Confirmed: Impossible to transfer Virtual Console games between Wiis

Wolfpup

Wolfpup

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Finally got a response from Nintendo, and they confirmed there's no method to transfer Virtual Console games (and possibly even game saves?) between Wiis. If you have a unit repaired by Nintendo, they'll change what Wii the games are associated with, but other than that you're out of luck.

Makes me further hesitant to get a Wii (although at least if they repair it you're okay-but you can't ever buy a "Wii Lite/SP" or whatever).
 
Game saves can be transferred between Wiis. There is an entire website devoted to sharing them over the internet.

If the sole reason that you don't want to purchase a Wii is because you can't play Donkey Kong for NES at your friends house, I feel bad you for.

As far as not being able to play previously downloaded VC games on a redesigned Wii, Nintendo will have a method. Just like you can transfer your old DS settings to a DS Lite so you don't use your online records, etc.
 
My only concern would be "long term". Just like many people have gone through 2 or 3 PS2's....I wonder what happens IF the Wii has issues like that what NOA will do for it's customers. I'll bet they'll have a plan, of some sort, in place for that eventuallity. Right now, while the warrenty period is still active, it's no big deal. But once it expires, there comes a point where it's cheaper to buy a new console than it is to ship it to Nintendo, pay for repairs/replacement, and ship it back.....
 
[quote name='Sleepkyng']playstations need to be replaced, nintendo products don't - still own my first n64, snes, gamecube[/QUOTE]

But what if you want to sell the white one to get one of the different colors? That's what bothers me about the VC games.
 
If you associate the Wii with your MyNintendo account all of your VC purchases show up in the list of games you own on the MyNintendo.com site. There is an option in the Wiii menu to break the MyNintendo association and erase all of your content from the Wii (it even mentions you should do this if you sell the Wii.) I would think that if you do that and associate a new Wii with your MyNintendo account you could download the VC games to the new system.
 
Yeah, we all knew you wouldn't be able to take VC games around due to the Wii association, but if you get a new one or it breaks you'll be able to transfer them somehow.

Just take the Wii if you want to play your VC games at some other guy's house, it weighs like an ounce :p.
 
[quote name='Sleepkyng']playstations need to be replaced, nintendo products don't - still own my first n64, snes, gamecube[/quote]

Me, too, actually. But with the PS2, it was (for me) the optical drives that failed. In the case of the n64 and snes....that wasn't an issue.

In the case of the GC, for me at least, I suspect it was a case of use level. I used my GC far less than I used by PS2...so I would expect the drive to last longer.

Though I'll agree that Nintendo scores very high on the reliability scale and, hopefully, it won't ever be much of an issue.
 
If you associate the Wii with your MyNintendo account all of your VC purchases show up in the list of games you own on the MyNintendo.com site. There is an option in the Wiii menu to break the MyNintendo association and erase all of your content from the Wii (it even mentions you should do this if you sell the Wii.) I would think that if you do that and associate a new Wii with your MyNintendo account you could download the VC games to the new system.
Click to expand...

Been over this a million times. Call Nintendo, tell them the old system SKU, then the new system SKU. End of problem.
Click to expand...

I would suspect, in the long run, that's what we're going to find out: Nintendo has a relatively easy way to work around this in extreme cases.
 
[quote name='pilferk']My only concern would be "long term". Just like many people have gone through 2 or 3 PS2's....I wonder what happens IF the Wii has issues like that what NOA will do for it's customers. I'll bet they'll have a plan, of some sort, in place for that eventuallity. Right now, while the warrenty period is still active, it's no big deal. But once it expires, there comes a point where it's cheaper to buy a new console than it is to ship it to Nintendo, pay for repairs/replacement, and ship it back.....[/QUOTE]

Exactly. And I'd rather buy a new console for $100 or whatever, than pay $80 for a refurbished one.

[quote name='ZoneFighter']If you associate the Wii with your MyNintendo account all of your VC purchases show up in the list of games you own on the MyNintendo.com site. There is an option in the Wiii menu to break the MyNintendo association and erase all of your content from the Wii (it even mentions you should do this if you sell the Wii.) I would think that if you do that and associate a new Wii with your MyNintendo account you could download the VC games to the new system.[/QUOTE]

According to Nintendo that doesn't work. There SHOULD just be a "deauthorize" button on the Wii, but it doesn't work like that.

[quote name='dothog']I don't understand why this was an expectation of Wii/VC to begin with.[/QUOTE]

Because it's something really basic and obvious for a DRM system. Apple handles it decently, and is really the only successful DRM implementation. You're throwing money away if you buy something you can't use once you change hardware.

