Article written by Alex C.
Published on 04/01/2013 at 12:40 PM.
When you buy games on your Wii U (at least, from the online eShop) the games are tied to the console, not your Nintendo ID. So, as the internet is just discovering today, when you sell on your Wii U (despite the fact that it’s only been out a month or so) whoever picks it up cheap will also get the chance to play the games.
It’s a curious way of doing things, and absolutely Nintendo, who are still to really ‘get’ online marketplaces. It’s a similar story with the 3DS from memory – as far as I know games bought on there can be redownloaded on the portable – but this latest Wii U story seems to be getting much more attention. Presumably because the range of ‘full’ retail titles available on the Wii U is much richer.
And the games more expensive.
The situation is fairly acute, though. I’ve bought five or six games on my Wii U and should I wish to flog it on (regardless of method of flogging) the next guy who gets the console cheap could easily log into the eShop with their own account and redownload the games, for free, back onto the Wii U.
Irrespective of whether or not the console is ‘wiped’, too – the Console ID remains, and that’s what the eShop uses to determine who ‘owns’ the games for download. Presumably if the Wii U breaks Nintendo can transfer the Console ID to another console, but as it stands – and those games aren’t cheap – your hefty purchases will more than likely extend well beyond the lifespan of the ownership of the machine you’re selling.
A cute little diversion, perhaps, but it does underline how desperately Nintendo need to start thinking about locking purchases to user accounts, not an arbitrary machine number.
So, if you’re thinking of buying a secondhand Wii U, do check the eShop when you get it, and by routing around in the various games you’ll hopefully find one or two (or more) that you won’t have to pay for. Your mileage may vary, of course, and the longer you leave it the more likely you’ll get a machine with games activated, but apparently nothing the retailers can do will remove access…
In a few years time … http://www.thesixthaxis.com we know pc-gaming. :P
Ooops :-|
This must have been an oversight surely?!
way to go nintendo, when i pick up a preowned wii u in a few years i might get a built in library. ^_^
Not if EA develops a T-800 to hunt down those who bought a Wii U preowned and got one of their games for free. :O
let em, i’ll go all Sarah Conner on it ^_^
Did they not test the console ID? As this could damage their relationship with publishers and some may even threaten to withdraw all support for the Wii U. Such as EA and their hate of preowned games. However, it does give people an incentive to buy a Wii U. If only Sony and MS would make the same mistake. Wonder if Game will cash in on it and bump the price up if recent releases are found on the console or download it and add it onto the price?
Ninty is not having any luck with the Wii U. First there were reports of it bricking on day one, then the massive patches for firmware now this. Prehaps they should have delayed it to make sure none of those issues would happen.
IMO this is how it should be done, as long as they’ll transfer the games if the thing breaks.
Think about it. You actually own the game this way. You can sell your console and get reimbursed for your digital games because the next person can use them. I honestly think this has more positives then negatives.
There should be some value to your digital titles if they are locked to your console. If Nintendo are going to continue with this rather than realising it’s not a smart way to conduct their business. I lost my Wii Virtual Console purchases when I traded it in, and always felt that I should be able to sell those purchases on with the machine if I couldn’t ‘keep’ them tied to my account.
I would expect that we’ll see them make some changes to their policy in the next year of two as the legislation regarding digital purchases is becoming a key topic.
Best to wait a few months to buy a Wii U then.