I completely agree with you, it is completely absurd what Nintendo is doing.
Unfortunately, Nintendo does not care what you think, does not care how this hurts their image, and does not care what damage this causes to the emulated longevity of their games lasting longer than the hardware they sell currently.
It is in their financial interests to force everyone to always pay for and buy Nintendo hardware to perpetually keep having to upgrade and purchase new copies of their software from their online stores to keep playing old games.
This is how they do business and by having articles, news, and social media posts constantly crying about how Nintendo did them wrong, it helps ensure that the average person keeps toeing the Nintendo line instead of exploring emulation. If a non-tech savvy person hears "Nintendo sued a guy for using emulation on his game meetup" they'll think, "eh, I think I'll just buy a Switch and not bother with emulation" when they want to play Yoshi's Island because nostalgia hit them in the feels.
This whole thing is a song and dance to keep people buying real Nintendo hardware (or choosing to use already owned Nintendo hardware) to play games they could just emulate with a few quick downloads. It's why you see "Top 5 retro games you can buy on Nintendo eShop before it's gone" articles on Polygon and elsewhere every year. It's a whole schtick to get you to keep handing Nintendo money for a game you've likely already bought and paid for at least once in your life.
Once again, I don't agree with Nintendo's stance, but boy oh boy is it ever profitable for them.
Sure, I'm not suggesting that what Nintendo is doing isn't in their own best interest, given how most gamers will continue to just buy more Nintendo products.
I'm in a minority where Nintendo's actions, on top of a selection of games that I find pretty lackluster, have caused me to give up on them and refuse them another shiny nickel. Attacking fans, IMO, is a no-no. Attacking the abandonware community is especially unacceptable. One can enjoy their games, but I don't get why people defend their being so draconian, given that any loss of revenue they claim over things like game walkthroughs is dubious, to say the least.
Yeah, I'm totally with you. Which is why I wrote a lengthy bit. I didn't feel like you were saying that these practices aren't in Nintendo's financial interests. I merely tacked my explanation on so that if others come through and read it, maybe they'll learn something about how negative Nintendo is towards their community.
I feel like a lot of folks are kind of ignorant to what Nintendo is doing. I don't like these draconian practices, so I try and inform others of the BS as much as I can in hopes that more people will become vocal and stop silently supporting it.
Hearing you say this warms my heart. Thanks for voting with your wallet!
It might be worth noting that the Switch is still selling better than the Xbox, so they're technically #2:
Total PS4 and PS5 sales: 149.7 million
Total Switch sales: 122.3 million
Total Xbox One + Xbox One X Sales: 70.5 million
When you pair that with the fact the Switch has sold over 900 million in game sales... well, unfortunately, Nintendo has a long way to fall before they have to wake up and change their tact.
The Switch is the 3rd best selling console of all time, ahead of the PS4 by approx. 5 million units despite coming out 4 years after the release of the PS4. They may be #3 in terms of mindshare, but they have an incredibly dedicated fanbase that enjoy their products in spite of their behaviors towards them on the content creation side.
They are around since 1889 under just 6 CEOs, including the interim after the loss of the 4th. They care much more about holding a little family celebration at the next centennials than shooting for T2D3 and going Chapter 11 as soon as possible, which by the way SIE is on track for.
Unfortunately, Nintendo does not care what you think, does not care how this hurts their image, and does not care what damage this causes to the emulated longevity of their games lasting longer than the hardware they sell currently.
It is in their financial interests to force everyone to always pay for and buy Nintendo hardware to perpetually keep having to upgrade and purchase new copies of their software from their online stores to keep playing old games.
This is how they do business and by having articles, news, and social media posts constantly crying about how Nintendo did them wrong, it helps ensure that the average person keeps toeing the Nintendo line instead of exploring emulation. If a non-tech savvy person hears "Nintendo sued a guy for using emulation on his game meetup" they'll think, "eh, I think I'll just buy a Switch and not bother with emulation" when they want to play Yoshi's Island because nostalgia hit them in the feels.
This whole thing is a song and dance to keep people buying real Nintendo hardware (or choosing to use already owned Nintendo hardware) to play games they could just emulate with a few quick downloads. It's why you see "Top 5 retro games you can buy on Nintendo eShop before it's gone" articles on Polygon and elsewhere every year. It's a whole schtick to get you to keep handing Nintendo money for a game you've likely already bought and paid for at least once in your life.
Once again, I don't agree with Nintendo's stance, but boy oh boy is it ever profitable for them.