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I emailed NOA, and they got back to me (eshop account system)....

ClovingWestbrook said:
But you can file a police report so it's all good.
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It's not good, but it is workable to not lose all your games. It could stand to be a lot better, though.

Edit:
A police report is paperwork. I don't think you need to call 911 to have an officer come to the Subway you lost it at. I'd imagine that you could go to the precinct and have one of the administrative assistants put it together with you. Yes, it's a hassle, and yes, it should be better. The main point is that you're not losing all your downloaded games if you lose your 3DS and are willing to go through the trouble to get the paperwork done to prove it.
 
Petrae said:
Point being that if you forget the device somewhere, reporting it stolen is kind of disingenuous. It's like losing your wallet or your sunglasses. Hard to claim something stolen if you lose it first.
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I mean... Lets be realistic.. whether stolen or not.. The cops arent looking for a damn 3DS game system. There's just way too much important shit goin on that they need to deal with. I don't blame them.

Nintendo's policy is frankly a waste of our time and law enforcement's time too.
 
I bought all the DLCs for Fire Emblem Awakening and around 10 E-Shop games.

Now I worry somewhat about my 3DS possibly breaking, since you can bet your ass that Nintendo wouldn't help me considering where I live.

Heh.
 
DigitalOp said:
I mean... Lets be realistic.. whether stolen or not.. The cops arent looking for a damn 3DS game system. There's just way too much important shit goin on that they need to deal with. I don't blame them.

Nintendo's policy is frankly a waste of our time and law enforcement's time too.
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Well at least it keeps them away from donuts.
 
DigitalOp said:
I mean... Lets be realistic.. whether stolen or not.. The cops arent looking for a damn 3DS game system. There's just way too much important shit goin on that they need to deal with. I don't blame them.

Nintendo's policy is frankly a waste of our time and law enforcement's time too.
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Of course not. If you're wasting a police officer's time by filing a report because of your own irresponsibility which did no damage to anyone else but yourself, you ought to have to pay a fee to do in order to compensate for the time wasted. Nintendo will get its report, the police get something for their trouble, and the irresponsible person learns a valuable lesson.
 
mentalfloss said:
Well at least it keeps them away from donuts.
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Ha Good One, Its just so backwards for me..

When I get my 3DS, I wanted to check out Crimson Shroud and all the cool Eshop stuff but Im seriously in a paranoia that if something was to happen, they'd be gone.

I just refuse having to fight for shit I rightfully purchased. I won't partake in it.

Petrae said:
Of course not. If you're wasting a police officer's time by filing a report because of your own irresponsibility which did no damage to anyone else but yourself, you ought to have to pay a fee to do in order to compensate for the time wasted. Nintendo will get its report, the police get something for their trouble, and the irresponsible person learns a valuable lesson.
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Yup, That they need to join a circus with less hoops
 
donny2112 said:
It's not good, but it is workable to not lose all your games. It could stand to be a lot better, though.

Edit:
A police report is paperwork. I don't think you need to call 911 to have an officer come to the Subway you lost it at. I'd imagine that you could go to the precinct and have one of the administrative assistants put it together with you. Yes, it's a hassle, and yes, it should be better. The main point is that you're not losing all your downloaded games if you lose your 3DS and are willing to go through the trouble to get the paperwork done to prove it.
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When I did it, all I did was a counter report. I filled out the form and the officer on duty (notarized) it. They gave me a copy and I e-mailed that to Nintendo. Done.
 
