A bit of disturbing news has come to light regarding the lack of Nintendo Wii Virtual Console releases in NA territories. Courtesy of Nintendo Raw:" Jorge from The Gamebag emailed Nintendo of America support about the lack of Virtual Console titles and Nintendo Channel. Here’s what they said…We understand your concern about the lack of service on the VC as of late. Due to sales numbers being far greater recently on Wiiware than on Virtual Console, we have decided to steer in the direction of WiiWare.
Also, we in America have NO plans to update the Internet Channel or the Nintendo Channel. We hope you understand”
Incredibly depressing, more so when you consider the immense amount of high quality classics that have yet to hit the service (MMX1-3, EarthBound, Yoshi's Island, just to name a few)
Hope to here more on this soon.
Hey, if they want to screw themselves, let them. It's not like Nintendo isn't famous for making stupid decisions. I'm done getting worked up over nintendo's ignorance and disregard for their fans.
ReplyDeleteBTW, just because they said they're steering in the direction of VC and not Wiiware doesn't mean their abandoning VC. As for the IC and NC, why would the updates to those matter? Console browsers are going to be crap no matter how you look at it, so that's not a big loss with the IC. And for the NC, are they meaning no updates as in no new content or no new version of the NC?
ReplyDeleteYes. next up, DLC. Im tired of non console games that I cant buy.
ReplyDeleteI like how there have been numerous games under the Final Fantasy franchise recently going up against the usual not so great VC releases and they wonder why WiiWare is doing better.
ReplyDeleteGee... I wonder. Now if they would just put some of those great games they still have for VC out they might be surprized at how well some of them do. But I guess no one is waiting for Final Fantasy, Super Mario Kart, Super Smash Brothers, etc...
I own the original cartridges for some of the most requested titles, so I don't really care. Not to mention all of the Mega Man titles in the classic and X series (except X7 and X8) made it to the Gamecube in some shape, and you can play Gamecube games on the Wii.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hypercoyote on this. Steering away from Virtual Console doesn't mean that we won't see any new games posted to it, but rather it means that we will see FAR LESS new titles appearing there. Still, in my opinion, this is a rather stupid and shitty move on Nintendo's part, but if they want to fuck themselves over and further alienate themselves from their fans (especially their older fans), then let them. I'll be sad about not getting some of the games you mentioned, Proto, and some other titles, like perhaps Terranigma, Treasure Hunter G, Bahamut Lagoon, or some other awesome JP RPGs that would have been great to have appear there (we can dream, right?).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I also don't think the Internet Channel needs any real updating either (that's probably what they thought too), and as for the Nintendo Channel, I'm not sure: it could mean no new updates OR no new content (news, etc.). If no content, that'll be another crappy move.
Ummm... they didn't say it was on the way out. They're just focusing on Wiiware. Frankly I'm glad. There are plenty of VC games I like, but most of the good ones are already out and recently it's been a bunch of old games that are either obscure or extremely generic. Wiiware has crap too, but with a larger focus on it, more good ones will be released too.
ReplyDeleteI'm also of the opinion that it's better to hold the game in my hand than to download it. But what I was looking forward to were games that were previously JPN only being translated and released (Mother!!). That's really the only hope I held for VC from the beginning. Although I did buy some games for TG16 because I have no intention of ever buying a TG16 system, but when it comes to the others, I'd rather own the the cart and not a license.
ReplyDelete@Josh
ReplyDeleteNo-one is waiting for Super Smash Bros because it has already been released on VC, atleast it has over here in europe
Not here, sadly. :( Ah well, I've got the original, so it doesn't matter! XD
ReplyDelete@Drallkan, it hasn't been released here in the U.S. I was just citing it as an example of an oft asked for VC game that Nintendo could put out there.
ReplyDeleteWHAT?!
ReplyDeleteThen I smell some ****ing homebrew coming.
I strongly agree with Aldo. Although there is no good way for emulating N64 games on the Wii yet. >_>
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with Aldo. Although there is no good way for emulating N64 games on the Wii yet. >_>
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with Aldo. Although there is no good way for emulating N64 games on the Wii yet. >_>
ReplyDeleteHeh, on that note anon#???? (homebrew anon), there are already plenty of ways to make your own VC titles. I made VC titles for all the games I already own except the ones that didn't work because I don't like to re-buy things.
