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VC Friday: lackluster week for downloadable games
What's this ... just Xevious? We appreciate a good, old school scrolling shooter just as much as the next fanboy, but this is a pretty boring offering when it's the only offering for the week. You can do better than this, NoE! Show us what you've got.The NES game will set you back 500 points, if you are so inclined. And here's hoping for a more exciting next Friday.
Nothing new on XBLA this week ... but there is Ms. Pac-Man
Everything old is "classic" news now, with the Gamerscore blog revealing this week's Xbox Live Arcade release to be Ms. Pac-Man. Though many insist that it's far superior to the original Pac-Man, is it really different enough to warrant its own Wednesday release slot? In fact, wasn't it a free launch title for the original Xbox Live Arcade? Perhaps if we received the miss before (or instead of) the man, it wouldn't come across as just another hurdle to be leapt over in the race to fresher content.Not to incite the pellet-munching hordes, but it seems that both Xbox Live Arcade and Nintendo's Virtual Console regularly get the terms "old" and "classic" confused. We don't want all of the old games again, we want the best ones. True enough, not everyone agrees on what makes a quality arcade title, but taking greater care in choosing them in the first place would greatly enhance the lineups of both services. A true classic is something you'll pick up and play right this second, with nary a thought about graphics, sound or age -- and there aren't as many of those as you might think.In those respects, perhaps Ms. Pac-Man is a classic. However, its familiar trappings don't demand an immediate 400 point ($5) purchase, especially not with Pac-Man already sitting on the same service and Worms being pushed away another 7 days. Games like this and New Rally-X only dilute the XBLA experience and a quick succession of them could steadily lead to more and more apathy.Hell, it's not even that hard to defeat apathy. It just kind of lies there.
VC Friday: Mushroom, mushroom
It's Friday, and for our European friends, that means it's time for another Virtual Console update. This week you guys get some super classic goodies, which makes up for the fact that there's only two classic goodies. Super Mario Bros. (NES) - 500 pointsMotoroader (Turbografx) - 600 pointsWhen we first picked up Super Mario Bros. over here (we couldn't resist), everyone immediately started singing/humming/otherwise-recreating the theme, loudly and tunelessly. Thus, we recommend earplugs for the first foray into this one ....
It's (technically) Virtual Console Monday!
And you know what that means ... new games! Unfortunately, it looks like Nintendo has one hell of a hangover (we can't blame them, we were up till 6 AM ourselves), and they only managed to spit out two rather inauspicious titles: Baseball and Urban Champion, both for the NES. After five hundred points each, we maintain that both playing baseball and punching someone in the face are both far more enjoyable in real life in Wii Sports.And by the way, fellow fanboys, Happy New Year! Did your megaton party involve raucous Wii-playing? As you know, there was a more important countdown in Times Square around a month and a half ago, so if you played right through midnight, wish yourself a happy belated 2007 and check the ball-drop on your TiVo. Just kidding. We know you've already erased that to make room for the next episode of Heroes.
VC Friday: vampires and cities
To those in Europe: don't forget to check out today's Virtual Console updates, because there are some sweet games available now.SimCity (SNES) -- 800 pointsSuper Castlevania IV (SNES) -- 800 pointsBaseball (NES) - 500 pointsIce Hockey (NES) -- 500 pointsR-Type (TURBOGRAFX) -- 800 pointsSuper Probotector was scheduled for today, but we've heard it was a no-show. Not like you needed it today, not with that lineup! Planning on buying any of these? We definitely recommend Super Castlevania IV.
Mario Kart 64 headlines Jan. Wii VC lineup, in Japan
Nintendo will deal a strong hand of nostalgia to begin the New Year, as January will see Japanese Wii owners tempted by the likes of Mario Kart 64 and SNES Super Famicom's Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu (the last series' title to be produced by Gunpei Yokoi). Additional classics like Ice Climber, Kid Icarus and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link will fill out the first-party offerings; and new Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 titles will ensure that the Virtual Console service always has something stirring a soft spot.Which Christmas releases did you give in to?
