7 ms·

I don't generally condone piracy. But I also believe that when a company makes it hard to enjoy their games, or tries to milk money out of games that are 30 yea

by bisby 10y ago

I don't generally condone piracy. But I also believe that when a company makes it hard to enjoy their games, or tries to milk money out of games that are 30 years old, that I've probably paid for several times over the years, then I don't care anymore. If even .1% of Nintendo's revenue comes from NES/SNES games, then they are doing it VERY wrong. And if it's less, I don't feel bad because I know I'm not ruining some market segment. I had an NES as a kid, rebought an NES in college with most of my childhood games, and bought quite a few games on Wii virtual console. These games arent easily portable, take up a lot of space, and I'm not even sure how to hook an NES up to a modern TV offhand. NES won't give me simplicity for the games I've paid for, so by definition of terrible copyright laws, I resort to "piracy". And while im there, theres other games i always wanted to try as a kid, that nintendo will make difficult for me to play (heck, if I went to piracy for legally owned games, why would games i dont own be any easier). It's a vicious cycle. steam has demonstrated that you can easily cut piracy simply by making things readily available and easy to use. dont give people incentive and then complain about it.

cr0sh 10y ago
> I'm not even sure how to hook an NES up to a modern TV offhand. The original NES had RCA composite output (plus audio) - so all you'd need is a composite-to-HDMI adaptor, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Portta-Composite-Converter-Scaler-support/dp/B00CQ3K0PY/ https://www.amazon.com/Portta-Composite-Converter-Scaler-sup... For something like the Sega Genesis (not that you wondered), it also had composite output, but needed a "special" mini-DIN cable; the pinout is out there, and an RCA jack can be soldered in place if you wanted. Also, the same jack (IIRC) served up S-VIDEO, so you could use that instead (S-VIDEO to HDMI). If all you had was RF output (like for an Atari 2600) - you could do a RF-to-Composite converter, then from that into a Composite-to-HDMI converter. Where you might run into problems on all of these solutions are those areas where artifacting was used on-screen to generate false colors; sometimes the converters will strip that out (their conversion is too good), or the TV will (same thing, plus LCD vs CRT tech).
- xanderstrike 10y ago
  Those adapters are fine now, but what about in 10 years when it's even harder to find a working NES? 20? 50? At some point there will be no more working systems and cartridges, but because of the efforts of pirates these games can and probably will live forever.
  - MrFoof 10y ago
    There are alternatives like the Analogue NT which is fully compatible with the entire Nintendo library, including Flash carts like the PowerPak and Everdrive. It has a built-in Four Score. It supports Component and HDMI output. It has a built in hardware upscaler. It supports wireless controllers with no input latency, light guns, and basically any 3rd party controller ever made. It also has a Famicom slot, so it'll play both NES and Famicom cartridges without adapters. It has the Famicom expansion port as well, so it'll even play Famicom Disk System games. It is the Nintendo completely reverse engineered using an Altera Cyclone V FPGA to emulate the hardware in hardware. Granted, it's $450, but it plays your games perfectly, and on your modern hardware in ways that an original NES couldn't without RGB modding a top-loader and getting a separate upscaler. I'm a retro speedrunner, and I intend on getting one later this year rather than modding my 30-year old NES (which I self-refurbish) and buying an upscaler and having a nest of cables. Hobbyists are making some amazing stuff. Someone is currently making component cables that work with your SNES, as well as ones for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn. I'm on the waiting list to pounce when the next batch arrives. It's like classic cars. In the 60s no one cared. In the 80s and 90s people built businesses to fill the niche and take all the money being left on the table.
    - bisby 10y ago
      I know hardcore retro gamers consider "on hardware" and "on emulator" to be separate categories. I remember getting super mario world to memory jump to the credits on actual hardware was a big thing. Where does Analogue NT fit in there? That's not ORIGINAL hardware. It could technically have different quirks that means minor differences could play out. That puts it more in the emulator category right?
eridius 10y ago
> If even .1% of Nintendo's revenue comes from NES/SNES games, then they are doing it VERY wrong. Why? What's wrong about Nintendo continuing to monetize their old IP, which is still apparently in high demand? If anything, Nintendo managing to continue making money off of these old games is impressive.
- bisby 10y ago
  Old IP is fine. Breath of the Wild it up. But when your business model is "do nothing to adapt to the times, and try to ride the coattails of the success of 30 years ago", i stop feeling sympathy. So either it's old and unimportant, or they're a stagnating old company. And considering how well switch + breath of the wild sales were, I'm pretty sure NES games make up a pretty small portion of their revenue.
- posguy 10y ago
  After a certain point, the IP should enter the public domain. Traditionally, this would occur after a decade or two, but thanks to heavy lobbying by Disney, I doubt I will ever see Mickey the Mouse in someone else's cartoon :( Why should a company be able to strangle the cultural development of our society in the name of greed?
Karunamon 10y ago
I have a really hard time taking someone to task for "piracy" of 20-30 year old titles. As far as I'm concerned, I've bought those games about 2 or 3 times, my conscience is clear for format shifting to an emulation box.

