# Why does Nintendo hate its fans so much? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 3, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193 "2011-01-03T04:04:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193/161 "2011-01-10T21:38:57Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Typically the larger the TV the further back you sit, reducing the resolution’s effectiveness. I guess that’s true. It doesn’t really apply in San Francisco-sized apartments, like my own. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193/162 "2011-01-11T02:07:03Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Eh. Typically the larger the TV the further back you sit, reducing the resolution’s effectiveness. And then there’s the law of diminishing returns–you can tell a color vs black & white image at any distance; you can’t with HD. I have a 40" screen that’s 15’ from my couch, and there are certain types of content I would never consider watching in SD. Hell, I have a DLP projector that goes up to 100", and I hardly ever bust it out anymore, because it can only handle up to 720p - I’d rather watch it in crystal-clear 1080p on my 40" screen. HD is better, there’s no question. I am really looking forward to an HD-capable Nintendo console, but I don’t expect it to be tacked on to the Wii so close to the end of its cycle; it just wouldn’t begin to make sense. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193/163 "2011-01-11T02:22:50Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > HD is better, there’s no question. I am really looking forward to an HD-capable Nintendo console, but I don’t expect it to be tacked on to the Wii so close to the end of its cycle; it just wouldn’t begin to make sense. I’m not sure why you quoted me me, as nothing I posted was contrary to anything you said. ---
**Author:** ![Spectralist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Spectralist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectralist)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193/164 "2011-01-11T11:42:08Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I got an N64 at launch, the ram upgrade slot was always there and always planned for. > > All of the changes to the DSi aren’t used for in-game processing though. Those are all extras that run outside of gameplay except for a few “DSi-enhanced” games. And? You stated that there has never been as big a change to a console as adding HD to the Wii would be. Both those are larger changes because they break compatibility. That it was planned before launch doesn’t change that. And that the games that take advantage of those upgrades will have a DSi-enhanced! starburst or whatever on the box also does not change that. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193/165 "2011-01-11T14:05:56Z")
> [@Spectralist](#): > > And? You stated that there has never been as big a change to a console as adding HD to the Wii would be. Both those are larger changes because they break compatibility. That it was planned before launch doesn’t change that. And that the games that take advantage of those upgrades will have a DSi-enhanced! starburst or whatever on the box also does not change that. The N64 expansion pack was only _required_ for two games: Donkey Kong 64 (which came bundled with the add-on) and Zelda: Majora’s Mask. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193/166 "2011-01-11T15:42:28Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > The N64 expansion pack was only _required_ for two games: Donkey Kong 64 (which came bundled with the add-on) and Zelda: Majora’s Mask. Perfect Dark, too.\* \*Ok, not technically _required_, you could play only the single player campaign with worse graphics. But since multiplayer was the best part of that game (and I’m one of five people who thinks it was better than Goldeneye’s,) then yeah, I’m going to say it was required. Edit: And didn’t Gauntlet: Legends have some sort of extras that needed it? Like only multiplayer with the expansion? Damn…now my post makes me sad cause I miss all those highschool weekends where my friends and I would stay up all night playing Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Gauntlet, Etc… ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193/167 "2011-01-11T19:54:08Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > \*Ok, not technically _required_, you could play only the single player campaign with worse graphics. But since multiplayer was the best part of that game (and I’m one of five people who thinks it was better than Goldeneye’s,) then yeah, I’m going to say it was required. Close The single-player campaign also required the Expansion Pack. However, you could play 1-2 player multiplayer without it. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193/168 "2011-01-13T23:00:52Z")
A late bump, but here’s a fantastic video posted by Destructoid regarding this very topic: > **[The Jimquisition: WHY IS THIS ON THE WII!?](https://www.destructoid.com/the-jimquisition-why-is-this-on-the-wii/)** > > This week’s Jimquisition puts into audible words a problem I’ve been having lately, where people put on their Bitch Trousers... ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193/169 "2011-01-13T23:21:53Z")
No, that video is dumb. Graphics or gameplay isn’t a choice, as has been said. A game can have one or both or neither. “Ugly” games can appear on the Xbox 360, so the Wii’s existence as a platform that allows cheap games isn’t really necessary or beneficial to the world in that sense. If anything, XBLA and its Indie Channel is more beneficial on that front. The advantage of the Wii is its unique control system. Anything on the Wii that doesn’t take advantage of that control system probably would be better on another platform. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193/170 "2011-01-13T23:30:26Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > No, that video is dumb. Graphics or gameplay isn’t a choice, as has been said. But it _can_ be. You think the graphics budget exists independently of the rest of the project? Beyond that, the video addressed much more than mere budgetary constraints. > [@Palooka](#): > > If anything, XBLA and its Indie Channel is more beneficial on that front. Not for retail-priced games, such as The Last Story, as cited in that video. (btw, the sales for games on the indy channel have been abysmal.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nintendo-hate-its-fans-so-much/566193.md?page=8)