Official bitching about Hudson abandoning VC support. [VC/WiiWare = lost cause]

crowphoenix said:
Who knows.Nintendo has to run out of crap game eventually, then out of good titles everyone has played. Eventually, they have to get to the rare great stuff that choose to not acknowledge in their love-deprivation experiment.
Really? I honestly, seriously doubt it. We might get lucky with a few of those gems, but I'm almost certain that many people will leave disappointed after the VC service ends and their most wanted game never hit the service.
 
So I bought Pulseman this afternoon off the JPN Wii Store thanks to PepsimanVsJoe's and sfog's recommendations...wow, what an incredible game. It's difficult, but not frustratingly so. My only complaint thus far are how you can sometimes blindly jump onto an enemy and get hurt.

An added bonus is that Mega Drive games are 600 points in JPN versus 800 points for Genesis games in the U.S.

Keep any recommendations coming for JPN-only Virtual Console titles (English-friendly, too).
 
nppoll_main.jpg


1. Duck Tales (NES)
2. Megaman 2 (NES)
3. Tetris Attack (SNES)
4. Mario & Wario (import)
5. Earthbound/Mother (import)
 
The biggest shame about Virtual Console is that it seems like it's either extremely popular games that just so happen to be good (but that you've most likely played, like all the fucking Mario shit) or it's complete and utter shit.

There were lots of games that I used to love that I know will never be on the VC:

Jaws
Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout
Little Nemo
A Boy and His Blob
Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers
Cobra Triangle
Ducktales
Guerilla War
Iron Tank
Maniac Mansion
Mickey Mousecapade (Awesome game.)
Prisoners of War
R.C. Pro-Am
 
loosus said:
The biggest shame about Virtual Console is that it seems like it's either extremely popular games that just so happen to be good (but that you've most likely played, like all the fucking Mario shit) or it's complete and utter shit.

There were lots of games that I used to love that I know will never be on the VC:

Jaws
Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout
Little Nemo
A Boy and His Blob
Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers
Cobra Triangle
Ducktales
Guerilla War
Iron Tank
Maniac Mansion
Mickey Mousecapade (Awesome game.)
Prisoners of War
R.C. Pro-Am
Have you downloaded DoReMi Fantasy or any of the Wonder Boy in Monster World games? Or Sin & Punishment, for that matter? I don't think any of them were terribly popular.
 
Or the Adventures of Lolo games, Gate/Lords of Thunder, the Neutopias, the Star Soldier games, Gunstar Heroes, Landstalker, Streets of Rage 2, Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Beyond Oasis, Ristar, Shining Force, ActRaiser, and Super Turrican, for that matter.
 
Sharp said:
Have you downloaded DoReMi Fantasy or any of the Wonder Boy in Monster World games? Or Sin & Punishment, for that matter? I don't think any of them were terribly popular.
This is where VC actually shines for me. I would have never played some of these import titles or games I had never heard of like the Wonder Boy games, but VC and this thread gave me the chance to experience those. In addition, I was able to grab some games that I had played as a kid, but never managed to buy, like Kid Icarus and Punch-Out.
 
sk3tch said:
So I bought Pulseman this afternoon off the JPN Wii Store thanks to PepsimanVsJoe's and sfog's recommendations...wow, what an incredible game. It's difficult, but not frustratingly so. My only complaint thus far are how you can sometimes blindly jump onto an enemy and get hurt.

An added bonus is that Mega Drive games are 600 points in JPN versus 800 points for Genesis games in the U.S.

Keep any recommendations coming for JPN-only Virtual Console titles (English-friendly, too).

Would Monster World IV be okay too? And how do you think I should try going about suggesting Japanese versions of domestically released games that lost stuff in the process?
 
cartman414 said:
Would Monster World IV be okay too? And how do you think I should try going about suggesting Japanese versions of domestically released games that lost stuff in the process?

Monster World IV is one I'm thinking about, too. Capndrake suggested it in the thread I created. In that same thread, PepsimanVsJoe recommended Bare Knuckle III (versus Streets of Rage 3) as a game that was better in JPN.

