Exactly - people buy Nintendo hardware just so they can play Nintendo games. Keeping the games exclusive is utilizing artificial scarcity to keep demand flowing into the money makers, and to keep their hardware & accessories division operational (which is important because they are the money makers).
It’s also why they cracked down on roms once they started an online store: The inaccessibility traps the pressure for demand, so that people seize the opportunity to buy re-releases of 30-year old games. They release these games with no meaningful updates, so they have no edge over piracy unless they can make piracy even more inconvenient than going through their store.
Nintendo demands full control over its IP because it uses that control to make a lot of money. They may operate differently than other companies but it’s not because they’re wacky and foreign. It’s because they run an extremely by-the-books operation, and it has a track record of being extremely profitable for them. Their competitors are much more likely to try new ideas and to take on risks like brand dilution, debt financing, etc. While Nintendo wants to be that theme park that has a monopoly on visitor expenditures - the rides but also the meals, the hotels, parking, etc. They want total pricing command from the moment a customer dips their toes in. The Apple of the gaming world.
Of course I loathe most of these practices, but Nintendo is probably one of the most rational actors in the entire world.
Exactly - people buy Nintendo hardware just so they can play Nintendo games. Keeping the games exclusive is utilizing artificial scarcity to keep demand flowing into the money makers, and to keep their hardware & accessories division operational (which is important because they are the money makers).
It’s also why they cracked down on roms once they started an online store: The inaccessibility traps the pressure for demand, so that people seize the opportunity to buy re-releases of 30-year old games. They release these games with no meaningful updates, so they have no edge over piracy unless they can make piracy even more inconvenient than going through their store.
Nintendo demands full control over its IP because it uses that control to make a lot of money. They may operate differently than other companies but it’s not because they’re wacky and foreign. It’s because they run an extremely by-the-books operation, and it has a track record of being extremely profitable for them. Their competitors are much more likely to try new ideas and to take on risks like brand dilution, debt financing, etc. While Nintendo wants to be that theme park that has a monopoly on visitor expenditures - the rides but also the meals, the hotels, parking, etc. They want total pricing command from the moment a customer dips their toes in. The Apple of the gaming world.
Of course I loathe most of these practices, but Nintendo is probably one of the most rational actors in the entire world.
You’re not wrong. Nintendo is a dirtbag, greedy as fuck company. They make some excellent games, but they’re the epitome of financial parasites.