I'm about to sell my WiiU, am I in the right to continue playing the games I own?

[Dolobill]

You're making a mistake OP, don't sell your Wii U!!
https://www.resetera.com/threads/wi...e-short-of-a-pc-heres-why-image-heavy.146326/
To answer the question, I would feel no guilt about emulating those games if I paid for them, still own the account and am not reselling them. Nintendo would certainly disapprove though.

 

[Lant_War]

Hmmmm so is it also illegal to buy Oculus exclusive games from the Oculus store and play on a Vive through added software?

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You're misunderstanding me. In the Wii U, digital games are tied to the console, you can't sell the console without the games. So it'd be like backing up the discs and also selling those to other people.

In PSN, for example, the games are tied to your account.

 

[Deleted member 8468]

If you bought the games new and own the disc do what you want with it. AFAIK there's no legal or moral issue here.

 

[Majukun]

i don't think you are.
but it's a debate as old as emulators

this being said, you already have those games, so the potential loss for nintendo is only on your used wii u, but i don't think that many people are on the market for a new one.

 

[SweetVermouth]

You're misunderstanding me. In the Wii U, digital games are tied to the console, you can't sell the console without the games

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That is not true. Doing a factory reset removes all games which I explained in the OP. But the games are still linked to my NNID which I still have.

 

[ThreepQuest64]

Ethically, sure. You bought the games and the hardware, probably played the hell out of it for years. You would run a business the console would be long written-off your books already (amortization) and had zero value. Can't speak for the legal system, though. I wouldn't care, though.

 

[Lant_War]

That is not true. Doing a factory reset removes all games which I explained in the OP. But the games are still linked to my NNID which I still have.

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Oh, alright. In that case it's fine I'd say.

 

[SharpX68K]

I don't think it really works like that. You bought a license to play it on their hardware.

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Technically that is true, but otherwise who gives a shit how one plays a Wii U game after the console is sold. Nobody is going to know or care if one day down the road you start playing those Wii U games again at you have, in an emulator on PC, or on another WiiU console.

If emulation goes against everything in your being, then don't use emulation. If emulating games that you already have the discs for doesn't bother you, then do so if you want to.

Time is always short, life is short. There are more important things to do (even within the context of gaming) than to debate the technical legality of emulators (emulators themselves are legal, pirating games is not).

 

[VonGreckler]

I'm not for obvious privacy reasons. That would be too much of a risk for me.

I know you can swap the tiles. Still when I wanted to play Zelda Wind Waker HD it said: Connect the Gamepad. It simply refuses to start the game without the gamepad. Try it yourself.

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Oh that's cause Wind Waker HD requires the game pad. I've started games like Smash and Hyrule Warriors without that issue.

 

[Ninhead]

Technically that is true, but otherwise who gives a shit how one plays a Wii U game after the console is sold. Nobody is going to know or care if one day down the road you start playing those Wii U games again at you have, in an emulator on PC, or on another WiiU console.

If emulation goes against everything in your being, then don't use emulation. If emulating games that you already have the discs for doesn't bother you, then do so if you want to.

Time is always short, life is short. There are more important things to do (even within the context of gaming) than to debate the technical legality of emulators (emulators themselves are legal, pirating games is not).

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That's up to the copyright holders to decide. Will you get penalized for doing it? Probably not. Saying that manufacturers and publishers don't give a shit is a bit of a stretch though.

 

[G_Zero]

It depends on where you live. I know that personal backups are legal in most of Europe.

 

[piratethingy]

There is no discussion possible in this topic besides semantic arguments and hypothetical legal arguments. Neither are worth anyone's time.

 

[weemadarthur]

When considered from the point of view of protecting the corporation from harm, you selling your hardware to a new user who may need to buy software for it is a net positive for Nintendo, as that user may buy games from their digital store (if still up) or from retailers who will order more.

If it was purchased for emulation purposes, then there's no net loss to Nintendo, because hobbyists are gonna hobby.

In theory the possible upside to nintendo keeping their noses out of it is higher than the potential downside of trying to get a legal precedent established, because they could lose that at any level and would certainly have to budget for legal fees on the subject.