ReplyDeleteWhat I DON'T get is why Nintendo chooses to update the Virtual Console with obscure games no one knows about. Sure, most of the GOOD Nintendo games are already up, but there's a HUGE lack of third party support, so one has to wonder why Nintendo doesn't pursue putting up the games that let it thrived in the past.
ReplyDeleteLess chance of the SNES X games popping up?! Aww, nuts...
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm still waiting for the "Soul Blazer" trilogy to pop up, too...
As someone who has never owned a Wii, can someone please explain the difference between Wiiware and Virtual Console? I know Wiiware has been used for games like Mega Man 9 and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, but what else has it been used for?
ReplyDeleteWiiWare is mainly for original downloadable titles, like the Playstation Store or Live Arcade.
ReplyDeleteVirtual Console is for downloadable versions of old games.
New original games go on WiiWare.
Old games go on Virtual Console.
WiiWare is original downloadable games, while Virtual Console are downloadable versions of games from older systems (ex. NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, etc).
ReplyDelete@Mike, WiiWare has been used for a ton of other games like World of Goo, Island Adventure, Final Fantasy: My life as a King/Darklord, and a lot of junk that doesn't appeal to anyone over five.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I didn't mention EVERY good WiiWare game, just giving a few more examples.
@Anon after Aldo: Yes there is! VC games! XD
ReplyDelete@Mike: VC games have been around since Wii launch. I'm sure you know it's rereleases of old games from the SNES, NES, N64, etc. Wiiware came a little later and is unique new content, like XBLA and PSN games. Things like World of Goo, Lost Winds, and a lot of other good things have been released on it. :D So essentially Nintendo just split the old and new games into different categories, rather than lump them together like Sony and Microsoft did.
@Mike
ReplyDeleteThe Virtual Console offers downloadable older Nintendo titles (such as the ones on NES, SNES, N64...), and from other consoles as well (such as the ones on Genesis, Neo Geo...).
And Wiiware's for brand new downloadable titles created especifically for Wii (or for all of 'em, such as the case for MM9) using it's own engine.
For more info, check these links:
VC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_console
Wiiware: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiiware
I agree with you guys about the relative lack of quality of the Virtual Console. I have a rather large video game collection, and so a vast majority of the games that have appeared on Nintendo's VC I've either already owned or have had no desire to purchase because they just sucked out loud. The few games I have purchased were some of the more obscure, but good, games for the TurboGrafx-16/CD that they have available on there (and there are a few TG games I wish they would add!). I, too, would love to see some more JP-only titles appear (and be translated!).
ReplyDeleteTake a look at this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Virtual_Console_games_%28North_America%29
The Virtual Console definitely isn't dead, but at least in North America and Japan, only 8 more announced titles will be appearing before the close of 2009, four of which will be VC Arcade titles. Surprisingly, Europe/AU will possibly see a few more. In Japan, all listed upcoming titles on the VC are VC Arcade titles. To me, it seems like the shift is moving a bit towards VC Arcade and WiiWare, probably for pricing and popularity reasons.
Oh, NOOO... with this, it looks even LESS likely that I'll be able to get old GB/GBC/GBA games on my DSi now... the only reason I "upgraded" to it was because there were hints that we'd be getting it... but now I'm stuck with this crappy downgraded thing...
ReplyDelete*sighs* Leave it to Nintendo to abandon their base, though. They've been really bad about it as of late... what with the crappy E3 conferences they've been having and what not.
I am not surprise. VC is bad choice to use so I hope they can improve SNES games to wiiware instead of VC. I am not fan of VC games.
ReplyDelete"I am not surprise. VC is bad choice to use so I hope they can improve SNES games to wiiware instead of VC. I am not fan of VC games."
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't think that the VC is necessarily a bad choice, but I think that Nintendo has never fully utilized it to its fullest potential. Instead, it's been hit-and-miss, with some great games, and some really suck-ass obscure ones.
On that note, though, WiiWare has been much the same. There have been some really strange games out there that I'll probably never buy. On the other hand, there are some great ones, like Rockman 9 and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. WiiWare remains a good ground to release updated sequels to past hits, but this is only the case if developers actually continue to do this, rather than making sucky titles.
So many people falling for such an obvious fake blog post...I am amazed that in light of Nintendo's infamous tight-lipped approach to just about everything, no one questions how a 2 month old blog got a response like this which doesn't even make sense and hasn't been reproduced for any of the more credible sites out there.
ReplyDelete