Do nintendo genuinely despise their customers? Do they devise their online strategy to deliberately extort them? Are they inept? Or am I missing something?
At every turn nintendo seem to make the online experience just plain stupifying. Take the eShop - I paid for loads of VC games on Wii but can't re-download them on my Wii U. There is a workaround, but for that to work for me I need to go back in time with some extra money and persuade my 2012 self not to trade my Wii in for a Wii U. I would then have to perform a bizarre transfer process because my purchases were tied to my console and not the email address I had to use to pay for them all. So unless I happen upon a crazy wild eyed scientist with a flying DeLorean, my games are gone forever. I can still see them on my SD card in Wii mode though, which serves as some additional salt in the wound.
Nintendo can't plead ignorance on this because they know I downloaded a Luigi's Mansion screensaver in 2002. It says so under my club nintendo account history. They know what Gamecube and DS games I registered for VIP points, they know what I've downloaded on my Wii, Wii U and 3DS but they have setup a system which refuses to acknowledge past purchases when it suits them to do so.
Not learning my lesson, I recently bought some VC games on Wii U to tide me over until some proper games that I want to play come along. I fancied playing Punch-Out!! on my 3DS while I took a poop tonight so went to download it. That'll be another £4.49 please. What?! I only paid 30p for it on Wii U! I also paid about £20 for it on NES about 25yrs ago. Nintendo keep stiffing me for the same handful of games each time I buy new hardware. The only comparison I have is with the Star Wars films, which I stopped re-buying after their first issue on DVD.
Compare that with Apple's system. If I buy a game on my iPad its already waiting on my iPhone by the time I pick it up to check. If I buy a new device, all my content is there waiting for me when I log in. Sony's system is very similar, where if you buy a PSOne classic on your PS3 you can download it on your PSP or Vita for free. Those are joined up systems that have been designed with a positive user experience in mind.
Thankfully nintendo have listened to reason and ditched the ridiculous rule that you couldn't buy adult-themed content until after most people (adults included) had gone to bed. It's gone now thankfully, but who could EVER have thought that was a good idea?
Nintendo came late to the online party but they've learned nothing from what the competition was doing while they waited. That "online curfew" on the Wii U is a mistake they could have gotten away with making 10yrs ago, but not now. I was genuinely dumbfounded by its introduction in 2012.
I still can't work the stupid Wii U GUI and I'm not sure I'll ever have enough controllers to play all the mini-games in Nintendoland, despite having spent a small fortune already. I've been hailing the nintendo difference for 4 decades now but I'm pretty sure unless things change quickly that the love affair will soon be over. I'm fed up being taken for a numpty and nintendo seem to be playing the same old tricks again and again.
UPDATE: Nintendo know full well what I've bought, but just can't be bothered giving me my games on Wii U. This is from their own website when I login. Looks like most of my VC purchases are in there:
My Registered Games & Systems
87 Items Sort by: Items per page:
Wii Street U powered by Google
registered: 16/02/2013 Claim Stars for this download.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
registered: 25/12/2012
Nintendo Land
registered: 25/12/2012
3D Classics Kid Icarus
registered: 21/12/2012 Claim Stars for this download.
ZombiU
registered: 30/11/2012
New Super Mario Bros. U
registered: 30/11/2012
ZombiU Premium Pack (Black)
registered: 30/11/2012
New Super Mario Bros. 2
registered: 19/08/2012
Super Mario Land™ 2: 6 Golden Coins™
registered: 28/06/2012
Super Mario Land™
registered: 22/06/2012
Kid Icarus: Uprising
registered: 24/03/2012
Donkey Kong Country Returns
registered: 09/03/2012
Resident Evil™ Revelations
registered: 31/01/2012
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Limited Edition Pack (Game + CD + Wii Remote Plus)
registered: 25/12/2011
SUPER MARIO 3D LAND
registered: 25/12/2011
Nintendo Letter Box
registered: 22/12/2011 Claim Stars for this download.
