Wii Speak Channel will only work with new purchases |
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| BY Se Ajala Nov. 13th, 2008 | More on: |
The gaming industry has been at clear odds with the pre-owned market. With stores like Gamestop posting record profits on the strength of re-sells, it was only a matter of time before companies started striking back. Add Nintendo to the growing list of companies that are looking for ways to be the sole financial recipients off of their properties, as the company has announced that the Wii Speak Channel will only be available to those who purchase the mic brand new. And there is absolutely no way around this, as Nintendo will not be giving out additional codes for the channel, and you will not be able to purchase it through the Wii Shop Channel.
As of right now there has been no word from Nintendo on whether there will be an alternative solution offered to Wii Speak mics that were purchased used. The safe bet is just to get the mic brand new, after all that’s the only certain way you can be sure to gain access to the Wii Speak Channel and all of the included perks.
November 14th, 2008
at 1:45 pm
As much as I understand what Nintendo is trying to do, they’re not doing it with the right product. This is a piece of hardware which requires some simple software to function in a game (e.g. Animal Crossing). If it were a game which came with a special character or set of maps for first time purchasers then great, but this essentially prevents this piece of hardware from functioning. There are a ton of reasons to sell something like this. To completely eliminate it’s functionality just because you’re not the first owner is just asinine. Eliminating the ability to get the special character or maps makes a lot more sense since you’re still able to play the game in it’s entirety, you just don’t get all the perks of a first purchaser.
November 14th, 2008
at 2:31 pm
I don’t do resale, but this is the kind of product i think is perfect for it. Games can get tricky as i think the developers deserve money for their hard work but here you’ve got something that isn’t really a piece of work or art.