Anything else you have...fire away! I appreciate it.
 
sk3tch said:
Monster World IV is one I'm thinking about, too. Capndrake suggested it in the thread I created. In that same thread, PepsimanVsJoe recommended Bare Knuckle III (versus Streets of Rage 3) as a game that was better in JPN.

Anything else you have...fire away! I appreciate it.

Already mentioned it upthread, but... Akumajou Densetsu (Japanese version of CV3) for its superior music and more balanced enemy damage structure, Salamander (aka Life Force) for the ability to use 3 options instead of 2 and an actual, if minor, ending, and Gryzor (aka Contra) come to mind.

Edit: Good point about NP not being owned by Nintendo anymore. We'll still probably need other avenues to voice our wants for the future of the VC.
 
JohnTinker said:
I have sooo many points stockpiled, and no games on the horizon that I'm willing to spend them on.

Get your act in gear, Nintendo.

Maybe this is a plot by Nintendo to have thousands of starved point-spenders to buy tons of WiiWare games.
 
Thanks cartman414...great suggestions.

Salamander is definitely on my radar. Absolutely loved Life Force on NES. From the YouTube videos I watched, it looks like the PC-Engine version has a significant graphics upgrade to boot.
 
AniHawk said:
Maybe this is a plot by Nintendo to have thousands of starved point-spenders to buy tons of WiiWare games.
I hadn't thought of that before, and now I think I may actually spend it on WiiWare :(
 
I tend to just add some points when I need them, we always know what games are coming out before they actually do.. I figured that was just standard practice. :\

But yeah I'm sure Nintendo is focusing on WiiWare at the moment, at least they're still releasing VC games each and every week - I don't really care if they turn out to be crap ones, still more interest and discussion than "Oh, no games this week." will ever get.
 
sk3tch said:
Thanks cartman414...great suggestions.

Salamander is definitely on my radar. Absolutely loved Life Force on NES. From the YouTube videos I watched, it looks like the PC-Engine version has a significant graphics upgrade to boot.

The PC Engine version is based off the arcade version.

Edit: Almost forgot! The unreleased Famicom and Super Famicom Goemon games would also be great!
 
*Sigh*

I...I can't even muster the will to disparage this update. A disillusioned sigh will cover it, I think.

EvilMario said:
So, we've all basically accepted there will never be Mother 2, or any Mother game released in North American ever again.. right? After Nintendo cut out the demo on Brawl, I think that's the nail in the coffin. And it hurts.

I'll never give up the hope for Earthbound. Never. It's coming.

This is where I say "BELIEVE".
 
Earthbound will come out eventually probably, unless theres some licensing or whatever issue Nintendo can't be bothered sorting out.

The others? Yeah I doubt it. If they can't be bothered making the small effort it would take to get Earthbound released they're so not translate Mother 3 or fixing up (does it need any tweaking?) the beta English 1.

Gotta keep nagging them about it though, maybe they'll cave. :lol

;(
 
Conrad Link said:
I tend to just add some points when I need them, we always know what games are coming out before they actually do.. I figured that was just standard practice. :\
I literally had just started buying 3000 points at a time instead of 1000 (due to the redundancy of typing in information every time) right before the VC releases slowed down. At that time I thought, Well, they may have slowed down in quantity, but at least the quality is still there, so I'll stick to this policy of 3000 points at a time. And then the quality went down too. :/

On the bright side, I'm genuinely interested in a great number of WiiWare titles and would have been even if not for VC sucking it up lately, so at the very least I'll be able to use these points by May. But I shouldn't have to wait that long. :/ I've bought five VC games since 2008 began--a significant drop from 2007, where I averaged exactly three per month, with 36 games bought that year.

What in the world is going on over there at Nintendo? If they're having issues bringing publishers on board, they could say so. If they think that three releases per week is unsustainable, they could say that. I'd disagree with the latter as a good reason to slow down, though, but hearing their reasoning would be a lot better than continuing to not hear it.
 
