First range of Wii virtual console games announced

Archaic` · Post by **Archaic`** » 2006-11-01 09:28pm

Manus Celer Dei wrote:Wait...Sega Genesis games? Shit, I didn't know they were going to be available. Awesome.

There should be Master System games available at some point in the future too.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2006-11-01 09:38pm

Does anyone want to bet AU won't get the full range of VC titles? Anyone?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-11-01 09:40pm

Hell, Japan's getting more than the US is, even...

atg · Post by **atg** » 2006-11-01 11:20pm

Does anyone want to bet AU won't get the full range of VC titles? Anyone?

I can't really see why Australia would have less than, say, America, considering it is not like a product is actually having to be shipped to the country.

I better be able to get Toe Jam & Earl, Sonic, and Sonic 2 (eventually) though.

Archaic` · Post by **Archaic`** » 2006-11-02 09:57pm

There's apparently differences between the American and European lists of VC games, so I don't see why there wouldn't be differences for us as well.

Post by **weemadando** » 2006-11-03 02:45am

Apparently in Australia we are just getting ripped off on the Wii points thing - paying greater than exchange rate for those. And the games. And the controllers. And the console.

Fuck. FUCK FUCK FUCK.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-11-03 02:56am

Yeah, Australia just can't catch a break.

Andrew J. · Post by **Andrew J.** » 2006-11-03 07:42am

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Hell, Japan's getting more than the US is, even...

You say that as if you're surprised, as if Japan getting more game than the US hasn't been the status quo for the past twenty years.

Laughing Mechanicus · Post by **Laughing Mechanicus** » 2006-11-03 10:19am

I like the idea of the Virtual Console, but doubt I'll be buying many games from it. In alot of cases for only slightly more money than Nintendo are charging I can buy the real physical cart from my local games shop and play it on the original system. I think I would be much more interested if I hadn't played alot of those games before and was more of a casual gamer, which I suspect is atleast a good chunk of who they are hoping to sell these games to.

I'd be more excited to hear about what new content is planned for sale on the Virtual Console... new full games? It seems like an ideal place to try out a new IP before doing a full blown big budget game, or testing the waters for bringing back old characters, like Kid Ikarus.

Also I will be stunned to silence if I get my Wii setup early December and am immediately able to access all this content, Europe so often gets the shaft from Nintendo.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-11-03 04:52pm

An interview with Nintendo brings light a whole bunch of information on how the Virtual Console functions:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ar ... ?id=148658

For one, yes, you can use a GameCube controller with the VC. So you can shut up now, Stark.

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2006-11-03 05:00pm

Though, of course, you want a classic controller, because the natural controller thumb position on the GC gives you the analogue controls, whereas VC games will use the D-pad. The GC's d-pad is fiddly and small.

I forsee myself spending at least as much on the VC as I have on Xbox Live Arcade (And half of the 360 games I have are the arcade ones). There are some great titles already that I either missed first time or don't have any more.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2006-11-03 05:19pm

Vendetta wrote:Though, of course, you want a classic controller, because the natural controller thumb position on the GC gives you the analogue controls, whereas VC games will use the D-pad. The GC's d-pad is fiddly and small.

What? What kind of bullshit doesn't let you use the stick or the d-pad? Sure, sticks suck for old platformers, but the GC d-pad is the height of suck.

In short, bah.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-11-03 05:22pm

Here's a basic summary of the article I posted above, for the lazy:

-VC games can be either stored on the Wii's internal memory or transfered to an SD card.
-The Wii keeps a history of your VC purchases. If you delete a VC game for any reason, you don't have to repurchase it: you can download it again for free.
-VC games are locked to the Wii consoles they are downloaded to, so you can't transfer them to an SD card and play them on another console.
-Nintendo will offer support to recover VC games in case the console breaks.
-The classic controller cannot be used to play GameCube games.
-GameCube controllers can be used to play VC games, in addition to the classic controller. Also, the remote can be used horizontally to play NES games.
-Remotes and classic controllers take priority over GameCube controllers on the VC, so they automatically are assigned as Player One, Player Two, etc...
-VC games come with digital copies of their respective manuals.
-You cannot use an imported foreign version of the Wii to access native VC servers. For example, someone in the US can't use a Japanese Wii to download VC games from the US servers. It could only access the Japanese Servers and have to use Japanese points. Nintendo states that doing this also voids the warrenty.
-Wii Points can be purchased from the consoles onlineWii Shop with a credit card.

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2006-11-03 05:43pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote: -VC games are locked to the Wii consoles they are downloaded to, so you can't transfer them to an SD card and play them on another console.
-Nintendo will offer support to recover VC games in case the console breaks.

In this at least I prefer the Xbox 360. Purchased items are keyed to your Xbox Live account, and once purchased they can be redownloaded even if you change consoles and storage devices, you simply sign in with your account and the XBL server knows what you've bought. You can transfer them to another console as well as long as you also transfer your xbox live account. No hassle to do, just plug the storage device in to the new console and you're away.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2006-11-03 05:51pm

Yeah, it seems odd but I don't know how they manage accounts: it wouldn't be very Nintendo to actually require logins etc. Your account may simply be your machine.

