Dear Nintendo,

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pwiggi

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If we detect unauthorized software, services, or devices, your access to the Wii Network Service may be disabled and/or the Wii Console or games may be unplayable.

The language in those last eight words seems pretty clear: use homebrew, and we reserve the right to brick your machine.

Sorry, but that interpretation is either wrong or far fetched.
Let's take a look at Nintendo's sentence in Context:

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We may take steps to disable or delete any unauthorized software, services or device installed in your Wii Console, for example, by detecting and disabling them through the Wii Network Service and/or game software. If we detect unauthorized software, services, or devices, your access to the Wii Network Service may be disabled and/or the Wii Console or games may be unplayable.

(from the U.S. EULA - EULAs on Nintendo of Europe's are either outdated or were not updated!)

There is no way to understand that sentence as: Nintendo makes the Wii unplayable!

Let's try to shorten down the last sentence:

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If [Ncintendo] detect unauthorized software, the Wii Console or games may be unplayable.

As you can see, that sentence makes no sense.
The last part of the last sentence only works in combination with:

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[Nintendo] may take steps to disable or delete any unauthorized software

In other words: it is possible, that Nintendo's updates may (not will !) disable or disenhance the Wii's playability.

There is no: Nintendo will on purpose disable the Wii.







p.s.: BIG NEWS:
Nintendo Of Europe's EULAs and privacy policies were not updated: They are still dated 10.10.2007
[wiiportal.nintendo-europe.com]
(or did somebody mention it before and I failed to see it?)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/2008 12:37AM by daniel_c_w.

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daniel_c_w

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We may take steps to disable or delete any unauthorized software, services or device installed in your Wii Console, for example, by detecting and disabling them through the Wii Network Service and/or game software. If we detect unauthorized software, services, or devices, your access to the Wii Network Service may be disabled and/or the Wii Console or games may be unplayable.

(from the U.S. EULA - EULAs on Nintendo of Europe's are either outdated or were not updated!)

There is no way to understand that sentence as: Nintendo makes the Wii unplayable!

Really, I can :-) Although I am no lawyer

It says "your access to the Wii Network Service may be disabled and/or the Wii Console or games may be unplayable"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/2008 09:34AM by whodares.

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whodares
Really, I can :-) Although I am no lawyer

It says "your access to the Wii Network Service may be disabled and/or the Wii Console or games may be unplayable"

And where does the "Nintendo makes" as in "Nintendo will try on purpose" come from?

English is not my native toungue and I am no lawyer as well, but Nintendo propably had lawyers to write its EULAs.
Lawyers usualy deal with laws and contracts and thoseare written in a clear and logical way.
If Nintendo wants to reserve the right to disable a Wii a lawyer would have written that in a clear way that leaves no doubts.

You are only targetting the last sentence of a paragraph and therefore seeing it out of context.
That sentence only shows some possible results.
What Nintendo may (and will) do is clearly detailed in the previous sentence: "[Nintendo] may take steps to disable or delete any unauthorized software..."
You have verbs ("take", "delete") that implie actions, as opposed to the one ("may be") that implies a result.



Ther are two other things I'd like to say:

First:
I have the feeling that the whole discussion is fueled by paranoia and a felling of "us versus the big old evil companies".
Almost every discussion about software rights seems to be.


Second: 2 quotes from NoE's EULA - a more positive one and a more negative one:
POSITIVE:
Nintendo may upgrade (patch) any software distributed through WiiConnect24 or change the Internet content of WiiConnect24, in part or in whole, at any time. However, any such upgrade or change will be for the benefit of users of the Wii Network Services.

NEGATIVE:
The complete Wii Network Services Code of Conduct may be found at [wii.nintendo-europe.com] and may be revised by us from time to time. It is your responsibility to review the Wii Network Services Code of Conduct periodically.
(thankfully that does not (and can not) apply to the EULA)

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daniel_c_w
You are only targetting the last sentence of a paragraph and therefore seeing it out of context.
That sentence only shows some possible results.
What Nintendo may (and will) do is clearly detailed in the previous sentence: "[Nintendo] may take steps to disable or delete any unauthorized software..."
You have verbs ("take", "delete") that implie actions, as opposed to the one ("may be") that implies a result.

Actually, I believe you're adding more to this, the direct sentance is

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If we detect unauthorized software, services, or devices, your access to the Wii Network Service may be disabled and/or the Wii Console or games may be unplayable.

This means (in my eyes) if they detect any unauthorised software, your Wii Console may be unplayable. Yes they talk about deleting unauthorised software previously, but this statement is saying if they detect it (regardless of if they delete it or not), you may be disconnected from the network service, and/or your console and games may be unplayable.

When they use unplayable, it might be a simple case like the update partition on discs "requiring" you to update your system before you can play the game and they assume you won't be able to get the game running.

Anyway, I'm not going to speculate any further.

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whodares
When they use unplayable, it might be a simple case like the update partition on discs "requiring" you to update your system before you can play the game and they assume you won't be able to get the game running.

That's a good speculation.
It is not a far fetched as Nintendo may brick Wiis on purpose.