The not-at-all-funny part is how I could just repost what I said last Friday and it would be every bit as applicable.

Jiggy said:
On the bright side, it looks like they managed to find a way to grant me disappointment despite my already-pitifully-low expectations!
On the other bright side, now that it's confirmed that NOA's reading GAF, my pestering feels like it has a renewed meaning. I will continue to complain about this situation until something changes (regardless of whether that change was spurred by fan criticism, purely accidental, or for any other catalyst reason). Especially considering that NOA in particular has no excuse: there are many games with English translations that were released in Japan and/or Europe but haven't shown up in NA.
 
Cheesemeister said:

Oh man, Bloodwaters of Dr. Z. One of the best episodes ever, right up there with Mitchell, Manos and Final Sacrifice. My fave line in the movie is when the Doctor goes on one of his endless rants about destroying everyone/everything. Then after transforming and first walking out of the house as the "monster," the suit actor briefly trips over something on the ground to which Mike replies: "Frankly, I think the world can handle this invasion." :lol

Also kills me when you see the monster's scaly/wrinkled legs and Crow says "Oh, hi grandma!" lol

Anyways, cheers for posting that. Pearl's love depravation experiment skit is so appropriate for every week we are taunted by Nintendo and takes away some of the pain of this dull update. Man, we are really paying for getting Do Re Mi.....
 
Neo Samus said:
Bases Loaded isn't that bad. But Nintendo can do much better.
Agreed. But yeah it does seem like we're now seeing a polar approach to the VC from the same general period of time last year. For much of last year, VC had a lot going but wasn't quite yet at super-awesome. Now it's not quite there, but is nearly at the point of complete shit.

Despite what seems to be some good announcements recently (Commodore and SMS support, more imports, Dracula X as an upcoming release in Japan), momentum is all but lost in America.
 
Especially considering that NOA in particular has no excuse: there are many games with English translations that were released in Japan and/or Europe but haven't shown up in NA.

This is true. Here's a list that I've compiled:
In EU but not US:
NES:
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
River City Ransom
Skate or Die

SNES:
Mario's Super Picross (JP import)

Genesis:
Crack Down
ESWAT: City Under Siege
Mega Turrican
Vectorman

Commodore 64:
International Karate
Uridium

In or coming to JP but not US/EU yet, but had English releases:
NES:
City Connection
Renegade
Sky Kid

Genesis:
Atomic Runner
M.U.S.H.A
Phantasy Star III
Phelios
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Target Earth
Warsong

TurboGrafx-16/CD:
Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes (CD)
Dungeon Explorer II (CD)
Ys Book I & II (CD)

Neo-Geo AES:
Metal Slug
Samurai Shodown

Master System:
Black Belt
Fantasy Zone
 
Super Mario Picross is the most damning.

I truly believe the only reason that isn't here is because NOA wants you to buy the DS version.

Unbelievable.
 
I just think it's a sign that 3rd parties aren't really satisfied with the sales so far. Sure, some games like Mario, Zelda, and Sonic sell really well. Actually, pretty much anything by Nintendo.

I mean, if 3rd parties were really happy with the way things are going with the service so far, don't you think they'd be FLOCKING to get their games up? Where's Contra? Castlevania 3? Mega Man? Heck, ANYTHING by Capcom other than Street Fighter or Ghouls 'n Ghosts?

Hudson and Sega are doing awesome. But where's the rest?
 
Well where's the help from Nintendo? The VC should be a huge selling point for the Wii but where's the advertising? Huge failing on Nintendo's part.
 
Wow, one more pathetic VC week.

I remember last year around this time I had bought like almost ten games in the span of a few months. Whoops.

Seriously, I fucking want Mother 1-3 Nintendo.
 
Chibbi Brady said:
Well where's the help from Nintendo? The VC should be a huge selling point for the Wii but where's the advertising? Huge failing on Nintendo's part.

