Mailbox: eShop Closures, Comedy, The Physical Future

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Welcome back to the Nintendo Life Mailbox. As football fever grips England with headlines such as National Team In Not-Crap Shocker top the tabloids (probably), it’s time to relax a little and sit back with our monthly letters page.

Got something you want to get off your chest? We’re ready and waiting to read about your game-related ponderings.

Each month we’ll highlight a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a month’s subscription to our ad-free Supporter scheme. Check out the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.

Grab a cool beverage and let’s see what surprises the postie’s brought us this month…

Nintendo Life Mailbox – July 2024

“evil spiteful move” (***STAR LETTER***)

I’m curious. I notice how a lot of people are angry about the Wii u and 3DS eshops and online servers being closed down, some acting as if this is one “evil spiteful move” on Nintendo’s part. And perhaps it is, I ain’t a mind reader.

But my question is, what exactly are Nintendo supposed to do? They can’t leave these services up forever, its costs money! And unlike the Nintendo switch, the online for these systems is not a paid service. And with presumably only a relatively small number of players using the servers and purchasing from the eshop, I ask, what are Nintendo reasonably supposed to do about it?

Am I missing something? Would players have been happy if Nintendo were like “we’ll keep them running if you’ll pay for the server upkeep?”

From Alpha008, the gullible optimist

I agree that the numbers don’t add up from a business standpoint. Throw in security issues and the small number of people actively using those services and, no, you can’t expect Splatoon 1’s online to be active for decades. The same with other services. Miiverse was a beautiful thing, and we miss it – but it was never going to last forever.

However, for those of us fortunate enough to be buying and playing the latest games, it’s easy to forget that people are still playing last-generation systems. Not many, perhaps — certainly not enough to make it worth Nintendo’s time setting up a payment system to charge for servers that used to be free — but the number of younger gamers still using a 3DS (perhaps before inheriting a hand-me-down Switch) isn’t zero. They can’t play Mario Kart 7 online anymore.

For me, online aside, it’s shutting down the legitimate pathway to a library of games, many of which you just can’t buy elsewhere, that’s the kick in the teeth. If I pick up a secondhand 3DS for my kids and want to show them Pushmo or Attack of the Friday Monsters or HarmoKnight, those games are gone. Yes, there are other avenues to access them, not to mention extraordinary homebrew efforts to restore lost functionality on dead consoles, but many people aren’t willing or able to go down that rabbit hole – or even know it exists.

There’s no easy answer here that’ll satisfy everyone — publishers, players, historians — but with each piece of software that becomes accessible only through illegal means, fewer people are likely to experience it and the cultural heritage of the medium seeps away, little by little. That’s what should make people angry. Meaningful engagement from big companies to ensure the preservation of the games, the documentation, and the firsthand stories of their development would be a good first step to taking the sting out of closures like this. – Ed.

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“a very pleasant experience”

Hi Nintendo Life!
I’ve recently found that I spend more time watching people on YouTube talking about video games than actually playing video games. The problem was easily solved, as last night I booted up Crimson Shroud from when the closing eShop spooked me into buying random stuff on the 3DS and it was a very pleasant experience. I guess I wanted to know, do you guys at Nintendo Life find yourself talking about video games more than playing them? Or the other way around?
MarkSeteth72

I don’t think there’s anyone on staff who wouldn’t like to play moar — there’s just so much, and so much which is fantastic. Getting as broad a sampling of the gaming spectrum as possible is a big part of the job right now, and even for an outlet focusing on a single platform at the end of its lifecycle, it’s a challenge. Sometimes a quick YouTube vid or a podcast in the car is the only personal exposure I’ll have to a particular game. It’s just how it goes.

Still, even with life limitations, I find I experience more of those little realisations and rediscoveries these days — those times when you finally get to play something and sit back thinking, Wow, video games are pretty great, aren’t they! Despite all the negativity and awfulness to be found in the industry, there’s so much beauty and talent, too, and it’s a pleasure to discuss games with like-minded folk here. Whether I’ve played the thing or not. – Ed.

“Switch 2 onwards”

Hello, Nintendo Life! I was wondering what you think of the future for physical gaming on Nintendo’s part? It’s been getting tricky to find them for Sony/Xbox games that aren’t more than a couple months old. At least here in Kuwait. Nintendo is fairly reliable though, especially first-party wise. Which is why I collect for them more. (Currently owning 20 games and counting!).

Do you perhaps believe this availability will be maintained on Switch 2 onwards? And do you think there’s hope Nintendo will ever re-introduce a program to give legacy titles permanent price cuts? It’s been sorely missing this gen.
Yousef

Of the big three, Nintendo will be the last to leave the physical arena. It’s tough to say past Switch 2, but I think it’ll be a good decade or two before you can’t walk into a store and pick up a Nintendo game off a shelf. An eShop card is fine, but there’s still magic in getting a gift you can’t put in an envelope.

Given the regular sales with first-party games getting a 33% discount, I don’t see Player’s Choice returning. I never could stand the box art, anyway. – Ed.

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