Nintendo Fan Is Unhappy With Nintendo’s $200 Answer to His $400 Wii U Problem

Jon is an enthusiastic Nintendo fan. He buys all of Nintendo's systems. He buys many, many Nintendo games. But he's gotten himself into a jam that he says has cost him access to more than $400 worth of downloadable games he's purchased from Nintendo over the several years.

[Zodiac]

Wow! They really need to change up the online policy.

[Dylila]

only an idiot would go back to a company that robs them. this along with a multitude of problems are why id never purchase nintendo products. people just excuse shoddy and archaic systems from nintendo giving them a pass on a lot. i have so many games on my pc and ps3 where i dont worry because i own them forever as long as i use my online id.

[Zodiac]

All they would have to do is make it so you can log on to multiple systems with your Nintendo ID.

I agree that this needs to be addressed, but it's not nearly enough for me to not buy Nintendo products.

[sloth3395]

talk about a company with lots of problems the 360 had a bad problem for years with the RROD and Nintendo usually makes a system that can last along time

[Bimkoblerutso]

When it comes to anything online related, Nintendo is basically the 90 year old man that sits on his porch talking about "kids these days" and their new-fangled Myspaces and Googlers, and his grandchildren are slowly teaching him how to check his email when they visit once a month.

[Denethor_II]

"only an idiot would go back to a company that robs them"
If that were true we'd have no XBox, and then what kind of world would we live in!

[Nitrox]

Only an idiot has this happen to them, fails to contact the company about fixing the problem, and then complains about problem not being fixed... If he contacted customer service, explained the situation and was able to prove his identity, things could get sorted out.

I think most people understand that downloadable content is tied to a specific account. Just because you create a new account with the same name doesn't mean you have access to content purchased under a different account.
Unless you sort it out with customer service...

I had something similar happen to me after replacing a rrod xbox and customer service was able to deactivate the content on my old system and register it to my new one.

[morkendo23]

"only an idiot would go back to a company that robs them"

REALLY?? in that case Microsoft must have plenty of IDIOTS following them. MS robbed their gamers with RROD,E47,E72,DISC TRAY MALFUCTION, BANNED millions of CONSOLE from XBL, hike up the price of XBL from 50.00-60.00 gamers had to buy new 360's ms ROB gamers from new games 360fans get rape every year with same 3 ganes.. yes, there are idiots like going back to companies who love robbing them.

[deSSy2724]

What about M$ XBLA? you wont mention that? and just to make it clear, im not hating on Microsoft because of games (ofc i hate on bad games and swapping discs or the worst D-pad but i think at the same time Xbox360 controller is the best "standard" controller ever made).... im hating when Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft (Xbox or Windows) are doing stupid decisions.

BTW games are cheaper for PC anyway....

[BlindMango]

@Bimkoblerutso

Haha, that was a pretty hilarious analogy =P

[zerocrossing]

They should have taken this into consideration during development on the Wii U, it's just unacceptable to expect consumers to purchase content they already payed for because Nintendo lacked the foresight to implement user accounts or a means to transfer data from the Wii to Wii U... Bad form big N.

[Persistantthug]

This guy was complaining about the same thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

.
.
.
.
Months ago, I told everyone this was going to be the case, and a strong sign was that Nintendo didn't include a "real" harddrive with the system. Many people didn't want to listen, but I was firmly correct.

Nintendo doesn't really have the competence or the "know how" in terms of running a fully fleshed out and featured online network.
It was obvious.
Unfortunately.

Edit in....
Here's where I tried to explain last year about the lack of harddrive being an indicator of Nintendo's online competence:
http://n4g.com/news/1027748...

[calis]

cool story, bro

[OmegaSlayer]

Man, it's impossible to let Nintendo fanbase understand.
It was clear that WiiU was a current gen console,
It was clear it would have loss third party support in less than a year.

People called it out immediately, maybe some people is more experienced because they have been playing games for decades (3 decades in my case) but...well, everyone is entitled to fail at his own expenses.

@Morkendo
Yes, people that bought multiple 360s made a mistake too, just I see how they didn't want to lose the money they spent in retail games.

