Poll of the Day > Do you think nintendo loses money because of emulation?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Since it is easier to get than most things on their digital store? Not to mention all the options a user has in customizing their experience.

No, the success of other digital platforms proves that most people are willing to pay money for stuff if it's made convenient enough. The fact that their shop interface and selection is horrid costs them money, but it's not the fault of emulators that a massive company fails to deliver a superior product.
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Previously, emulation was the only way to play those games outside of digging up old gaming hardware that Nintendo was most certainly not still making money on. Before their digital platform started selling older games, I would have said categorically 'no'.
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Emulation costs Nintendo in the sense that many people steal ROMs instead of buying VC releases but I don't think they lose any money by making their own emulated releases.

I mean, I've certainly bought from VC before, but that was mainly due to boredom. I'd say I emulate 9/10 older Nintendo games, and the last 1/10 I purchase on VC because I get a craving for it, and don't want to be hunched over my laptop to play.
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They lose money because for some inconceivable reason they refuse to just release their entire library of old games on the virtual console and drip them out instead per console release.

They also have a laughably bad digital sales system.
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Nintendo actively profits from many of their old games thanks to emulation. So, no.
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I'm sure they've lost some money but morons like myself still pay for the games on VC even though I own the ROM.

Gamechamp3k posted...

Nintendo actively profits from many of their old games thanks to emulation. So, no.

How so?
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DarkKirby2500 posted...

for some inconceivable reason they refuse to just release their entire library of old games

yeah it's not like there's any such thing as licensing or copyright

Gamechamp3k posted...

Nintendo actively profits from many of their old games thanks to emulation. So, no.

How, merchandise?
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That's like asking if Nintendo loses money because of ice cream. Neither case deducts anything that had belonged to Nintendo.
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SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

That's like asking if Nintendo loses money because of ice cream.

wow you're bad at analogies

Muffinz0rz posted...

Gamechamp3k posted...

Nintendo actively profits from many of their old games thanks to emulation. So, no.

How so?

How do you think they're releasing their games digitally? I doubt they're going to the trouble of actually porting them. There's some evidence to suggest that at least once Nintendo has used a ROM file they found online for their own official release.
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I would wager that most people who emulate would not buy the game in the first place.

I've uh, been to ROMe if you know what I mean, and I still buy their games on whatever service.

I'll use the uh, "large flightless bird" if I'm away from home and don't have my nintendo device with me.

I am 100% convinced that emulation only costs companies money in that it is the easiest way to play games like that. For example, I completely stopped pirating PC games once Steam and GoG became mainstream at started getting the games I wanted. So I guess in the sense that Nintendo is ignoring fans and not putting some games on VC or selling more NES mini's, then yes, it is costing them money. However, it is completely their fault, not the pirates.
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Dikitain posted...

it is completely their fault, not the pirates

yeah it's not the fault of the people who are literally breaking the law at all

Muffinz0rz posted...

Gamechamp3k posted...

Nintendo actively profits from many of their old games thanks to emulation. So, no.

How so?

Kungfu Kenobi posted...

Muffinz0rz posted...

Gamechamp3k posted...

Nintendo actively profits from many of their old games thanks to emulation. So, no.

How so?

How do you think they're releasing their games digitally? I doubt they're going to the trouble of actually porting them. There's some evidence to suggest that at least once Nintendo has used a ROM file they found online for their own official release.

That. It's most definitely emulation, even going as far as including save states as a feature, and homebrew solutions can even allow you to play other game ROMs (the most well-known instance being the ability to import the entire NES library onto the NES Classic, all fully playable). Emulation's come a long way. It's still somewhat a dirty word, but many companies have embraced it as an efficient method to preserve and sell their older properties.

And that particular situation is pretty interesting. Basically what happened was their Virtual Console Super Mario Bros. ROM was found to be identical to a Super Mario Bros. ROM that's been floating on the internet for a long time, including an iNES header which was specifically created in the emulation scene. Nintendo denies they downloaded a ROM off the internet, yet they literally sell a ROM with the internet's fingerprint on it.
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Gamechamp3k posted...

Nintendo denies they downloaded a ROM off the internet, yet they literally sell a ROM with the internet's fingerprint on it.

Wait, I'm gonna call them Trumptendo from now on!!!
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bernieflanders posted...

SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

That's like asking if Nintendo loses money because of ice cream.

wow you're bad at analogies

Every dollar you spend on ice cream is a dollar that wasn't spent on a Nintendo product.
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bernieflanders posted...

Dikitain posted...

it is completely their fault, not the pirates

yeah it's not the fault of the people who are literally breaking the law at all

When studying fraud and crime prevention, no mention is ever made of morality. Because it's irrelevant.

Understand what causes people to choose ROMs instead of their virtual console, and then change the virtual console system.

Too expensive for older games? It's nearly free for them to add games and sell them, so make them cheaper and you'll get more sales. Requires a Nintendo console? Make a game client for Windows and Mac that allows people to play on PCs and sales will rise dramatically. People playing ROMs of games that aren't on VC or aren't in English? Just release or translate those games.

These are simple fixes that would give Nintendo huge revenues. They refuse to do these things, and that is indeed their own fault.

DarkKirby2500 posted...

They lose money because for some inconceivable reason they refuse to just release their entire library of old games on the virtual console and drip them out instead per console release.

They also have a laughably bad digital sales system.

Sony has the same issue with refusal to put more than the handful of PS2 games out already on their VC (and no PS1 games available on the Playstation Store).
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