Just some random thoughts.

 

[Honome]

If you live in Japan you will probably go to jail for that! And than to Hell! And than maybe you even go to jail while you are in Hell!!!

 

[Cbrun44]

Personally, I'd just keep the WiiU... Every single time I have sold a system in the past, I've ultimately regretted it down the line.

 

[Mendrox]

Actually it isn't, you can get one from GameStop for $80-90. I was looking into getting one again to play through Wind Waker, TWP, 3D World and a few other games. I keep hoping these would come to the Switch but nothing yet.

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Seems to be different in America then. Was able to sell my Wii U in Germany for 240€ without games lol

 

[SweetVermouth]

What I don't understand is people saying: "I ripped them and sold all my games but I still play them anyway". Like at that point what is the difference between that and simply downloading a rom?

At this point most of the worthwhile library is/will be ported to Switch anyway,

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I doubt that games like Bomberman 64 are coming to Switch. Just think about how long it took Nintendo to bring SNES games to Switch also I'm not spending money on them again lol.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

Honestly aslong as you ripped the games yourself, don't sell your digital account and keep your physical games I say morally there's nothing bad about selling your Wii U hardware.

 

[borat]

Yes.

Anybody who says no is a corporate bootlicker.

 

[PassiveObserver]

I'm in the market for a WiiU. Is it the black model? $90 shipped, how does that sound?

 

[EllipsisBreak]

Format shifting and backing up legally owned content is protected by multiple court cases in the U.S. although recent laws do prevent "circumventing DRM" it has yet to have have any compelling court cases that I'm aware of attempt to see how far that goes and in what specific scenarios it applies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Corp._of_America_v._Universal_City_Studios,_Inc

.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment,_Inc._v._Connectix_Corp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_v._Accolade

There are more than these but using your personally made backup is protected under fair use and unless a new court case adds a new wrinkle to the interpretation of the law this remains true in the U.S.

Click to shrink...

This. There's nothing wrong with playing your games on a different device than the one they were made for, and you don't have to own the intended device to be allowed to do that. OP, you're fine.

Although, if you ever buy any more games, you will have trouble ripping those without an actual Wii U disc drive.

 

[Rookhelm]

If you bought the games digitally (I know, buying a license isn't buying the game, but whatevs), but ripped them yourself, i don't think you should worry too much about emulating them on your own stuff. It might be against TOS, but eh, you're not sharing or downloading from a share site, so I think you can rest easy.

 

[SweetVermouth]

I'm in the market for a WiiU. Is it the black model? $90 shipped, how does that sound?

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It's the black model but I already have someone who wants it, thanks.

 

[PassiveObserver]

It's the black model but I already have someone who wants it, thanks.

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lol all good. Been eyeing the Gamestop offer for $89.99 but figured your console would be in better shape than I can get playing the Gamestop roulette.

 

[HOTSPUR]

don't beat yourself over this, use CEMU.

nintendo doesn't support the wii U and likely doesn't give an ounce of a shit what you do with the console. (its almost 7 years old and its been dead for 3+)

I wouldn't feel bad playing devil's third when im not going to spend $30 on a license for a dead console and the disc costs $100+


crucify me for it, I spend way too much money on this industry to feel bad about playing 'abandonware' (or similar) and backups of games I own. I could care less if companies want me to emulate their games, sony refuses to put ps1/ps2/ps3 games on ps4 and until they have a good bc solution I'll just keep playing older games (that I own) on pc.

 

[HOTSPUR]

lol all good. Been eyeing the Gamestop offer for $89.99 but figured your console would be in better shape than I can get playing the Gamestop roulette.

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I actually got a great condition console from GS before this deal for $125 (black wii u complete + splatoon smash and mario kart 8). smalllll knick in the gamepad screen but not a deal breaker by any means.

 

[nomemorial]

What I don't understand is people saying: "I ripped them and sold all my games but I still play them anyway". Like at that point what is the difference between that and simply downloading a rom?

