So if the rumours are to be believed, Wii U downloads of all kinds will be tied to hardware, just as there's apparently no way to download DSiWare games you've already bought to your new 3DS. When your hardare goes, so do your games. This stinks.
I have over 60 downloaded WiiWare and VC games on my Wii, and they'll all get left behind if I get a new Wii U (in contrast, the retail Wii games I have will all work with the new system, even if I bought them used for $10). I'm a pretty big proponent of digital distribution in general, but I just can't participate any further in the way Nintendo organizes their system. Not when many of the best WiiWare games show up later on iOS for less money and without being tied to hardware.
There are so many successful digital distribution models now that it's hard to believe a company like Nintendo can get it so wrong. Retail's days are numbered and Nintendo have shackled themselves to it. Leaving paid, licensed content behind on old hardware is the wrong way to do it, and I'm not buying another downloadable game from Nintendo until they get their act together.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
