Nintendo is by no means obligated to continue operating decade-old virtual marketplaces for now-discontinued hardware.
A game preservation organization is already calling Nintendo’s actions “actively destructive.” The Electronic Software Association, of which Nintendo is a part, has also lobbied to kill copyright amendments that would allow libraries and museums to preserve and rent digital games.But it’s often the case that the company also inadvertently encourages piracy by shutting down legal avenues to purchasing games digitally. Nintendo has a history of going after pirates who sell the means to hack its hardware and those who provide access to ripped game files.The only conceivable answer is that it’s financially motivated to repackage those products into its new subscription platform, and that it benefits its brand.Nintendo could very well migrate the 3DS and Wii U digital stores or the Virtual Console catalog to the Switch, but it chooses not to. Nintendo can’t be trusted to preserve its own library. It sold 9 million copies of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and many of its limited-run consoles, toys and collectibles sell out almost immediately.
The 3DS and Wii U eShops were notable for selling individual classic Nintendo games for one-time fees, letting players own them in perpetuity. Nintendo is shifting to a subscription model. Though it was inevitable Nintendo would one day close the 3DS and Wii U eShops, the manner in which the company made the announcement highlights its antagonistic relationship to both digital ownership and game preservation.
Nintendo last week made an announcement that was both perfectly in line with everything we know about the company and its strategy, and yet somehow still a painful blow to its legions of passionate fans. Nintendo’s ruthless approach to nostalgia