I don't, either. The first week of the estore was fantastic. Super Mario Land, Link's Awakening, Excitebike 3D for free...then an immediate drop-off. We get 1 to 2 VC titles per week, and instead of Mario/Zelda/Pokemon or any GBA games whatsoever, we're getting Tennis and Alleyway. Those games are fun as hell, but not what I expected or hoped for.

You pulling my leg, Shoe?

Nope, I heard from someone there...they've definitely read your article. They're not thrilled, of course, but they didn't ask us to take it down or change it or anything like that.

I would honestly love to pour my money into that estore, it has so much more potential than what it's being used for. On a side note, my article is much, much tamer than some of the things Jim Sterling's been saying on the same subject.

Oh, you don't have to be defensive or anything! Everything you wrote is fair. Never be scared or worried about what others think -- the people or companies you're writing about, that is.

...but I could have sworn I just saw Yoshi outside my window...with a baseball bat.

I always imagined Donkey Kong as the "muscle" in Nintendo's operation.

Yoshi's the decoy; Samus is in the basement.

The thing is that if they had a clue, they'd do both. Roll out your obligatory Mario and Zelda games, your digital ports and toss a new IP in there every once in a while and you're golden. Sony and Microsoft understand this, why not Nintendo?

That being said, Shadows of the Empire was one of my favorite games ever as a kid.

Jim Sterling brought up a really interesting point in a video on the Escapist about how JRPG's actually sell more copies stateside than in Japan and Europe. It literally makes no sense.

I would love to give Nintendo my money, but they don't want it. I own every title currently available for the 3DS Virtual Console. I would never pirate a 3DS or DS game. I want to play NES, SNES, GBC and GBA games. So do a lot of other people, and incoherent SNL Poop Bag analogies aside, a lot of people would actually buy these games.

The Wii is a dead console - I'm not buying one. There's nothing coming out for it and it's at the end of its cycle. I got a 3DS not only because of new games that will come out, but also because of the potential of things like 3D classics and the VC. First week aside, Nintendo has shown a complete disregard for foreign audiences and for supporting their own endeavors. If they want people to care about the 3DS estore, they should be putting out some big titles on a weekly to monthly basis. I shouldn't excitedly flip open my DS on a Thursday afternoon only to be met with a $3 version of Tennis. They won't even announce anything, or hint at anything. The next 3DS classic is Urban Champion...are you kidding me?

And I don't really buy any of the lines about licensing and emulation. If one lone individual can emulate Pokemon by themselves and put it up on the Android market for free, I'm pretty sure that a globe-spanning video game behemoth can figure it out. My old Pokemon Blue cartridge doesn't work anymore. If Nintendo's not going to roll out a digital download, I'll find it myself. And if they do put it up eventually, I'll pay for it just the same, simply to have an authorized, official version. I just don't feel like waiting for 3 years to play a 15 year old game.

I love the 3DS. I want to get the fullest amount of enjoyment out of it that I can. It's not like I bought it and suddenly I'm never going to pay for a game or download. I bought Zelda. I've spent around $50 in the estore. I'm willing to invest in the 3DS, but I can't say the same for Nintendo.

The Wii might be a dead console, and the 3DS may not have the answers you're looking for, but that does not give you free reign to do whatever you want, unless, again, you're willing to admit you are a thief and enjoy stealing things and not paying for them.  There are plenty of legal options to get what you apparently need so badly that you are willing to steal to get; you're making excuses and you're lazy, and your excuses are lazy.  When the RIAA busts down your door and puts you in cuffs, are you going to say "but I was going to pay for them", shedding a tear as they go through your pirated music collection?  Stealing is stealing.

If one lone individual can emulate Pokemon and put it up on the Android market for free, that's on their dime for their time and it's NOT sanctioned, if it is actually literally a Pokemon emulation for Android.  Believe it or not, in the real business world, you DO have to go through some hoops to get things accomplished.