[quote name='-Never4ever-']Been over this a million times. Call Nintendo, tell them the old system SKU, then the new system SKU. End of problem.[/QUOTE]

According to who? Not Nintendo. Doing that wouldn't deauthorize the first Wii.
 
[quote name='Puppy']Exactly. And I'd rather buy a new console for $100 or whatever, than pay $80 for a refurbished one.



According to Nintendo that doesn't work. There SHOULD just be a "deauthorize" button on the Wii, but it doesn't work like that.



Because it's something really basic and obvious for a DRM system. Apple handles it decently, and is really the only successful DRM implementation. You're throwing money away if you buy something you can't use once you change hardware.



According to who? Not Nintendo. Doing that wouldn't deauthorize the first Wii.[/QUOTE]

That was the answer I was given by Nintendo, first tell them the old SKU, then the new SKU. Problem solved.
 
Oooookay, that's not what they told me at all. They flat out said it's not possible unless you're sending it in for warranty service.
 
[quote name='Sleepkyng']playstations need to be replaced, nintendo products don't - still own my first n64, snes, gamecube[/QUOTE]
I had an original ps2 (fat one on launch day) and I never had to replace it.

However, I did trade it in for the new slim one with 5 games. I figured, why not...
 
[quote name='Puppy']Finally got a response from Nintendo, and they confirmed there's no method to transfer Virtual Console games (and possibly even game saves?) between Wiis. If you have a unit repaired by Nintendo, they'll change what Wii the games are associated with, but other than that you're out of luck.

Makes me further hesitant to get a Wii (although at least if they repair it you're okay-but you can't ever buy a "Wii Lite/SP" or whatever).[/QUOTE]

You must have completely missed the FAQ that's accessible from your Wii AND on Nintendo.com.
 
people may eventually find a way to hack it, maybe by taking the files off the SD card and patching them or something., or a homebrew boot program.
 
[quote name='-Never4ever-']That was the answer I was given by Nintendo, first tell them the old SKU, then the new SKU. Problem solved.[/QUOTE]

This is a slight missquote. Its old serial number, new serial number. The SKU for the Wii should stay the same.

However, Nintendo has already done this for the few unlucky folks to have bricked or otherwise damaged their Wii's during the first few updates.
 
[quote name='Vinny']But what if you want to sell the white one to get one of the different colors? That's what bothers me about the VC games.[/QUOTE]

for a different color? wtf? spraypaint it if you are that desperate for a different color. also you might as well stuff the wii with some white bread so you can have toast after the chemical explosion
 
[quote name='bmulligan']You must have completely missed the FAQ that's accessible from your Wii AND on Nintendo.com.[/QUOTE]


Okay, so where is this FAQ? Can you link to it? I couldn't find anything on their site about it, which is why I contacted them directly.
 
Bumping an old thread. I exchanged Wiis and following the instructions on nintendo.com, I unlinked my mynintendo account and formatted the Wii. I can see the VC games in my account on nintendo.com but there's no way to redownload them. None. I spent 30 minutes on the phone trying to get them to let me. They sent me a Zelda game guide (worth $6 more than the VC games I wanted them to replace) in their stead.

Now, I bought a used Wii with 4000 points on it. Can I unlink the previous owner's mynintendo account and keep the 4000 points there? That's $40 so I'd rather not. Any ideas?
 
[quote name='torifile']Bumping an old thread. I exchanged Wiis and following the instructions on nintendo.com, I unlinked my mynintendo account and formatted the Wii. I can see the VC games in my account on nintendo.com but there's no way to redownload them. None. I spent 30 minutes on the phone trying to get them to let me. They sent me a Zelda game guide (worth $6 more than the VC games I wanted them to replace) in their stead.

Now, I bought a used Wii with 4000 points on it. Can I unlink the previous owner's mynintendo account and keep the 4000 points there? That's $40 so I'd rather not. Any ideas?[/QUOTE]

id prefer you did... lol. Your games were deleted because you had a credit card on file and needed to delete that as well. I could just do it on the mynintendo.com site but figured ud doing it would be easier.
 
[quote name='BasketCase1080']id prefer you did... lol. Your games were deleted because you had a credit card on file and needed to delete that as well. I could just do it on the mynintendo.com site but figured ud doing it would be easier.[/quote]

Yeah yeah. ;) I just want to be sure before doing it.
 
[quote name='Sleepkyng']playstations need to be replaced, nintendo products don't - still own my first n64, snes, gamecube[/quote]


True for the N64, SNES or even the less powerful GC, but not the Wii...

