal amount of money as a tradeoff for being visibly customer-hostile. > So all digital assets are supposed to be pay one take two model? This is already a buy one take one hundred model, in that you can redownload it as many times as you like on as many sequential devices as you like. The only difference is that the downloads are restricted to one flavor of device.
      - pjmlp 10y ago
        So the next time you buy lets say a game on Steam, do you also feel entitled to have the same game for free on Wii U, Switch, PS4, XBox ONE, iOS and Android, regardless of the development costs and amount of people that worked across all those devices?
        Dylan16807 10y ago
        If this is a game where they are traditionally going to sell no more than one copy to me, and it's 99.9% the same across all those platforms, and it wouldn't cost them money to do so because of clunky licensing agreements, then yes I would want my copy of the game to be portable across those devices.
        szatkus 10y ago
        I get one for Linux and Mac OS X for free so it makes sense.
        Crespyl 10y ago
        Do I expect a Steam purchase to be available on Wii U, Switch PS4, etc.? No (and at least in my case, the games usually don't exist on those platforms anyway). What I do expect is for it to be available anywhere a Steam client is, and indeed almost every game for which a port exists can be used on any Windows, Mac, or Linux computer (with different processors, GPUs, etc.) for no additional cost. Valve has set a standard for the behavior of downloadable games across platforms, and it's totally understandable that customers would feel "ripped off" by Nintendo's approach.
- shawnz 10y ago
  But the value that the customer can extract from the game is almost the same whether they got the Wii or Switch version. It doesn't make sense to charge double the price for two different licenses when the value gained by being able to use either console is small.
  - pjmlp 10y ago
    Why not, most likely they weren't even written by the same developers, who pays the salaries of the Zelda Switch team, when one adopts take two pay one?
    - shawnz 10y ago
      Who pays the salaries of the Zelda Wii team? The publisher, obviously, who also published Zelda for Switch. It's true Nintendo had to spend effort creating a port of Zelda. But they didn't do it for the sake of customers who have both consoles. They did it for the sake of customers who only have a Switch. For customers that have both consoles, the effort of porting the game was already wasted. So they are not losing value by offering those customers a new license, except the minor value gained by being able to use either console and having access to any minor improvements in the newer edition of the game. That is not worth the price of the full game.

pjmlp 10y ago

It isn't technically the same game, they cannot match 1:1 in features and gaming experience, given the differences between Wii and Switch.

Dylan16807 10y ago
That's getting really picky. It's almost identical.
- pjmlp 10y ago
  The game was written twice for different hardware, having different CPU, GPU, memory constraints, controllers and operating systems. Who is supposed to pay the salaries of the development team that wrote the Switch version? So all digital assets are supposed to be pay one take two model?
  - Dylan16807 10y ago
    99% of people are only buying one copy or the other copy. Your question is just as valid with the way nintendo chose to do things, and already has an answer. They don't make a meaningful amount of money by requiring some people to buy two copies on the same account. They make a marginal amount of money as a tradeoff for being visibly customer-hostile. > So all digital assets are supposed to be pay one take two model? This is already a buy one take one hundred model, in that you can redownload it as many times as you like on as many sequential devices as you like. The only difference is that the downloads are restricted to one flavor of device.
    - pjmlp 10y ago
      So the next time you buy lets say a game on Steam, do you also feel entitled to have the same game for free on Wii U, Switch, PS4, XBox ONE, iOS and Android, regardless of the development costs and amount of people that worked across all those devices?
      - Dylan16807 10y ago
        If this is a game where they are traditionally going to sell no more than one copy to me, and it's 99.9% the same across all those platforms, and it wouldn't cost them money to do so because of clunky licensing agreements, then yes I would want my copy of the game to be portable across those devices.
      - szatkus 10y ago
        I get one for Linux and Mac OS X for free so it makes sense.
      - Crespyl 10y ago
        Do I expect a Steam purchase to be available on Wii U, Switch PS4, etc.? No (and at least in my case, the games usually don't exist on those platforms anyway). What I do expect is for it to be available anywhere a Steam client is, and indeed almost every game for which a port exists can be used on any Windows, Mac, or Linux computer (with different processors, GPUs, etc.) for no additional cost. Valve has set a standard for the behavior of downloadable games across platforms, and it's totally understandable that customers would feel "ripped off" by Nintendo's approach.
shawnz 10y ago
But the value that the customer can extract from the game is almost the same whether they got the Wii or Switch version. It doesn't make sense to charge double the price for two different licenses when the value gained by being able to use either console is small.
- pjmlp 10y ago
  Why not, most likely they weren't even written by the same developers, who pays the salaries of the Zelda Switch team, when one adopts take two pay one?
  - shawnz 10y ago
    Who pays the salaries of the Zelda Wii team? The publisher, obviously, who also published Zelda for Switch. It's true Nintendo had to spend effort creating a port of Zelda. But they didn't do it for the sake of customers who have both consoles. They did it for the sake of customers who only have a Switch. For customers that have both consoles, the effort of porting the game was already wasted. So they are not losing value by offering those customers a new license, except the minor value gained by being able to use either console and having access to any minor improvements in the newer edition of the game. That is not worth the price of the full game.