And I still don't understand why you're being so bitter about the 3DS offerings.  If it was an unknown quantity and you invested in it, that's your bad.  Not Nintendo's.  Your train of thought is ineffable.  I reiterate, buy a Wii.  Hell, buy the original systems.  You have options, but you would rather steal.  That's fine.  Don't blame Nintendo.

Bryan, whether it's wrong or not, people will turn to pirating if they can't get what they want legally.  Matt's point is still valid.  As consumers we frequently complain about the lack services or products not being offered, and we even complain about the ones that are.  Why should we be any different about the Virtual Console and Nintendo's eStore?

I don't think people "turn" to pirating if they can't get what they want legally, and certainly not when YOU CAN IN FACT GET IT LEGALLY.  I think pirates steal.  Which, again, I'm TOTALLY fine with, as long as they're not making excuses.   I don't feel like prices for televisions are "right".  I should simply...

...steal them?

These things are not something "people" do.  People DO it, but we have another name for them.

I wouldn't have even left a comment on this article if it were titled "I don't pay for things until it's convenient/I feel like it" because it wouldn't have gotten promoted.  I either wouldn't have seen it, or I would have seen the title and said "Well, that's a fair cop." and moved on.

I don't know how many times I've pirated Earthbound because it isn't available on the Virtual Console, but you're absolutely right.  The game is legally obtainable, and I shouldn't use convenience as an excuse to pirate.

If pirating Earthbound makes me a lazy thief, then I guess I'm a lazy thief.  If, however, Nintendo released Earthbound on the Virtual Console, I like to think I'd go from being a lazy thief to a lazy consumer.

For the record, I would pay $12 to own Earthbound on Virtual Console for the Wii, easily.  I know many, many others would too.  Until that happens, I make the decision to either A. wait (probable), B. pick up the cartridge (and I do have a nice shiny Mini-SNES waiting for me in Michigan...) or C. not play it.  If I go for D and boot up ZSNES, I do so waving the pirate flag not because Nintendo made me, but because I decided to not pay to play.  I would never blame Nintendo for not re-releasing a what... over decade-old game?... on a system it wasn't designed for and say "You made me do this."

Video games are what I spend the most money on. In the past year, between full retail games, DLC for those games and arcade games, I've purchased around thirty titles for my Xbox. This isn't even factoring in movie rentals through Zune marketplace, which I purchase frequently. Microsoft provides me with countless titles and delivers on promises they made to encourage my initial investment. I would never dream of pirating anything on my Xbox. Hell, I downloaded Duke Nukem 3D, even though my original N64 cartridge still works.

I do not feel bad for Nintendo's ineptitude. If downloading ROMS of games they're never going to release for lack of care makes me a reprehensible, immoral, dirty, lying, lazy scumbag of a thief, I don't really mind. I just don't think that it does.

And the television analogy does not work with what we're talking about. I'm not necessarily complaining about prices at all, but rather availability. And stealing a television means that the television is gone. Period. Downloading a ROM is making a digital copy of a digital copy. A small distinction with no legal bearing, but an important one in our conversation.

And I'm not going bargain hunting for an old NES that would be reasonably priced and still works, and the same goes for those old games. Nintendo knows we won't do this. Nintendo knows they won't make money off of those games when we buy them on Ebay. That's why came out with the Virtual Console. We just want them to support it like their counterparts do theirs.

Nintendo never ever promised to deliver the games you are looking for as DLC.  As I've said numerous times, I would take no issue with you being a pirate; I take issue with you not taking personal responsibility and blaming it on Nintendo.  It is not their fault you feel so obligated to own things in a convenient fashion that you are now stealing instead of taking advantage of the MULTIPLE legal ways for you to play this game, and I really REALLY wish you'd stop blaming them.

Just man up and say it.  "I'm a thief."  Nintendo DOESN'T know you won't go "bargain hunting" to find a Nintendo system, and the fact that you refuse to do so does NOT make what you're doing okay.  The fact that they're not getting any money in the third-party market isn't the point; the point here is your ridiculous entitlement to steal what you want because you feel you have somehow been wronged, that because Nintendo dared to not release the old games from the old systems onto your new systems in a convenient fashion, you're justified.