I doubt that games like Bomberman 64 are coming to Switch. Just think about how long it took Nintendo to bring SNES games to Switch also I'm not spending money on them again lol.

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I moreso meant specifically Wii U titles. I am so used to people emulating older titles that it didn't even cross my mind.

 

[Ororo]

The games arw actually tied to the console, whoever buys the Wii u and goes to the eshop Will be able to redownload the games you bought for free even if it's a new NNID that is made

 

[SweetVermouth]

The games arw actually tied to the console, whoever buys the Wii u and goes to the eshop Will be able to redownload the games you bought for free even if it's a new NNID that is made

Click to shrink...

People keep saying this and I respond that they are wrong... Then who is in the right? How would they be able to re-download my games when my NNID is not on it and all other traces of my games were deleted when I did a factory reset?

Then the eshop must look for the sku instead of the NNID for purchases? If that is the case I will just sell it with all the games since the next owner can just re-download them.
But then it's super confusing because it also says I could link my NNID to another console and have all games transfered over so they must be on my NNID too.

I blame Nintendo for this stupidity. All I actually want is sell the console. It's like selling a SNES but keeping the games so I'm legally allowed to play my personal rom dumps I made.

 

[Ororo]

People keep saying this and I respond that they are wrong... Then who is in the right? How would they be able to re-download my games when my NNID is not on it and all other traces of my games were deleted when I did a factory reset?

Then the eshop must look for the sku instead of the NNID for purchases? If that is the case I will just sell it with all the games since the next owner can just re-download them.
But then it's super confusing because it also says I could link my NNID to another console and have all games transfered over so they must be on my NNID too.

I blame Nintendo for this stupidity. All I actually want is sell the console. It's like selling a SNES but keeping the games so I'm legally allowed to play my personal rom dumps I made.

Click to shrink...

I factory resetted my Wii u and was surprised when I got to the eshop everything was redownloadable

 

[Nano-Nandy]

People keep saying this and I respond that they are wrong... Then who is in the right? How would they be able to re-download my games when my NNID is not on it and all other traces of my games were deleted when I did a factory reset?

Then the eshop must look for the sku instead of the NNID for purchases? If that is the case I will just sell it with all the games since the next owner can just re-download them.
But then it's super confusing because it also says I could link my NNID to another console and have all games transfered over so they must be on my NNID too.

I blame Nintendo for this stupidity. All I actually want is sell the console. It's like selling a SNES but keeping the games so I'm legally allowed to play my personal rom dumps I made.

Click to shrink...

While the games are tied to the NNID, it still linked to the console you bought them. You need to call Nintendo to unlink it fully.

Otherwise if you sell it with the games and then call Nintendo to remove the link of that account, the buyer will lose access to said games.

 

[Bigwombat]

Who cares. Play the games.

Click to shrink...

Yup. Ethnically Nintendo of all companies doesn't have a leg to stand on with piracy after charging you 60 times to play SMB3 on different systems. Ps/Xbox are held to different standards in terms of backwards compatibility and it's pretty hypocritical of Nintendo to take any high ground.

Just make sure Metallica doesn't see you rip a rom!

 

[packy17]

Emulation is legal.

 

[Theswweet]

I rip PS3 games on my CFW system to play on RPCS3. This is basically the same situation, no shame.

 

[Deleted member 31873]

Yeah, you're right to do that. What's right and what's legal are not necessarily the same thing.

 

[Deleted member 14663]

It baffles me what some people worry about.

 

[Tribal_Cult]

I'm calling the gaming police as we speak

 

[Banzai]

I remember PS2 emulators needing a legit BIOS from a real console to work, does Cemu work that way as well?

 

[Deleted member 8593]

Not sure I'd want to risk this with Nintendo ninja being everywhere.

Spoiler

nobody will give a flying fuck

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

Nintendo collected your money and the licenses are tied to your account.
Play them however you wish. You don't need anyone's approval.

 

[Wink784]

Legally who knows. Morally I see no reason why you shouldn't feel free to do so.

 

[Calverz]

That is illegal. Please publicly apologise and bow.