3 ms·

I see Nintendon't and Apple as very similar companies. Deeply anti-consumer with a fanbase that will defend them regardless. Some kind of stockholm affect. J

I see Nintendon't and Apple as very similar companies. Deeply anti-consumer with a fanbase that will defend them regardless. Some kind of stockholm affect. Just look at the joycon debacle which they refused to acknowledge or honour, very much Apple way of it's your fault. (not to say they don't make good products)

bzzzt 4y ago
I believe it's more an image/marketing issue. If you made -in your opinion- the best product or the most fun game you could make, it's difficult to stand by that statement and also acknowledge there could be something wrong with it. Publicly apologising takes away some of the brand value so that's something you only do as a last resort. Nintendo replaced my out of warranty broken Joycons for free btw.
m-s 4y ago
Getting refunds for App Store/in-app purchases has been a breeze for me though.
thejammahimself 4y ago
> (not to say they don't make good products) I think that's the key point there. They have a history of making some amazing games, and still continue to do so to some extent. But their business practices in recent years have been, quite simply, abysmal. Stuff like not doing refunds at all (unless they're forced to by law), and also them guarding their intellectual property like their lives depend on it even when this is detrimental to their own business model (remember when they took a cut out of YouTubers making videos of their games leading to many just not bothering, and Nintendo losing out on publicity?) I'm not much of a gamer anymore but I still enjoy playing them from time to time. I just feel like the gaming industry has being getting worse, and worse. Games are so monetized now that some are now borderline (or ought to be considered) gambling. At least there is still some amazing creativity coming from independent development studios.
- everforward 4y ago
  > Games are so monetized now that some are now borderline (or ought to be considered) gambling. At least there is still some amazing creativity coming from independent development studios. In their defense, games have gotten an incredible amount larger and more complicated without adjusting the price of the games since the 90's. We're effectively paying half the price we would have in the 90's due to inflation. I don't know that people would buy them at inflation-adjusted prices. Adjusted from the early 90s, a game would now cost ~$120. And that's discounting the difference in development costs. The latest Call of Duty had a budget of $250M; Ocarina of Time had a budget of $12M, which is ~$21M after adjusting for inflation. I don't love the direction either, but they have to make money somewhere.
  - thejammahimself 4y ago
    I do understand that argument. Games have certainly gotten much more expensive, which I think is inevitable because the increased computational power of newer consoles is leading to developers wanting to fully utilise this power. I am however skeptical that this has lead to an increase in quality. I agree that people probably wouldn't buy games at inflation-adjusted prices. People would find it hillarious if a company came forward, and offered a base game at $120 (although we do sometimes see games with addons that cost this much; the Assassin's Creed Valhalla Complete Edition costs nearly £120 (British pounds) but this comparison comes with the caveat that this includes stuff that wasn't in the original base game.) But if micro transactions are considered the consequence of having high-budget games then, frankly, I don't want them. As I said, there are still some incredible games made by independent studios, and these games are often made at a fraction of the price of their AAA counterparts. I suppose I can't complain too much because my solution is just not to buy, and sink money into high-budget games, and just opt for the smaller budget games.
