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Get Super Metroid for 30 cents on Wii U Virtual Console right now
Super Metroid (SNES) is on sale for $0.30 through the Wii U Virtual Console right now, as part of the Trial Campaign promotion celebrating the Famicom. Super Metroid is fourth on a list of discounts that kicked off back in February – predecessors include Kirby's Adventure, Punch-Out!!! Featuring Mr. Dream and F-Zero. Super Metroid will be $0.30 for 30 days, until Yoshi comes in and takes over on June 12. The Virtual Console launched on Wii U late last month. The initial launch list included Balloon Fight, Donkey Kong Jr., Excitebike, Ice Climbers, Kirby's Adventure, Punch Out, F-Zero and Super Mario World. This week, Super Mario Bros. 2 will be available for $5.
Wii U Famicom skin dresses your WiiPad in red and gold
Datel Japan will start selling the aluminum WiiPad Famicom faceplate pictured above at the end of July for ¥1,980, roughly $20. If you're looking to play some old NES games while your WiiPad looks the part, Nintendo officially launched the Virtual Console on Wii U at the end of April. The initial launch list is pretty slim, but Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory's beloved SNES RPG, Earthbound, is on the way.
Hyperkin Retron 5 plays the cartridges of nine classic consoles (video)
Hyperkin has developed a reputation for modern takes on legendary game consoles that are often better than the real thing. If true, its just-unveiled Retron 5 is a nostalgia singularity. The hardware emulator can use its namesake five cartridge slots to play original games from no less than nine vintage consoles, including the Genesis (Megadrive), NES (Famicom), SNES (Super Famicom) and GameBoys from the original through to the GameBoy Advance. It keeps going: there's a custom Bluetooth controller that can handle every system, mix-and-match original controller support, save states and upscaling for both video (to 720p, through HDMI) as well as audio. While we'll have to see just how well the Retron 5 works whenever it exists as more than a conceptual graphic, that opportunity may come quickly when Hyperkin is tentatively shooting for a July release at less than $100. About all that's left for a follow-up Retron are Jaguar and Turbografx 16 slots -- pretty please?
Nintendo reveals exact dates for Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign games
Nintendo's celebration of the Famicom's 30th birthday – the Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign – kicked off last week with the release of Balloon Fight on the Wii U eShop. Each month, Nintendo will release a classic game at a special $.30 price, for 30 days until the next eligible game debuts. Today, Nintendo released the schedule for the discount promotion: February 20: F-Zero (SNES) March 20: Punch-Out!!! Featuring Mr. Dream (NES) April 17: Kirby's Adventure (NES) May 15: Super Metroid (SNES) June 12: Yoshi (NES) July 15: Donkey Kong (NES)The Virtual Console doesn't officially launch on the Wii U until this spring, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed during the latest Nintendo Direct event last week. Despite that, Balloon Fight as well as several other games can be acquired through the Wii U eShop.
Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign hands-on
Looking forward to the Wii U's incoming Virtual Console update? No need to wait -- despite the service's post-spring update launch announcement, Nintendo is already rolling out fully functional (and Wii U enhanced) Virtual Console games to the eShop. It's part of the Famicom's 30th anniversary celebration, and gives gamers a chance to sample a handful of Nintendo's best at a hefty discount -- only 30 cents a pop. We tossed a few dimes toward a copy of Balloon Fight to give the upcoming service a quick look.
SNES-001 Advance gives two retro gamers a screen to play, guarantees no fights for TV time (video)
There's been no shortage of SNES mods with built-in screens. They almost always tend to overlook one fundamental problem, however: with only one screen, gamers have to either share one tiny LCD or play solo, and neither option will make that Street Fighter II nostalgia trip a pleasant one. Frequent console modder Downing has offered a fix with a key trade-off. Although his Super Famicom-like SNES-001 Advance is decidedly non-portable, each gamepad has its own LCD to show what would normally go to one screen, even with audio. Both controllers are custom-molded creations that still plug in the old-fashioned, wired way. Downing certainly isn't hoarding his creation, despite it being one of a kind. An auction for the console (with a $500 buy-now price) is still well underway as of this writing, making sure that at least two Double Dragon fans will be happy without cutting into their less sentimental roommate's Netflix marathon.
Google Maps 8-bit version for NES: April Fools arrives a day early in Mountain View
Well, it appears that April Fools is in full effect -- at least if you ask Google. Today the company introduced its "latest" build of Google Maps, dubbed Google Maps 8-bit version, tailored specifically for the Nintendo Entertainment System. According to Google, this Dragon Quest spoof version of Maps will come in the form of a special NES cartridge that can connect to the internet via dial-up. This apparently allows most of the heavy lifting to get done on Google's servers, where the maps are rendered to 8-bit form "in real-time." Better yet, it even supports voice search. Naturally, there's no word on a release date, but you can currently check out the "beta" by visiting Google Maps in your browser and selecting "Start Your Quest." That said, that company warns that "your system may not meet the minimum requirements for 8-bit computations" -- something tells us it'll still be less resource-intensive than Crysis, though. We've checked it out and found some goodies, including an alien at Area 51, so let us know what you come across during your journey in the comments. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Google Maps comes to ... the NES?! [April Fools!]
