Why Won't Nintendo Just Let Consumers BUY THEIR OLD GAMES?!?!?!

[@MrShadow2x]

That's one big reason keeping me from subscribing to their service. As much as I would love to have access to the retro games, not having any option to actually purchase them and keep them offline, gets a no from me. I don't do online gaming, so the classics are the only incentive, but there's no incentive there for me.

[@metrorican]

Nintendo should allow people to buy the old games for the sake of convenience, but I can see why they prefer a subscription system. In my case, I'm fortunate to have most of my old games and FPGA options like the AVS and Super NT to satisfy my classic cravings, but I understand that's not for everybody for a variety of reasons. For one, it's just too expensive for most folks to track down whatever games they had as kids but sold or gave away to make getting ahold of one of those consoles I mentioned viable. There's also the fact that Analogue isn't producing Super NTs anymore, so that's an additional expense just to get a used version off of eBay. It's a shame.

[@dwightdixon8508]

Nintendo Switch digital services has been extremely different than the Virtual Console & shops on 3DS, Wii & Wii U. Miss those experiences especially having ability to buy and download Sega Master System, NeoGeo, TurboGrafx & Arcade titles

[@RoXolid]

Completely agree. Like I mentioned in the video I do like the switch online service, just give me the option to purchase as well as subscribe

[@crazyoldschool6342]

The wii virtual console was awesome.

[@RoXolid]

@@crazyoldschool6342 That it was

[@atariboy9084]

Gabe Newell on piracy - "We think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem," he said. "If a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24 x 7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to your country 3 months after the US release, and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate's service is more valuable." And you wonder why video gaming piracy is still going stronger than ever.

[@RoXolid]

I know why I just don't believe there's any justification for it Ever

[@crazyoldschool6342]

I honestly see pirating a good thing. You play a game that you normally wouldn't play. If you like it, you're more willing to buy it afterwards. Kinda like gamepass.

[@RoXolid]

@crazyoldschool6342 I don't, stealing is stealing regardless of motive

[@crazyoldschool6342]

@@RoXolid true. I could say the same to these companies also.

[@hectorleon465]

​@@crazyoldschool6342as 8bit guy says in one of his videos, "if a company doesnt want to make their product available (which Nintendo has no interest in doing) i dont shed too many tears when people decide to pirate the material..." %100......

[@jfitnesshealth]

Bro I swear!!!! I remembered when the switch came out ! I was like we finally have a handheld with good enough power where we can get n64 probably running for VC. Just to later find out its a subscription model. Then when 007 N64 REMASTER was coming out I was happy but nervous it would be NSO only, and booyyyy was I right and pissed. Just for the license to one day die again. No physical too. its the reason why im skipping the Switch successor and just getting a ROG ally x and just emulate the damn thing.

[@enriquepinero707]

Slight correction to something you said. NSO is "not cloud based" as the games are not being streamed to the Switch. The games are actually DOWNLOADED to the Switch and run natively off it; it's just they have a DRM encryption check; to verify if you have a subscription and needs to check via online in order to remove the DRM. This means it is COMPLETELY POSSIBLE to allow us to keep these games; all they got to do is to remove the DRM check in the same way Microsoft removed the DRM check from the Xbox One; before they were about to launch it.

[@RoXolid]

They are cloud verified shall we say

[@GiSWiG]

@@RoXolid If you're not using your primary Switch. My power was out last night because of storms. I did get a pop up regarding not being able to connect to the internet, but I had the option to close or Start Software. I chose Start Software and played The Legend of Zelda (i.e. Zelda 1) for several hours. We do have a 'family Switch' and when I try to use it and it cannot connect to the internet, then I will get a message that I cannot be verified that I cannot play whatever game. My wife is the main user of that Switch. If I use her account, I can play the game.

[@RoXolid]

@GiSWiG I have my OLED as my primary Switch, doesn't matter sadly

[@PaperBanjo64]

Nintendo need to come back with the Japanese Nintendo Power program where games could be ordered and written onto cartridges...imagine if you could buy a bunch of NES or Super Nintendo games on a physical cartridge for Switch!

[@djsteeler69]

In an Ideal world, Nintendo, would do the same as Android and Apple. If it's on your verifiable account, you should be able to download it on a subsequent console. But no $$$ is everything.

[@crazyoldschool6342]

Thanks for making a video about this. Also thanks for the shout out!

[@RoXolid]

Of course, it was a great point that deserved being expanded upon

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

The thing I don't understand is not why dose Nintendo not let you buy their older games only, but why Nintendo could not just give you both the option to pay for the subscription and the option to buy their older games individually? Like, what is Nintendo afraid of here? If they provided both options then wouldn't they get more money? The service would still have value to someone who wants to play all the games for a cheap price. While even for those who would pay individually to have the games on their system would still have to pay for the service anyway for online. People would still have to pay for the service anyway no matter which option someone chooses so I don't get why Nintendo doesn't just give the other option to pay for individual titles for those who want it. I feel like Nintendo is scared that giving the option of one time purchase would diminish the value of their service but it theoretically wont though due to what I just explained. I really don't get Nintendo's decisions when it comes to their legacy content.