I got a bit scared after reports of overheating Wii's video card (see the Wii graphic threads). I don't have this problem b/c i don't play my Wii more than two hours a day (i love to play more, but hey, i got other reponsibilities). However, if the Wii's graphic card problem is something Wii owners should concern about, i think a "new" Wii will be out later this year? If that's true, then people do want the VC games to be ported over, if not, what's the point?

Personally, i haven't purchase any VC games, 1. being a CAG, it costs too much 2. you can't really share it (i understand the logic behind this, but seriously, if Nintendo is releasing a better "Wii" later, i want to be able to play the already purchased VC games on the new Wii.)

Don't tell me not to look too far into the future... i brought my Wii b/c people said it's different and great things will come out for the Wii.
 
[quote name='-Never4ever-']Been over this a million times. Call Nintendo, tell them the old system SKU, then the new system SKU. End of problem.[/quote]exactly
 
He means the unique system number (not SKU), but has anyone on here actually done this? I know people have claimed that someone at Nintendo told them this, but we don't know if their CSR misunderstood or are guessing or whatever. So, has someone actually transferred their games?
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']He means the unique system number (not SKU), but has anyone on here actually done this? I know people have claimed that someone at Nintendo told them this, but we don't know if their CSR misunderstood or are guessing or whatever. So, has someone actually transferred their games?[/quote] I can tell you that I was told unequivocally by Nintendo that there's no way to transfer games without sending the system back to them and they'll transfer them to the other system for you. Did I give the CSR the serial numbers for the old and new Wiis? No, she didn't ask for them. Had she asked for them, they were readily available to both of us if she had wanted them. One was registered in mynintendo and the other was sitting next to my t.v.

I don't think it's possible for an end-user to do this. Boo, Nintendo. Shame on you. DRM gone bad.
 
Ok. Thanks for the clarification of what you were told. I'm just saying that there are people in this thread talking like they know it can be done, but it seems to be only hearsay so I was looking for more.
 
i haven't purchase any VC game and I used to played VC games on my friend WII. I wonder its OK i ask my friend download all his VC games on my DS card so i can playing it on my WII instead his Wii ??
 
[quote name='Masterkyo']i haven't purchase any VC game and I used to played VC games on my friend WII. I wonder its OK i ask my friend download all his VC games on my DS card so i can playing it on my WII instead his Wii ??[/QUOTE]

Jesus Christ...
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']Ok. Thanks for the clarification of what you were told. I'm just saying that there are people in this thread talking like they know it can be done, but it seems to be only hearsay so I was looking for more.[/QUOTE]


I had the same experience. I asked them every possible way of transferring games and they said no to all of them.


boo, indeed. it's a freaking online download that's verified by serial numbers, system numbers, registration, online profiles, credit card statements, etc. etc. etc. and they're still too paranoid to let people redownload their games. oh, and the games are almost 100% profit on top of that. sheesh. sorry for the mini rant.
 
I kind of figured this.

My Wii recently went "off center" fucking up the syetem so I had to send it in for repairs (god knows how that happened. I hardly touch it). They gave me 2 options. 1, fix the Wii I have and retain my VC games, or 2. give me a new Wii and lose the 80 bucks soaked into Wii points, lose my data and Mii's, etc etc. So I had to go with 1.


I'm sure though it won't be too long before they create some kind of system where you can move them from one to the next but prevent you from getting them back. I'm only going to DL the one's i'm 100% sure about playing for now, because if you go off and spend 10000 bucks on VC you could get screwed in the long run.
 
Cosmo dude, what exactly happened to your Wii? i hardly otuch mines and i wonder if that "off center" thingy gonna happen to my Wii....

rereading your post, you said you don't really know, but can you describe the "off center" problem a bit?
 
[quote name='Masterkyo']i haven't purchase any VC game and I used to played VC games on my friend WII. I wonder its OK i ask my friend download all his VC games on my DS card so i can playing it on my WII instead his Wii ??[/quote]

*sigh* where have you been?
1. no, you can't download VC games to the DS
2. no, you can't play your friend's VC games on your Wii
3. YOU CAN'T EVEN TRANSFER YOUR OWN VC GAMES TO YOUR 2ND Wii
 
err, correction, your could transfer the VC games around, but you can't play them except on the first Wii they're downloaded from, that's what i really meant...
 
The stupid thing is that you can copy VC games to an SD card but you can't get them off! (I know because I thought I had successfully backed up my games to the SD card - they showed up on the new Wii in the data management section - before I formatted the old Wii.)
 
This still blows my mind that NONE OF THE THREE companies have done this right.

YEARS before the 360 launched Apple got this pretty close to right.

You can authorize the hardware yourself, making the content you purchase work. Then ANY TIME YOU WANT you can DEAUTHORIZE your own hardware, letting you then authorize any other piece of hardware you want.

