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VC Friday: Puffballs and bikes
Sure, so you could pick up Excite Truck this week if you're in Europe ... or you could save a few quid and go old school with Excitebike on the Virtual Console! Sorry, sorry ... we just loved us some Excitebike back in the day, and we get a little extra bouncy when we have an excuse to talk about it. If jumping blocky hills isn't your thing, there's a lot more to choose from this week: Excitebike (NES) -- 500 points Kirby's Adventure (NES) -- 500 points New Adventure Island (TurboGrafx) -- 600 points R-Type III: The Third Lightning (SNES) -- 800 points Any of these rev your motor?
'Secret passwords' lost in Kid Icarus VC
Forget about the old "ICARUS FIGHTS MEDUSA ANGELS" code. Ain't gonna work with the Virtual Console version of Kid Icarus released Monday. A warning attached to the game download states: "The original Kid Icarus allowed players to use secret passwords; however, Virtual Console does not support these passwords."The omission of these codes is apparently a result of the original cartridge depending on an included module to process the codes; Virtual Console was not designed to emulate this specific component. Similar to Mario Kart ghost data or rumble feedback, Kid Icarus codes are dependent on hardware external to the game file. It simply isn't cost effective for Nintendo to patch VC to support these apparently minor features; unless the service encounters a backlash. You willing to stand up for those cheat codes?
The VC gets 3 more NES titles
A handful of new NES titles are destined to hit the VC today at their usual time of 9am PST. With all three being solid titles from the Nintendo Entertainment System's line-up of games, we suspect we'll be forced to give each and every one a download. The details for each game are: Kid Icarus - NES - 1 player - 500 Wii Points Ice Climbers - NES - 1-2 players - 500 Wii Points Kirby - 1 player - 500 Wii Points Will you be joining us in giving these a download today?
VC Friday: It's shopping time
Maybe you've been holding out on this whole Virtual Console thing. Maybe you just didn't feel like spending money on some older games. But this week comes complete with a huge shot of pure, unadulterated goodness, so maybe it's time you gave the Wii Shop channel a chance. We're not saying you have to ... we're just saying it may make your weekend that much better.This week: Super Mario World (SNES) -- 800 Wii points Vigilante (TurboGrafx) -- 600 Wii points Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES) -- 500 Wii points
Super Mario World leads VC Monday charge [update 1]
It's that wonderful time again when we all turn on our Wiis (at 9am PST, natch) and discover the latest Virtual Console releases. This week, there may not be many, but many argue that Super Mario World is the best of the Mario bunch. The other two titles are a bit less well-known: Super Mario World - SNES - 800 Wii Points - 1-2 players Vigilante - TG-16 - 600 Wii Points - 1player Gain Ground - Genesis - 800 Wii Points - 1-2 players Anyone giving these a download?[Update 1: World, not Land. Our bad.]
Virtual Console vigilantes gain ground in Super Mario World
If you're the sort of person who leaps out of bed on a Monday morning, filled with the burning desire to rescue something from a perilous situation, you'll likely find today's Virtual Console offerings most satisfying. As of 9AM Pacific Time, you should be able to make your way into the Wii shop and start proving that chivalry is far from dead (but possibly overpriced in some cases).Princess Toadstool will be requiring your services in Super Mario Land State Continent World (SNES, $8), having been kidnapped during her trip to Dinosaur Land -- it sounded so inviting! If you haven't played it before, it's well worth witnessing Mario's career shift to Dino-Rider and his expertise in straddling a vicious green beast that devours enemies whole. If that doesn't hold appeal, a different career of sorts lies in Vigilante (Turbo-Grafx 16, $6), which sees players beating up thugs in New York City in an effort to rescue "the beloved Madonna." Finally, there's Gain Ground (Genesis, $8), a dramatic tale of supercomputers gone rampant and civilians being unjustly imprisoned within war simulations (obviously). It's just as well that you have an AK-toting guy called "Professor" on your side. Presumably, it's expected of us to find and rescue the fourth and still missing Virtual Console game for this week.