nicky0 4y ago
Not really. Apple's return policy is very good, both for hardware and software.
chronolitus 4y ago
For those who don't know about the joycon problem: I bought a new switch with 4 joycon controllers. A year later, 2 were unusable (the sticks drift), a third one with slight but acceptable drift. On the other hand, I have 4 xbox 360 controllers from 10 years ago that are still perfectly usable. I sent nintendo an email, they only offered to replace them at a cost, and I would have to send the console in as well, which may be wiped. Buying new joycons was also not an option, given a (seemingly) >50% chance that they would be unusable within less than a year. Now, I use a mayflash ns stick (incredible product! https://www.mayflash.com/Support/showdownload.php?id=34 https://www.mayflash.com/Support/showdownload.php?id=34 ), to use my 360 controllers wirelessly in the switch (with a xbox wireless receiver that I also use for PC https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Xbox-Wireless-Receiver-Windows/dp/B000HZFCT2 https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Xbox-Wireless-Receiver-Wind...) I find this entire situation absurd. --- (I think companies underestimate the fallout from such things because it is so subtle: nintendo sells you an experience, they create the game, the console, and the controller - everyone in my household now subtly associates the nintendo experience with frustration, "I just died because link moved by himself! That's bull**!". Multiplied by the amount of households affected, what is the true effect on Nintendo's brand over the 5 years that the switch is the flagship? And they STILL don't offer a fixed joycon version.)
- drugstorecowboy 4y ago
  Buy a can of CRC Precision Electronics Parts Cleaner Its electronics parts cleaner spray that pretty instantly and cleanly evaporates. Solved my drift problem with one use and have never had another problem.
  - chronolitus 4y ago
    This method does work, but not entirely (see for example https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/b5aro8/comment/ejcm0g5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/b5aro8/comment/ej...). The reason is that the underlying problem is mechanical (a likely explanation at 7:30 https://youtu.be/Vid8lIXmZwE?t=451 https://youtu.be/Vid8lIXmZwE?t=451)
gilrain 4y ago
> Just look at the joycon debacle which they refused to acknowledge or honour Indeed, please do look instead of blindly repeating falsehood. Nintendo is repairing joycons for free, as many times as needed. Inconvenient, but that is not “refused to acknowledge or honour”. https://joyconrepair.nintendo.com/ https://joyconrepair.nintendo.com/
tuankiet65 4y ago
I feel like Nintendo is able to survive to this day only because of their first-party IPs which are exclusive to Nintendo consoles (Pokemon, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, Zelda, Animal Crossing, ...). Without those IPs, I don't see why customers would buy a Switch otherwise. I personally was roped into buying a Switch because of Breath of the Wild.
hypertele-Xii 4y ago
> a fanbase that will defend them regardless. If you grew up playing Nintendo games, the best games on the market at the time, you'll excuse and forgive a lot. Nintendo was the toy in the house, even surpassing LEGO.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago
I can be a fan of Nintendo's game designers without being a fan of their legal department.

