Nintendo is one of the most large companies from video game, present almost at its beginnings and which will certainly survive us. This gives him real importance in the world, and some decisions do not pass through various associations defense for the virtual heritage. This recent example is one of the most flagrant, and well represents the difficulty of safeguarding the video game heritage.
Nintendo vs Video Game History fondation
In general, when we talk to you regarding Nintendoit’s either to tell you regarding one of their recent games, one of the Nintendo Direct which precisely announces the release of the company’s new products, or else and this is much less pleasant: all legal decisions related to the business. Nintendo is known to be quite intransigent on certain subjects, including the creation of fangames or the use of videos and music related to its propertyas evidenced by this case, where theJapanese company sent more than 1,300 complaints to a Youtube channel regarding copyright issues.
In contrast, the reason why the Video Game History Foundation recently took to social media is different. This association aims to preserve the video game heritage, whether material or immaterial, by allowing free access to the video game archives. In France, this may remind the project Abandonwarewhich regularly broadcasts old games made accessible on PC via a home emulator, and without DRM. The news that brought this organization to the fore is Nintendo’s decision to close the Eshop -the virtual store- of its 3DS and Wii U consoles. Here is the association’s statement:
Our statement on the closure of Nintendo’s legacy digital shops. pic.twitter.com/mG5GzuGH4G
While it’s unfortunate that people can no longer buy digital games on the 3DS and Wii U, we understand the commercial reality that drove this decision. What we don’t understand is what Nintendo expects from its fans, should they wish to play these games in the future. As a paying member of the Entertainment Software Association, Nintendo actively funds lobbying that prevents even libraries from being able to provide legal access to these games. Not providing commercial access is understandable, but preventing institutional work to preserve these titles on top of that is actively destructive to gaming history. We encourage ESA members like Nintendo to rethink their position on this issue and work with existing institutions to find a solution.
A difficult position to defend?
As explained, it is not the closing of these online stores that the VGHF regretsit is the fact that Nintendo has – so far – not announced an alternative to survive the 2000 or so games that can be purchased on these platforms.. A real treasure that is in danger of disappearing forever, because these only exist online, and if you do not have them on your devices, these will no longer be findable at all. Moreover, if you are a fan of the license Pokémon, we urge you to hurry to download the Pokémon Bank on your device to save your collections and be able to transfer everything to your Nintendo Switch, or via Pokémon Go.
Closing these online stores is however a common practice when you are a company of this size. Keeping an online platform active has a significant cost, both economic and ecological, requiring the services of large servers. But more serious: VGHF also points out that Nintendo is an active and influential member of the Entertainment Software Association. A US political organization responsible for protecting video game companies, serving as a watchdog for copyright compliance, on the classification of the different games (the PEGI) but also on the control of suitable content on the Internet and in general to the commercial and public needs of companies that create video games. Organization that therefore militates once morest the free distribution of video game heritage.
