Last week, Nintendo announced that the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShops would be closing. As expected this was met with some understandable condemnation, but also what seemed like a lot of feigned and overly exaggerated shock.
On the condemnation side of things – the fact that some classic games will soon become unavailable with (seemingly) no alternative provided is not good. Organizations like the Video Game History Foundation pointed out that Nintendo did not offer any info as to how access to some of these games for preservation purposes would be handled (for example legally adding the to some sort of accessible library). And I think most of us would agree that that is objectively bad for the industry.
Our statement on the closure of Nintendo's legacy digital shops. pic.twitter.com/mG5GzuGH4G
— Video Game History Foundation (@GameHistoryOrg) February 17, 2022
But hold on…
The outrage from others did seem a little over the top though. For two reasons:
Firstly, these games are still available to purchase right now. The store is only closing in “late March 2023”. So, that means anyone that really wants to buy any of the titles, has more than one year left to do so. And Nintendo has confirmed that even post that date “it will still be possible to redownload games and DLC, receive software updates and enjoy online play on Wii U consoles and Nintendo 3DS systems”. So, if indeed someone really wants to play these games – they could still do so. (And while there is a range of digital-only games as well as the much-beloved Virtual Console – developers are still theoretically able to move their games onto other systems and Nintendo is obviously keen to expand their Switch Online service – so there is hope for these two issues in the future.)
Secondly, while so many people are apparently appalled that the stores are closing – I wonder how many of them had been using the stores anymore. Let’s be honest, the Wii U was a disaster. Nobody bought the system. That’s true all over the world and definitely here in South Africa. Sure, there were some great games – but most of the really good ones have already been ported to the Switch or (I suspect) soon will be. The 3DS is a slightly different story – in that it was hugely successful. However, even as a fan, I tried to remember the last time I bought a game from the 3DS eShop – and I think it was back in 2020 if not earlier. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. Like every other company – Nintendo likes money and if they were making it from either of these stores I’m pretty confident they would’ve kept them open for as long as they could.
Emulation station
Interestingly, a lot of the louder critics did seem to link the closures to issues around emulation and piracy. Now, this is a very controversial topic. And while I personally sometimes fall into the trap of seeing it as a pretty black-and-white issue – I have to remind myself that emulation does not always equal piracy. As we mentioned above, much game history has been preserved thanks in large part to emulation. Plus, there is something to be said about making personal backup copies of games you bought and own. And there are situations where consumers would be more than willing to pay for something but it is just not made available to them – emulation may seem like the only option. Yes, quite soon various shades of grey emerge.
However, there is also a danger of thinking there is absolutely nothing wrong with any emulation. That’s just not true. For example, once you start profiting from other people’s work (cutting them out in the process). Or when refuse to pay for something (that is available for purchase) by emulating because it’s cheaper or more convenient. In those situations – it’s hard to not see it as anything else but plain-old theft. And if the recent case against Gary Bowser is anything to go by – Nintendo clearly agrees. And it is a little concerning that some social media posts around the eShop closures that seemed to get a lot of traction seemed basically to be rationalising piracy under the guise of some ‘supposedly’ righteous fight for game conservancy. And in my opinion – that’s not only disingenuous but even a little dangerous.
So, how do you feel about the eShop closure announcements? Let us know in the comments section below…
As always remember you can check out more Nintendo news, reviews and features at www.nintendogamer.co.za and if you would like a video recap of the Nintendo news you missed last week check out the latest episode of our quickfire video series 1-Up 1-Down here.