VC Friday: Shooting and stealing
And to think, people assume Nintendo's all kid-friendly! Okay, okay, so sometimes the thug lifestyle is a little colorful when it's designed for the Big N. Still, this week's European VC lineup proves that Nintendo's all about being hard ... at least, when it's tongue-in-cheek or in outer space. Check out this wacky trio of titles up on the block today. Any of them strike your fancy? Bonanza Bros. (Sega Mega Drive) -- 800 points Comix Zone (Sega Mega Drive) -- 800 points Gradius (NES) -- 500 points
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 glitch documented
Soon after the game's release to the Virtual Console yesterday, the folks over at Go Nintendo downloaded the title for the affluent cost of 1,000 Wii Points (we're paid in pain) and got together for a three-man session. They discovered something odd, however, when racing on the track Moo Moo Farm. The odd occurrence deals with the speed of the game, which they determine "is about double that of 150 cc."Video is embedded past the post break.
VC Monday: it's Kart time!
That's right kids, today US gamers will finally be able to download Mario Kart 64, along with a handful of other kickass titles as well. The other games, which include Contra III: The Alien Wars, Bonanza Bros., and Comix Zone (one of our favorite Genesis games), will all be available with Mario Kart 64 starting today at 9am PST (12pm EST). The breakdown on cost goes: Mario Kart 64 - N64 - 1000 Wii Points - 1 to 4 players Contra III: The Alien Wars - 800 Wii Points - 1 to 2 players Bonanza Bros. - 800 Wii Points - 1 to 2 players Comix Zone - 800 Wii Points - 1 player So who is getting what?
Wii Warm Up: Costs of the Virtual Console
Prices for games vary on the Virtual Console, with many games available for as few as 500 Wii points, or a measly five bucks, up to twice that ... and it's rumored that some games may be even more expensive than that. Sure, five or ten dollars doesn't sound like that much, but considering your other Wii costs, which we discussed over the weekend, many gamers are more frugal when it comes to choosing their Virtual Console purchases. After all, most of us have played these games before. Still, when it comes to reliving a beloved game experience, what's a few dollars?Today's question is how you really feel about Virtual Console pricing, and what's driven you to start spending Wii points. What's been released that you just couldn't go without? How many games have you purchased so far?
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
Wii to get original downloadable titles, 'Game Channel' possible
Remarks made by Hudson Entertainment director of marketing John Lee, during an interview with Game Informer, have sparked rumor that a 'Game Channel,' dealing in original downloadable titles, could be headed to Wii. Lee didn't make any specific implications, but did cleverly acknowledge that Nintendo had plans to distribute original downloadable games. When asked if Hudson had plans to do so, Lee claimed, "No," but added, "However, in the future, you should rephrase that question to: Are there any plans to launch original content on some downloadable service on the Wii, and you might get a different answer."CVG brought the issue up with Nintendo, which responded, "We cannot confirm at this time in what format the new content will be delivered, but in the future there will be original games available for download through the Wii Shop." While still unconfirmed, it's likely that Nintendo could launch a new Channel to further separate original games, once purchased from Wii Shop Channel, from Virtual Console fare. We also suspect that most of these new offerings will utilize the Wiimote (and Nunchuk) instead of the Classic Controller.
Micropayments look small, but are stacking up
A new study by ABI research estimates that the combined revenues of console micropayments will total more than $833 million by 2011. While $833M is a hefty pocket of change, that's really all it is; pocket change. Consider that software sales alone generated $6.5 billion just last year. So by ABI's calculations, four years from now, total micropayment transactions will have grossed less than 13% of one year's worth of software sales.Still, micropayment revenue is almost pure profit (split between distributors, publishers, and developers). The content is inexpensive to produce, and is often created pre-release (heck, EA's basically been selling "cheat codes"). So while micropayment revenue might look insignificant compared to software sales, the mechanism is still pulling the change out of our pockets (which adds up) and dropping it into the industry's hands. The exchange is quick and cheap, and likely to make a few company heads even more obscenely rich over the next four years.
VC Monday: Link to the Past!
Arguably the greatest adventure to ever bear the name Zelda in its title, The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past is sure to please many when they check today's available VC downloads. Coming in at the sum of 800 Wii Points, players will again be able to help Link save the Dark and Light worlds from the sinister Ganon. With many dungeons and items to be found, Link to the Past is easily one of the greatest SNES titles in existence. How many of you plan on giving this a download? [Thanks Gerwurztraminer!]
VC Friday: Fightin' in the streets
If you were looking for a break from shooters, then you'll be interested in this week's big new Virtual Console release. The availability of Street Fighter II almost makes up for the low number of titles released so far this month.Available today on the Virtual Console in Europe: Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES) -- 800 points Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (SNES) -- 800 points Either of these have you reaching for the credit card?
