Why do Disk Drives matter?

[Cobretti2]

Conina said:

Cobretti2 said:

Nintendo as an examples ties everything to our console hardware. Once the Switch online ends life, if your switch dies so does your game collection.

Cobretti2 said:

There is a difference, Wii and WiiU online services are dead if both of those die I can't redownload those games onto another WiiU. Hell I can't even use the web browser on the WiU? why not it's installed on there, I have an internet connection. Modern consoles with updates and patches are effectively useless as retro console.

You wrote "Nintendo as an examples ties everything to our console hardware."

"ties" = present, not the past. They haven't done that for over a decade!

• digital Switch games are bound to your Nintendo account, not to the hardware
• digital Wii U games are bound to your Nintendo account, not to the hardware
• digital 3DS games are bound to your Nintendo account, not to the hardware

You wrote "Once the Switch online ends life, if your switch dies so does your game collection."

Which is wrong, ergo your goal post shift to Wii and Wii U.

You wrote "Wii and WiiU online services are dead if both of those die I can't redownload those games onto another WiiU."

• WiiU online service ain't dead, only the eShop store took WiiU titles off its shelves. You can still redownload your bought WiiU titles.
• 3DS online service also ain't dead, only the eShop store took 3DS titles off its shelves. You can still redownload your bought 3DS titles.
• there are also a lot of delisted games on Steam, which can't be bought anymore. You can still redownload these delisted Steam titles.

The complete shutdown of the Wii and DSi online services and Virtual Console (without the option to redownload bought titles) was a shitty move from Nintendo, no question. Many of us have complained about that.

But that doesn't indicate how Nintendo will handle digital Switch libraries in a few years or even a decade.

Times have changed and digtal games got much more important over the years for Nintendo. There are thousands of Switch games without a retail option.

Nintendo got away with the shutdown of the Wii and DSi online services because they weren't very popular. The shitstorm for shutting down the Switch online services would be much much bigger... probably even bigger as the attempted shutdown of PS3 online services a few years ago.

• You can still redownload and update digital PS3 games although the store is closed.
• You can still redownload and update digital Xbox360 games although the store is closed.
• Nintendo has no "freedom of fools". They will also have to keep the Switch online services alive, as long as it is very important for their customers.

When my launch WiiU died I went and got a new and I couldn't get my digital to redownload unless I paid for it again. When I contacted Nintendo they told me that the original hardware that was linked to that NNID was essentially the ID not the actually NNID, your hardware becomes the ID that they validated, basically means your NNID is redundant. I had to send in my new console and old console to them for them to do whatever they had to to get my game working on my new system.

Now this was only 6 months into the launch window, so I don't know if they did some updates to their OS and how NNIDs work on their hardware now. My 3DS I had to transfer my account form one hardware to another, why couldn't via their internal software, why couldn't ii just redownload on another system that I I own and logged into? Maybe I play on multiple systems, one at home, one at office and cbf carrying it around everywhere.

But the point I am making is valid, these companies need to make things more user friendly and be closer to what steam is capable for people to embrace digital fully on consoles. Now if they want to made it a pain to use during the life that is also fine, but o an EOL final firmware that effectively jail breaks the system. I shouldn't have to resort to emulation and piracy to play games I own and paid.