Local storage also means you're fucked if someone steals your box.

Qwerty 42 · Post by **Qwerty 42** » 2006-11-03 09:13pm

Stark wrote:
Vendetta wrote:Though, of course, you want a classic controller, because the natural controller thumb position on the GC gives you the analogue controls, whereas VC games will use the D-pad. The GC's d-pad is fiddly and small.
What? What kind of bullshit doesn't let you use the stick or the d-pad? Sure, sticks suck for old platformers, but the GC d-pad is the height of suck.

In short, bah.

I doubt that'll be the case, as Nintendo seemed to have success using the stick for the Zelda Collector's Edition.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-11-03 09:50pm

I'd like to see how our Super Famicom-style Game Boy Player controller from Hori works with the Wii...

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2006-11-04 04:32am

Does anyone know if the GC controllers are going to stay in production or not? I've had mine since launch day and one of them is getting a bit worn. Should I get replacements now or can I still buy a new one a few months down the line?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-11-04 04:42am

I would image that would be the case, though they will more than likely stop making them sometime down the line in the future.

Otherwise, though, there's been no word about that whatsoever.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2006-11-08 03:18pm

Okay, I'm res-ing the Wii VC thread due to some news from IGN.

IGN has learned from the ESRB of a number of games expexted to be released for the Virtual Console early next year:

Virtual Console Gets Updated Again
New clues from the ESRB show strong 2007 support.
by Mark Bozon

November 8, 2006 - When it comes to gathering clues for potential Virtual Console titles, Nintendo isn't always the best source to get answers from. The company has its priorities during this holiday season, and for that reason fans have been looking elsewhere for details in regard to what the Wii's unique retro catalog will offer. The ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) has already helped us confirm multiple titles expected to hit Wii early next year, and we've received an updated list just this morning.

As it stood, the following potential 2007 VC games we hit on were as follows:

* Duck Hunt (E for Everyone)
* Hogan's Alley (E for Everyone)
* Kid Icarus (E for Everyone)
* Kirby's Adventure (E for Everyone)
* Pilot Wings (E for Everyone)
* Pro Wrestling (E for Everyone)
* Punch-Out (E for Everyone)
* Wild Gunman (E for Everyone)

New to the list, however, is a slightly more diverse catalog of games:

* Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES; rated E for Everyone)
* Kirby's Super Star (Super NES; rated E for Everyone)
* Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64; rated E for Everyone)
* Starfox 64 (Nintendo 64; rated E for Everyone)
* Super Metroid (Super NES; rated E for Everyone)
* Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Super NES; rated E for Everyone)
* The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64; rated E for Everyone)
* Excitebike (NES; rated E for Everyone)
* Ice Climber (NES; rated E for Everyone)
* Dr. Mario (NES; rated E for Everyone)
* Mario Brothers (NES; rated E for Everyone)
* Ice Hockey (NES; rated E for Everyone)
* Soccer (NES; rated E for Everyone)

Granted, a few of the games on this list were assumed, shown, or already announced by Nintendo, but many of the listed titles have just now been confirmed by the ESRB listing. Since all games released must go through the ESRB before getting to consumers, this shows that these games were submitted by Nintendo, obviously intended for Virtual Console support.

It's important to note, however, that just because a game is submitted to the ESRB does not guarantee it a specific time slot. Games like Mario Kart 64, The Legend of Zelda, and Super Metroid can in fact be held after approval for Nintendo to release at its discretion. If this list is any indication, however, you're most likely looking at a handful of early 2007 Virtual Console games to look forward to.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/744/744751p1.html

McNum · Post by **McNum** » 2006-11-08 03:54pm

Star Fox 64 and Ocarina of Time is kind of expected this early. I'm surprised to see Super Mario RPG, though. I wonder if that will be downloadable in Europe. If so, we'll have a European debut for it, which would be kind of nice. Also if Mario RPG gets to Europe it'll open the door for more unrelased Squaresoft SNES games to get here. Like Chrono Trigger.

Anyway, I'm definitely going to download Star Fox 64, or Lylat Wars if that's what they want to call it here.

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2006-11-08 04:08pm

SF64 is still the best Star Fox game. Quite why they have tried pissing up the formula since then is still a mystery to me.

I'll be considering that, but it's not an automatic purchase, as my N64 copy still works fine.

Haruko · Post by **Haruko** » 2006-11-08 05:04pm

Ever since I found out about this, I've been wanting to get the SNES Zelda and Super Mario games.

Qwerty 42 · Post by **Qwerty 42** » 2006-11-08 07:33pm

I wonder if Duck Hunt will be playable with just the unalloyed Wii remote?

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2006-11-08 07:35pm

I'm curious how much work they're putting into the older games: being able to play Zelda without NES-tastic sprite flicker would be neat.