There basically is none. They should be running TV ADS about this, with clips from some of the best games. And advertise it as quick, and easy to play, CHEAP games that anyone can enjoy. But nope. The only ones who seem to know about the goings-on of the Virtual Console are us. The internet-dwellers who care to make it our business for this sort of thing.

To most Wii owners, the 'Shop' Channel is just another unused icon on their Wii Menu screen, alongside the Forecast Channel and the Photo Channel.

And it's absolutely Nintendo that is to blame.
 
It's another week of backlog grinding. Still, I don't see why some of you are belly-aching harder than usual, both games are decent (whether that means $5 decent is up to you).

I think the lack of a third game can be blamed on other third parties. D4 hasn't released a NeoGeo game in 3 months (and just now is starting to get back in gear with Metal Slug in Japan), Hudson hasn't released a TG16/CD game in over a month and doesn't intend to this month either. Sega added Master System but so far has been a bit slow in releasing games.

That said there are reasons all around. Nintendo has been providing well despite that fact that they are also trying to roll out Wiiware, according the the OFLC we should start seeing quite a few TG16/CD imports from Hudson, and D4 is readying MSX for it's long delayed release next month. Not only that but we've hit a couple of mile stones. More western-centric material is becoming available including at least one western system. May will see the 3rd new VC console in 4 months. Also, from ramblings in the OFLC and other areas we should start seeing a number of new import titles. Really, it's not all bad in VC-land.
 
SonicMegaDrive said:
I just think it's a sign that 3rd parties aren't really satisfied with the sales so far.

Hudson bringing loads of great games to the system, introducing TG-CD support and releasing WiiWare sequels to their VC games is a good sign. Sega bringing Master System games is a good sign. C64 and Neo-Geo support is a good sign.

I mean, if 3rd parties were really happy with the way things are going with the service so far, don't you think they'd be FLOCKING to get their games up? Where's Contra? Castlevania 3? Mega Man? Heck, ANYTHING by Capcom other than Street Fighter or Ghouls 'n Ghosts?

Mega Man 1 & 2 and Contra 2 & 3 are up. Castlevania 3 will almost certainly go up in the next couple of months.

As for the general point, I don't know why support from key third parties - Capcom or Square Enix, for example - has been so slow. Squenix support can perhaps be explained away by their fondness for reworking and re-releasing old titles for full price and not wanting to jeopardise that cash flow by pushing out cheaper digital versions of the games. With that said though, they have a host of games in their back catalogue that are less likely to see a physical re-release or update, and their absence is a little puzzling.

Perhaps there's an issue with the cut third parties receive, or Nintendo's schedule (WiiWare is limited to one game a month per dev, so maybe something similar applies on the VC) or perhaps there's a general reticence to get involved in digital downloads. I don't know, but when companies like Hudson are clearly having their effort rewarded, it makes me wonder if it's less a problem with the system and more with the companies involved.
 
ethelred said:
Nope. Just the stuff that thoroughly warrants complaining, such as the atrocious state of the Virtual Console.

But there are plenty of arguments against that statement. 3 new consoles in 4 months is a heck of a lot of progress, and not worth discounting. Certainly with Wiiware gearing up there is just as much to focus on over there too. Every week doesn't need SMRPG or the equivolent for the service to be good. It's cumulative, so each week the service is better than the last week. I have a massive VC backlog and it's getting bigger all the time so I feel that it's in perfectly fine shape. I have quite a few games I'd love to see on VC but if I really needed something right now there's plenty for me to choose from.

Maybe you've played them all over the years, but for me there's so much stuff I never got around to that I could probably just stop buying retail games and live off VC.
 
Like I said, I guess some people will defend anything.

If you're happy with the sorry state the service is in these days, you're welcome to that view. I'm not. Other people are not. And don't toss out absurdly patronizing remarks like "I don't understand why people aren't happy!" when people have stated very clearly and reasonably why they're not.

Also, FYI: "look at all the games released back when Virtual Console wasn't sucking!" isn't really a good rebuttal either.
 