[@Wheels8504]

They should sell "collection" carts for Switch like you showed with the Castlevania collection.

[@ricterd1623]

I think they are doing it for the incentive for paying for the online service.. They haven't done much to improve online play since they starting charging for it. I think it is worth more to them to use it to lure people to the subscription than the limited sales they would get from those games.

[@Wheels8504]

I only play physical media games. So I wish in some way they would sell physical copies of their old games. But I'm very happy the original retro consoles still work.

[@RoXolid]

Same here, like I say I'd love a compilation cartridge

[@Wheels8504]

@@RoXolid I would be happy with that too. More than 1 if possible. At least I can still play my humble size physical copy collection though.

[@RoXolid]

@@Wheels8504 Imagine something like Evercade carts, but from Nintendo! Tell me that wouldn't sell!!

[@Wheels8504]

@@RoXolid Absolutely! That would be perfect!

[@PaperBanjo64]

I'd love it if Nights into Dreams and that Wii sequel would come to Switch.

[@fpvpilot7713]

Thanks for the video. A game store owner told me that you are only renting digital games on consoles. Steam games are the best investment. Most Steam games could be backed up and made to run with a little effort if Steam closed. I only buy Switch cartridges and Steam games now. I can always run them unlike console digital. Its just like renting a house and you end up with nothing after paying for it. I bought a house and its almost paid for. I am glad I never rented.

[@TIDbitRETRO]

They did sell us a lot of their retro games recently with stuff like their Game & Watch series and the NES and SNES classics. The NSO is their business though, they don’t wanna cannibalize it. Plus I think it’s a pretty great service for the cost vs the amount of games offered, plus it continues to expand regularly.

[@GiSWiG]

Consider this. With the NSO Expansion, you have access to 100+ games across multiple consoles. For the Wii and Wii U, VC NES games were $5, SNES were $8 (I think?) N64 for $10? Imagine if you bought 30 VC games and say you bought 10 games in each price bracket...$5x10+8x10+10x10 = $230. That is over 4 years of NSO Expansion Pack. NSO is also needed for several online games. There is also DLC packs included. I get all the DLCs for Mario Kart from the Expansion Pack. It could also be a licensing issue. Nintendo does not own full rights to all the games. For example, most, if not all games from Rare are owned by Microsoft.

[@RoXolid]

I don't care about online gameplay myself, and I would still likely subscribe to the Switch Online Service. I'm just shocked there isn't even an option however to purchase instead of just rent

[@superbros64deluxe]

2:42 name drops Capcom, shows picture of Konami, bruh

[@RoXolid]

It wasn't a specific correlation

[@mikehart10]

I am ashamed to say that I’m that guy who has purchased Super Mario World on my Wii U and 3DS even though I have it physically on Super Nintendo. But I am paying for convenience to play on modern hardware instead of hooking up my Super Nintendo to a CRT or Retro Tink. If Nintendo allowed me to buy Super Mario World on Switch I’d buy it AGAIN! 😆 In a perfect world it would show up on my Switch digital library since I already bought it on Wii U & 3DS but that will never happen since it’s Nintendo, not PlayStation.

[@RoXolid]

Same. But I do also play on OG hardware too

[@UltraZelda64]

Nintendo doesn't want to sell you a game once and for all when they could keep charging you $20/50 per year for a rental service. That's why, alongside my NES/SNES Classic and Genesis Mini consoles, I keep ROMs handy to play them on a Raspberry Pi, PC, or whatever else I may want to play these games on. You even get some benefits that are impossible to do illegally, like playing Super Mario World in widescreen, and it feels as good as any authentic product Nintendo might put out. I have been subscribed to NSO (own 4x each of NES/SNES/N64/GEN controllers, too), and already lost access to all my games for a span of about six months due to losing my job. I also can't trust Nintendo to not do something stupid to piss me of regarding their service, like remove games or raise the price or even discontinue the service entirely like they did Virtual Console. Emulation through unofficial methods is the only true way to escape the ridiculous situation Nintendo, and the industry as a whole, has put us in.

[@RoXolid]

But it's mostly Nintendo as both Sony and MS have purchase options

[@UltraZelda64]

​The other two also don't have massive libraries of pure classics from the eighties and nineties in the eight and sixteen bit eras. I don't waste my time with Sony anymore but a few years ago when they introduced their new emulation service for classic games, I was unable to buy many games that I wanted because they were exclusive to the service. Xbox is really the best for providing practically everything they have to offer on sale to buy outright.​@@RoXolid

[@intellivisiongamer]

I love having them all like it is now but I’m one that would love to purchase them all. I really miss TG16 being in the store as well.