What is so hard about that that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft don't get it?

Are they intentionally just trying to rip us off? Like they think people are so stupid they'll buy this stuff, and then buy it a second time (and then a third time...)

I really hope they're losing sales from this. I have no problem with Nintendo's prices, and probably would have sunk $50 or more into Virtual Console games already...IF THEY HAD REASONABLE DRM!
 
Exactly. I can see them not wanting to foot the bandwidth bill again (just like Apple doesn't let you re-download) but to actively prevent someone from safeguarding their purchases by backing them up onto an SD card is just asinine. Why this hasn't gotten more press is beyond me.
 
[quote name='torifile']Exactly. I can see them not wanting to foot the bandwidth bill again (just like Apple doesn't let you re-download) but to actively prevent someone from safeguarding their purchases by backing them up onto an SD card is just asinine. Why this hasn't gotten more press is beyond me.[/QUOTE]

A lot of people (and press!) just seem to laugh it off for some reason. As though it's "totally outrageous" that we'd actually want to OWN THE CONTENT WE BUY and play it where we want.

I really don't care if we're allowed to download stuff again-especially on a platform like the Wii or PS3 where we can easily back stuff up. That wouldn't affect my purchase decision one way or the other-but I'm not buying stuff until I can use it on another console. I'm okay with a one time internet connection being required just to "activate" or "deactivate" the console (though I wonder if even that could be set up to alternatively be doable over the phone, reading off a string of numbers or something).

It pisses me off, because I feel like people "buying" all of this stuff are suckers. I wish the gaming community wouldn't even talk about these downloadable games until it's done right.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']This still blows my mind that NONE OF THE THREE companies have done this right.

YEARS before the 360 launched Apple got this pretty close to right.

You can authorize the hardware yourself, making the content you purchase work. Then ANY TIME YOU WANT you can DEAUTHORIZE your own hardware, letting you then authorize any other piece of hardware you want.[/quote]

I'll have to agree with you on that one.
 
[quote name='dothog']I don't understand why this was an expectation of Wii/VC to begin with.[/quote]

because 360 and ps3 offer it and it is a safety against the purchase. I don't want to buy a game and if my console craps out then i have to rebuy it.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']A lot of people (and press!) just seem to laugh it off for some reason. As though it's "totally outrageous" that we'd actually want to OWN THE CONTENT WE BUY and play it where we want.[/QUOTE]

That's why digital distribution and DRM suck ass and infringe on our ownership rights.

The reality is that if we don't do something about the growing trend to rent content out - and yes selling digital content that you have to rebuy if you lose, break, etc is effectively a rental - consumers won't own their own enterainment anymore.
 
[quote name='Scrubking']That's why digital distribution and DRM suck ass and infringe on our ownership rights.

The reality is that if we don't do something about the growing trend to rent content out - and yes selling digital content that you have to rebuy if you lose, break, etc is effectively a rental - consumers won't own their own enterainment anymore.[/QUOTE]

Yes! Glad I'm not the only one who realizes it's just a rental. I just wish more people got it. A lot of people don't seem to realize the problem until they get hit with it themselves.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Yes! Glad I'm not the only one who realizes it's just a rental. I just wish more people got it. A lot of people don't seem to realize the problem until they get hit with it themselves.[/QUOTE]
When you call it a rental, you really do a disservice to those of us who don't think that this type of DRM is good because it's NOT a rental. There's no time limit on how long you can use it. There's no additional charge if you wish to use it in perpetuity. When you call it a "rental" you set up a nice strawman argument for those who espouse this as a good thing to knock down.

You do own it, but with *very* tight restrictions. They need to loosen these up - that's the problem I've got with it.
 
[quote name='torifile']When you call it a rental, you really do a disservice to those of us who don't think that this type of DRM is good because it's NOT a rental. There's no time limit on how long you can use it. There's no additional charge if you wish to use it in perpetuity. When you call it a "rental" you set up a nice strawman argument for those who espouse this as a good thing to knock down.

You do own it, but with *very* tight restrictions. They need to loosen these up - that's the problem I've got with it.[/QUOTE]

I suppose that's fair enough, though you certainly don't own anything "purchased" through those three systems. I've sometimes referred to it as an "extended rental", since that's basically what it is. Probably needs a new word.

Crap would work. I get so mad every time I see a new thread on here about some DRMed game, and people fawning over themselves to "buy" it.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Yes! Glad I'm not the only one who realizes it's just a rental. I just wish more people got it. [/quote]

We "get it," we just refuse to accept that instead of lying down and being tools.
 
I really like how the people who are complaining about this/refuse to buy such things suddenly act like those of us that do are somehow retarded or something.
 
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