You're not.  Hiding behind this rock is severely weak sauce, man.  The fact that you're attempting to defend yourself in this manner and, by extension, give other people some sort of "moral go-ahead" to do the same is, to say the least, a bit alarming.

If you want to go play Earthbound, go download it. If Nintendo doesn't want to put it out, be it for emulation difficulties or localization issues or disagreements with the developer, that's Nintendo admitting that they don't want to make money off of a game. If you go buy that game off of Ebay, Nintendo won't make money off of it, and neither will the developer. Some kid will. If Nintendo doesn't want the $12 you would gladly spend on Earthbound, you don't need to feel bad about it.

You're calling me out  for complaining about not having things I don't need to survive while simultaneously giving these actions a moral weight that seems out of context. We can have a discussion about this where I'm not on some hypothetical slippery slope to napalming Nintendo because I can't play Final Fantasy on my 3DS.

I just don't think that this issue is as black and white as "Thief or Not a Thief". What if I'm downloading games I already own? Pokemon Blue doesn't work anymore - it's old. Do I really have to purchase a new Game Boy Pocket and cartridge? What about SNES games that still work that I just want to backup on a different platform? What about games that I lost because I was a messy nine year old? (okay, this one might be a stretch.)

I think the issue of piracy is much more complex than lazy people who don't want to spend money.

It's really not, as you've laid out for yourself throughout this discussion.  It has been proven that there are plenty of legal means to get what you want, and your response has been "I know, and I want to steal it anyways".  At that point, you pirating or not pirating the games has absolutely nothing to do with Nintendo; it's your decision, and you make it or you don't.  THAT is what I'm calling you out on; not on whether you should pirate it or not, but the fact that you know it is wrong (right?) and STILL chose to do it... and THEN blame it on Nintendo.  You're insulting the people who own these consoles and paid for these games, and I am assuming everyone who worked hard to produce the games.  The only sin the 9-year old on Ebay committed was to sell a piece of work that the producers have already been compensated for.  When you download a game, no one has been paid.  You have stolen it.

Your stance is indefensible.  You make a choice to steal, that's fine.  Blaming Wiiware's selection for your choices is ...ineffable.  Stop trying.

Backups for broken/damaged software is a whole 'nother can of worms, and not the argument at hand.

It is the argument at hand, because that's also what I'm talking about doing. Let's say you convinced me, and I don't download anything that I don't already own. Am I still wrong? What about in the situation with Earthbound, where the game is never going to get released? What about the people that are a part of Operation Rainfall? Nintendo localized one of those games for Europe, but not the US? That's absurd. If those Americans download Xenogears, are they as bad as me? I just want to know where the line is. I feel like we're debating too many things at once.

No one said Earthbound isn't going to be released, for one.  Nintendo would be stupid (and HAVE been stupid) to not release that on Wiiware eventually, and I think that's one thing you're missing out on in the big picture.  Just because someone HASN'T used their copyright powers to proliferate an IP doesn't mean they CAN'T or WON'T.  Piracy does have an impact on percieved value of an item, wherein we have a large group of people who download Earthbound and, when it eventually comes out on Wiiware, more people would look at it and say "Wow, I played the crap out of this on my computer, boring." than if everyone had simply been waiting for it.  And I'm not naive; there are plenty of people who, after pirating the game, decided it WAS worth getting and would RUSH to get it on Wiiware when it hit.  It's a sword that swings both ways.

Keep in mind that, legally, you cannot download something you own unless it is part of your licence (like Steam or other digital distributions).  I think a lot of people have been misinformed on that aspect of emulation and backups; you have a licence to create ONE backup copy (as in, you hook it up to the computer and rip the ROM yourself) for personal use, as per most manuals say.  Going to Uber-roms.net and downloading someone else's rip is not legal, even if you have the actual cartridge in your hand.  So that's easily dealt with, even though it IS in that murky grey area.  That's an argument as old as Gameboys.