Petrae said:
Of course not. If you're wasting a police officer's time by filing a report because of your own irresponsibility which did no damage to anyone else but yourself, you ought to have to pay a fee to do in order to compensate for the time wasted. Nintendo will get its report, the police get something for their trouble, and the irresponsible person learns a valuable lesson.
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I'm pretty sure the person who lost their item will learn their lesson when (if) the have to buy a new one, lol
 
Petrae said:
Of course not. If you're wasting a police officer's time by filing a report because of your own irresponsibility which did no damage to anyone else but yourself, you ought to have to pay a fee to do in order to compensate for the time wasted. Nintendo will get its report, the police get something for their trouble, and the irresponsible person learns a valuable lesson.
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blaming the customer for nintendo's fuck up.
 
big_erk said:
When I did it, all I did was a counter report. I filled out the form and the officer on duty (notarized) it. They gave me a copy and I e-mailed that to Nintendo. Done.
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Cool. Glad to hear it wasn't a big deal to get one. Good for future reference (for more than just a 3DS :lol ).

The response by the customer service rep that started this thread is really weird. Maybe it's their stock response, but they really let anyone with a police report get their games back with a copy of the report? Haven't heard of anyone being denied the games with the police report, which is what the CS response would indicate they would do. Strange.
 
donny2112 said:
Just so we're clear...

1. Lose your system? Buy a new system, file a police report, send police report to Nintendo, redownload all your games.
2. System stolen? Buy a new system, file a police report, send police report to Nintendo, redownload all your games.
3. Changing to a new 3DS system? Use system transfer utility up to five times lifetime per account, and contact Nintendo support about transferring thereafter (may need to send both systems to them after the five time limit).
4. Selling your system with no new 3DS to replace it? You lose all your games.
5. Don't have a system? Can't buy any games from the eShop.
Edit:
6. System break? Send to Nintendo to fix. If in warranty, no cost. If out of warranty, some cost. Keep access to all your games.

While 1, 2, and 3 (past five transfers) is a hassle that is not as good as it can be, it's completely workable for a 3DS bought in your territory. Import systems may be at issue, but then import systems for region-locked Nintendo handhelds are an issue, anyways.

So basically beyond some extra hassle (which is resolvable, but would require fundamental changes in how Nintendo handles download games, such as requiring online play to access games on another system), the only unresolvable issue (if you're willing to go through the extra hassle) is #4. If you're going a period without a 3DS, at all, you lose your games with no way to get them back.

That about sum it up?
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Speaking as someone who's not from the States (Saudi Arabia here), if either 1 or 2 occurs and I attempted to file a police report, I will be laughed at all the way to the door, maybe with some spit stuck in my eyes. It's not a mere inconvenience as much as a downright impossibility. None of this would've happen if there was an account system in place.

And this is what annoys me the most about their approach and about everyone shrugging this as a non-issue, it's like neither Nintendo nor some of the more ardent fans account for people like me living in remote parts of the world.

Cue #dealwithit and "why would I wanna live in that place?"
 
donny2112 said:
Just so we're clear...

1. Lose your system? Buy a new system, file a police report, send police report to Nintendo, redownload all your games.
2. System stolen? Buy a new system, file a police report, send police report to Nintendo, redownload all your games.
3. Changing to a new 3DS system? Use system transfer utility up to five times lifetime per account, and contact Nintendo support about transferring thereafter (may need to send both systems to them after the five time limit).
4. Selling your system with no new 3DS to replace it? You lose all your games.
5. Don't have a system? Can't buy any games from the eShop.
Edit:
6. System break? Send to Nintendo to fix. If in warranty, no cost. If out of warranty, some cost. Keep access to all your games.
Click to expand...

afaik, losing your system and then telling the police it was stolen is kinda illegal.

I'll quote the official nintendo response btw, in response to your post.

Official Nintendo Official said:
Thank you for writing. I'll be happy to answer your questions regarding virtual content on the Nintendo 3DS. All virtual content downloaded on the Nintendo 3DS is tied to the system itself. As our warranty doesn't cover lost or stolen game cards and systems, if this were to happen regardless of your games being virtual or you owning the physical copies, they would not be covered for replacement.
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That is what their policy is despite the rantings of random internet posters, cuz you know, telling them 'but a guy on gaf said...' isn't guaranteed to work.
 