I had had 3 PS3.
The first fat YLODed after I played hours straight GOW3.
I receovered it with the reflux trick and it's still working after 3 years, but I bought a slim to be safe.
The slim I bought had a defective Blu-Ray and Sony changed it in warrancy.

Machines broke obviously, that's why I think than when you decide to pick up one you must evaluate how reliable the manufacturer/service provider is.
My PSone (first model) and PS2 (first model too) are still functional, while I know that Microsoft has a story of unreliability even with software, so...the choice was quite simple for me.
I don't want to remember I have a Gamecube...

[OmegaSlayer]

Jon should change its policy and kick Nintendo in the groin forever. XD

Analyzing the subject it's clear how crap Nintendo is offering him only half of the money he spent.
That's mega sad.

And...yes, I don't have simpathy for Nintendo fanboys.
I'm a Sony fanboy, but I can see when Sony messes up (with every handheld for example) and I'm always there pointing my finger.

You can like a product/brand, but being blind is bad.

[Gr81]

'All they would have to do is make it so you can log on to multiple systems with your Nintendo ID.'

The fact that this is not standard is baffling. I can't believe some folks are blaming the guy instead of blaming Nintendo's backwards online dealings. It is pitiful.

Sometimes being a fan means NOT defending and making excuses for a company just because you like them. There comes a time where, as a fan, you won't tolerate bullshit policies. As a fan you won't accept half assed customer service.

If you are a fan, (of any company ftm) be very critical, be constructively critical of them. If you aren't, Sega's fate will be shared.

[PopRocks359]

Agreed. Something like this is not acceptable, preferred dev/publisher or not. This "solution" was a crappy cop out. This really should be fixed and hopefully soon.

[-Mika-]

Im honestly surprised you're not blindly defending Nintendo like you usually do. Im glad you're not making excuses for this and you actually wrote an non-biased opinion. I hope you write more posts like this in other Nintendo articles.

[Yodagamer]

@mika aren't you supposed to be at playstation articles defending sony? as usual even when they screw up games like call of duty vita and resistance vita

[sloth3395]

@yodagamer no mika likes to troll Nintendo stuff

[DarkBlood]

dont even worry about it @yodagamer lol.

@mika i cant take you seriously because i havent seen you say anything positive about nintendo so i will continue to think you are a loyalty fangirl troll like "@Dylila" till the day you stop the hating and stop trying to recruit people to your side like that

ps. a universal account for nintendo should of been standard by now too, but i can only be thankfull as a lucky SOB that i dont have nintendo hardware problems yet.........

[LOL_WUT]

Agreed Mika this is unusual for him, it just seems so out of character i'm sure he knows it. ;)

This just boggles my mind as to why was this even allowed in the first place. Hopefully Nintendo can find a solution to this problem.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

PopRocks is usually balanced, I've even seen him help defend Vita.

Trolls slap you and then wonder why they are getting slapped back-

Anyway, Nintendo needs to get a handle on this and I hope Iwata addresses this in the next Nintendo Direct.
-They have made some strides forward so I hope they don't allow this to sideline them back.

PS I love Nintendo, so I want them to do the best that they can. That means that I don't go blind when they do dirt.

[animegamingnerd]

i agree i am a big nintendo fan but they do make stupid decisions that will alienated people but lets face that is pretty much a rule to be a big company in this industry

[PopRocks359]

@Mika @LOL_WUT

Unlike you two nimrods, I'm capable of knowing when it's not time to defend something and when to criticize it as well as vice versa. You two just like to criticize EVERYTHING Nintendo does.

Seriously, GTFO you trolls.

EDIT: Besides, I've said before that Nintendo is by no means perfect and have had their share of ups and downs. Just because they're my favorite game producer and I defend them often doesn't mean I don't acknowledge their faults. You two (as well as others) are just always there to make stupid assumptions.

[linkofrs]

Yeah Nintendo is a great company but everyone makes mistakes I hope that they can fix this. This is also why I prefer to not download games.

[DeadlyFire]

Nintendo keeps making mistakes with the WiiU.

Hope they can turn it around at some point.

Nintendo ID being locked to one console is a big no-no they should have seen before even launching the product. I believe it was the rush to get it to the market before the other two came out with a console that caused it. Hopefully they can fix it.

This is Nintendo's first try at a unified online system. So far it needs work. ID should be universal with redownloadable content and so on.

