Nintendo loves scalpers, FYI. That's why they always make sure there's a shortage of their hot products - scalpers make them even hotter. Scalpers are basically viral marketing for Ninty.

This move is nothing more than a cash grab. They decided to cut everyone - literally every retailer, scalper, everyone - out of the game for this super overpriced, needless peripheral. They're preying on hardcore Nintendo fans.

Ka-pi96 said: Slarvax said: Yeah, what Rol said. For some reason Nintendo products get scalped as fuck, so this is a(n interesting) way to fight scalpers. And I mean.... why would you even get them anyway Maybe less interesting, but would a more effective method be to just produce and sell more of them?

Lol that's what I was thinking too! xD

From Amiibos to NES/SNES Classics, Nintendo just loves not wanting to produce more.

Shouldn't people be mad that essential functionality is hidden behind a paywall? I mean this is like complaining about the ruined dishcloth after someone shat all over your meal.

So I feel the need to reiterate this just for clarity.
Like I said in the very beginning of my OP, I get the logic behind Nintendo wanting to do this and I get that its use is limited. I thought about that well before the posting...
which again is why its the first lines of my OP. Again, I don't even care about the controllers

It's more of the fact that this either leads to or justifies even bigger problems surrounding Nintendo and its online service.
If something along the lines of, "Its meant for the online service, why would anyone else want/pay for this?" crosses your mind in this instance, I think its imperative to use that frame of mind for other potential issues. Including future products. Or even things such as cloud saves among other things, and see if you can justify saying something along the lines of "It was meant for only those who buy the online service, and it makes sense since they have limited storage (or whatever)".

This is more about clipping out a weed before it starts to spread, more than anything else.

It avtually has 4 buttons (not counting the d-pad)

I thought this thread was trolling, then I actually read it and agreed, but then I thought about how I want to be mad except I don't care - I want the goofy things and that's that.

My primary concern at this moment is Nintendo locking things out that are widely seen as necessary, but given that its tied to its service, becomes portrayed as something as something that only people who subscribe would really care about. 

My top hypothetical (bottom of the slope issue) would be cloud saves only being saved for those that currently use the service. But since Nintendo didn't make any implications of that, when discussing the online in the direct, maybe unnecessarily over reacting.

A much more immediate and relative hypothetical would potentially be Gamecube controllers + adapters. Yes, I understand that right now, Nintendo is selling them publicly. However, that product is a limited product. Which is strange because Smash is at least a 5+ million seller market, if I recall correctly (I tend not to care about sales unless its a means to an end). That's easily anywhere between 3-5 million controllers and closer 2 million adapters. The problem there is that there is already constantly shortages, with that product since last gen, when supply should have been higher. If Nintendo were to do something similar to the NES controllers for this, it would be a problematic as there is a much bigger and active market for the controller+adapter where similar types of justifications could be used.

The are more circumstances that I didn't think of immediately, but that's largely because I didn't think this scenario would come into reality.

It is. I wasn't clear on what I meant, sorry. I specifically meant that let's say after you subscribed, got the save data and forgot to renew your subscription for a week or couldn't because you are in a place with no internet momentarily. I understand locking your save data at that point, but if their policy devolved into deleting it entirely if you didn't pay, that would be my big issue with that service. Especially if, again, you find yourself in a location where you potentially couldn't subscribe if you tried.

Lmao. And people complain about EA. Nintendo is the most anti consumer company in gaming. Just wow.

 I didn't knock them for intentional shortages.  I just made a statement.  In fact, if Nintendo called me up and asked me if I thought it was a good idea for them to continue creating artificial shortages of Hardware products, I would say yes.

I also don't have any problem with scalpers. They're just responding to Market signals. Good for them.

To the extent that I have a problem with anything here,  it's with Nintendo's ridiculous pricing, and preying on fandom.   They are far and away the most anti-consumer, and the most abusive to their fan base of the major hardware players. 

(Note that I am a part of their fan base, as I have owned every major piece of Nintendo Hardware excluding the original Gameboy)