Some firsthand experience with Nintendo and this policy:

The first 3DS I purchased was broken. All games I owned, digital and cartridge would crash after about 5 minutes of playing. I couldn't find any similar errors online. I sent the system in for repairs and they did not fix it. This took 1.5 weeks. I called support and they told me send it again. This time it was on the other side of the country so it would take 5 days to get there, 1 week in repairs and 5 days back.

I had my 3DS for a total of 36 hours. So I said fuck it and took it back to Target. Nintendo had told me to do a system transfer AT Target to ensure I could keep my games. Target's internet sucks. Extremely slow and would time-out sporadically. The system transfer took 3 hours, yes, 3 hours of waiting in Target. It failed on the last section. At this point I was just pissed.

I took the new 3DS home and called Nintendo. They pretty much told me to fuck off the first time. Called again. After much complaining I got transferred to a supervisor. She was able to add the appropriate funds to my account to redowload a game I bought and give me a new download code for super mario 3d land (got it through a promotion) in about 10 seconds. She told me they're making an exception for me but it was in the TOS that only a system transfer will move games.

Nintendo needs a better account system.
 
I find it funny and sad at the same time that the Nintendo Support guy played dumb and completely dodged OP's main question/point.
 
Ziek said:
Some firsthand experience with Nintendo and this policy:

The first 3DS I purchased was broken. All games I owned, digital and cartridge would crash after about 5 minutes of playing. I couldn't find any similar errors online. I sent the system in for repairs and they did not fix it. This took 1.5 weeks. I called support and they told me send it again. This time it was on the other side of the country so it would take 5 days to get there, 1 week in repairs and 5 days back.

I had my 3DS for a total of 36 hours. So I said fuck it and took it back to Target. Nintendo had told me to do a system transfer AT Target to ensure I could keep my games. Target's internet sucks. Extremely slow and would time-out sporadically. The system transfer took 3 hours, yes, 3 hours of waiting in Target. It failed on the last section. At this point I was just pissed.

I took the new 3DS home and called Nintendo. They pretty much told me to fuck off the first time. Called again. After much complaining I got transferred to a supervisor. She was able to add the appropriate funds to my account to redowload a game I bought and give me a new download code for super mario 3d land (got it through a promotion) in about 10 seconds. She told me they're making an exception for me but it was in the TOS that only a system transfer will move games.

Nintendo needs a better account system.
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And part of the reason they have this system is that they know a large percentage of people won't complain enough to get satisfaction. Good for you that you did.
 
I don't know how anyone can defend Nintendo's policy for this.

It's scary, you know, to think that I will lose all my digital purchases, few as it may be, if I break my 3DS or something happens beyond my capacity to control that breaks the 3DS.
 
Laughing Banana said:
It's scary, you know, to think that I will lose all my digital purchases, few as it may be, if I break my 3DS or something happens beyond my capacity to control that breaks the 3DS.
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Yeah for imported systems, I doubt Nintendo would be willing to do much considering how cut-and-dry they are with the Club Nintendo account for someone outside the Club Nintendo territory. :(
 
Oersted said:
Digital downloads of Wii and DSi are the same regarding cash. Same thing applies to 3DS and WiiU.



I asked for a fixed ( not just better) system. The way those unified accounts are handled today is illegal and anti-consumer. That is why I say they are not good and we are far away from an actual fixed system. Since then, attacks happened, especially by Westbrook, who tries to put words in my mouth.
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If you are in a different time zone are just haven't checked back then disregard this post. If this isn't the case and you are once again avoiding my simple question then don't be surprised when I assume that you defend the current Nintendo policy. All you have had to say is 'No, I don't support this policy of Nintendo's'.
 
But how does owning physical copies of games prevent the same issue ? If they are stolen or lost your also shit out of luck ...
 
goomba said:
But how does owning physical copies of games prevent the same issue ?
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You lose one physical game+system vs. losing an entire digital library+system. Now if all you cared about was the game, digital is actually better (:lol), as Nintendo will let you redownload on a new system with a police report, whereas you'd be having to buy the game again with physical.