[@RoXolid]

So many great TG16 games!

[@VideoGameXDomain]

Just another reason why people pirate everything.

[@jaredt2590]

This why I’ll always have an original nes. When I want to play Megaman II I can just pop in the cartridge and it plays exactly how the programmers programmed it and I don’t have to pay Nintendo anything. And I can play it in garish/arcade which was the rgb pallette Nintendo chose back then with real yellow.

[@RoXolid]

Same. I like the convenience of modern hardware but I want the physical game

[@drewrowe]

This is why I still buy used physical.

[@hectorleon465]

Little off topic, but on your 3d printing store would you ever make some Super Famicom cartridge dust covers cause ive been looking all over for some but most are imported from UK and i dont wanna wait long like that. Famicom too.

[@RoXolid]

I've tried Famicom ones and they didn't turn out. I car test super Famicom and report back

[@miltiadiskoutsokeras9189]

I have a better proposal: how about letting us access our already purchased games from Virtual Console?

[@RoXolid]

I don't disagree

[@miltiadiskoutsokeras9189]

@@RoXolid Having purchases of digital content locked in a deprecated machine is maybe the worst customer service possible right now. Other vendors at least let you keep some of the past purchases accessible to modern hardware. Nintendo needs to fix this.

[@BIayne]

Great choice of music for this topic 🐒 🍌

[@RoXolid]

Thanks!

[@eiselmazard]

Okay, sincere question: if Nintendo did again (in 2024) what they did on the GBA with re-issuing classic games on a mini format, _would you regard it as a ripoff?_ Back in the GBA era, most people did: even if they bought NES Metroid (again) on the GBA they felt ripped off.

[@RoXolid]

Depends on cost. If like to see my previous purchases restored from the Wii to be honest

[@eiselmazard]

The 3DS eshop closure: I decided to "Yolo" it and buy everything I could. And it's all totally worthless, really.​@@RoXolid

[@RoXolid]

@@eiselmazard I'm sorry, I don't quite understand your point. First, I'll admit I was thinking the Wii/Wii U eShop, I wasn't thinking in terms of the DS/3DS but you're right, those had one too. And if you bought those items on the Wii/DS/3DS, yes, I think you should have access to your existing purchases. If Microsoft can do it with Xbox why can't Nintendo?

[@eiselmazard]

I am just commiserating ​with you: doing what SNK did on Android isn't an easy solution because ("industry secret") a ton of original programming needs to be done for each system update (even Sega and Namco hate doing this, and end up abandoning classic games that are supposedly preserved via Android versions) whereas, at the opposite extreme, remakes like the GBA classic/mini carts (or M2 making the 3D Classics for Sega) have a high cost for the consumer and rely on an inconsistent supply of talent from the creative teams involved. Even M2 has made a lot of mistakes with those remakes.

[@RoXolid]

Yeah, all good, like I say I just didn't understand. I know these ports wouldn't be the easiest, but the fact that the Switch has portions of Linux & Android at it's core tells me there's a way

[@DanielHigbee-j8c]

I like the service i do not want to rebuy these old games at 5 to 10 $ a piece thats alot of money. I want to spend my money on new games.

[@fdevlin5932]

They’re greedy and hateful. It’s that simple.

[@RoXolid]

That actually directly contradicts what they're doing. If they were greedy they would be out there selling you as much as they could and getting you to subscribe to their online services. They're literally leaving money on the table

[@CasualtiesOfGaming]

Control.

[@eye-of-omega]

never owned a snes. dying to own a snes. but no point since I can't afford the carts. i want phsyical. it's a phvcking toy company.

[@danborggren6608]

Super famicom games tend to be cheaper and a lot of them are playable without knowing Japanese. Also you have everdrives, multicarts and reproductions.

[@leonidasvonsparta]

greed is the reason.

[@RoXolid]

This is the opposite of greed. Greed would be trying to get as much revenue from as many different sources, rental, purchase, you name it. This is them not taking advantage of demand in the market

[@stevieriechelmann5229]

This so True this the reason i don't like Nintendo anymore d don't want you buy the game they want a member to get your Money every every Year where is the good old times of gaming now is everything Live Service it's only Money Money Money Money and it's not popular anymore they take a Town

[@Yackass]

Because they wanna resell it to you at full price. There ya go. 9 minutes of boring nothing, summed up in a single sentence.

[@RoXolid]

Well having ass in your screen name is accurate, however, with that take I'm shocked it's not Dumb instead of Yack. They won't sell it to you at any price, tell me where you can go buy Super Mario Bros 3 on the Nintendo switch right now? Perhaps if you would have watched the 9 minutes of boring nothing instead of being a dumbass you would have gotten that point. Dumbass

[@jfitnesshealth]

troll

[@RoXolid]

@@jfitnesshealth Yes he was

[@dirty-moto]

Even drive-by troll posters boost engagement metrics.

[@RoXolid]

Sure did, all interaction is good interaction