3 ms·

Do they really get to do whatever they like forever with e.g. games and consoles they neither sell nor maintain anymore? The NES was discontinued in 95, that w

by atoav 2y ago

Do they really get to do whatever they like forever with e.g. games and consoles they neither sell nor maintain anymore? The NES was discontinued in 95, that was nearly 3 decades ago. I don't think they should have the right to prevent hackers to emulate it and share their findings. Current consoles, yeah maybe, but even then the question would be why they should get a monopoly on the games developed for their platform..

musicale 2y ago
> I don't think they should have the right to prevent hackers to emulate it and share their findings They do not. Emulation is legal. However it is worth considering that: 0) NES Classic was sold as recently as 2018 1) Nintendo currently rent out NES games as part of Switch online 2) Copyright law ("lifetime" + 70 years) is on Nintendo's side for games themselves 3) Fair use can be a defense against infringement in some cases 4) Although it might or might not be fair use, I feel no guilt downloading Super Mario Bros 3 for an emulator since I've purchased it at least ten times by now, own multiple copies of the game on physical media, and am currently renting it through Switch online. On the Sony/PlayStation side, I own a PS Classic, which actually runs a version of an open source PS1 emulator PCSX, amusingly enough. (I'm a bit disappointed that it's not a descendant of Connectix's emulator though.[1]) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment,_Inc._v._Connectix_Corp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment,_I....
- randmeerkat 2y ago
  > Nintendo currently rent out NES games as part of Switch online If Nintendo really cared about this they should create their own version of Spotify for legacy video games and charge a monthly subscription fee for the entire library that’s cross platform and mobile friendly. The strength of Nintendo really is their games, not the hardware. I don’t understand why Nintendo is so attached to their hardware in 2024, especially in the age of the Steam Deck.
  - musicale 2y ago
    > I don’t understand why Nintendo is so attached to their hardware in 2024, Yes, you do not. Nintendo makes a lot of money selling hardware. Switch is the third most successful game console of all time, behind the PS2 and Nintendo's own DS. Switch was always profitable vs. component and manufacturing cost, and this has largely gotten better over time with the exception of covid-related supply chain disruptions. Nintendo has no need or desire to follow in Sega's footsteps. Switch consoles mean Nintendo can sell physical game cards. Physical media are important in Japan, and important elsewhere since they allow fully offline operation. Moreover, Nintendo doesn't want to sacrifice its platform fees to the likes of Valve, Apple, or Google.
    - boredtofears 2y ago
      > Physical media are important in Japan Genuinely curious: why is that?
      - musicale 2y ago
        “I’m not a prophet or anything, but I believe that physical media will have more longevity here for the same reason that I think magazines do, which is that anyone can step out of their house and walk five feet [to buy one],” says Ricciardi. “It’s just easier to get to these things in Japan.” https://www.theverge.com/24055863/akihabara-japan-retro-video-games-physical-media https://www.theverge.com/24055863/akihabara-japan-retro-vide...
      - prmoustache 2y ago
        Because ironically they don't have much room to store them so it becomes a luxury they cherish?
    - mc3301 2y ago
      Physical media in Japan is important for a lot of reasons. Just looking around, the Music CD rental market is still big here... I have spoken to many people who have no streamers, they buy or rent all their DVDs and BluRays. There's the collectors thing, too, with "special edition" and "limited time" offers, etc. Physical media has a lot of love in Japan.
- FMecha 2y ago
  > Emulation is legal. For now. This is just baby steps to Nintendo weaseling themselves into Supreme Court to get Sony v. Connectix overturned. MGM v. Grokster attempted to overturn Sony v. Universal (VCR lawsuit), but while the movie studios did win, it was not an overturn of the VCR lawsuit.
  - Woeps 2y ago
    Wonder what the EU laws are on this, as for example also things as game mechanics/features are not something you can register in the EU. So I assume they can't really block Emulation there. And in that case, would it make a difference where the development is done, and if the website is "geofenced"?
- bigtex 2y ago
  NES Classic only supported 30 built-in games, with no official way to purchase or download more.
  - musicale 2y ago
    Same for the SNES classic. And both are no longer available. ;-(

