By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - The image shares aren't good anyway.
Today, in the excitement of Nintendo announcing Nintendo Brazil and Nintendo Latin American Twitter accounts, there is probably a más importante pair of announcements that's lost in that excitement. Both of these are supposed to go into effect on October 25, 2022, and both involve Facebook and Twitter:
Number one, “Discontinuation of the Use of Facebook or Twitter to Sign In to Your Nintendo Account.” There should be zero people who do this, and for a variety of reasons. If you currently do this, you stop immediately and not wait for October 25. Use your Nintendo Account ID and password. Nintendo is important enough that it should have its own log-in information that you use.
Number two, “Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Image Share Service Discontinuation.” This is a real and legitimate feature of the 3DS and Wii U that is the main way to export screenshots from 3DS and Wii U games for other use. Using the Wii U/3DS's built-in Internet Browser to access i.nintendo.net, you could share screenshots to Facebook or Twitter in a more complicated process compared to how easy it is for the Nintendo Switch Screenshot Capture (and video) sharing.
People may say that the Image Share service is something people don't know about and people being concerned about it is just drumming up controversy. While it's true much fewer people actually still play on the Wii U or 3DS at this point, I have used these features before. That said, they've always been troublesome.
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| I don't know if Twitter works, but as of publishing, Facebook Wii U Image Share sure doesn't work for me! |
The Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones screenshots in my very good 2021 article The Evolution of the Fire Emblem Soldier were actually taken with the Wii U Image Share. All you had to do was open the HOME menu at the spot you want to screenshot, go to the Internet Browser to the Wii U Image Share site, log-in to Facebook or Twitter, and choose to post the screenshot of the moment currently suspended in HOME. Relatively simple and good quality stuff. That said, per the screenshot above, it seems like it's... already broken. I went and re-hooked up my Wii U and everything just for this article, just to take another screenshot (from Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones of my S-ranked in Axes General Gilliam wielding the Garm axe), but, no, error message. So much for October 25.
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| I have Pocket Card Jockey suspended on my HOME menu, but without a screenshot already saved to be browsed, you can't use it on the 3DS Image Share. |
The 3DS Image Share has always been awful. In order for you to share to Facebook/Twitter, you need to have a screenshot already saved on your 3DS's memory, as opposed to creating the screenshot right then and there like with the 3DS. You can't just do the same HOME menu trick and share any moment you'd like. So how do you have a screenshot saved? Well, if you want a videogame screenshot and not just something taken with the 3DS's laughably poor cameras, you need to play a game with an in-game screenshot taker. These include Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS (that's where our Sierra Leone mudslide screenshots came from in 2017), Tomodachi Life, Team Kirby Clash Deluxe (that's why these are high-quality source screenshots in 2020), and select moments for things like Pokémon X and Pokémon Y's photo spots with Phil the Photo Guy.
Are you playing 3DS games that you should really buy before you no longer can anymore, like Pocket Card Jockey, Culdcept Revolt, or any of the Ace Attorney games? They lack the ability to screenshot in-game moments to save to your 3DS's SD card... so you'll never be able to use the 3DS Image Share with them. It's horrifically limited and a big problem with the 3DS. That's why the 3DS NEEDED Miiverse to be any good with screenshots, because that's the only way you could get source-quality screenshots from a 3DS. At least the Wii U could do Image Share with anything. ...But with that being discontinued too, so much for that. You can keep getting my camera pointed at the screen if I ever need to show you something.
Ludwig has to go disconnect the Wii U and put it back in its cabinet, as well as the GamePad. It has an annoying number of required cords and outlets between the Wii U itself, the HDMI cable, and the Wii U GamePad AC Adapter that it must be constantly connected to because otherwise the battery doesn't work. The 3DS similarly also lasts only a few minutes without being plugged in, but at least that's only one plug. While the Image Shares did have real use, they're on old or flawed systems, and what the Switch does is significantly better. As for logging in with social media, again, DON'T DO THIS EVER.
Integrating Nintendo sharing with social media continues to be tricky for Nintendo. Sometimes, it fails on the Nintendo Switch as well.
It's sad to see announcements like this, but i mean ya can't really be depressed. These tools worked less than perfectly on day one, the Nintendo 3DS internet service itself has always been slow and i swear it's not my wifi. Still, the ending of an era for sure.
ReplyDeleteAn era that never really made an impact to begin with, I'd say.
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