I agree, we are debating too many things at once, and that's probably my fault.  I go off on unrelated and wild tangents and make nonsensical analogies as you have seen.  And I don't want you to think I'm shaming you into not downloading something you want; I just take offense to you saying Nintendo makes you do it.  I take offense to it, Nintendo takes offense to it (even if they did, somehow, bring it upon themselves), the game developers probably take offense to it and people who actually pay for games SHOULD take offense to it, mostly because Nintendo didn't make THEM pirate their games.

Yes, I suppose I have more or less implied that Nintendo is "making" me pirate (even if I haven't done it, yet) and even if I didn't explicitly state that. But you've got to understand that you don't see these kinds of complaints about localization or availability from the other huge publishers. I'm way more than willing to pay for software and do so frequently, and you obviously do not obtain games illegally - but there are a lot of people who aren't like us, and I sincerely believe that Nintendo has a unique way of going about things that unintentionally encourages piracy. If someone as normally straight-laced as me is contemplating doing it, you can bet that numerous others have already put their scruples aside and downloaded the games they want to play.

And to address your first point, one of my other complaints was that Nintendo isn't the least bit forthcoming with their plans, especially compared to other companies. If Nintendo would so much as say Title X in late 2011, I would be satisfied. They have no idea how to build hype, or even inform their fan base. In the case of Operation Rainfall, Nintendo has pretty well shot down the localization of those three games. If they eventually go through with it, I think it will only be because they're trying to save face.

You've got me on the ROM licensing issue, but until the video game industry has an agency analogous the RIAA, I'm not overly concerned by the prospect of having do prove that a hypothetical ROM was indeed created on my computer from my copy.

I honestly don't think there's a way to prove or disprove that a ROM you downloaded wasn't actually ripped by you; a simple "I ripped it and lost the ripping interface" would probably throw that right out the window.

I also think you don't see people complain about localization/emulation with Sony/Microsoft because, by and large, everything gets released eventually.  DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON PS3 BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY THOUGH.  OH MY GAWD.  Anyways, off topic.  I think the reason you, and probably quite a few more people take offense to Nintendo's actions/inactions is because they've been host to some pretty special moments in gaming history, and have made a lot of fond memories over the years, creating a very passionate fanbase.  

I will agree that, this aside, Nintendo seems to have become a very secretive, silent and unevolving machine over the years.  Where Microsoft and Sony have reached out to the community to help create an optimal experience that more people can enjoy, Nintendo seems to be stuck in offline mode (literally) where they do what they want because it kinda works.  And obviously it DOES kinda work, since they're doing just fine.  I can see where you would be frustrated, but I don't think the ends justify the means, really.  Especially the way this all was worded.  I've seen draconian DRM, I've seen suspicious day-zero DLC, but I've never seen "I can't play Super Mario RPG on my 3DS" before.  It kinda blew me away.

Yeah, I can see how that statement would kind of come out of left field. Super Mario RPG is just one example of old titles I'd love to be able to play. I'm just completely baffled by their choices. You would think they would want their digital goods on as many platforms as possible. You would think that with all the criticism of their online stores that they would have a better UI, and that they would front-load with a good number of classics to make the store seem like something that's really worth investing in. The Operation Rainfall thing was one of those moments where they could have responded with a "Wow! We didn't know you guys wanted those games. Of course we'll localize them!" I just simply cannot wrap my head around their decisions.

That's another argument that pirates make that I never understood either.  "I hate Dragon Age 2 and Bioware so much that I not only refuse to buy it, but I will also steal it and play it."

...what?  This isn't even about entitlement anymore; it's self-delusion.

When Assassin's Creed 2 was announced for PC, I had a HUGE jones, and I mean like, redwood.  When I found out that the DRM REQUIRED you to be connected to play AT ALL TIMES, I frowned.  Here's what I did:  I didn't buy it.  I recently picked it up during a Steam sale when it was going for something ridiculous, like $7.50.  I did this because, at that price, I was willing to overlook the inconvenience of needing a connection to play it.  The price met the value I saw for it, and shazam.  I played AC2 on the PC, and I beat it.  I proceeded to buy Brotherhood for $40 two weeks later, realizing that Revelations is probably going to be a Day-1 purchase for me.  (Fun fact: aside from an online activation, Brotherhood removed the offensive DRM found in its predecessor.)