Christmas sees first VC price increase
Wii owners waking up this Christmas morning expecting to download some classic space 'shmup goodness might be a little surprised at what they have to pay to get it. R-Type, released today on the Wii's virtual console, is the first TurboGrafx-16 game to be available for 800 VC points instead of the normal 600.This didn't come as a total surprise: Nintendo casually mentioned last month that virtual console games merely "start at" the now-standard point levels (NES: 500, TG16: 600, SNES/Genesis:800, N64:1000). They also mentioned the R-Type price specifically in a press release last week, but our eyes glazed over and we misreported it at 600 points. Silly us... we thought the price used in six other TurboGrafx-16 games so far would carry over to the seventh.While R-Type is a bit more popular than a similar game like Super Star Soldier, we can't help but wonder why Nintendo chose this game to break out the first price hike. While a 200 point increase isn't too outrageous, we can only hope this does not represent the start of a trend in ever-increasing virtual console prices.
VC Friday: Tennis and Toejam
Don't forget, there are new games on the Virtual Console today in Europe. Though we've already posted the full list of VC Europe games through the end of the year, it's a good day for reminders. Available today: Donkey Kong Jr. (NES) - 500 pointsSoccer (NES) - 500 pointsTennis (NES) - 500 pointsSpace Harrier II (MEGA DRIVE) - 800 pointsToe Jam & Earl (MEGA DRIVE) - 800 pointsMilitary Madness (TURBOGRAFX) - 600 pointsTo buy or not to buy -- that's the Friday question for European Wii owners!
Opera browser live today
The free trial of the Wii's Opera browser is now live and ready for download, so don't forget to grab it for a little Wiikend surfing. Apparently there's also a super secret page at the Opera site accessible only from the Wii's browser in support of the My Opera community. They promise specialized content therein, but with gaming news provided by GameSpot, so we'll just have to check and see what's unique to the page and what you can access from any ol' browser. Download it, check it out, and tell us what you think! How do we look on the Wii -- spectacular or merely a little fantastic?[Thanks to everyone who sent this one in!]
VC Christmas: Super Mario, four more, no hand outs [update 1]
[Update: The original post erroneously listed the price for R-Type at 600 points. More here.]Nintendo has confirmed five titles for the Christmas Day Virtual Console update, and it's quite an impressive release. Just as we thought, Nintendo is not giving away any titles. Instead, they are uploading five major titles to increase their profit margin. The titles are: Super Mario Bros. (NES, 500 points): Nintendo's flagship title is sure to sell like hotcakes despite already racking up 40 million in sales since its 1985 release. How many times can we repurchase the game? Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES, 800 points): Compared to the Xbox Live version, it's your choice whether you want online play or would rather pocket $2.00 in exchange rate difference (800 Nintendo points vs. 800 MS points). Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 800 points): One of the best in the series. Easily the best Castlevania title on the SNES, though it only had one other iteration (Castlevania Dracula X) to compete against. Toe Jam & Earl (Genesis, 800 points): Strong two-player action title, worth the price based on style alone. R-Type (TurboGrafx16, 800 points): One of the classic space shooters. We're excited by the list, even if our wallets aren't. Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime has talked about strategically releasing VC titles when there's a drought of first-party Wii titles. With all these delays recently announced, might we be seeing more great VC Mondays forthcoming? And when are we going to see Square Enix games or any Nintendo 64 goodies?Keep up on: Virtual Console Mondays
Free VC games for Christmas? Keep dreaming
There's been a surprising amount of chatter recently about some sort of "Christmas surprise" coming out of Nintendo on Monday, Dec. 25. The source of all this speculation, as far as we can figure it, is a Nov. 30 post on RumorReporter.com that coyly suggests "you might want to keep an eye on your Wii's WiiConnect24 service leading up to this Christmas. Nintendo's sending a nifty gift... a surprise."The only cited source for this information? "A friend of mine from Germany, who works for a very legitimate gaming production and publication." And really, if you can't trust some guy's unnamed German friend who works for an unnamed "legitimate" gaming company, who can you trust?The extreme sketchiness of this tip hasn't stopped the 'net from rampant speculation on what the big surprise might be. The current leading contender seems to be free Virtual Console games. As GamersReports notes, a little Firefox hacking can turn up Wii Shop pages for upcoming games Super Mario Bros., ToeJam & Earl and R-Type that list the price as "0 points / Free." The report is careful to note this as a rumor, but still holds out hope for "a real Christmas miracle, though."We don't buy it. As noted on the original hacking guide on Following Revolution, "any unreleased game says free for now, as it's just a placeholder for price" which will be set later. Some might say that the "free" message where the "download" button usually appears proves that the games are indeed going to be offered gratis, but it would be a relatively simple process for Nintendo to set that message as the default for any page with an unset price. At best, this proves that the virtual console has the functionality to offer products for free -- something we've long known was planned for the system's Opera browser.But the greatest argument against this Christmas surprise is that it's bad business. Giving away Super Mario Bros., a title that is likely to be one of the Virtual Console's biggest sellers, is not a smart move for a company that obviously values profits. The positive PR for the move likely wouldn't offset the hundreds of thousands of dollars lost to the free downloads.We suppose we could be wrong here, and that some huge surprise could show up on our systems come Christmas morning. Just don't get your hopes up, is all.