Cosmonaut X said:
Hudson bringing loads of great games to the system, introducing TG-CD support and releasing WiiWare sequels to their VC games is a good sign. Sega bringing Master System games is a good sign. C64 and Neo-Geo support is a good sign.



Mega Man 1 & 2 and Contra 2 & 3 are up. Castlevania 3 will almost certainly go up in the next couple of months.

Don't you see? They're adding systems, yet the rate of game releases is slowing down drastically. That's NOT a good sign.

And Mega Man 1 and 2 are NOT up, unless of course, you're European. Castlevania 3 hasn't even been announced to go up, and until it is, I won't hold my breath for it either.

Also, WiiWare and the Virtual Console aren't the same thing. We know the WII is getting support. We're talking about the Virtual Console. I'm sure the WiiWare service will get plenty of support, when it comes out(at least for a while).
 
I really don't understand the thought-process that goes into these VC releases. I mean don't publishers have to pay a fee to get games uploaded onto the service? Why waste that money on making sure crappy titles get put on the servers? It makes no sense.
 
SonicMegaDrive said:
Don't you see? They're adding systems, yet the rate of game releases is slowing down drastically. That's NOT a good sign.

Adding systems is a good sign - there's obviously time and cost involved in getting the Neo-Geo, Master System and C64 up there and the companies involved would have to be confident it was worthwhile - but you're right that the slowdown in releases is a concern.

And Mega Man 1 and 2 are NOT up, unless of course, you're European.

I am and they are :-)

Castlevania 3 hasn't even been announced to go up, and until it is, I won't hold my breath for it either.

CV1 and CV2 are up, SCIV has been up for ages and Drac X is coming soon; I'm pretty sure we'll get CV3 soon enough.

Also, WiiWare and the Virtual Console aren't the same thing. We know the WII is getting support. We're talking about the Virtual Console. I'm sure the WiiWare service will get plenty of support, when it comes out(at least for a while).

The point I was making with the WiiWare comment was that Hudson have obviously seen enough interest in their VC releases to decide to greenlight Star Soldier and Alien Crush games for the service.
 
What I want to know is: how much money is there to be made in uploading games like Donkey Kong Jr. Math, The Legend of Kage, Lode Runner, King's Knight, Operation Wolf, Super Thunder Blade, Powerball, Bravoman, Ordyne, and any other game that virtually nobody on the planet would possibly want to download?

Let's say for example....Square/Enix. They've put up 6 games, 4 of which are Taito games: Legend of Kage, Elevator Action, Actraisier, Bubble Bobble,Operation Wolf, King's Knight. Four of those games are automatic duds. I doubt the games I have bolded combined to reach even a thousand downloads. Now, is Square/Enix going to use those results in determining wether or not it's worth it to put up some of their good games? That's what I want to know.

Also, on the state of the dwindling quality and quantity of the VC: I understood the reasoning behind only releasing 3 or 4 games a week...spread the wealth out, so each game gets more attetion=more profit in the long run. But this only works if they can balance the good with the bad games enough to maintain interest in the service. Frankly, I haven't spent more than 20 dollars on the VC since the beginning of the year. Last year, I downloaded 40 plus games. That's not to say there AREN'T games up that I wouldn't want to download right now. But these constant shitty weeks are destroying my interest in the service. At this point, I can barely be bothered to pay for any of the games, even good ones, unless they're absolutely ones I can't live without.

I am and they are :-)

Hey. Don't start. You're trying to get me to think positively, right? :-)
 
Let's say for example....Square/Enix. They've put up 6 games, 4 of which are Taito games: Legend of Kage, Elevator Action, Actraisier, Bubble Bobble,Operation Wolf, King's Knight. Four of those games are automatic duds. I doubt the games I have bolded combined to reach even a thousand downloads. Now, is Square/Enix going to use those results in determining wether or not it's worth it to put up some of their good games? That's what I want to know.

Interestingly/worryingly, Operation Wolf got as high as no.11 in the UK Most Popular VC games for quite a while. It wouldn't surprise me if that was due to many thinking it had actual light gun support.
 
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