The Video Game History Foundation released a harsh statement accusing Nintendo of “actively destroying” gaming history.
Founded in 1997 by Frank Cifaldi, one of the world’s foremost authorities on video game preservation, this non-profit organization’s mission is to archive, digitize and preserve video games and related materials (documentation , source code, press kits, photographs, etc.) for posterity, preserving media history for study and future generations.
As he announced on Twitter after the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U digital stores were announced to be closed, “although it’s a shame that people can’t buy 3DS or Wii U games digitally, we won’t understand anymore never the realities of business”. who influenced this decision. What we don’t understand is the path Nintendo expects fans to play if they want to play these video games in the future.”
“As a paying member of the Entertainment Software Association, Nintendo actively funds lobby pressures that even avoid libraries offering legal access to these games. Not offering commercial access is understandable, but in addition to avoiding institutional work to preserve these titles, they are actively destroying video game history”.
The organization wants “ESA members like Nintendo to reconsider their position on this problem and work with existing institutions to find a solution”, pointing the finger at other companies such as Sony, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard , Epic Games or Take-Two would work with the institutions to ensure that at least the libraries keep their titles.
Cifaldi added in your personal account that “the commercial industry will never offer the catalog of games of the past, and our own federal government makes it impossible even for libraries to assist with access. No one will save video game history but all of us, and that” will never change, conclude.
Our statement on the closure of Nintendo’s legacy digital stores. pic.twitter.com/mG5GzuGH4G
– Video Game History Foundation (@GameHistoryOrg) February 17, 2022