bzzzt 4y ago

I believe it's more an image/marketing issue. If you made -in your opinion- the best product or the most fun game you could make, it's difficult to stand by that statement and also acknowledge there could be something wrong with it. Publicly apologising takes away some of the brand value so that's something you only do as a last resort. Nintendo replaced my out of warranty broken Joycons for free btw.

m-s 4y ago

Getting refunds for App Store/in-app purchases has been a breeze for me though.

thejammahimself 4y ago

> (not to say they don't make good products) I think that's the key point there. They have a history of making some amazing games, and still continue to do so to some extent. But their business practices in recent years have been, quite simply, abysmal. Stuff like not doing refunds at all (unless they're forced to by law), and also them guarding their intellectual property like their lives depend on it even when this is detrimental to their own business model (remember when they took a cut out of YouTubers making videos of their games leading to many just not bothering, and Nintendo losing out on publicity?) I'm not much of a gamer anymore but I still enjoy playing them from time to time. I just feel like the gaming industry has being getting worse, and worse. Games are so monetized now that some are now borderline (or ought to be considered) gambling. At least there is still some amazing creativity coming from independent development studios.

everforward 4y ago
> Games are so monetized now that some are now borderline (or ought to be considered) gambling. At least there is still some amazing creativity coming from independent development studios. In their defense, games have gotten an incredible amount larger and more complicated without adjusting the price of the games since the 90's. We're effectively paying half the price we would have in the 90's due to inflation. I don't know that people would buy them at inflation-adjusted prices. Adjusted from the early 90s, a game would now cost ~$120. And that's discounting the difference in development costs. The latest Call of Duty had a budget of $250M; Ocarina of Time had a budget of $12M, which is ~$21M after adjusting for inflation. I don't love the direction either, but they have to make money somewhere.
- thejammahimself 4y ago
  I do understand that argument. Games have certainly gotten much more expensive, which I think is inevitable because the increased computational power of newer consoles is leading to developers wanting to fully utilise this power. I am however skeptical that this has lead to an increase in quality. I agree that people probably wouldn't buy games at inflation-adjusted prices. People would find it hillarious if a company came forward, and offered a base game at $120 (although we do sometimes see games with addons that cost this much; the Assassin's Creed Valhalla Complete Edition costs nearly £120 (British pounds) but this comparison comes with the caveat that this includes stuff that wasn't in the original base game.) But if micro transactions are considered the consequence of having high-budget games then, frankly, I don't want them. As I said, there are still some incredible games made by independent studios, and these games are often made at a fraction of the price of their AAA counterparts. I suppose I can't complain too much because my solution is just not to buy, and sink money into high-budget games, and just opt for the smaller budget games.

nicky0 4y ago

Not really. Apple's return policy is very good, both for hardware and software.

chronolitus 4y ago

For those who don't know about the joycon problem: I bought a new switch with 4 joycon controllers. A year later, 2 were unusable (the sticks drift), a third one with slight but acceptable drift. On the other hand, I have 4 xbox 360 controllers from 10 years ago that are still perfectly usable. I sent nintendo an email, they only offered to replace them at a cost, and I would have to send the console in as well, which may be wiped. Buying new joycons was also not an option, given a (seemingly) >50% chance that they would be unusable within less than a year. Now, I use a mayflash ns stick (incredible product! https://www.mayflash.com/Support/showdownload.php?id=34 https://www.mayflash.com/Support/showdownload.php?id=34 ), to use my 360 controllers wirelessly in the switch (with a xbox wireless receiver that I also use for PC https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Xbox-Wireless-Receiver-Windows/dp/B000HZFCT2 https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Xbox-Wireless-Receiver-Wind...) I find this entire situation absurd. --- (I think companies underestimate the fallout from such things because it is so subtle: nintendo sells you an experience, they create the game, the console, and the controller - everyone in my household now subtly associates the nintendo experience with frustration, "I just died because link moved by himself! That's bull**!". Multiplied by the amount of households affected, what is the true effect on Nintendo's brand over the 5 years that the switch is the flagship? And they STILL don't offer a fixed joycon version.)

drugstorecowboy 4y ago
Buy a can of CRC Precision Electronics Parts Cleaner Its electronics parts cleaner spray that pretty instantly and cleanly evaporates. Solved my drift problem with one use and have never had another problem.
- chronolitus 4y ago
  This method does work, but not entirely (see for example https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/b5aro8/comment/ejcm0g5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/b5aro8/comment/ej...). The reason is that the underlying problem is mechanical (a likely explanation at 7:30 https://youtu.be/Vid8lIXmZwE?t=451 https://youtu.be/Vid8lIXmZwE?t=451)

gilrain 4y ago

> Just look at the joycon debacle which they refused to acknowledge or honour Indeed, please do look instead of blindly repeating falsehood. Nintendo is repairing joycons for free, as many times as needed. Inconvenient, but that is not “refused to acknowledge or honour”. https://joyconrepair.nintendo.com/ https://joyconrepair.nintendo.com/

tuankiet65 4y ago

I feel like Nintendo is able to survive to this day only because of their first-party IPs which are exclusive to Nintendo consoles (Pokemon, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, Zelda, Animal Crossing, ...). Without those IPs, I don't see why customers would buy a Switch otherwise. I personally was roped into buying a Switch because of Breath of the Wild.

hypertele-Xii 4y ago

> a fanbase that will defend them regardless. If you grew up playing Nintendo games, the best games on the market at the time, you'll excuse and forgive a lot. Nintendo was the toy in the house, even surpassing LEGO.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago

I can be a fan of Nintendo's game designers without being a fan of their legal department.