With the Switch 2 announcement, it's kind of clear that they aren't even trying to be a tech company anymore. While not every last one of their consoles released was a true innovation, it did feel like something that was built into part of their brand. Now we just have the Switch 2 which is mostly what you'd expect with some decent QoL upgrades.

Nintendo is pursuing the walled garden approach. You're barely even buying a console anymore, a lot of this hardware has more or less converged. What you're buying is access to the cultivated ecosystem. Like everything else these days, they entice you in with the big, recognizable brands and hope there's enough else to keep you there. Emulators straight pierce that veil and it's why they went so hard on them.

I'm not criticizing (too heavily) the people that choose to hold on to the franchises they love, but once you step outside and choose alternatives, there's very little to bring you back. Pokemon lost me a few gens ago, honestly not the biggest Zelda fan, and Mario alone won't do it for me. Metroid and Starfox are scattershot ... Personally I'll stick with the Steam Deck and wait for Switch 2 emulation to roll around. And if it doesn't, there are just so many other games to play these days.

[–] Kyrgizion@lemmy.world 14 points 6 days ago (1 children)

. You’re barely even buying a console anymore, a lot of this hardware has more or less converged. What you’re buying is access to the cultivated ecosystem.

Bingo. In an age where most people's phones have better hardware than the Switch, it's all about access to the walled garden instead of hardware.

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[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 12 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I don't think Nintendo ever tried to be a tech company. They have always been a game company first and foremost. If they were ever a kind of tech company, the closest analogy would be Apple, another company that focused on consumer electronics.

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[–] ceenote@lemmy.world 19 points 6 days ago (1 children)

So when they shut down Ryujinx and Yuzu, was it basically "Stop running this emulator or we will ruin your lives with legal bills"?

[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 12 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Iirc, and take this with a grain of salt, ryujinx actually got paid by Nintendo to stop development.

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[–] jared@mander.xyz 14 points 6 days ago

Fuck Nintendo!!!

[–] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 5 days ago

Yeah, that's why I've been exclusively pirating and emulating your switch games, and will continue to do so

Nintendo never gets my money again, and it's been a better experience so far doing so

[–] hmmm@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 days ago

Wtf

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

No shit, it's been case law since the 90s (Bleem, Connectix). The recent cases haven't been about emulation, but decryption keys lifted from the BIOS.

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