PAL Wii owner pulls the ol' region-switch to access more VC titles
A New Zealand Wii owner gets creative when faced with his country's lack of Virtual Console titles. He changes his console's PAL region to the UK. Voilà!Unfortunately, this "trick" -- popularized by Xbox 360 users (before Microsoft wised up) -- doesn't work with Japanese or North American Wiis. Japanese owners can't change their Wiis' region, and North Americans don't have access to the Japanese or UK region options.
Friday is VC day for Europe
Looks like Friday is update day for the European Virtual Console, though we're not sure why Nintendo wouldn't do all regions on the same day, even despite differences in content from region to region. Maybe they just want things to be confusing for those who obtained a console from a different region!We've included the full list of this month's VC updates for Europe -- and it's pretty extensive! Check it out after the jump.
Gunstar, Mean Bean, and 2 more invade VC Mondays
Nintendo has announced the four new titles coming to the Virtual Console today. As predicted, TurboGrafx-16's Alien Crush makes the list, although the also-mentioned Dungeon Explorer is currently MIA. The other three titles are Gunstar Heroes, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (both Genesis) and Ice Hockey (NES), which were all featured on the launch list for the US Virtual Console.Also on the launch list, but still absent, are Baseball, Tennis, Urban Champion (all NES), Space Harrier II and Toe Jam & Earl (both Genesis). As noted by Joystiq tipster Eric B., Sega lists Space Harrier II landing next Monday (December 18) and Toe Jam & Earl arriving Christmas Day. Assuming Dungeon Explorer makes the list by 2006 -- it, too, was on the list -- that's at least six more titles we can expect before the New Year. With any luck, we'll also see a few better titles purported by Nintendo -- that is, unless it interferes with Reggie's strategies.The four new VC titles today will be added at 12:00pm EST. Ice Hockey is 500 points, Alien Crush 600, and both Genesis titles are 800 points apiece.Keep up on: Virtual Console Mondays[Thanks, ElChibo and Shadow Hog]
Exchange 'Stars' for Wii points in UK
UK Nintendo membership holders will finally be able to put their 'Stars' to good use. Earned via codes packaged with Nintendo hardware and software sold in the UK, Stars have been useless (redeemed for wallpaper) until now. Nintendo has announced it will be adding Wii points to the Stars Catalogue.By linking a Wii Shop Channel account to an online Nintendo membership, Wii owners will soon be able to put their Stars toward Virtual Console purchases (by way of Wii points). But it gets better: completing a survey upon purchasing a VC title will transfer some new Stars back to your membership. It's almost like the VC games are paying for themselves -- but not quite. We're willing to bet the 'Stars to Wii points' exchange rate ain't so hot.
Aliens and explorers enter Virtual Console lineup
Taking a break from watching obscure Japanese commercials, the fine fellows at Bits Bytes Pixels & Sprites recently poked their noses into the various nooks and crannies of Hudson Entertainment's website. Along with a vague smell of bacon, they discovered the product pages for two, as yet unannounced Virtual Console games. Though there's no mention of a release date, Alien Crush and Dungeon Explorer are both set to appear on the Wii's TurboGrafx-16 emulator. Memory refresh: Alien Crush sees you playing pinball on the faces of some rather menacing aliens, whereas Dungeon Explorer adequately equips you with tools clearly intended for hacking and slashing. Presumably, you also get to explore dungeons in the company of a "knome." If either of these floats your cup of nostalgia, be sure to check back with us on Monday -- there's a decent chance they'll become available then.