In a move that is as surprising as it is whimsically delightful, Google has decided to bring its globally renowned and often essential Google Maps service to one of the best-selling home computing solutions of all time: The Nintendo Entertainment System.As demonstrated in the video above, using Google Maps on your NES/Famicom is just as easy as using it on your desktop, smartphone or tablet. Simply insert the cartridge into the system, remove it, blow into it, reinsert it back into the system, attach a phone line and you're ready to go. Google's cloud of servers compensate for the NES's lack of processing prowess, allowing for a quick, seamless experience.While Google Maps for NES has yet to begin shipping, a demo version is available at the web-based Google Maps portal -- just click on the Quest button on the top right to begin your adventure.Update: Rather than play along with these gags as they happen, we've decided instead to tag each April Fools' Day prank as such in the headline, in order to avoid as many dashed hopes as possible. For what its worth, we want this to be real as much as you do.
Nintendo's 3DS Ambassador Program line-up revealed, games available September 1st
Early 3DS adopters, your smorgasbord of throwback make-goods is now only a day away. Nintendo recently announced via its Twitter account the full line-up of ten Famicom / NES virtual console games headed for the company's Ambassador Program. Owners of the 3D handheld in Japan and North America can look forward to re-acquainting themselves with such 8-bit classics like Metroid, Super Mario Bros., Ice Climber, The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II : The Adventure of Link, Balloon Fight, Donkey Kong Jr., NES Open Tournament Golf, Wrecking Crew and Yoshi. Those golden games of yore will be available to download from the eShop tomorrow, but gamers looking for the GBA goods will have to wait until later this year. Update: Turns out the games are available to download now.
Square's unreleased Aliens game for Famicom Disk System uncovered
Man, what is it about the Aliens franchise that makes its video game adaptations so easily cancelable? Long, long before Obsidian's Aliens RPG ended up on the cutting room floor, Square had its own unreleased entry into the franchise: A 1987 side-scrolling action game for the Famicom Disk System (the disk-loading NES attachment which never quite made it stateside). A ROM for the canned title recently appeared online; you can check out some footage from an emulated version of the game over at 1UP. It actually doesn't look too terrible -- though back in 1987, we really only had room in our hearts for one unstoppable, alien-obliterating heroine, and that room was totally already spoken for.
Alleged Legend of Zelda prototype released
Lost Levels, a website dedicated to pulling unreleased video games out of the void of obscurity, recently obtained a pretty epic find: An alleged prototype build of the original, Famicom version of The Legend of Zelda. What's different about this early build? Well, apparently, while the retail version of Zelda was responsible for crushing the spirits of many a lesser gamer, this prototype build was designed to be played by sweet, little babies. The difficulty of the early version of the game appears to be fairly reduced, as the prototype features a much more liberal rate of rupee distribution and an easier palette of enemies compared to the retail release, as evidenced by the screenshot comparison above (prototype on the left). If you've got the right emulator, you can download and play the prototype right now -- or, if you're not in the dungeon-diving mood, you can check more details about the Zelda prototype on The Cutting Room Floor wiki.
Iwata Asks about development of the NES
Indulging his inquiry habit, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata spoke with Masayuki Uemura, advisor to Nintendo's Research & Engineering Dept., and Hiroshi Imanishi, Ex-Director and GM, Corporate Communications Division, about their time working on the Famicom (NES) way back in 1981-82. The two veteran developers describe the impetus behind the decision to make the Famicom, the problems competing with Nintendo's own Game & Watch, and the lasting appeal of Super Mario Bros. Uemura shared how the Famicom came to use its (at the time) unusual 6502 processor. A friend at Ricoh cold-called him and asked for help getting the factory's efficiency up. While working on that, Uemura consulted with Ricoh about processors, and told their engineers about his desire to make a console that could run Donkey Kong. " When I think about it now, I think I was spot-on in asking 'Can we make Donkey Kong?' rather than 'Can we make a circuit like this?'," Uemura said. "It seems like the engineers at Ricoh were starving for the challenge of working on some new technology. Even more important to them was the idea that if they worked at it, they could take Donkey Kong home! (laughs)"
Retro consoles torn apart, ancient innards exposed
If you want to see just how far game consoles have come over the last few decades, check out iFixit's teardown of the Atari 2600. As you can see, there's not much to onetime king of home entertainment. Just look at how complex an iPhone 4 is in comparison! The Atari teardown was part of a full week of retro console deconstructions, including the Famicom, Magnavox Odyssey and even the Virtual Boy. Check them out for yourself -- if you think you can handle all that naked, aging PCB.
iFixit tears apart the Nintendo Famicom
Do you remember the Nintendo Family Computer, or Famicom? Well, you might not -- it came to earth in 1983 and was Japan's version of the NES. Now, continuing its week of vintage teardowns, iFixit's gotten its hands on one of these colorful gems and done what it does. The Famicon is pretty easily dismantled, and simple inside, as well. As you can see, there's almost nothing going on in there! There's one more photo below, but hit up the source link for the full set.
