Nintendo Downloaded Super Mario Bros from Internet

[Saiyan Lusitano]

This is kind of a shocker. Nintendo should be able to have copies of their own games than to download roms ported to PC by others. Now, with this known it just makes the Mini NES and VC NES roms kind of dull and pointless ever so more.

 

[Rick Astley]

If they own the original game, i'm okay
if not, god this is a problem, gonna call some lawyers!!

 

[InsaneNutter]

Now, with this known it just makes the Mini NES and VC NES roms kind of dull and pointless ever so more.

How does it make them pointless? people are buying the Mini NES and VC NES games as they wish to play NES games on that platform.

Sure given Nintendo's stance on roms it is hypocritical, i can't really see how it changes anything else though.

 

[Bent]

People have known the VC uses iNES headers for as long as NAND dumps were possible on Wii.
Someone makes a YouTube video about it almost 10 years later and a bunch of sites act like it's breaking news.

Exactly. We noticed this years ago at no-intro when analyzing the NES roms in Animal Crossing. At this point, an iNES header is a convenient way to describe an NES cart dump, and is the most widely supported. It makes sense Nintendo would use the format. Interestingly, in Animal Crossing there is an FDS game, when that was analyzed it used a different format that most other FDS game dumps, and had to be reverse engineered. They must not have felt the community format was adequate, which is now the general feeling about the old FDS dumps.

 

[sarkwalvein]

This is kind of a shocker. Nintendo should be able to have copies of their own games than to download roms ported to PC by others. Now, with this known it just makes the Mini NES and VC NES roms kind of dull and pointless ever so more.

Why?
It is the same shit, they are only using the iNES format because it was easier to do so.
They didn't even make the emulators, it is all outsourced.
Probably the developers of the emulators were already familiar with the iNES format.
Sure it was cheaper to get the ROM already in that format that to reconvert whatever format Nintendo stores it in.
It is still an emulator machine, designed by a third company (not Nintendo) and paid by Nintendo.
How does it make it more or less dull if they use iNES headers? It is as dull as it always was. It doesn't change a thing.

 

[GreenUFO13]

Though I am the last one to praise the VC emulation for anything really, and this may speak to a certain mindset that is pervasive within that, I am not seeing the gain for them to build a dumping tool or, assuming it was hard, go through procurement for the ROM images over downloading it.
At least when official game support forums suggest cracked versions (usually when some beleaguered intern they have manning it slips up), or somewhere like gog uses a cracked version we can have a little giggle. This really does seem like a non event, and an amusing bit of trivia for the GDC talk* mentioned in the video.

*link because it is actually a great talk
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1023470/-It-s-Just-Emulation

Edit

Why? They still own the copyright to the game and presumably have discretion as to the ways they disseminate it.

Why? Because since Nintendo is the creator of SMB then they should have archives of either the game or the source code meaning they don't NEED to use INES Headers.

 

[sarkwalvein]

Why? Because since Nintendo is the creator of SMB then they should have archives of either the game or the source code meaning they don't NEED to use INES Headers.

They don't need to, but it is more convenient so why wouldn't they?

Why?
It is the same shit, they are only using the iNES format because it was easier to do so.
They didn't even make the emulators, it is all outsourced.
Probably the developers of the emulators were already familiar with the iNES format.
Sure it was cheaper to get the ROM already in that format that to reconvert whatever format Nintendo stores it in.
It is still an emulator machine, designed by a third company (not Nintendo) and paid by Nintendo.
How does it make it more or less dull if they use iNES headers? It is as dull as it always was. It doesn't change a thing.

 

[FAST6191]

Why? Because since Nintendo is the creator of SMB then they should have archives of either the game or the source code meaning they don't NEED to use INES Headers.

Do a search for games lost source code and be prepared to be surprised then. Not to mention fun things like http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/167392/sad_but_true_we_cant_prove_when_.php
Beyond that I imagine NES mario was likely all done in assembly.

Equally if they have backups it might not be in such a convenient form and instead be the stuff used to burn ROM chips, and you can guarantee the intern tasked with that might will up and leave out a bank or something, to say nothing of maybe getting a delay as you get confirmed as an authorised dev (if it is indeed the third party dev as the video mentioned). Instead of that you download a ROM and work with that, nobody is hurt, no code has to be borrowed and nobody is likely to be worried.

 

[gamesquest1]

The 3ds and wiiu emulator used the newer tnes format, basically the same crap but tweaked to not be the same as the community.

The truth is they copied a header, the guy in the video is acting like every single copy of MARIO would be different, the rom on one cart is the same as any other (with the exception of cart revisions) sure they could probably order it prg/chr or chr/prg, but again 50/50 chance

When we get down to it, they downloaded a copy of their own game, or copied a header format, idk if there was any copyright or anything applied to the Ines header format, but in regards to the game......the game is theirs, even if they bought it off a pirate in a Tokyo market, they still own the right to sell it

 

[Metoroid0]

But if they own the rights to the game, aren't they allowed to download it and any other application they've made?
Forgive me if I'm missing something but I really don't see what everyone is so riled up about here.

That's general mass of people for you.

If thats their game, why dont they use their own rom that they saved? If they used downloaded rom that mean they have no rom of their own which means if there are no rom dumps that "general mass" collected, nintendo wouldnt have old games of their own an wouldnt sell it to you, the rom dump that they downloaded from internet, the same one you can dl for free.... But its strange

 

[FAST6191]

Various people already pondered that.

Assuming it was a third party putting together the emulator pack for it then they might have had to call up Nintendo (and maybe have to find the specific archive department within Nintendo), possibly deal with language barriers, get authorised to get a copy, get the copy and then put it in the pack. Or they could just as easily download it from the internet and save themselves the hassle, harming nobody in the process.

They might well have a version of the ROM, it could however be separate chips images and then get to put it together. Not so bad for super mario apparently but other NES games that could be more tedious for.

Also while I can download it for free I may not be legally entitled to do so where I live (super mario brothers very much being within copyright still), and in almost no cases will I be legally entitled to do so if I don't own a copy of the game.

Beyond that if they did not have a digital copy of the game they could also find a copy out there in the wild and dump it again. Quite often see companies buy an example of an older product of theirs. Or if you prefer there have been many cases of a company with an old film finding the laser disc version is the best they can get their hands on (anime is a fairly good case study for this) so they rip that and then remaster it for DVD or something. Functionally I am not seeing the difference really.

 

[fatsquirrel]

Send them cease and desist letter god damn it

 

[Nikki_swap]

With Nintendo seizeing ROM downloading sites in the past, I wouldn't doubt if they kept copies of those said roms.