Comment by autoexec | Hacker News Reader

Comment by autoexec | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

> I play a lot of SSBU online and it works well.

Honestly the fact that you don't have many complaints after less than five years is a good sign, but tell us again in 10 or 15 years how well your online SSBU games are going.

I'd actually be okay with it if Nintendo just came out and said that online wasn't something they were interested in. I'm one of those people who is perfectly happy with physical media, single player, and local multiplayer.

It would have spared them a ton of trouble with things like the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Service, DRM, friend codes, eShop, Randnet, Nintendo Network, DLC, WiiConnect24, the wii shop, even Pokemon home/bank, etc. and they could have just kept on delivering gaming experiences that worked for players no matter what servers were offline, kept on working for decades as long as you had a disk/cart and the right console, you'd never have to worry about your purchases being pulled out from under you, and all of it could be lent/traded/resold/handed down freely.

Very few consoles, let alone games, last 15 years. Requiring an online experience to work well for 15 years, while nice, is not a realistic requirement for a majority of games.

> Very few consoles, let alone games, last 15 years

The PS3 is older than 15 years! The oldest console in my home right now is an Atari 2600 and that's 45 years old and works just fine, as does its games.

Same with the Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, One of two original gameboys, most of the rest of the gameboy and DS lines, SNES, N64, Gamecube, the PS1, one of two PS2s (disk read issues on the larger one), and the PS3. all their games still work.

Honestly, the consoles and games that don't still work are the exception. One original gameboy has a blank line along one side the screen (still pretty playable), The NES still works fine, but some of the games don't save anymore (battery needs replacing), same problem with some of the later gameboy carts. If some of the SNES games have that problem I haven't run into it yet. Several controllers, joysticks, and DDR pads have died over the years and had to be replaced though.

I have a harder time getting PC games to work (on modern hardware) than I do getting console games to work. I expect I'll be able to hand most of this stuff down and the kids will be able to do the same for their own kids with many of them before they stop working. With maintenance (which I've never done for any of them) they could last longer. The PS2 with disk read errors and the dead batteries are totally repairable.

I suspect that the PS3 and PS5 will die sooner than most of the older consoles. They really don't make them like they used to. I blame higher running temperatures, lead-free solder, and cheap capacitors.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com