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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."
Will games be available that were not published by Nintendo or Sega? Like Vectorman?
Post should be "I didn't bother to read the article."
Jesus saves and takes half damage.
Sounds almost as good as a softmodded Xbox.
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
No, they got to play the games too.
Jesus saves and takes half damage.
Take 2: Will there be any games by companies other than Nintendo, Sega, or Hudson?
If you RTFA, they were able to play all 5 games. They just weren't able to select and download any games that weren't already installed.
(italics mine)
I can't help but think that this means Superman 64 is all out...
-Rob
Biblical fiscal responsibility
Wow, your menu has impressive graphics. What did you use to make them?
On a side note, the script-blocking image is making me type "molest" to continue. How nice.
If you're considering buying an original Xbox to run emulators on as opposed to using the Wii Virtual Console:
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.
:)
:) they've all the reasons to be.
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
Well, admittedly you gotta admit that the article writer is retarded for saying that they didn't get to play the games, then goes on to describe how they played the games.
This guy's the limit!
No, admittedly I don't gotta admit that at all. They said they didn't get to choose and download the games to run, they only got to play the 5 that were already there.
Except, that's not what the writer said, they said that they couldn't download games.
Jesus saves and takes half damage.
Oh no! Jonh Dvorak created an account on Slashdot!
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!
Late 2007, Microsoft buys Nintendo.
O rly? Hey Ballmer, why don't you suck my tiny yellow balls?
This fits nicely with previous claims that developers of any size will be able to develop for the Wii (virtual console).
PS3 turns out to be a massive failure and 6 months later is bought by Microsoft.
That's where I stopped reading.
"Hudson is behind the TurboGrafx-16."
Access to every Bomberman game ever made on any console ever.
Just add keg.
It'll never happen, primarily because the DL size would be prohibitive, I would think, but it sure would be cool to play through Ys Book I & II. My spoiled-rotten cousin had a TurboGrafx CD system and all I ever got to do was watch him play and "help" him with puzzles and stuff... Grrrrr.
That game was so mesmerizing at the time. The music was some of the best ever composed for a game, in my opinion. I'm tempted to buy a copy of the disc from ebay just to rip the music... I recall with the TGCD games, the game data was track one, then all the rest were redbook audio. It sure would be cool to play through it without trying to get a working TGCD system together.
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.
Maybe they're saving that one for an April Fools joke.
PS3 turns out to be a massive failure and 6 months later is bought by Microsoft.
Totally unbelievable.
PS3 turns out to be a massive failure and 6 months later Sony's PS3 hardware groupis bought by Microsoft.
Next to unbelievable but maybe enough to let you keep reading.
more of the same on Twitter.
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.
:)
:) Can I have some of whatever drugs you're on?
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
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.
It seems that Sony is betting the farm on the PS3 -- it does appear like it's do or die for them.
:)
However, despite the obscene gobs of money MS makes, AFAIK their only source of profit is still their OS + Office, which is also precarious.
So, how about: Sony's PS3 struggles for profitability and leaves the company in shaky ground, shell of its former self.
MS is forced to abandom yet another money losing venture (XBox 360 still-born in Japan, insufficient sales in the rest of the world to justify more console subsidies), while at the same time squeezed by declining revenues from alternative OS and Office suites (the only places were the company makes money) as people realize they can do everything they ever wanted to do with a computer and MS (with their pricing and substandard execution) doesn't have to be part of it. MS is left a shell of its former self.
Nintendo buys whatever little pieces of Sony and MS that are worth owning, and MS is left scrambling to find a way to make money by becoming a marketing firm (the one thing they seem good at). Nintendo ends up owing the living room, singing "Wheee" all the way to the bank.
This is just idle speculation, right? I just like this version more
Including the first bomberman released for the TG16, which is still the best bomberman EVER.
just some guy
> My Xbox could play all of those games and many more. In fact, my Xbox can play more NES and SNES games than the Wii will every be able to play. Even better, its been capable of doing this for at least 3 years now.