[profgerbik]

Sucks but I assumed all Wii U-sers where aware of this problem by now. A little research on a new system before returning it never hurt anyone.

[DarkBlood]

sure am aware of this issue when transferring to the wiiu

its a risk i took but not one i would be upset over if it went haywire, i guess only some people can accept loss to a certain extent

the ability to move on or adapt seems rare nowadays

[jc48573]

this is why I try not to download too much. At least I won't feel too bad if I only lost 20 dollar worth of downloads.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

I agree. I downloaded very few VC games because I don't trust their online system. I would NEVER buy a digital version of a full retail game. Too risky for $60.

[WitWolfy]

I knew this was going to happen eventually when it fist made public how the Wii U ID would be locked to one system...

Thats BS for Ninty to assume nothing bad will EVER happen to one system or that their customers would only want one console per house hold.

As a Wii U owner myself I barely use the thing but can see the problem when you wanna start transferring your files over.. My suggestion would be, softmod your Wii and keep it as a back up just in case...

[JackBNimble]

Well this is a deal breaker for me.
I was going to buy a wii-u for my kids 7 birthday, but until nintendo fix this problem I will not support them.

Your ID should be tied to a network like psn or xboxlive.

[broken_back-man]

im waitibg for metro 32 or 23 or 2hat ever to defend nintendo's issue lol

[Qrphe]

Nintendo knew all along it was preferable to have launched a console with a unified NID system but it was much more preferable to launch a year earlier than the competitors in order to have at least established something of an install base.

[just-joe]

So he took it to Gamestop instead of contacting Nintendo who would have transferred his data easily? Okay then.

[kirbyu]

Even if someday you can transfer your ID over or games aren't locked to it, it's not gonna be much help when Wii U #1 is broken or lost you can't transfer anything.

Also, I totally get why Nintendo locks the games onto IDs. They don't want one guy buying a game, finshing it, then giving it to a friend.

Also, I wouldn't quite say Nintendo robbed him. It was his own fault for assuming he wouldn't have a problem. Even without the whole ID thing, the games are still put on system memory.

[Genuine-User]

It's not his fault. Unified ID with digital content available to download on more then one device is the norm now. Sony, Microsoft, ITunes and Amazon all do it.
Let's face it, Nintendo's online infrastructure is archaic and until they don't follow what others have done I won't buy anything of their online store.

[kirbyu]

I don't use any of those products. I still don't get how it's possible to have your ID put back when you're device is already gone. Could you please explain to me how it works.

[kirbyu]

I read your PM or whatever you call it, but it was still stupid what the guy did. When I have $400 worth of games, I would want to be sure they're safe.

[ZoyosJD]

It's called account activation.

If you use a service like Steam, SEN, Live, Itunes, Amazon, etc. you register an account, and activate it on all your devices up to however many devices they allow.

All your games, music, movies are linked to an account and can be downloaded to any device that has said account active on it. If you deactivate an account for a device you can no longer use any of the content downloaded on that device, but can still download that content on any new device you activate your account on.

Nintendo currently locks down your account and hence games to a single device, with no option to deactivate your account on that device.

[MasterCornholio]

Nintendos policy has to change because i personally believe that if you purchase content on a platform with one ID that content should be available to that ID anywhere that its supported.

An example of this is buying a game on the PS3 and not having to buy the same game again for the Vita in the case of Pinball Arcade for example. The same should happen with Nintendos online store.

[WeAreLegion]

We've known about this crap since the Wii launched. -_- WHY would you buy that many Virtual Console titles, knowing that you would lose them if the Wii ever died?!? That's basically insanity!

The PS3, 360, and obviously Steam have all of your purchases linked to an account. The Wii U doesn't even have that option yet! I am not going to buy any digital things from Nintendo until they change that. All my Wii U games are on disc.

[Ninja_G_Aidan]

Fuck you Nintendo! I've lost out on about £200 because of this bullshit situation. VC games should be linked to an account. Also I'm glad I sold my 3ds three months after release because of the price drop. If you bought an XL you couldn't transfer your VC games from original 3ds which is Ridiculous!

I sold mine for Alcohol and Marijuana when I went up to London, and it was worth every Fucking Penny! £230 I paid for that console full price. Sold it just before the ambassador program and I'm glad because the trade in price would have gone below £100.