The main issue is that other digital systems handle this much, much, much simpler for the consumer than Nintendo. Nintendo will let you get the games back (probably not for importers, though :( ), but they make you do the extra work of getting a police report and contacting Customer Support to do so, whereas other systems just let you login and redownload the games.
 
Oersted said:
Did you actually follow the discussion? I asked someone how a fixed system would look like for him, Westbrook brought up Steam/PSN and Co. I explained why they are not good examples of doing it right.
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Yes, because you were trying to derail the conversation. We went over that already.

Let's get it back on track. What are your feelings, specifically, on Nintendo's account policies here, and how they affect their customers? Don't mention anything about backwards compatibility or resale of digital titles, only multi-system access policies.
 
I've gone all digital for my Vita and completely boycott spending any money on eshop due to Nintendo's insanely backwards policy
 
Nintendo is about the worst, consumer screwing company in the business when it comes to digital accounts and services. Definitively archaic. They're the only one I can think of that seems to adopt this weird physical-like policy when it comes to digital content. As in, you buy it digitally, and download it, but the data you possess is still viewed as a physical good. If it "breaks" or is "lost" along with your system, just as if you'd lost a physical video game, you're shit out of luck.

It's inexcusable and indefensible. Nobody else does it the way they do it, because nobody is that fucking stupid.
 
The real reason that Nintendo is doing this isn't because of their network being malnourished, it's because they don't want folks lending account information to effectively copy games.

With Steam, you can have a friend log In with your account name (or log in for them), download all the single player games purchased on that account, and then stay in Offline Mode indefinitely. Now you and your friend can play, say, Bioshock Infinite by just having purchased one copy.

Now for PC and online-focused consoles, there are good reasons to steer players away from this sort of behavior, but those reasons really don't exist on the 3DS. Very few games have online play as a significant draw, and copying/distributing games among friends with shared account information would probably be much more prevalent for such a single-player focused device.

I'm definitely not defending it, but I can see why Nintendo would want to put off "evolving" their digital content distribution systems as long as possible.
 
EatChildren said:
They're the only one I can think of that seems to adopt this weird physical-like policy when it comes to digital content. As in, you buy it digitally, and download it, but the data you possess is still viewed as a physical good. If it "breaks" or is "lost" along with your system, just as if you'd lost a physical video game, you're shit out of luck.
Click to expand...
That's a pretty good way of putting it.
 
donny2112 said:
That about sum it up?
Click to expand...

That Nintendo creates additional insane bureaucratic barriers in your way (filing a police report -- i.e. a huge waste of both your own time and that of the police), places arbitrary numeric limits on you (like the five-time lifetime transfer limit), and doesn't help you at all in some scenarios that every one of their competitors do (i.e. selling a system and rebuying it later or having an import system)? Yes, I think that about covers it.

DigitalOp said:
Can anybody tell me WHY they do this practice? What's in it for them?
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The generous answer is laziness and/or inability to successfully implement such a system. The less generous answer is that it saves them some money to not implement an account system and makes them some money on the margins when people have to rebuy their own games.
 
man I totally forgot that the Miiverse is supposed to hit 3DS this year

it's now or never nintendo

unify your shit
 
LumpOfCole said:
The real reason that Nintendo is doing this isn't because of their network being malnourished, it's because they don't want folks lending account information to effectively copy games.

With Steam, you can have a friend log In with your account name (or log in for them), download all the single player games purchased on that account, and then stay in Offline Mode indefinitely. Now you and your friend can play, say, Bioshock Infinite by just having purchased one copy.

Now for PC and online-focused consoles, there are good reasons to steer players away from this sort of behavior, but those reasons really don't exist on the 3DS. Very few games have online play as a significant draw, and copying/distributing games among friends with shared account information would probably be much more prevalent for such a single-player focused device.

