Topic: Nintendollars

[Mario]

Yeah, I realised that, that's why I added the last sentence. Plus I wouldn't like being forced to download things every month just so i'm getting the most out of it. I don't think Nintendo would promote something like that.  

[KDR_11k]

I wonder if I can convert my 5000+ Stars into Ninteuros should this system be used...

[vudu]

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Did you read my post moron? Unlimited downloads mean you can download whatever you want, so smart people would just download EVERYTHING in the first month, thus only paying $10.

Are you familiar with Napster's unlimited download service?  I believe it goes something like you get unlimited MP3 downloads for $15 a month, but your MP3 player has to connect to Napster at least once a month so it knows your subscription is still active.  If you cancel your subscription (or fail to connect your MP3 player to Napster) the files become unusable.

Nintendo could easily do something like that.  When you cancel you lose all your downloaded games.  The only problem with that is I'm sure there are ways to "unlock" dead files.

[Ian Sane]

"Nintendo could easily do something like that. When you cancel you lose all your downloaded games."

Nuts to that.  I want to BUY games, not rent them.

[KDR_11k]

vudu: That wouldn't be MP3 because MP3 doesn't implement DRM.

And I really hate DRM. Crap like "oh, the server's down for maintenance, you can play your offline-only game right now".

[vudu]

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Nuts to that. I want to BUY games, not rent them.

As The Omen pointed out numerous times already, it's an option, not the only way.  You can still buy MP3s from Napster for $0.99 each.  But if you're the type of person who listens to popular radio friendly songs for a while and then move on to something else, it might not make sense for you to buy the song.

Just because you want to buy the game doesn't mean everyone does.  Lots of casual gamers will probably get frustrated with the high challenge level of old games.  After they can't get past the 2nd level in a dozen or so NES games, they might be put off by buying future games.  A "rental" service would allow them to play the first couple levels and then never look at it again if that's what they wanted to do.

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And I really hate DRM. Crap like "oh, the server's down for maintenance, you can play your offline-only game right now".

I have no idea what DRM means.  But with the Napster service it's not like you have to be hooked up to the Internet to play the songs.  They just freeze up once a month unless you connect so Napster can let your player know you still have a subscription.

Nintendo could do the same thing.  Your games play fine just so long as you connect to their servers every-so-often so they can let your Revolution know you're still paying for the rental service.

Note:  I've never used the Napster service I keep referring to, this is just the info I've gathered from their ads.  Someone let me know if I'm completely wrong.

[KDR_11k]

High challenge is one thing, many games are frustrating because of bad controls or other stupidities (bad collision, illogical puzzles*, non-obvious interactive objects, etc). Or just because you have to restart at the other end of the world each time you die (Adventure of Link, anyone?).

DRM means "digital rights management". Basically a way for companies to restrict how you can us the file (e.g. play only once, copy only three times, don't burn to CD, etc). The most annoying instance of this I met so far was Valve's Steam.

*= A favourite here is the Megadrive XMen game which required you to hit the system's reset button to proceed at one point.

[WesDawg]

If Nintendo allows gambling in games I will laugh my ass off. Hell, people won't even have to play anymore. We can just set up matches between the worlds best Mario Brothers players and bet on which on will win.

[KDR_11k]

Gambling is illegal in Japan, no way Nintendo will allow that.

[zakkiel]

Kdr, have you ever actually tried running Steam offline? You can, you know. And yes, it will let you play HL2 in offline mode.

I can't think of any reason why you would hate Steam unless you're actively trying to do something illegal, in which case the company has every right to try and screw you over as many ways as possible.  

[KDR_11k]

I tried to install HL2 while on a network that won't let anything but HTTP traffic through. Steam wouldn't even start.

[zakkiel]

No, you do have to be online to install. If you can't manage to have an open internet connection for a few minutes, you're screwed, it's true.

[KDR_11k]

Few minutes? It can take hours to download all those patches on a slow conection.

[Don'tHate742]

"No. People don't buy a $300 (or w/e) system just to play old games. It's a great bonus and incentive, but it in itself doesn't warrant a sale. So Nintendo should still charge money for it - it makes sense for them, and also 3rd parties wouldn't agree to give their games away for free; they still want to see some profit.

And instead of only getting games by unlocking or using your method, I'd rather this payment method also be included for those who don't want to go through the effort, where you can buy credits to use for unlocking, and you also get those credits by buying Rev games/winning tournaments/etc/etc " -- IceCold

Are you serouis? If it's not the sole reason, it's the best damn incentive ever created. Think about it....$200-$300 for every single game Nintendo has made to date (besides GC). That's the greatest videogame value I've ever heard of.

Everytime I talk to people about videogames with people who haven't played in years, we always talk about the NES and how it was classic. Then maybe about the SNES and then we go on to talk about how we don't have either anymore or we do and want more games for it.

Basically, Nintendo shouldn't be stupid enough to charge for games. At a business prospective, I'm sure it's a great idea. However, word of mouth would travel so quickly about how you can play past Nintendo games for free and help boost Nintendo's overall appeal. Who knows which in the long run would make more money, all I know is which, theoritically, would gain more market share and which would be more beneficial for Nintendo's "comeback."

Besides, Nintendo is trying something vastly new here correct? What would be the best way to "hook" the consumer into giving their console a chance? Definitely this ability to download old games and to play old GC ones. Free classic games = Mass market appeal.

The only thing Nintendo needs to figure out is how control this overwhelming incentive. They need to find away to indirectly make money. If they just give everybody access to all those games at once, why would anyone buy the new games coming out? Paying money for games would help to get people to notice new games, but it would also diminsh the appeal of the console. I came up with a solution (though rough around the edges), and I'm sure Nintendo could come up with a better one.

Also, it would be a great idea if somehow you could take downloadable games on the go with the DS. Maybe then you could trade with other owners and such.

[KDR_11k]

People bought a 250$ PSP only for emulation. I'm fairly confident it'll be a big enough selling point for the Rev.

[BigJim]

But the PSP emulation is pretty much free/illegal.

I don't think it should be free, but Nintendo shouldn't be stingy either. Offer up freebies willingly. Freebies for buying games, for subscribing to NP, when Mario 128 is around the corner they can get our juices wet with Mario games, etc. And certainly offer a month or two for free with the system (if it's a subscription).

It's just like the iTunes and iPod sales model...  Unless they charge something like $10 a month, they probably don't expect the virtual console to be a substantial profit driver for them (at least not directly) since the service wouldn't be expensive. The virtual console games will sell Revolutions, not the other way around. So I think they should readily give games away when it makes sense to, but if I were them I'd at least want my costs to be covered and give other developers incentive to include their own classics.

[nickmitch]

Well, the problem with giving away free games is that all the Zelda and Mario games have already been re-released. So, that kind of promotion ("pre-order ZeldaRev and get LttP free!" or "pre-order Mario128 and get SMW free!") wouldn't work. But I do like the promotion idea.

[Don'tHate742]

I should reiterate...

Nintendo should give away its games for free, but third party games don't have to comply with Nintendo's business model. So it would be akin to the DS and it's online structure.

[zakkiel]

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Originally posted by: KDR_11k
Few minutes? It can take hours to download all those patches on a slow conection.

That's not really a DRM problem, now, is it? But this is ridiculous hair-splitting anyway. Unless you pay for internet access by the minute, it makes no difference. And if you do, it still doesn't make much of a difference.