Preserving the culture of games
Curmudgeon Gamer reflects on the likely outcome of GameStop's buyout of the Rhino Games retail franchise: "cultural loss." Rhino will no doubt undergo some significant changes, which will probably include the divestment of its aging inventory. Presumably, the "new" Rhino will not stock console titles that pre-date PlayStation 2. Similarly, GameStop's conquest of the used games market has driven the 'mom & pop' shops that carry retro hardware and software out of business.Curmudgeon Gamer concludes: "[GameStop Corp's] focus on only the most profitable games, the newest ones, will necessarily limit the consumer's focus on those same games ... To me that's a loss, not just personally but for the whole culture that's grown up around videogames." So who is working to preserve our history?Although purists may argue that digital distribution services like Xbox Live Arcade and Wii Virtual Console lack authenticity, these platforms are working to preserve our classic games using viable retail means. Much like old records made the jump to CD (now iTunes and the like), or movies to DVD (now Xbox 360 Video Marketplace), games of yesteryear are finding new platforms for survival. The cynic in us says re-releasing classic (and not-so classic) games is fast money for publishers, but let's not ignore the cultural preservation at work. The hook for these services might be nostalgia, but we can crack a collective smile imagining some youngster discovering The Legend of Zelda for the first time on Virtual Console.
Another VC Monday, another shooter (or two)
Three games up today for the Virtual Console in North America -- two disparate shooters and, just to mix things up, a racing game. Though after Gradius, we're not sure if Nintendo shouldn't take a break from scrolling shooters in favor of something a little different for a while, since after Gradius, there's many a game that just doesn't seem quite as good. And according to you guys, the VC needs to start branching out a little more anyway! Perhaps next week. For this week, however:Xevious (NES) -- 500 pointsR-Type III: The Third Lightning (SNES) -- 800 pointsMotoRoader (TurboGrafx 16) -- 600 points[Thanks to everyone who tipped us on this!]
Sub-par Virtual Console games on U.S. holiday
On a day most Americans have off, we get another lame assortment of VC games for the Wii. Xevious (NES, 500 points), R-Type III: The Third Lightning (Super NES, 800 points) and Moto Roader (TurboGrafx16, 600 points) are the titles Wii owners are expected to blow their cash Wii points on.Bring on the Metroid, even Super Metroid, Kid Icarus, or titles we've heard of. We know that some good games need to be saved for the rumored incoming Wii drought, but with an amazing library of games at Nintendo's disposal, we're getting some unimpressive and genre clumped offerings. The VC is not living up to its potential.
Do PSP games on PS3 cause a threat?
Sony seems to be having a bit of a problem. They have a portable system that is a success, but not by any means their main product. Then they have a new console that desperately needs games any way it can get them. Obviously they need to compete on the high end next gen game front, but they also need to compete against the Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade. Without the backlog of games like Nintendo or the head start of Microsoft, they seem to be turning to a questionable source for their downloadable games; the PSP. The obvious issue with PSP games going to PS3 is that it begins to negate the reasons for a consumer to own both. Sure, right now it's a Gripshift and a Tekken, but what happens if the trend just continues? Sure, this would strengthen the PlayStation Network, but at the cost of PSP exclusives. This is just not acceptable when the PSP still has a long way to go to establish itself. If Sony does insist on continuing to take games from the PSP library to the PS3, than it needs to change how it does so. Microsoft announced Live Anywhere quite some time ago, but we're still waiting for the day when we can play Xbox Live Arcade games on the go. Part of the reason is that Microsoft doesn't yet have a portable gaming system, but Sony does. Why not have it so if I download Gripshift on the PS3 I can download it to my PSP as well free as charge. For games that require progress, it would be great if I was able to share saves between my PSP and PS3. Maybe this is part of Sony's eventual plans anyway, but until I can buy Tekken on my PSP and continue it on my PS3 or vice-versa, it seems like a missed opportunity. It could just be that this is a temporary solution and as more developers jump on board the PlayStation Network, Sony will stop relying on PSP games as downloadable content. Even if this is the case though, it still seems like a dangerous road for Sony to travel. It could just be that I'm overreacting though. What do fellow PSP owners think of this development?