GAME-800 all-in-one handheld tries out a new control scheme
We'll hand it to whatever Chinese company conjured up the GAME-800 -- there's at least a smidgen of ingenuity here. Granted, we suspect it's all for the worse, but we digress. The GAME-800 all-in-one handheld does just about everything save for make calls; we're talking an MP5 (seriously) player, text and photo viewer, camera, NES / GBA emulator and even support for video playback. Internally, you'll spot 4GB of storage, which complements the integrated SD expansion slot nicely. There's also a TV output, 3.5-inch QVGA display, twin 3.5 millimeter headphone jacks and USB 2.0 connectivity. We might say it was actually worth he $69.99 asking price if not for our befuddlement relating to those awkwardly sorted directional arrows, but until we see support for an external game pad, we'll pass.[Via technabob]
Datel kicks the retro up a notch with Famicom Wii controller
If dropping 80 bones on a Wii Super Famicom Classic controller sounds a wee bit insane, how's about a Jackson for a Famicom Wii controller? Datel's Old Skool Retro Controller (seriously, how great is that name?) works with any game that supports the Wii Classic Controller, and the unique "rapid fire" mode should really keep things interesting when firing up the Virtual Console. Can't really go wrong at $19.99, right? Right.[Via OhGizmo]
Pole's Big Adventure: Year of the Cow Suits
The countdown at the Eventful Journey! Pole's Big Adventure site has elapsed, revealing a lot of inscrutable Japanese info and wonderful media about the new Famicom parody game from Phantasy Star Universe producer Takao Miyoshi. While the graphics and Mario-esque gameplay suggest Nintendo, the music sounds kind of reminiscent of the Master System. Speaking of which, isn't it a bit strange for Sega to be revelling in NES nostalgia?The comedy-based game actually keeps a count of the jokes you encounter, and even has big red text on the screen commenting about it like a Japanese TV show!The site features character portraits for the major characters, including this hilariously non-representative "realistic" take on the protagonist. The main enemies are cow-suited "poachers", apparently chosen because 2009 is the year of the cow.Clicking on the red button under the control diagram will pop up a video. Speaking of controls, Pole's Big Adventure supports the Wiimote, Classic Controller, and GameCube Controller.
Famicom cart camera provides its own smile-catching technology
BenHeck.com forum member goteking apparently built this camera-in-a-Famicom-cart a little while back, but this is one instance when we're more than happy to catch up a little late, even if we may quite not be able to bring ourselves to gut a cart of our own. As you can likely imagine, this mod mostly depends simply on choosing the right cart-sized camera, and goteking found that a standard Sony Cybershot point-and-shoot fit the bill quite nicely, though there's certainly plenty of other possiblities out there (bonus points for anyone able to make an Game Boy cart camera). Hit up the link below for a few more pics of the camera, plus a glimpse of some of goteking's other projects, including a VAIO DS and a VAIO Eee PC. [Via technabob]
Super Famicom Classic Controller available at Play Asia [update]
Update: Wow, that was fast. The controller is sold out. Uh, people must have way more money than we do. Send us one, plz?If you're looking for more of an authentic experience when playing those Virtual Console games, then know that Play Asia is now allowing folks to order the Super Famicom Classic Controller. Of course, if you want that authentic experience, you're going to have to pay for it. The controller is going for a whopping $70 at the site. Frankly, we'd advise tracking down a SNES controller and doing one of those wireless hacks to the thing. It's got to cost a lot less than seventy freakin' dollars.%Gallery-20586%[Thanks, MoFro!]
Virtually Overlooked: Popeye
Nintendo's Donkey Kong features an everyday tradesman saving a helpless, reedy girlfriend from a giant brute, using only his agility and the occasional pickup of a trademark item that makes him super-strong for a short time, marked by a fanfare. Replace the carpenter with a sailor and make the ape a bit less hirsute, and you've pretty much got the theme of every Popeye cartoon.It's not that surprising, then, that Donkey Kong was conceived as a Popeye game. And it's even less surprising, considering the runaway success of Donkey Kong, that Nintendo was able to secure the rights to the property for a subsequent game.