by atoav 2y ago

musicale 2y ago

> I don't think they should have the right to prevent hackers to emulate it and share their findings They do not. Emulation is legal. However it is worth considering that: 0) NES Classic was sold as recently as 2018 1) Nintendo currently rent out NES games as part of Switch online 2) Copyright law ("lifetime" + 70 years) is on Nintendo's side for games themselves 3) Fair use can be a defense against infringement in some cases 4) Although it might or might not be fair use, I feel no guilt downloading Super Mario Bros 3 for an emulator since I've purchased it at least ten times by now, own multiple copies of the game on physical media, and am currently renting it through Switch online. On the Sony/PlayStation side, I own a PS Classic, which actually runs a version of an open source PS1 emulator PCSX, amusingly enough. (I'm a bit disappointed that it's not a descendant of Connectix's emulator though.[1]) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment,_Inc._v._Connectix_Corp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment,_I....

randmeerkat 2y ago
> Nintendo currently rent out NES games as part of Switch online If Nintendo really cared about this they should create their own version of Spotify for legacy video games and charge a monthly subscription fee for the entire library that’s cross platform and mobile friendly. The strength of Nintendo really is their games, not the hardware. I don’t understand why Nintendo is so attached to their hardware in 2024, especially in the age of the Steam Deck.
- musicale 2y ago
  > I don’t understand why Nintendo is so attached to their hardware in 2024, Yes, you do not. Nintendo makes a lot of money selling hardware. Switch is the third most successful game console of all time, behind the PS2 and Nintendo's own DS. Switch was always profitable vs. component and manufacturing cost, and this has largely gotten better over time with the exception of covid-related supply chain disruptions. Nintendo has no need or desire to follow in Sega's footsteps. Switch consoles mean Nintendo can sell physical game cards. Physical media are important in Japan, and important elsewhere since they allow fully offline operation. Moreover, Nintendo doesn't want to sacrifice its platform fees to the likes of Valve, Apple, or Google.
  - boredtofears 2y ago
    > Physical media are important in Japan Genuinely curious: why is that?
    - musicale 2y ago
      “I’m not a prophet or anything, but I believe that physical media will have more longevity here for the same reason that I think magazines do, which is that anyone can step out of their house and walk five feet [to buy one],” says Ricciardi. “It’s just easier to get to these things in Japan.” https://www.theverge.com/24055863/akihabara-japan-retro-video-games-physical-media https://www.theverge.com/24055863/akihabara-japan-retro-vide...
    - prmoustache 2y ago
      Because ironically they don't have much room to store them so it becomes a luxury they cherish?
  - mc3301 2y ago
    Physical media in Japan is important for a lot of reasons. Just looking around, the Music CD rental market is still big here... I have spoken to many people who have no streamers, they buy or rent all their DVDs and BluRays. There's the collectors thing, too, with "special edition" and "limited time" offers, etc. Physical media has a lot of love in Japan.
FMecha 2y ago
> Emulation is legal. For now. This is just baby steps to Nintendo weaseling themselves into Supreme Court to get Sony v. Connectix overturned. MGM v. Grokster attempted to overturn Sony v. Universal (VCR lawsuit), but while the movie studios did win, it was not an overturn of the VCR lawsuit.
- Woeps 2y ago
  Wonder what the EU laws are on this, as for example also things as game mechanics/features are not something you can register in the EU. So I assume they can't really block Emulation there. And in that case, would it make a difference where the development is done, and if the website is "geofenced"?
bigtex 2y ago
NES Classic only supported 30 built-in games, with no official way to purchase or download more.
- musicale 2y ago
  Same for the SNES classic. And both are no longer available. ;-(