

Wii U's restrictive DRM is a baffling throwback - bane
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/12/wii-us-restrictive-drm-is-a-baffling-throwback/

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billsix
I've bought mario 64 and ocarina of time 3 times each. (N64, ds systems, and
on the wii.) My wii disc drive broke 6 months ago. I tried to repair it, and I
failed, as i broke the connection of the data ribbon to the disc drive. This
faulty repair to the disc drive then made virtual console games unplayable,
even though they make no use of the disc drive.

Nintendo won't transfer my purchases to new hardware, whereas my physical
copies of the game all still work the same as the day I bought them. I could
pay Nintendo 80 dollars to repair my drive to recover ~150 dollars worth of
downloaded games.

I'm not buying these games for a fourth time, and I do not recommend buying
any downloadable products from Nintendo.

~~~
ashray
Well, considering that you legally own the titles you could look into
emulating them. Homebrew on the Wii is pretty advanced right now and you could
use that to retrieve ROMs for all your titles and still play them.

Obviously, that doesn't say anything good about Nintendo but I'm just trying
to solve a pain point for you.

Also, 3DS games on the eShop in Europe have ridiculous prices. A game in the
US costs $39.99 (in the eShop) whereas the UK price is GBP 39.99 ~ $64! UK 3DS
users can use the Ireland eShop (same language games but Euro prices) to get
their games for around $57. Still VERY abusive of Nintendo! :(

~~~
jsilence
Obligatory XKCD: <http://xkcd.com/488/>

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jamieb
My mario 64 cart has 120 stars (yes by me) and is autographed by Miyamoto. I
waited in line all night to get my Wii. When its drive crapped out I bought a
shiny new black one. I was honestly expecting to be able to play all the
virtual console games on it. I used to have fun with my kids playing all the
old games on the Wii. Now we don't play them.

I hadn't even realized it till I read this post. Subtly, subconsciously,
Nintendo turned me off gaming on the Wii. I wasn't mad or angry. I recall now
seeing the virtual console and thinking "I could buy this again ... nah maybe
later". When I thought of buying a new game, instead of a happy feeling, the
feeling I got was how I felt when I was thinking about buying the games I had
on my old Wii for the second time: "nah maybe later". And later never came.

Haven't bought a Wii U.

And yes, it is fucking insane that as a parent, I can't set up an account,
online, and buy games and activate consoles. There is no excuse Nintendo. I
have iTunes. I have Amazon Instant Video. I have Netflix. This is how you sell
to me now, and it will be how you sell to my kids. My 9yo has an iPhone and
that's what she plays games on. COPPA is no excuse. My kids watch Netflix all
day, but who signed up for it? Madness.

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hayksaakian
Steam has been around for how many years now?

They've effectively created a DRM system that people like.

Copying them is not a technical challenge, and as far as I know there's
nothing proprietary about it.

Why other platforms like WiiU don't adopt this strategy baffles me.

~~~
mahyarm
With Steam Big Picture coming into play, and half decent PCs costing around
$300 that can play most games, if I get a TV, I'll just buy a $350+ HTPC. It
will work with all video formats at high bitrates, play blu-rays, work with
ALL of the streaming video services in one box, search the internet quickly,
play all of my personal media and play video games as good as any console.
Steam is just a few steps away from being the console replacement app and
shipping a branded steam box and the masses would have something that's
relatively easy to use. For the kids that love minecraft and other indie
games, it would be perfect.

It will also work easily as a NAS and a print server. It would replace about
3/4 different TV devices and cover all of the bases.

~~~
w1ntermute
There's a great guide on _The Verge_ forums about building a Steam Box on the
cheap: [http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3706718/forget-the-
ps4-an...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3706718/forget-the-ps4-and-the-
xbox-720-build-your-own-steambox-on-the-cheap)

For all those gamers out there who are familiar with building their own gaming
PCs, the Steam Box future is already here. There's currently a huge sale on
Steam for games that use controllers. You can make it happen today.

And the value of having a fully functional HTPC cannot be overstated. You can
watch _any_ content you want, no compromises. YouTube, Netflix, Hulu,
torrents, Usenet, it's all supported.

~~~
bitsoda
Very nice guide. But I wouldn't build a Steam Box. There's something to be
said about consoles and how they provide developers with _one_ standardized
specification that they can target over a span of 6+ years that enables them
to optimize games so they run smoothly while squeezing out every last drop of
power the console has to offer. Gaming PCs lack this standardization that
consoles enjoy. Sure, there's infinite flexibility with what you're able to do
with a PC -- such as using it as a HTPC -- but over time, a Steam Box built
today won't be able to play the latest games that 2017 has to offer with any
grace, while the PS3 will be running a title like "The Last of Us" nearly
seven years after the console's introduction. Sure, you could always upgrade
the graphics card, CPU, HD, and other components, but now you've already
overpaid what you would have had you bought a PS4/Xbox 720.

Just something to keep in mind for anyone who decides to build a Steam Box in
hopes that is can replace a console.

~~~
ekianjo
Yeah, but in 2017 your console games will completely suck versus what you will
have your PC-Steam Box if you renew it every 2-3 years or so. And you will
have access to literally thousands on games on it, while your PS4-Xbox720 will
still be hard at work building such a library of titles. And online play is
free on Steam (versus 50 dollars a year on Xbox), games are cheaper too and
regularly on sale for a fraction of the original price - overall you are
SAVING by playing on PC if you play many games. It only makes sense to own a
console if you 1) want specific, exclusive titles 2) do not play many games at
all (and then it becomes more economical than a PC).

That's why true hardcore gamers will remain on the PC no matter what consoles
they bring on the market: best graphics, largest choice, and best use of your
money is on PC.

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smosher
The article doesn't show much understanding of Nintendo's general trajectory.
They've been almost determined to explore the entire spectrum of copy
protection, in order of least to most effective. The psychological impact on
them has been to increase the paranoia factor in step with this (they're even
encrypting saved game content.)

I can't really blame them either. It's not optimal and it sucks, but they seem
to be approaching working solution which is something they need (in order to
sell licenses if nothing else.)

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knodi
I'm just going to put this out there. Wii U has been a huge disappointment.

Actually thats a little unfair, I never had high expectations from Wii U to
begin with.

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myko
What don't you like about it? I find playing the new Mario game really fun,
and Nintendo Land is a big hit as far as group gaming goes.

Other than the eShop problems (the DRM, the silly way to transfer games from
the Wii) I really like the console.

~~~
sliverstorm
I find people who expected- no, _wanted_ \- something to suck, will be
predisposed to think it sucks until rigorously proven otherwise.