Ubisoft did not force me to become a pirate.  In reality, they didn't force anyone to be a pirate because they're not selling a product that you need to survive.  The people who stole the game were simply thieves.

And don't fool yourselves with rose-colored glasses as you remember the old days of the NES/SNES longingly, or even the Playstation.  There was shovelware ABOUND on all those systems, just as there is now.  You just tend to remember the good parts... probably because you simply didn't purchase the bad parts!  Only difference between then and now is pirating was much, much trickier back then, so simply stealing what you were unwilling to pay for was a whole different ballgame.

Yes, there always has and always will be piracy. But we're not talking about the guys who have never paid for a game and never will. We're talking about loyal fans turning to this practice after becoming rightfully disenchanted with a company that has rendered themselves clueless.

I think the point has been entirely missed.  You're not being forced to play these games, people!  If you don't play these games, your life WILL NOT END.  Stealing them IS NOT NECESSARY.

You are so addicted to the idea of "I deserve this" that you're putting the blinders on and saying ANYTHING to justify the fact that you're stealing.  It's not necessary at all.

Okay. Remind me not to complain about or criticize anything that doesn't directly relate to my immediate survival as a living organism.

Also, I'm not a thief (yet) because I haven't pirated any of these games yet. I'm discussing these ideas hypothetically.

That's fine; I wasn't trying to say you were, honestly.  If you had/have ever, I wouldn't expect you to fess up to it in this thread as that would undermine your credibility as an unbiased third-party.

I don't see what the issue is with me bringing that up, though.  You're arguing that, because you feel you are entitled to these games (whatever) and they are not readily available in a manner that is convenient to you on your 3DS (still laughing at this) you are considering simply stealing it.

Playing Super Nintendo games on your 3DS is not an essential liberty.  Why do you feel the need to steal these games when you can legally own them, if it's not simply a convenience issue?  I'm waiting for the lightbulb explanation that makes this clear to me and the developers of the games and everyone who's paid for the games.  Explain it to us, in plain English, why you are entitled to have these games for free where they had to pay.

"If Nintendo won’t let me play Super Mario RPG on my 3DS, then I guess I’ll have to resort to other means." <- This is your argument.  I want to point this out again.  This is why you are, at the very least, considering stealing it.  Ridiculous.

I'll admit it again, just like I did in the article: I'm greedy and self-entitled. I don't have an unalienable right to play SNES games on my 3DS. I do have a right to complain when I feel that they're not supporting their products in a manner consistent with the industry as a whole, or even in a way that most consumers can appreciate. I'm also going to point out, though it probably won't matter to you, that I have no complaints whatsoever with Microsoft and Sony - they know how to listen to fans, support the desires they voice and admit/rectify when they've done something wrong. That's why I can't ever see myself considering pirating an Xbox or PS3 game. I'm not even considering pirating 3DS games, or even DS games, for that matter. I've also purchased every VC title they've put on the 3DS. If I want to backup a few of my old titles and probably download a few others that I'm pretty sure aren't going to ever be released, I'm not going to feel bad about it.

But I'm never going to buy a Wii. I haven't felt the desire to buy a Nintendo console since the N64. So you've got me on that front, I'm a bad person. Shun me, if you want to, for the half dozen SNES titles that I don't feel like buying a Wii for.

I'm not shunning you, I'm pointing out that the whole point of this article is based on some self-deluded misconception.  Complain away, but nobody's making you do what you're doing, and the way you link your cause/effect is mind-numbingly retarded, in my eyes.  I seriously GLARED at the monitor when I read that line I quoted on my last post.

