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What exactly do you want to sideload on your Nintendo system? Is there a large, frustrated demand for unauthorized Nintendo software? The game console business

by lapcat 2y ago

What exactly do you want to sideload on your Nintendo system? Is there a large, frustrated demand for unauthorized Nintendo software? The game console business model is an historical anomaly. In the beginning, all console games were produced in-house by the console manufacturers. The consoles weren't "platforms" at all. However, 4 Atari programmers got wind that the games they wrote made tens of $millions for Atari while the programmers were paid only a relatively small salary. When Atari management refused to give the programmers a cut, they left and formed Activision. Thus Activision became the original third-party console game development company. Atari then sued Activision for theft of trade secrets, because the Activision founders were all former Atari programmers. The case was settled, with Atari getting a cut of Activision’s revenue but otherwise allowing Activision to continue developing console games. I suspect this was because the 4 programmers were considered irreplaceable to Atari (albeit too late, after they already quit).

gjsman-1000 2y ago
> there a large, frustrated demand for unauthorized Nintendo software? Ironically, yes, from people who don’t like paying for things. It’s a booming market on Android. And yes, I absolutely believe that saying Nintendo and Sony are allowed to make a locked down device, but Apple is not, is an arbitrary double standard, setting up a potential legal victory for Apple.
- lapcat 2y ago
  > Ironically, yes, from people who don’t like paying for things. It’s a booming market on Android. Can you be more specific? I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to. > And yes, I absolutely believe that saying Nintendo and Sony are allowed to make a locked down device, but Apple is not, is an arbitrary double standard, setting up a potential legal victory for Apple. What are you replying to? I didn't make any such claim in my comment. I wasn't defending the console business model, just explaining how it came about, which is very different from most computing platforms.
  - gjsman-1000 2y ago
    A. Unlocked devices foster piracy. Piracy is also the biggest reason people complain about locked down devices and game consoles. It is also a fact that a pirated binary, stripped of identifying information, becomes easy to sideload. B. The law makes no distinction between a game console and a computing platform, nor should it. There is also no such thing legally as a “general purpose computer” like I’ve seen some people try to define iPads as, so as to somehow justify iPad sideloading but not Switch sideloading. C. I don’t buy the 30% cut argument, because we have a counter example: Steam on PC. How many companies sell their games directly outside of Steam? How many give you a 25% discount on top of that? Nobody.
    - lapcat 2y ago
      > Piracy is also the biggest reason people complain about locked down devices and game consoles. I can't speak for game consoles, but this is absolutely false with regard to iPhone lockdown.
      - gjsman-1000 2y ago
        Believe me, I would bet $1000 right now, that if unfettered IPA installation was added to iPhone, piracy would be more than 90% of installs. Some game developers have experienced as high as 98% piracy rates on Android through APK sideloading. Why do you think mobile games are so full of ads? In part, because ads stick around and are profitable, no matter where you got your app. As long as sideloading files is so heavily connected to piracy, we’ll be lucky to see alternative app stores, but never direct installation on iOS. https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/5hozvo/absolutely_ridiculous_piracy_numbers_on_android_98/ https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/5hozvo/absolutely_...
        lapcat 2y ago
        "Or do we go waste our time trying to piracy protect our Android apps?" So they have no copy protection at all? Well, sure, if you rely on OS lockdown as your sole copy protection, and the OS is unlocked, then of course you're open to piracy. Yes, they do need to "waste their time", as it were, protecting their own apps. This is something desktop developers figured out ages ago.

by lapcat 2y ago

gjsman-1000 2y ago

> there a large, frustrated demand for unauthorized Nintendo software? Ironically, yes, from people who don’t like paying for things. It’s a booming market on Android. And yes, I absolutely believe that saying Nintendo and Sony are allowed to make a locked down device, but Apple is not, is an arbitrary double standard, setting up a potential legal victory for Apple.

lapcat 2y ago
> Ironically, yes, from people who don’t like paying for things. It’s a booming market on Android. Can you be more specific? I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to. > And yes, I absolutely believe that saying Nintendo and Sony are allowed to make a locked down device, but Apple is not, is an arbitrary double standard, setting up a potential legal victory for Apple. What are you replying to? I didn't make any such claim in my comment. I wasn't defending the console business model, just explaining how it came about, which is very different from most computing platforms.
- gjsman-1000 2y ago
  A. Unlocked devices foster piracy. Piracy is also the biggest reason people complain about locked down devices and game consoles. It is also a fact that a pirated binary, stripped of identifying information, becomes easy to sideload. B. The law makes no distinction between a game console and a computing platform, nor should it. There is also no such thing legally as a “general purpose computer” like I’ve seen some people try to define iPads as, so as to somehow justify iPad sideloading but not Switch sideloading. C. I don’t buy the 30% cut argument, because we have a counter example: Steam on PC. How many companies sell their games directly outside of Steam? How many give you a 25% discount on top of that? Nobody.
  - lapcat 2y ago
    > Piracy is also the biggest reason people complain about locked down devices and game consoles. I can't speak for game consoles, but this is absolutely false with regard to iPhone lockdown.
    - gjsman-1000 2y ago
      Believe me, I would bet $1000 right now, that if unfettered IPA installation was added to iPhone, piracy would be more than 90% of installs. Some game developers have experienced as high as 98% piracy rates on Android through APK sideloading. Why do you think mobile games are so full of ads? In part, because ads stick around and are profitable, no matter where you got your app. As long as sideloading files is so heavily connected to piracy, we’ll be lucky to see alternative app stores, but never direct installation on iOS. https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/5hozvo/absolutely_ridiculous_piracy_numbers_on_android_98/ https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/5hozvo/absolutely_...
      - lapcat 2y ago
        "Or do we go waste our time trying to piracy protect our Android apps?" So they have no copy protection at all? Well, sure, if you rely on OS lockdown as your sole copy protection, and the OS is unlocked, then of course you're open to piracy. Yes, they do need to "waste their time", as it were, protecting their own apps. This is something desktop developers figured out ages ago.