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WRUP: Kongin' it up edition
Another Friday and another question must be asked: What are you playing? For us, we plan on getting tons of time in with Donkey Kong Jr. on the Virtual Console. With few desirable releases available to us this week, we're forced to get our fix with some multiplayer Wii Sports and rock the Virtual Console. We plan on doing the usual thing, gathering some friends together and having a ball with our Wii.What about you guys? Still hung up on Zelda or do you perhaps have your teeth sunk into another title and have yet to beat it?Past posts: What were you playing?
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 ....
Nintendo promises four VC games every Monday
After a bit of an inconsistent start, Nintendo has finally decided to standardize the release of classic game downloads on the Wii's Shop Channel. Starting this week, the company will make available four virtual console downloads every Monday at 9 a.m. Pacific time. The following titles will be available on Dec. 4: Donkey Kong Jr. (500 Wii points - NES*) Victory Run (600 points - TG-16) Columns (800 points - Genesis) Ristar (800 points - Genesis) While we're happy to see Nintendo add some regularity to the release of new content, we can't help but wonder why there have been so few SNES and N64 games announced for the virtual console thus far. Is Nintendo trying to hook new users with lower-priced, older games, or are they just reluctant to put out downloads that require a Gamecube pad or a somewhat-hard-to-find classic controller? Or neither. Or both. Or something else! Hooray for rhetorical questions!* - Mistakenly listed in the press release as SNES[Via Gaming Bits]
Wii Shopping: Japanese vs. North American
Which is better: Wario Woods and Sim City, or Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario World, Gradius, Street Fighter II, and the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past? Yeah, we thought you might choose the latter. We hope the Japanese and North American Virtual Console lineup will reach equilibrium in a few months and we can all enjoy the same rockin' old school games, but there will likely always be some differences in offerings between regions. Thanks to Spencer Yip of Siliconera, we can see the Japanese Wii shopping in action -- including the awesome greeting from Wario when his new game is in the disc channel.
The Wii holiday buyer's guide part 1: the new adopter [update 1]
In an attempt to aid you in assimilating new life forms into our collective showing someone the wonder of gaming, we've come up with a three part holiday buyer's guide to aid you in acquiring gifts for every type of gamer. Our first installment looks into those who, traditionally, aren't a gamer and might have just gotten into the hobby (or curious about it, at least). Continue into the post, where some thoughtful gift ideas will be presented past the jump.
NOA's Reggie Fils-Aime skirts region issues
There are always two ways to look at every situation, and the best businessmen are the ones who can convince you that their perspective is right. In a string of interviews lately, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has aptly spun the region situations into a pleasant bullet point. Let's look at his argument. In an interview with MTV's Stephen Totilo, Fils-Aime was questioned about the disparity between the US and Japanese Virtual Console lineup, where the US was receiving around half the titles going to Japan. In his words, some games "may make perfect sense in Japan but we don't think in our marketplace have a lot of potential." Translation: why waste the megabytes on titles that didn't have the popularity? However, the cost for Nintendo to put a a title on a server is minimal and builds reputation to a brand for supporting its fans. There is no shelf space to fight for, and we know Nintendo are wizards with their emulators. Even if the title only appeals to a niche audience, that's still money for intangible property. Forget Mother 1 and 3, with this talk we're afraid they might skip over uploading cult-favorite Earthbound. Contrary to popular opinion, not everyone will want Goldeneye.
Break out the retro, folks
With your classic NES and SNES games on the Virtual Console, you (generally) have three options. You can plug in that silly classic controller, and have the Wiimote sit awkwardly on your lap. You can use a Gamecube controller, with its a-bit-too-complex-for-old-school button layout. Or, you can turn your Wiimote on its side for simplistic button configurations. None of these solutions are quite perfect, and fail to evoke that sense on controller nostalgia for which we so long.Ready for ten tons of cool? Electronic badasses over at RetroZone have made two ever-so-simple adapters that allow you to plug in an NES or SNES controller directly into the Wii's Gamecube controller ports, for use with VC titles. That's right. Your original controllers of awesomeness will work as they once did. And only $19.99! What a bargain.
Rumor: Shadowman on its way to the VC
One of our readers, who must be a HUGE Shadowman fan, recently sent an email to Valiant Entertainment, the folks who own the rights to the N64 installment of the game, asking if the game would grace the Virtual Console. Upon sending the email, he received a surprising response:"Thank you for your interest. Yes, we have been speaking with Nintendo regarding Shadowman for the Virtual Console. Although, they have a ton of games to review and select from, Shadowman is on their radar."So they've been speaking to Nintendo? Great, we guess, as the more game to grace the Virtual Console the better. We cannot comment on whether we're excited or not, never having played the game ourselves. How many of you have played the game and would like to see it on the Virtual Console?[Thanks Foetoid!]
Classic controller vs. SNES controller
Engadget got their hands on a Classic Controller for the Wii and, noticing it has a remarkable resemblance to the SNES controller, they decided to do some side-by-side comparison shots, as well as some of the remote itself next to the Wiimote from all angles, for the vast series of tubes we call the internet. We've stolen included their photos into our post, which are embedded past the jump.[Thanks Barb!]
Nintendo is looking to get Goldeneye back?