I'm definitely not defending it, but I can see why Nintendo would want to put off "evolving" their digital content distribution systems as long as possible.
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so just copy Sony's system then, they allow you to download and play on only 2 activated systems (2 consoles, 2 handhelds)
 
LumpOfCole said:
The real reason that Nintendo is doing this isn't because of their network being malnourished, it's because they don't want folks lending account information to effectively copy games.
Click to expand...

This is easy to solve. In fact, Microsoft already solved it: allow the original system on which the game was downloaded play it freely, but on any other system only allow it to be played while the account in question is logged in.
 
Buy carts, sell them on ebay/CL when you are done -> Nintendo makes less money. Fuck it buy used carts and resell them. Digital is too risky on a portable system that is more prone to theft/loss.
 
donny2112 said:
Just so we're clear...

That about sum it up?
Click to expand...

Yep. Thanks for providing a better example than OP could hope to provide of why Nintendo's policies are so terrible and proving that there really is no way to defend them even when you try. "Extra hassle," heh.
 
Mileena said:
I'll lose my shit if they put Miiverse on 3DS before an account system. No company is that dumb.
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I mean ideal scenario: 3DS Miiverse introduces the account thing, having both consoles communicating through an online account that is also linked to your purchases

bonus: some of your one-sided virtual console purchases (like some NES games) are playable both on WiiU and 3DS after buying them once

likeliness of it happening: 0.00001%
 
SalsaShark said:
I mean ideal scenario: 3DS Miiverse introduces the account thing, having both consoles communicating through an online account that is also linked to your purchases

bonus: some of your one-sided virtual console purchases (like some NES games) are playable both on WiiU and 3DS after buying them once

likeliness of it happening: 0.00001%
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Likely scenario: You can only use one Nintendo ID on a 3DS and, just like with the Wii U, it cannot be unpaired from the system. If you deactivate it or lose/have the system stolen, tough luck!
 
Someone with good verbal skills should really start a some sort of petition against this Nintendo digital distribution madness. I don't believe even Nintendo realizes how wrong they are doing it. I'm so amazed that Nintendo pulls this kind of shit of in 2013 and most consumers don't even care. I think this does even seriously violate against current consumer protection act laws and still it goes by.

I don't buy anything digital for 3DS, but would love to because it's so convenient with handheld, also missing some great indies boycotting :|
 
LumpOfCole said:
The real reason that Nintendo is doing this isn't because of their network being malnourished, it's because they don't want folks lending account information to effectively copy games.

With Steam, you can have a friend log In with your account name (or log in for them), download all the single player games purchased on that account, and then stay in Offline Mode indefinitely. Now you and your friend can play, say, Bioshock Infinite by just having purchased one copy.
L
Now for PC and online-focused consoles, there are good reasons to steer players away from this sort of behavior, but those reasons really don't exist on the 3DS. Very few games have online play as a significant draw, and copying/distributing games among friends with shared account information would probably be much more prevalent for such a single-player focused device.

I'm definitely not defending it, but I can see why Nintendo would want to put off "evolving" their digital content distribution systems as long as possible.
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And why is that Sony and MS already solved this years ago?

It's not evolving, its doing things the right way that could benefit their customers too. But Nintendo is either dumb or that smart because they know some of their fans will double dip when they cant easily retrieve their purchased games.

Not to mention their fans having no problem with this kind of shit.
 
This is why I buy as little as possible on the eshop unfortunately, but nintendo will have to change it soon. Cause if more of the average consumer finds out, they will be pissed.
 
This is why I cringe every time I see people happily proclaiming that they've gone digital on Nintendo systems. I'm a huge DD fan but Nintendo have got it so badly wrong that they really shouldn't be supported by any informed consumer.
 
goomba said:
But how does owning physical copies of games prevent the same issue ? If they are stolen or lost your also shit out of luck ...
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But even if you lost all your games, by that time a used copy of all of it would be dirt cheap. Not the case for digital.
 
yeah this needs to be fixed and more pressure on Nintendo should be applied to get an Account System not tied to hardware

still downloading digitally though because I think they cannot stay this stupid for long a fix is coming
 
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