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[News] Nintendo's Used Game Policy: Make Games People Won't Sell

gkarris

gkarris

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Dec 31, 2004
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Makes sense. Not a lot of used Nintendo games around here. I asked at one store, "Why?" The guy's answer was is that "People are keeping them...". Well, not the "shovelware" - obviously... ;)

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/18/nintendos-used-game-policy-make-games-people-wont-sell

I had a b**** of a time finding a used copy of Super Mario Wii reasonably priced. It is still $50 in retail and if you can find one, it's usually around $40. I managed to find one at an independent used CD/Movie/Game store for $23 (and was totally complete will all paperwork - important for Nintendo collectors :D ).

Nintendo's Used Game Policy: Make Games People Won't Sell
Nintendo's never even thought about strict digital rights management. But why?
by Richard George JUNE 18, 2013

Despite the debut of new consoles and a next-generation of games, one of the biggest talking points going into and coming out of E3 2013 concerned Microsoft and Sony's digital rights management, and how each company would be restricting or influencing used game sales, borrowing, lending and more. With Nintendo featuring no restrictions along those lines for Wii U or 3DS, I asked the publisher's global president, Satoru Iwata, for his thoughts on the topic. His solution is remarkably simple.

"The best possible countermeasure against people buying used product is making the kind of product that people never want to sell," Iwata told me, indicating that he'd never considered implementing mechanisms, or "tying down" his company's systems, with the kind of features that would restrict or control what Nintendo customers do with their used games. "Taking as an example Mario Kart or Smash Bros., even though you might think, 'I’ve done enough with this,' you’ll still have second thoughts. 'Wait a minute. If one of my friends comes over, I might need this again.' You’re never going to want to sell these games. That’s something that always occupies our minds. We need to make software that players don’t want to sell."

Iwata seemed disappointed that E3 2013 had become so focused on everything but what ultimately matters most to him and his company - the games.

"We’re competing with each other in terms of who’s creating the most fun games," Iwata said. "Unfortunately, however, as I saw the reports dispatched from E3 this year, they’re pretty much occupied by talk about which machine is more friendly to used games, or which machine is $100 cheaper than the other. I’m sorry that we’re missing the most important discussion – about video games."

Stay tuned for plenty more from my chats with Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aime and other Nintendo producers and executives.
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Nintendo are just trying to ride the bad will gravy train.

Sadly they need to not boast about games people want to keep and actually release a game for the wii u that people want to buy.
 
Makes sense to me. I picked up New Mario Wii just last year, and I think it was released in 2009? Anywho - it was £40 second hand and £45 new in stores like GAME, and a similar gap (but lower price) elsewhere online. Mario games really hold their value, and to a lesser degree Zelda.

Nothing like the secondhand £5 Call of Duties: Black Ops 2!
 
I like Iwata's leadership. Even though consoles are evolving into set top box hybrids, games still sell hardware in the industry and Iwata seems to strategize by maintaining and leveraging the value of Nintendo IP

Other CEO's would've caved to investors already and ported their IP to smartphones, degrading its value. I'm glad he hasn't
 
MacRumorUser said:
Yes but only 2 are 'Nintendo' games and they were launch titles.

7 months later and were still waiting....
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Yeah Wii U first party launch titles have been pitiful. But Nintendo's supposed to be ramping up and releasing one first party title a month starting with Pikmin

I'm waiting on Wonderful 101 and Super Mario 3D World
 
MacRumorUser said:
Yes but only 2 are 'Nintendo' games and they were launch titles.

7 months later and were still waiting....
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That's usually the case for me when I get any system at launch - I only have a few games for it for at least 6 months. I don't get any systems at launch anymore - I wait a year and for a major price drop and many games I want. I only got a Wii U so quickly because I traded for it and I use the bc.

I'll be getting the next gens when they drop to $299...
 
gkarris said:
I'll be getting the next gens when they drop to $299...
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Just be careful. A lot of price dropped consoles have their backwards to the previous generation removed. That happened with the Wii if I remember correctly. They removed the GC support.
 
the8thark said:
Just be careful. A lot of price dropped consoles have their backwards to the previous generation removed. That happened with the Wii if I remember correctly. They removed the GC support.
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I would hope that doesn't happen with Wii U - the main reason that functionality is stripped is because in the past it required controller ports and other expensive things to include - now it is mainly software since controllers are wireless.

But - in this case Nintendo is the only place for BC mode. GameBoy Advance managed to include BC all the way back to original GameBoy - it can play 3 generations worth of games (15 years worth of games!)
 
musicpenguy said:
I would hope that doesn't happen with Wii U - the main reason that functionality is stripped is because in the past it required controller ports and other expensive things to include - now it is mainly software since controllers are wireless.

But - in this case Nintendo is the only place for BC mode. GameBoy Advance managed to include BC all the way back to original GameBoy - it can play 3 generations worth of games (15 years worth of games!)
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Actually Nintendo will just have them on the Wii store so you download them. And they have been asked about putting GC games up there. And they seemed to like the idea. Well as much as weird little Japanese people can like something.
 
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