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'Mario Kart 64' is the Wii U Virtual Console's latest addition
Sure, Mario Kart 8 is great and all, but if you wanted to see the original version of "Toad's Turnpike" on the Wii U, your options have been pretty limited. Tomorrow changes that, as Mario Kart 64 will release on the system's Virtual Console. Revisiting the Nintendo 64 game will run you $9.99, and for that you'll get off-TV play and dim, washed out graphics -- the latter is a staple for just about everything on Virtual Console.
JXD releases S7100 Android-based gaming tablet, manages to steal from everyone
If you're going to steal, steal from the best. JXD has just released its S7100, a fairly conspicuous 7-inch Android-powered gaming tablet marketed towards playing old-school arcade games. The device features a D-pad, face buttons, an 800 x 480 capacitive touchsceen, ARM Cortex A9 CPU, Mali 400 GPU, 512MB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 0.3 megapixel front camera, 2.0 megapixel rear camera and HDMI-out. A video trailer shows the unit playing a variety of touchscreen games and classic ROMs including Metal Slug, Mario Kart 64, Angry Birds, Plants Vs. Zombies and Fruit Ninja HD. Not to be undone, the device also features the actual PlayStation button icons on its own buttons (sound familiar?), while the marketing website for the device sports icons from Apple, Google, Microsoft and others. If you're thus far undeterred, there's a must-watch promotional vid hosted just after the break -- nothing justifies a $140 price tag like Bieber, right?
Nintendo not planning on addressing Mario Kart 64 ghost data issue
According to Nintendo, they have no plans on addressing the issues all of us face when trying to save ghost data in the recently released Virtual Console title Mario Kart 64. According to a Nintendo spokesperson, by way of Pro-G, "Due to unavoidable technical reasons unfortunately it is not possible to save ghost data." Turns out, gamers are warned of this issue before downloading the title. With the steep price of 1,000 Wii Points, shouldn't consumers expect a little more effort on Nintendo's part? How hard would it be for someone to implement code into the game informing it to save the ghost data to the Wii's memory? We really hope that this doesn't set a trend for future N64 VC releases that used Controller Paks to save data.
Wii VC's Mario Kart 64 to remain ghostless
Nintendo has no plans to address players' inability to save time trial ghost data in the just released Wii Virtual Console port of Mario Kart 64 (the original game required a Controller Pak to record the data). "Due to unavoidable technical reasons unfortunately it is not possible to save ghost data," claims a Nintendo statement sent to Pro-G. Shoppers are apparently advised of the missing feature before purchasing the title from Wii Shop Channel.Unavoidable? Maybe, but we suspect Nintendo's just being lazy. Since no N64 game required any of the 'Pak' controller add-ons (including Rumble) to play (some required a Controller Pak to save), developers of VC's N64 emulator and its games aren't bothering to re-code scripts to circumvent commands meant for the Paks. Surely ghost data could be saved to Wii's flash drive; after all, the original Controller Pak contained a mere 256 KB of memory. If a more important Pak issue, for a more important N64 VC game arises, trust us, "unavoidable" will become "we're working on it."
Mario Kart 64 and Contra III join tardy Genesis games on VC Monday
Last Monday, Nintendo's excellent Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past sat around, waiting for its friends from Sega to make their way onto Nintendo's fledgling Virtual Console service. We don't need to tell you that they never showed up. Until now that is.This week another seminal Nintendo title, Mario Kart 64, is being joined by Bonanza Bros. and Comix Zone -- two of the three promised Genesis titles (despite what Sega's website says) -- with the forgettable Gain Ground being pleasantly replaced with the similarly 16-bit SNES title, Super Probotector: Alien Rebels ... errr, rather Contra III: The Alien Wars. Normal VC prices apply to this batch: N64 titles fetch 1000 Wii Points while SNES and Genesis titles go for 800 Wii Points.
VC Friday: Get your race on
Only two titles on the Virtual Console this week in Europe, but it doesn't matter, because one of them is Mario Kart 64. So we'll just see you guys on Monday then, right? We recommend two applications of pain cream per day if you want to play at maximum capacity -- it keeps those fingers from cramping up. Mario Kart 64 (N64) -- 1000 Wii points Soldier Blade (Turbografx) -- 600 Wii points
Amazon supports retro gaming
Jason spotted this gem over on Amazon's "browse by system" link. It's great that they're still supporting systems that could be considered retro (Mario Kart 64 anyone? No? How about Crazy Taxi for your DC?), although excluding modern platforms like the DS and the Xbox 360 may not be in their best interest. Maybe they should start up an operation in Senegal? We hear that retro is really popular over there.
