I love video games. Long before I learned of Free Software I had played and
enjoyed many Nintendo games that I would like to find some way to continue to
enjoy. Nintendo, as a company, is interesting to read about.
Nintendo is often rather restrictive when it comes to their games. They sued
over the game genie as it modified their
games.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Galoob_Toys,_Inc._v._Nintendo_of_America,_Inc.)
They also hold a strong stance against ROMS and emulation as they want to
continue to sell their products in the Virtual Console.
Nintendo is often vilified by many who would seek to emulate and modify games
but there must be research done and an understanding cultivated as to why
Nintendo operates as it does.
Nintendo rose to success after the video game crash of 1983
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_video_game_crash_of_1983) The
crash is often attributed to Atari's loose control over who could produce for
their system. Vast amounts of games were created and many argue that this
had a two-fold negative influence on the market. Many criticized the games,
calling them low quality, and claimed that the claps was caused by
over-saturation of the market.
Nintendo implemented specific restrictions as to who could manufacture games
for their console. They then limited the number of games a year that each
company could release, in hopes of preventing over-saturation and encouraging
the companies to refine quality on the games they release. These tactics are
often credited as to be what saved the video game market from death.
Respectfully, it is not hard to understand why Nintendo is then often against
modified works and the ideas of Free Software. It is fundamentally against
the very tactics that both saved the video game industry and made Nintendo
successful.
However, as noted, ID software has proven that releasing source code to the
game engine does not hurt sales and actually extends the life of the product.
The question that would be posed to Nintendo is whether or not they should
continue to do things the way they always have (that made them successful and
saved the industry) or if they should do it ID software's way (which does no
economic harm and actually helps extend product life.)
I think Nintendo wants to maintain control of their properties and probably
does not want to risk another market crash. But I do think it would be an
interesting discussion to have with them.
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