Nintendo’s decision to close its Wii U and 3DS stores has been met with widespread criticism, not for the closures themselves—this always happens to old hardware—but for the way it has once again reminded the world of how terribly Nintendo handles access to its back catalogue, easily the most beloved (and valuable) in the video game business.
Thank You, PS Plus, For Making My Backlog Even Bigger
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While many observers fret about stuff like the fact it will soon be impossible to buy a digital copy of Wind Waker, there’s also the matter of the effect on hundreds of video games, released only in digital format and only for these consoles, that will soon simply cease to exist.
The Video Game History Foundation, who do all kinds of amazing work preserving old video games and hardware, are understandably not happy, particularly with the fact Nintendo “actively funds lobbying that prevents even libraries from being able to provide legal access to these games”:
Like they’ve said above, everyone can “understand the business reality that went into this decision.” Consoles come and go, as do their marketplaces. But the execution continues to be a disaster every time Nintendo tries it, while their active contempt for even the most harmless of preservation efforts is inexcusable. As the VGHF says above, they’re “actively destructive” to video game history.