As if the mere notion wasn't every Wii owner's wet dream, MTV's Steve Totillo sat down with Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime to discuss the possibility and find out if all the hopes and dreams of gamers out there were realistic. Turns out, Reggie wants to see the game grace the Virtual Console as well, as he replied "Suffice it to say we would love to see [GoldenEye on Virtual Console], so we're exploring all the rights issues."Of course, the rights issues are varied and abundant. With Microsoft now owning Rare, the company responsible for developing the title, as well as Activision owning the rights to all of the Bond games, Nintendo could find themselves writing a lot of checks. However, judging by the desire the title enjoys from its many fans (undoubtedly heralding their arrival through battle cries of "GREATEST CONSOLE FPS EVAR!") and the big boost to the Virtual Console the game would no doubt cause, we could very well see Nintendo cutting those checks sooner than later.
Nintendo wants GoldenEye back
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Nintendo_Wants_Goldeneye_Back'; MTV's Stephen Totilo recently grilled Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime about all things Wii. When questioned, the NoA president didn't hold back his desire to see GoldenEye returned to Nintendo's platform, revealing to Totilo, "Suffice it to say we would love to see [GoldenEye on Virtual Console], so we're exploring all the rights issues."So how far is Nintendo willing to "explore"? If GoldenEye is to enjoy its homecoming, royalties could certainly be owed to Microsoft, which now owns developer Rare, and Activision, which scooped up the Bond license earlier this year. Judging by Reggie's comments -- "the pain is worth the gain" -- Nintendo may be willing to cut those checks.
Ecco, Golden Axe hit Virtual Console
Seems we were a little premature in declaring Nintendo's latest Virtual Console release as a "slow-play" of their classic library. Two new Genesis games -- Ecco the Dolphin and Golden Axe -- are now available for download at 800 Wii points each.We can't be sure that these games didn't go up some time after Super Star Soldier late last night, but it seems that they actually hit sometime earlier today. Combined with last week's late launch of TurboGrafx-16 games on the Virtual Console, this makes two times that Nintendo has released new VC content on a day other than Monday.Is this a sign that we should now expect Virtual Console launches to come at any time throughout the week, or is Nintendo just running into some early technical glitches in its "Virtual Console Mondays" plan? You'll know the answer as soon as we do.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.][Update: Second paragraph edited to clarify the Monday vs. rest of week point.]
Super Star Soldier limps onto Wii Virtual Console
It's time for fun with Virtual Console math. OK, so a few weeks ago Nintendo promised 30 games would be available for the classic gaming download service by the end of the year. Fourteen of those games premiered on the service at launch (or just after), leaving 16 more to be released in the remainder of 2006. With Nintendo set to premiere new VC content on Mondays and only five more Mondays in 2006 (including today) we could reasonably expect three or four virtual console games each week, right?Apparently not. With less than two hours remaining in Monday on the East coast, the Wii Shop Channel is only showing one new game today: TurboGrafx-16 vertical shooter Super Star Soldier.We suppose its Nintendo's prerogative to slow-play its 2006 Virtual Console hand like this, but we're a little frustrated that we still have to wait for promised classics like ToeJam and Earl and Ecco the Dolphin. It shouldn't take much work on Nintendo's part to upload these decades-old ROMs to their servers -- perhaps the slow release is a way to offer a respite to Nintendo download servers that reportedly slowed to a crawl shortly after launch.Anyway, the game is up and available for 600 points, so go and buy if you're into the whole classic shmup thin.[Update: Fixed some math errors in paragraph 1]
Extra points leak out of Wii Shop Channel (Wii annoyance #006)
OK, we understand that using a universal Wii Points system is simpler than adjusting individual virtual console prices for different regions and currencies. What we don't understand is why we have to buy these points in increments of 1,000, even if all we want is just one game. Once we buy Bonk's Adventure for 600 points, what are we supposed to do with the 400 remaining points stuck in our account? Buy four-fifths of an NES game?The pat, fanboy response will likely be to buy more points and find more games to download, but we're not too excited about the prospect of spending more money just to get our change. Even worse, those without a credit card are thus far stuck laying out $20 for a 2000 point card at retail. That's a lot of mark up if all you want is a single $5 NES download.We know Xbox Live has a similar system in place for their Microsoft Points, but their minimum purchase price is only $5 and there are small, 100 point items available to soak up your leftovers in a pinch. Sony has them both beat, though, letting you deposit exactly the amount you need when making an online purchase instead of grubbing for a few extra bucks with every transaction.The whole point of digital distribution is to make buying games and content simpler. Forcing us to buy extra digital money we might not want does not serve that goal.PS3 delights vs. PS3 annoyancesWii delights vs. Wii annoyancesXbox 360 delights vs. Xbox 360 annoyances
Virtual Console feature hints at upgrading classics
Nintendo-centric site The Wiire sifted through the Q & A in the Wii Shop Channel and discovered an interesting portion that explained the Update button, where you can download "enhancements" for a game. It is unknown what enhancements there might be. The Q&A mentions that the updates would be provided free of charge, but that doesn't rule out other charged microtransactions. Likely the update feature exists to fix glitches; however, graphical improvements and online capabilities would be a nice touch. Who wouldn't want to play Mario Kart online? We've contacted our Nintendo rep and will let you know what we learn.[Thanks, Sam]
TurboGrafx-16 games available on the VC now
One of our readers sent us in this tip regarding a pair of much-wanted Virtual Console games on the Wii. TurboGrafx-16 games Bomberman '93 and Bonk's Adventure are both available to download for 600 points a piece. They work with any controller, including the Wiimote, GameCube, and Classic gamepads. With Bomberman '93 supporting 1-5 players, just how long will it take Nintendo to get the online red carpet rolled out for this game?[Thanks to all that sent this in!]
