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The Wii Virtual Console Hands-On

Gamespot has a hands-on with the virtual console for the Wii. From the article: "Nintendo's Wii Virtual Console demo station featured five signature games from system's past: Super Mario Bros. from the NES, Super Mario World from the SNES, Super Mario 64 from the Nintendo 64, Sonic the Hedgehog from the Sega Genesis, and Bonk's Adventure from the TurboGrafix 16. The navigation menu only allowed us to scroll through the five title selection pages, so we didn't get a chance to select and download games to run."

8 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. Wiiiiiii ! by suv4x4 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    An year ago I discussed with friends how Nintendo is going the way of SEGA and soon they'll go out of the hardware biz and port Mario to other platforms.

    Then I wondered why Nintendo chose to throw out the standard controller and move to something totally unorthodox, and thought that's a stupid move.

    I also recently laughed about the Wii name and discussed with friends that it'll fail sales.

    Now I know, Wii is THE console I will buy the moment it's out, because it provides an amazing value at a lower price and amazing innovation right in your living room.
    I may even buy one for my mother and grandmother, cause I always like to push technology down their throat, like any self-respecting geek should, and I think it'll be easier and more fun this time :)

    BTW, did you notice the guy talking on the Sony pressconference sounded pretty depressed after the Wii presentation the previous day :) they've all the reasons to be.

  2. Answer me this: by Quaoar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is the virtual console service free, per-game, or a monthly fee? I haven't seen anything indicating how much this will cost.

    --
    I'll form my OWN solar system! With blackjack! And hookers!
    1. Re:Answer me this: by Ash-Fox · · Score: 2, Insightful

      > They don't give out information any earlier than they have to even if there is no reason to be secretive.

      They keep their competitors in the dark and don't make promises which they could end up breaking.

      I say their tact is good.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  3. The iTunes Store of Games? by VGfort · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I wonder how much they will charge for each game. If they priced it rather low, $5 or less, a lot of people would buy them legally. Lets face it Emulation wont go away, and the only way to find some of the old games is to either search flea markets or download them off the internet. Miyamoto is like the Steve Jobs of the console business and the Picasso of game design.

  4. Re:Wild Speculation by PhoenixFlare · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nintendo is doing great, but the Sony+MS merger is not something they can go against, Sony+MS start pouring billions of dollars advertising their consoles, a new PSP-XBOX-PS3 interoperability kit is developed and distributed.

    1 decent console + 1 mediocre handheld + 1 overhyped and horribly expensive console = Nintendo's death? Sounds like Captain Planet gone horribly wrong.

    Nintendo lacks the hard cash MS has, and soon the innovations of Wii are quickly drowned in the ad campaigns and promotions MS does.

    Yeah, because dumping all that money worked so well last time....They barely beat the Gamecube in sales, got clobbered by the PS2, lost billions of dollars, and failed to establish a strong foothold in Japan.

    Late 2007, Microsoft buys Nintendo.

    Okay, that crosses the line from speculation into total insanity :)

    Late 2008, a new console is released by Microsoft: the XWiiPlay, which uses an advanced version of the Wii-mote, packed with a standard controller extension, and can emulate all Sony, Sega, Microsoft and Nintendo consoles in existence, including Virtual Boy.

    Keep dreaming :) Can I have some of whatever drugs you're on?

    2009: Hiroshi Yamauchi comes out of retirement from his Jurassic Park-style secret lair, leading an army of genetically-engineered killer Pokemon against Microsoft. Revenge is swift and bloody, with the heads of Bill Gates and Steve Balmer last seen used as chew toys by a rabid Pikachu. Nintendo reclaims their rightful place for all eternity.

  5. Re:Xbox soft-modding issues by Ash-Fox · · Score: 3, Insightful

    > I find it funny that Nintendo fanboys are literally creaming themselves over a feature that Xbox had years ago.

    I find it funny that Xbox fanboys are litterally creaming themselves over a feature that PCs had years before that!

    --
    Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  6. Re:Xbox soft-modding issues by PyroMosh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My Xbox can play more NES, SNES, TG16, Master System, Genesis, Game Boy, and N64 games than the Wii will ever be able to play. I find it funny that Nintendo fanboys are literally creaming themselves over a feature that Xbox had years ago.

    No it can't. It's not the same thing at all.

    You're using a clumsy hack to download illegal ROMs from unknown sources.

    That's not what I'm excited about at all. I could do this for the past 10 years or more on my PC.

    I'm excited that I can obtain legal copies of games that compensate the people who brought the game to me, and that I know it's from people who know how both the origional was programed, and how to emulate it on the new hardware. Without guesswork or clumsy hacks.

    I log on, select a game, buy it legally, and play it. Simple. "Just works".

    This is the same reason I don't purchase used games if I Can help it. New game sales tells the publisher that people like their game. I'm more likley to see more games like them in the future. This is a way for me to continue to tell publishers and developers that I liked their classic titles. This is what I've been waiting for for a long time.

    Before you answer that you can legally rip any ROMs you own the carts for, it's not so. It's a common fallacy in the emmulation world. In most piracy circles, people get "legal advice" where they find some "loop hole" they like, and they are convinced it's valid. Whether it's based in reality or not (24 hour rule, for instance.) The common myth in the US stems from USC 117 Section 17. It allows for owners of software to make a single backup copy. The purpose of this dates back to the 70s or 80s when software was distributed mostly on volatile magnetic storage mediums. People like to pretend that it extends to ROMs too, but in fact, not only is it not true, but case law (See Atari vs JS&A or google it) contradicts it.

    Obviously this will vary from country to country, but the most vocal "advocated" of this kind of thing come from the U.S.

    Long story short, what the x-box has nothing like this at all. There's a series of hacks that try to aproximate it, but give almost none of the benefit I'm looking for, and none of the legality. Not the elegance or ease of use. It's like comparing building a car yourself to buying one off the lot. Good luck with that.

  7. Re:My Xbox can already play those games. by Duds · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There is if you don't own the original cart.

    And if the person I originally replied to owns every rom on his Xbox then I'm Richard Stallman.