EUROSPORT
registered: 15/12/2011 Claim Stars for this download.
Star Fox 64 3D
registered: 25/09/2011
Monster Hunter Tri
registered: 23/08/2011
METROID: Other M
registered: 11/08/2011
Nintendo Video
registered: 13/07/2011 Claim Stars for this download.
Pokédex™ 3D
registered: 08/07/2011 Claim Stars for this download.
nintendogs + cats: Golden Retriever & New Friends
registered: 07/07/2011
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
registered: 28/06/2011
Nintendo 3DS
registered: 28/06/2011
3D Classics Excitebike™
registered: 28/06/2011 Claim Stars for this download.
Kirby TV Channel
registered: 23/06/2011
Super Mario Galaxy 2
registered: 26/06/2010
Super Mario Kart™
registered: 02/04/2010
Muscle March
registered: 20/03/2010
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
registered: 25/12/2009
BBC iPlayer
registered: 18/11/2009
Today and Tomorrow Channel
registered: 09/09/2009
Flipnote Studio
registered: 14/08/2009
Mario Kart Wii
registered: 29/06/2009
PUNCH-OUT!!
registered: 29/06/2009
Elite Beat Agents
registered: 16/05/2009
Rhythm Paradise
registered: 08/05/2009
DSi
registered: 01/05/2009
WarioWare: Snapped!
registered: 01/05/2009
Nintendo DSi Browser
registered: 01/05/2009
Super Punch-Out!!™
registered: 26/03/2009
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old is Your Brain?
registered: 19/07/2008
Nintendo Channel
registered: 30/05/2008
Wii Fit
registered: 02/05/2008
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
registered: 01/01/2008
Blades of Steel™
registered: 27/12/2007
Resident Evil : The Umbrella Chronicles
registered: 26/12/2007
Lylat Wars™
registered: 26/12/2007
Bomberman® '93
registered: 18/12/2007
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time™
registered: 18/12/2007
Link's Crossbow Training
registered: 12/12/2007
Photo Channel
registered: 11/12/2007
Super Mario Galaxy
registered: 23/11/2007
Super Mario Bros.™ 3
registered: 12/11/2007
Mii Contest Channel
registered: 12/11/2007
Sin and Punishment
registered: 28/09/2007
Ninja Gaiden™
registered: 21/09/2007
Super Mario Bros.™: The Lost Levels™
registered: 19/09/2007
Super Paper Mario
registered: 14/09/2007
Resident Evil 4 Wii edition
registered: 24/07/2007
Big Brain Academy for Wii
registered: 24/07/2007
Paper Mario™
registered: 14/07/2007
Super Mario Bros. 2™
registered: 26/05/2007
Excite Truck
registered: 05/05/2007
The Legend of Zelda™: A Link to the Past™
registered: 31/03/2007
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles®
registered: 19/03/2007
Everybody Votes Channel
registered: 14/02/2007
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
registered: 20/01/2007
Super Mario Bros.™
registered: 12/01/2007
Internet Channel
registered: 22/12/2006
Sonic the Hedgehog™
registered: 20/12/2006
Wii Sports
registered: 08/12/2006
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
registered: 08/12/2006
Wii
registered: 08/12/2006
Mario Kart DS
registered: 26/11/2005
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
registered: 18/11/2005
Super Mario 64 DS
registered: 27/06/2005
Yoshi Touch & Go
registered: 27/06/2005
Nintendo DS
registered: 27/06/2005
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
registered: 07/05/2003
Metroid Prime
registered: 21/03/2003
Super Mario Sunshine
registered: 15/11/2002
Luigi's Mansion
registered: 01/07/2002
Super Smash Bros. Melee
registered: 01/07/2002
Wave Race: Blue Storm
registered: 01/07/2002
Nintendo GameCube
registered: 29/06/2002