Europe Virtual Console suffers emulation woes
Virtual Console games for PAL territory Wiis suffer the same 50Hz technical problems as their original releases, according to Pro-G's James Orry. In testing Sonic the Hedgehog, for example, Orry notes that the game "runs noticeably slower than the NTSC version and features sizeable borders at the top and bottom of the screen."NTSC signals display in 720x480, while PAL signals use 720x576i -- hence the horizontal bars, which are somewhat understandable. However, displaying 50Hz signals on 60Hz sets cause a noticeable slowdown that, according to Orry, "has plagued [PAL] gamers for years. Now PAL gamers are used to proper PAL conversions and 60Hz gameplay options, and being forced to return to the 50Hz dark ages isn't something Wii owners expected."Not all games suffer the same fate. In an e-mail to Joystiq, Orry notes that he has not tried other titles yet. CVG found similar problems with F-Zero, while Mario 64 and Donkey Kong Country (SNES) ran smoothly with no problems. For now, it's a grab bag.We know Nintendo promised "faithful recreations" of its old games, and we know that some European gamers won't mind the slower-than-NTSC pace, but to others it's considered lazy on Nintendo's part to bring a game with obvious technical maladies. The Wii comes out in Europe this Friday, December 8.
It's so catchy! (Wii delight #003)
Only until we managed to force Nintendo's ingenious concoction of beeps and boops out of our heads, did we realize how shockingly hollow life was without it. The masterful music emanating from the Wii Shop Channel is quite obviously the greatest composition in the history of the universe, its infectious melody gripping you like a malfunctioning elevator door. Though you may be sprawled across a couch with a limp wrist interacting with the screen, this tantalizing tune will transfer you to a store populated by charming 8-bit sprites that move about in an eerie, staccato manner. Just moments after entering, the song will have wormed its way into your brain and taken control of your vocal chords. You're humming along, you're bobbing your head and you are happy. The happiest you've ever been in your entire life. Why not spread the joy and infect delight others with it? Refer them to this Youtube video (depicting the infamous browser hack) and tell them to shut up. Shut up and listen.(By the way, could we have some remixes?)PS3 delights vs. PS3 annoyances Wii delights vs. Wii annoyances Xbox 360 delights vs. Xbox 360 annoyances
Why can't I demo my VC downloads? (Wii annoyance #011)
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Why_can_t_I_demo_my_VC_downloads_Wii_annoyance_011'; Sure, the Nintendo Wii Shop Channel is full of classic titles that many remember from childhood, but does that mean we should buy games on nostalgia? Maybe we've been spoiled by Xbox Live's demo system, but Microsoft's service has been around long enough for Nintendo to learn from its competitors. Given Nintendo's tiny disk space, we don't expect demos of traditionally-released Wii titles. But these are retro titles being charged at a premium. Not everyone has played the classics, and beyond that there are original titles that have been promised. If not a full-fledged demo, why not a 5-minute time constraint, and our purchase can turn off the clock -- that shouldn't be too much of a logistical issue.We love the little console, we really do; that's why we don't want to see WiiConnect24 (or PlayStation's no-use-for-a-name online network) function below its predecessors.PS3 delights vs. PS3 annoyances Wii delights vs. Wii annoyances Xbox 360 delights vs. Xbox 360 annoyances
It's the little things that grab you
Now that many of us have had the time to get friendly with our Wiis and maybe toss a Wiimote around here or there, let's take a moment to celebrate the little things the small details. In the frenzy of anticipating and buying and box-opening, sometimes we lose track of the details, the really fabulous things about a new console that begin to shine after a few days of serious gameplay. Fanboys that we are, we like to pull those details into the spotlight and coo over them whilst giving our European friends an idea of what's in store for them. Thus, after the jump we've listed a few of the little things that warm our fanboy hearts -- and we wanna hear what you love most about the Wii as well. Of course, not everything is always perfect ... so we might have a few little beefs as well ....