[cee773]

@ninja

Ninja's GF: hey where's your 3DS? I wanna play mario.

Ninja: I smoked the mutha effin 3DS!

Lol classic

[SerodD]

You could transfer the games from one 3ds to the other though. There's an option for that called system transfer.

[Ninja_G_Aidan]

.... Why would I transfer 3ds to 3ds when xl wasn't even out yet at the time!

[SerodD]

well you said if you had bought an xl you couldn't transfer you're vc games to there, you actualy could if you kept your original 3ds.

I'll just quote it for you:

"Also I'm glad I sold my 3ds three months after release because of the price drop. If you bought an XL you couldn't transfer your VC games from original 3ds which is Ridiculous! "

And like I said you could, there's a tool for that, you just need to have both consoles next to each other, and an internet connection.

[Ninja_G_Aidan]

Random off topic. I've always wondered why it's called 3DS LL over in Japan. Is it called Lelly Large in a funny way of saying it?

(Sarcasm if anyone wants to know)

[guitar_nerd_23]

Ouch that's really harsh! Sounds like a pretty backwards way of doing things as your hardware is inevitably going to fail somewhere down the line.

Does the same thing apply to 3ds? I have one of those and I won't be doing any more digital downloads on it if that's the case...

I'm supporter of models which allow me to play my ID's content on what ever devices will happen to run it, Sony and Steam both do this, MS probably would if it had more devices.

[DivineAssault]

I hope some major updates happen with the wii u.. 2GB of ram is MUCH more than PS3/360 have so change is coming, eventually ;\

Its going to take them some time to get with the program but its their fault & their fault alone for not making the wii in HD.. They wouldve been used to using the tools & developing so crazy awesome current gen titles in sub HD.. Theyre just now gettin their feet wet..

Its going to take them some time to get the network up to date & at least close to what the comp offers now as well..

Its their fault the wii u isnt up to date with those things.. Simple things like cross game chat, accomplishments as well as the media & social networking aspects.. Ill tolerate their screw ups with hardware JUST because i love their 1st party exclusives so much (growing passion for monolith soft & mistwalker nintendo projects).. Thats the only reason i even buy the consoles they release... I think they should go segas route in combination with madcats to make accessories as well as games for the other key players in this business.. Ugghh they really piss me off sometimes

[7uff1]

Well that is bad, they should fix it soon, I don't know an effective way to do this without causin some "trouble" for Nintendo, like someone lending an ID to a friend to share downloaded games, and stuff, that would make Nintendo lose money, but come on, they're Nintendo, they can easily think of something that solve this without giving them any disadvantage :/ This was a pretty bad screw up

[Thepcz]

i lost around 8 virtual console games when my wii died. i didnt make a fuss to nintnedo about it, although maybe i should.

i simply dont download their software anymore.

nintendo know damn well this is a problem, they know damn well it would be better for everyone to have a system where your purchases are available to access from hardware via one account.

think about it though, in 'real life', if your disc is damaged through a fault of your own, or you lose or sell a console with the disc still in the machine, you dont expect nintendo to send you another copy, you have to go and buy another copy. but with ditital purchases, we expect to retain them forever.

obviously, a company will not like this model. i think nintendo are deliberately dragging their feet and stubbornly sticking to their current model because it forces people to re-buy software.

this is why i hate the idea of a digital future, the content will never truly be yours if it is kept in a 'cloud.' what happens if that cloud disappears?

[mochachino]

Good to know, definitely not getting a Wii U or any Nintendo system. What happend to him is unacceptable.

Nintendo sold John a broken console, then in addition to the hassle of having to exchange it, punished him for buying their broken console by stealing his games.

[wiiulee]

lol nintendo fan...oh please...who was that a sony or microsoft fanboy masquerading as a nintendo fan to write such interesting foolish articles.

[CanadianTurtle]

I feel really bad for all those that bought this 8 years late console

[Jason143]

Why would he return it to the store lol dummy. They would have remedied this for ya dude.If ya just read the downloadable games form youd know how to solve this issue. lmao

[megamanX2]

i though when you buy something digitally its yours forever? never trust anyone just download it on your pc dude its free ,and you never have to worry about getting ripped off.

