Thursday, 30 August 2018

Nintendo's Cease and Desist Crusade is hurting it's image


Nintendo have been at it for some time, the rumblings of their aggressive copyright enforcement has been known for some time and became quite public when Another Metroid Remake debacle occurred which was soon followed by Nintendo's own release of a Metroid 2 Samus Returns remake. Then came Pokemon Uranium and then the waters seemed to settle for a while, but beyond the scope of most people there was a secretive assault against numerous emulation sites that were hosting ROMs. 

"There's a big appetite for retro gaming, especially as modern gaming revolves around derivative indies and micro-transaction filled AAA games"

Recently this war came to an end and multiple sites removed not only Nintendo's games but everyone's; leaving these sites somewhat empty and dead. It's hard to gauge how long these sites will remain simply hosting emulators and having a once buzzing forum. 
There are still a few rogues hosting ROMs but for how long this remains is to be seen.

I find all this especially sad, especially as it has affected games that Nintendo haven't even been involved in and many of these games' developers are now defunct, absorbed and reconstituted or have simply never enjoyed a re-release. 
There's a big appetite for retro gaming, especially as modern gaming revolves around derivative indies and micro-transaction filled AAA games (and now Battle Royale, sigh) so if you want to play something different and independent then these archives are an in veritable paradise. Sure people were enjoying such pleasures freely but you know what, put a reasonable price tag on admission to the classics and I think you'll find the vast majority will pay. 

"Surely we could apply a similar model to gaming? Xbox already do this with the game pass" 

Allow me to make an example; I never buy films. I neither rent films or go to the cinema. I pay Netflix a monthly sub and I pay for Sky Movies and that's about £20 a month. This more than fulfills my needs and ultimately saves me money, I don't have the time or the inclination to leave my house to watch a two hour film with a mass of noisy strangers. 
On average I have to wait six or seven months before I see a film that came out the cinema or even four or five months for something that's be released on DVD. 

Surely we could apply a similar model to gaming? Xbox already do this with the game pass and it's not that bad a concept, it's cheaply priced and they have even said you can play Microsoft developed games straight away as they release! That's a bargain really.
I currently subscribe to rental company called Boomerang Rentals, it's affordably priced (cheapest package is around £7 and go up to £20+ but an average price is £10 for a unlimited membership). 
This works really well for me, games I've been on the fence about I've played and surprisingly enjoyed and then there are games I was keen on, played and hated which minimal impact to my wallet. My renting hasn't even affected my purchases, I've purchased every Call of Duty yearly for the pleasure of day one enjoyment and also just generally playing it through the year.

"Nintendo's aggression is destructive, not constructive." 

But I digress, I really think the gaming industry needs to look at the way it's marketing its games and how others have moved into more appealing distribution methods. I remember the days of music piracy and the horror stories of tens of thousand pound fines and court cases against thirteen year old girls downloading Britney Spears songs, but where is this issue now? It's virtually non-existent thanks to YouTube and Spotify and the like. The music industry smartened themselves up and it's done their industry a world of good; financially and visibly. 

Nintendo's aggression is destructive, not constructive. Closing down a fan game resource website will have no affect on Nintendo's products, no one is going to confuse a fan game with the real deal. These were passionate and supportive fans and all you've done is smack them around the head.
You've shut the ROM sites down but have done nothing to make your entire library accessible on current generation hardware. 
Nintendo need to change their attitude, their corperate actions aren't going to be their end, but it's leaving a sour taste in many a gamer's mouth and such things can be costly. Why lose our money when you could be pocketing it in other ways?

The whole thing looks bad Nintendo, shame on you.

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