If you're not going to buy a Wii, or a SNES, that's fine, just don't ask me to buy that somehow you've been forced into piracy.  That's a completely illogical thing to say.  Complaining is one thing; justifying theft is, in this case, silly.

I have an SNES, I'm just wary of buying cartridges for it. That system is getting old...

Also, while our debate has been somewhat heated, I wasn't aware we had crossed into the territory of calling each other's logic and arguments "mind-numbingly retarded." I don't think that my assertion that Nintendo's policies are inadvertently encouraging piracy is "mind-numbingly retarded" in the least.

I stand by what I said.  "Completely illogical" would have sufficed, but the level of sense the line you're drawing does not make is two baseball bats from hitting the moon.  The more I think about it, the more I say "...what?  ...WHAT?"  You LITERALLY SAID "Super Mario RPG isn't on the 3DS.  I'm gonna steal it."  You realize that, on the function scale of the 3DS, their online store is tertiary at best?  First being "it plays games" follwed shortly by "in 3D".  

Step into my shoes for a second, read the line I quoted, and feel the pain in my right temple.

Okay, I could have picked a better example of a game. Would Super Mario World be a better title? I'd love to play that on my 3DS, too. And I don't think they intended the estore to be tertiary. Why else would they bother remastering old classics in 3D? It's a great selling point. Excitebike 3D is a simple game that I'm getting hours of fun out of. But where's SMB in 3D? Where's an announcement of anything? Japan has Xevious and is getting Urban Champion. Is that a joke? As I stated above, you would think with all of the criticism of their online components that they would really take advantage of something with so much potential. It can't be tough for someone as big as Nintendo to competently run an online store.

I don't find anything delusional about Matt's argument at all. When video game companies are restricting the sales of hot import games, I can clearly understand why someone might get upset. It's like they're closing off big franchises for the sake of controlling revenue streams for their own self interest.

The biggest example of a big franchise that was closed off was Sin and Punishment. It was near the end of the N64's life span, but it was one of the best games that pushed the limits of the system. The U.S. was fortunate that Nintendo allowed people to download the original game, to prep them up for the sequel on the Wii. However, the frame rate of the emulated game wasn't even up to par for the Wii.

On that note, it just seems silly to hold back the best cards for the sake of emulating it later on the new system. Is the future emulated version of Pandora's Box going to turn out as good as the original? Of course not. And that's why it seems juvenile to miss out on spreading the original copy of a beautiful game that pushes the limits of the Wii system for generations to come.

While I can understand your frustration with the 3DS store's offerings (they do seem kinda lame.) I can't help but wonder if something is wrong underneath the hood of the car, here, something we're not seeing.  'Course, communication would help, instead of awkward silence.  Still, I agree that Nintendo SHOULD be able to roll out an exciting lineup, which is why, again, I'm wondering why... instead of assuming Nintendo doesn't care.  I'm sure they do.

*Don't get me wrong here, I see plenty of reason to be upset.* I just didn't like the line drawn between poor 3DS selection and stealing games, especially when nothing of the sort of games being complained about was promised (and was, apparently, actually denied).

That's the thing. I don't really think they understand how upsetting they can be sometimes, and I really don't think it will effect their sales one way or another. They're Nintendo, for God's sake. I don't WANT them to fade away. I want them to take a look around at what they're doing.

Actually, Bleem!'s problem was it went commercial, and quite possibly stole code from Sony to enable what it did.  Ironically, Bleem! was a half-butted emulator; its only claim to fame was out-of-the-box support for some of the most popular games at that time (Metal Gear Solid, Medievil and Bloody Roar 2 ring some bells) and the optimization was okay, and it was fairly noob-friendly to get running.

You can emulate legally, even enabling commercial emulation.  It's when we dip INTO commercial emulation that we start running stop signs, depending on how you do it.  For instance, ePSXe with a Castlevania: Symphony of the Night disc in the drive?  Okay.  ePSXe with an ISO you got off ROMRUMHEAVEN.net?  Errt.

Great article (and the back and forth it brought up from people) but I certainly enjoyed the points you bring up in this reply. :D