[stragomccloud]

I'm going through a similar issue right now and it is infuriating. Once I'm done, I'm going to file a formal complaint about their policy.

[Steelmanner]

This happens everytime with new technology. There is always going to be a bug that needs to get fixed or an error to get rid of, especially with First generation high tech equipment. Look at the iphones, every time one comes out a list of issues are sent to Apple and they fix them. However, by not contacting nintendo they may still be unaware of the issue, or, more likely, they already know and are trying to fix it

[HorrorGod]

This is why we are not ready for a "Digital Only" generation. The current generation consoles can't even get it right, in fear that someone is trying to scam them. If you have a lot of digital downloads on your Wii, 360, or PS3, there are too many hoops to jump through if you need/want to swap your console for a new one.

[theWB27]

I don't understand why these companies lock things and say they cant do anything about it. I find it strange they would create something and they not have full control on changing it. Similar thing happened on my 360. After the last dashboard update my gamertag locked with a password I didnt create and an email I long stopped using. How hard would it be to let us access the SAVES THAT ARE ALREADY ON OUR OWN CONSOLE. But no...that doesnt happen. That needs fixing for the next consoles..hopefully Nintedo fixes that.

[MartinB105]

This is why I will stick to ZSNES.

[3GenGames]

ZSNES is an inaccurate pile of garbage. Move to SNES9X at minimum, Higan if your computer handle it. (Dual core @ 2.4Ghz, AMD 3000+ GPU.) (Also emulates NES, GB(/A/C/DS), and a few odds and ends.)

[MartinB105]

Thanks for the suggestion; I've been using ZSNES for many years and never really thought about switching. I'm installing SNES9X now to give it a try.

I'll try Higan later too, but it looks like I will need to compile it myself because there's no package in Gentoo Linux available for Higan at the moment. I guess it should run OK on my i7 3820 3.6GHz. :)

[esemce]

I knew this and I don't own a WiiU, the guy should of done some research, But this system needs to change if your WiiU dies or is stolen then you lose all you DLC and have to re buy. If I owned a WiiU I would not buy any downloadable game until this flaw is fixed.

[ACEMANWISE]

Another gamer hit with the reality check of online based gaming.

This happens on all the consoles. This is the future of gaming that these companies are implementing as we speak...all in the name of convienance.

All gamers out there please do the research before you become a victim like the guy in the article. Read the terms and conditions and take what they say seriously. When this gaming generation ends there will be many more stories just like this one. Everyone who buys anything digital will eventually lose everything they bought. Its just a matter of when.

I'm trying to warn everyone. Maybe we can make some changes for the better.

[SugarSoSweet]

God Nintendo sucks...

[solid_warlord]

i bet its a fat guy with no life and lacks masculinity that's why he hung high with Nintendo for so long and only to get f***ed. Well done but i'm getting the feeling that Nintendo as a Home console hardware manufacturer won't be relevant in the next or after upcoming next gen.

Times are changing and Nintendo can't keep up with the times. The original Wii was the last "Hoorah" before the storm. I bet allot of third party studio's will abandon Nintendo when next gen system plants its seeds. Zelda, Pikmin & Mario's will not be able to save Nintendo this time.

Goodbye Nintendo, thanks for the good memories of decades ago. Rest in Peace.

[Milesprowers]

The PC can play nearly ALL the Wii Content , Build a Decent PC, transfer the Wii Games on the PC, then play via Dolphin Emulator in TRUE HD. Problem Solved..

[KingKevo]

I'm really sorry for that guy.

And well, what happened to this guy is just an extreme example of what the problem is with having to link everything to a single account. With the digital market getting stronger every year, online IDs getting more important, more devices and content linked to a single account and having more tons of accounts for different companies/websites/manufacture s the problems it may cause get bigger and bigger.

My only hope is that the companies will be working hard to make it easier, more understandable and especially less frustrating for users.

[Smashbro29]

This guy is... not too smart. I'd have called Nintendo first.

[magecodi1]

There isn't anything wrong with the way Nintendo does its digital stuff. It's just a matter of knowing what you're supposed to do when something goes wrong unlike this Jon person. Had he known what he was supposed to do, he wouldn't of lost anything...