Sometimes, Nintendo Just Doesn't Get It
Written by Sullivan Smith
Published on 04/28/2007
Originally from Binary Culture / [the-lowdown.net]
http://www.binaryculture.net

Just when you think Nintendo is finally reaching out to their fans and meeting them halfway, they go and say something stupid. It's happened again.

If you haven't read it yet, pick up a copy of today's (4/28/07) Wall Street Journal and head to the article entitled "Magic Wand: How Hackers Make Use Of Their Wii-Mote" (or read a free preview here. In the article, some creative owners of the Nintendo Wii demonstrate how they've modified their Wii remotes to do all sorts of crazy things, such as control their Roombo robot vacuum cleaners or edit and remix techno music. It's all very neat stuff and it opens up even more potential for what is a very cool device.

You would think Nintendo would be pretty happy about this. A whole separate market of people buying Wii-motes for things other than gaming.

You would be wrong. To quote the Journal: "Nintendo says it is surprised by the efforts to reprogram the Wii-Mote and discourages the practice" quoting Anka Dolecki of Nintendo as saying "The Wii Remote was created to play on the Wii system only" (italics are mine).

That's right. How dare anyone have fun with a Nintendo product that Nintendo has not authorized.

Frankly, the truth of the matter is that once the hardware is purchased and in the hands of a customer, Nintendo can't do a damn thing about whatever they do with it. People can turn the Wii remotes into dildos, slingshots or flashlights if they so want, and as long as they aren't making any money off it, Nintendo's pretty much SOL as far as keeping anyone from doing it.

But this kind of reaction reminds me of Nintendo's hardcore stance on emulation years ago, well before they began to offer older titles through their Virtual Console.

Unlike people downloading songs from Napster, Soulseek or any other P2P file charing program, people were not necessarily downloading old NES and SNES games because they were cheap. They downloaded the games because they wanted to play they but they weren't readily available. Other than finding an old NES unit and games at a garage sale or thrift store, emulation was pretty much the only way to go.

But instead of finding a way to get these classic games into the hands of the people who wanted them, and at a reasonable price, Nintendo pretty much put their fingers in their ears and went "La la la la la la! No no no no no no no! NOT GONNA DO IT! LA DE DA DE DA!"

Nintendo, in a pages long post on their company website, pretty much stated that Nintendo revived their famous characters in new iterations on newer systems and fans should just be happy with that. But playing Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine isn't the same as playing the original Super Mario Bros. Twilight Princess might be a great game, but it's not the same as the original Legend of Zelda.

But instead of giving the fans what they want, in the same fashion they didn't give fans CD based media, RPGs on the Nintendo 64 that didn't suck or online capability on the Gamecube, Nintendo went the route of the RIAA, making threats and ignoring their fans. Finally, someone in Nintendo got the hint and figured if they couldn't beat 'em, join 'em and now, surprise surprise, the Virtual Console is a hit - all the classic games people want at a reasonable price.

I suppose someone at Nintendo saw how well those Midway, Atari, Namco and Activision old-school game collections were selling.

In the case of the Wii Remotes, if I were Nintendo, I would have released a statement such as this:

"We are pleased and delighted that our fans have found fun and exciting uses for our Wii Remote hardware that we had originally intended. We would like to remind all our Nintendo fans that while we certainly encourage you to have as much fun as possible with the Wii and the Wii Remotes, Nintendo is not responsible for any damages to personal property that may occur due to use of the Wii Remotes that they were not originally intended for. Also any tampering of the Wii hardware can and will void the warranty that comes with the equipment."

"Having said that, we encourage all Nintendo fans to have a save and enjoyable using their Wii's, intended uses or not, and we hope you will all continue to be Nintendo fans."

Which, you have to admit, is much nicer than a fascist boot-stomping warning.

In the meantime, we'd like to know what YOU'VE been doing with your Wii-mote (provided it's not obscene, of course). Send me an email at sully@binaryculture.net and let me know and we'll post our favorites on Binary Culture.

And don't worry, we won't tell Nintendo. We wouldn't want you to get in trouble.