So what? PCs have been doing that for more than three years now.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Saturn Bomberman is actually the best game in the series. You just can't beat 10 players at a time.
And? After someone complains it's usually fixed.
BTW, shouldn't it be "Homestar Bunmaker"?
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Regrettably, I never owned a Saturn. Pity me.
just some guy
But Atomic Bomberman supports 10 players, too. And LAN.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Some people think "legally" matters.
Tell me, do you believe in supporting developers, or would you rather game publishers and developers only target demographics who are less likley to pirate their products, like the Madden set?
Touch everywhere, even when inappropriate.
"...and can emulate all Sony, Sega, Microsoft and Nintendo consoles in existence, including Virtual Boy."
Come on, he can't be really serious, can he? ;)
This is the same reason I don't purchase used games if I Can help it.
However, Lumines Plus (for PS2), Lumines 2 (for PSP), and Lumines Mobile (for mobile phones) are distributed by a unit of The Walt Disney Company, which (unlike most other software publishers) has lobbied Congress for copyright term extensions. If I want Lumines Plus (and not some homebrew clone), I have to either buy from Disney or buy used. I'd rather buy used, so as not to support Disney.
I log on, select a game, buy it legally, and play it. Simple.
Either that, or you find that your favorite titles are not available on the service.
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.
Atari v. JS&A covers backups from carts onto carts. It does not cover backups or "adaptations" from carts onto another medium using a copier, which are both explicitly permitted (17 USC 117(a)(1)) and implicitly permitted (Sony v. Universal, interpreting 17 USC 107).
You can buy a copier off of Ebay, www.tototek.com, and many other places. Use Google.
ToToTEK may be helpful for people who want to copy Super NES, Sega Genesis, or Game Boy Advance cartridges, but it fails it for NES Game Paks. Which Google keywords should I use if Google buy nes copier and Froogle nes copier fail me?
It is easy to find the older versions of these games in used game stores, Ebay
If one does not have a suitable used game store within bus distance, then one must use eBay. How can I distinguish the old version of MechAssault from the new version (after bugfix but before Platinum Hits) based only on the item description on eBay? Are most sellers willing to look for an item number and answer truthfully?
I prefer "Wiirtual Wessel."
A member of the gaming press fiddling with the interface to see old Mario games listed but unplayable via a previously announced download option turned "throw out the standard controller and move to something totally unorthodox, and thought that's a stupid move" into "amazing innovation"?
"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."
I'm sure you're the top of the list in grandma's will, what with the back-to-back Christmas gifts of KnoppixToasterOven & Sanyo 9" disk earrings.
Feeling so good natured I could drool
There is nothing illegal about playing your NES and SNES games on your Xbox.
Charity for game developers who make you re-purchase games that you still own in a different format? Give me a break. I mean, if you had software that you paid for on floppy, but your new PC only had a DVD player, would you re-purchase all of your old software in DVD format? That is just stupid. Copy your software to a new format and run it on whatever hardware is capable of running it.
Could all 10 players play Atomic Bomberman on the same big screen TV? Saturn Bomberman can. Also, Saturn Bomberman also supported multiplayer over the internet via Netlink. Still, Bomberman is best played with everybody on the same sofa, playing on the same big screen TV. It is the original party video game. ...well technically that title probably goes to MULE.
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.
I'm not sure how many gamepads it can handle. You can link up 16 sidewinder gamepads so if it can handle those all you need is a TV out and a bigscreen TV (or a beamer).
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Is this service limited to the consoles supported at release or will the Wii be able to emulate other consoles in the future too?
Personally, I'd be waiting for SNK Neo Geo support. Though I believe the NG is still somewhat alive.
The current range of systems doesn't really attract me personally, but if they can support the NG, I'd buy the Wii. I'm sure there will be others for whom different types of console emulation would also strike a chord; Lynx, Game Gear, Master System, Game Boy, NG Pocket, perhaps even the really old consoles such as Oddysey, Atari 2600 or semi-consoles such as MSX(2) or C64GS cartridges.
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