by bisby 10y ago

cr0sh 10y ago

> I'm not even sure how to hook an NES up to a modern TV offhand. The original NES had RCA composite output (plus audio) - so all you'd need is a composite-to-HDMI adaptor, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Portta-Composite-Converter-Scaler-support/dp/B00CQ3K0PY/ https://www.amazon.com/Portta-Composite-Converter-Scaler-sup... For something like the Sega Genesis (not that you wondered), it also had composite output, but needed a "special" mini-DIN cable; the pinout is out there, and an RCA jack can be soldered in place if you wanted. Also, the same jack (IIRC) served up S-VIDEO, so you could use that instead (S-VIDEO to HDMI). If all you had was RF output (like for an Atari 2600) - you could do a RF-to-Composite converter, then from that into a Composite-to-HDMI converter. Where you might run into problems on all of these solutions are those areas where artifacting was used on-screen to generate false colors; sometimes the converters will strip that out (their conversion is too good), or the TV will (same thing, plus LCD vs CRT tech).

xanderstrike 10y ago
Those adapters are fine now, but what about in 10 years when it's even harder to find a working NES? 20? 50? At some point there will be no more working systems and cartridges, but because of the efforts of pirates these games can and probably will live forever.
- MrFoof 10y ago
  There are alternatives like the Analogue NT which is fully compatible with the entire Nintendo library, including Flash carts like the PowerPak and Everdrive. It has a built-in Four Score. It supports Component and HDMI output. It has a built in hardware upscaler. It supports wireless controllers with no input latency, light guns, and basically any 3rd party controller ever made. It also has a Famicom slot, so it'll play both NES and Famicom cartridges without adapters. It has the Famicom expansion port as well, so it'll even play Famicom Disk System games. It is the Nintendo completely reverse engineered using an Altera Cyclone V FPGA to emulate the hardware in hardware. Granted, it's $450, but it plays your games perfectly, and on your modern hardware in ways that an original NES couldn't without RGB modding a top-loader and getting a separate upscaler. I'm a retro speedrunner, and I intend on getting one later this year rather than modding my 30-year old NES (which I self-refurbish) and buying an upscaler and having a nest of cables. Hobbyists are making some amazing stuff. Someone is currently making component cables that work with your SNES, as well as ones for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn. I'm on the waiting list to pounce when the next batch arrives. It's like classic cars. In the 60s no one cared. In the 80s and 90s people built businesses to fill the niche and take all the money being left on the table.
  - bisby 10y ago
    I know hardcore retro gamers consider "on hardware" and "on emulator" to be separate categories. I remember getting super mario world to memory jump to the credits on actual hardware was a big thing. Where does Analogue NT fit in there? That's not ORIGINAL hardware. It could technically have different quirks that means minor differences could play out. That puts it more in the emulator category right?

eridius 10y ago

> If even .1% of Nintendo's revenue comes from NES/SNES games, then they are doing it VERY wrong. Why? What's wrong about Nintendo continuing to monetize their old IP, which is still apparently in high demand? If anything, Nintendo managing to continue making money off of these old games is impressive.

bisby 10y ago
Old IP is fine. Breath of the Wild it up. But when your business model is "do nothing to adapt to the times, and try to ride the coattails of the success of 30 years ago", i stop feeling sympathy. So either it's old and unimportant, or they're a stagnating old company. And considering how well switch + breath of the wild sales were, I'm pretty sure NES games make up a pretty small portion of their revenue.
posguy 10y ago
After a certain point, the IP should enter the public domain. Traditionally, this would occur after a decade or two, but thanks to heavy lobbying by Disney, I doubt I will ever see Mickey the Mouse in someone else's cartoon :( Why should a company be able to strangle the cultural development of our society in the name of greed?

Karunamon 10y ago

I have a really hard time taking someone to task for "piracy" of 20-30 year old titles. As far as I'm concerned, I've bought those games about 2 or 3 times, my conscience is clear for format shifting to an emulation box.