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[Jiggy]

Nintendo's really spoiled you guys. Now two games a week is too slow for you? How many thousands of dollars have you spent on the VC already?

Only $380 here. (Counting points still sitting around.) The thing is, I wouldn't be too critical against the two-game weeks if not for these facts:

1) Many games are rated by the ESRB, yet don't show up on the VC service for many months afterward. Shining Force II, Ys Book I & II, and Dragon Slayer are just a few of those games.
2) More systems have been added to the service, yet the releases have slowed down. It should be the opposite. As more systems are added, the library of games they have to pick from grows larger.
3) There are games available in Europe that are currently not available in North America, and vice versa. There are also games in Japan that already have translations, but still aren't available outside of that region.


Let's say I play devil's advocate for the sake of the people I don't agree with. (Or apply the principle of charity; at a time this late, I'm not even sure I can recall the difference.) If I did that, I could say, okay, maybe Sega rated Shining Force II too early and had some emulation issues they didn't foresee. Maybe Hudson had similar issues and couldn't compress the soundtrack for Ys. That would let Nintendo off the hook for point 1. And then I could also say, okay, maybe third-parties just aren't offering up enough games to Nintendo for them to do anything more than two games a week, which would let them off the hook for part 2. (Again, since I'm playing devil's advocate here, I'll overlook that I don't know why Hudson/Sega/D4 would have bothered getting TGCD/Master System/Neo Geo working in the first place if they weren't going to put up many games for it.)


But I can't come up with a possible defense for games released in Japan to not be released elsewhere, if they already have a translation or simply don't need one because of their genre. I can't say "maybe Hudson can't get the emulation for Final Soldier working" when it's been working on the Japanese VC for a year already. I can't say "maybe Sega just didn't want to bother offering a title like Warsong" when it's right there on the Japanese service. What's the defense for these games not showing up? I literally can't imagine one--and I've tried.

 

[M3wThr33]

What's weirder is that if Japan has a glut of titles and America doesn't, it's the EXACT same situation as the PSN store, where there's hardly any PS1 releases in the US and Japan is hemmhoraging titles every week.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

Yeah!

Am I the only one disappointed that Mario RPG, TMNT 2: The Arcade Game, Kirby Superstar, Dr. Mario, and Zombies Ate My Neighbors were all rated by the ESRB, and yet none of them ever came out?

And what's up with Europe getting Mega Man 1 and 2, and not the US or Japan? And in that case, why hasn't Europe gotten Mega Man 3 and onwards?

What a cock-tease.

Spoiler

the bitching will continue until there is no need to bitch. Come on, Nintendo.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Only $380 here. (Counting points still sitting around.) The thing is, I wouldn't be too critical against the two-game weeks if not for these facts:

Out of curiosity, how many retail Wii/PS2 games do you have? I've never seen you mention a 360 or PS3, so I'm just trying to get a sense of whether $380 on VC should be considered "a lot" or "run of the mill" based on your game buying taste.

(I have 50 PS2 games, 25 Wii games, 20 XBLA games, 16 Xbox 360 games, and 15 Virtual Console Games; out of a total collection of ~500 games)

 

[Firestorm]

Not until you've purchased Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles separately... only then will you be allowed to purchase Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

I'd probably do it too.

Yeah!

Am I the only one disappointed that Mario RPG, TMNT 2: The Arcade Game, Kirby Superstar, Dr. Mario, and Zombies Ate My Neighbors were all rated by the ESRB, and yet none of them ever came out?

And what's up with Europe getting Mega Man 1 and 2, and not the US or Japan? And in that case, why hasn't Europe gotten Mega Man 3 and onwards?

What a cock-tease.

Spoiler

the bitching will continue until there is no need to bitch. Come on, Nintendo.

wtf they were? What are they waiting for? The Kirby Superstar remake which will eat 90% of their sales? And Mario RPG was =O?! I sorta lost hope on that one.

 

[Jiggy]

I've only ever bought seven Wii retail games (and still own five of them). And since Wii Play is one of those seven and I also didn't spend my own money on Metroid Prime 3, ultimately I've spent less on Wii retail than Virtual Console.

Generally I spend around ~$750-1000 on gaming per year (well, the high end of that only comes into play when system purchases are involved), so it's not that $380 spread over 18 months is a lot for my buying habits so much as that VC has replaced Wii retail for me. I would probably have spent around the same amount of money without VC existing, but it would have been going to games like Geometry Wars Galaxies or Endless Ocean instead. Or if I look at other systems, even re-releases like Final Fantasy Tactics and Valkyrie Profile: both of which I've already played but might have considered picking up for the changes. In the end I'd generally rather have a greater variety of games for the same price, even if they were shorter individually.


XBLA is also likely to catch the better part of my interest on 360 when I get that system for Tales of Vesperia. Probably not monetarily, but at least in terms of quantity; I've been sporadically looking into the library in preparation and so far I've got my eye on eight XBLA games and three retail titles.

 

[Luigison]

How many thousands of dollars have you spent on the VC already?

I don't know a dollar amount, but here's the list of my VC games according to Nintendo.com:

F-Zero
Donkey Kong
Columns
Super Mario 64
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Gunstar Heroes
Ristar
Sonic the Hedgehog
Toe Jam & Earl
Mario Bros.
Pinball
Solomon's Key
The Legend of Zelda
Wario's Woods
Sim City
Bomberman '93
Bonk's Adventure
Super Castlevania IV
Super Mario Bros.
Internet Browser
R-Type
Gradius
Soldier Blade
Xevious
R-Type III: The Third Lightning
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Mario Kart 64
Super Mario World
Kirby's Adventure
Ice Climber
Kid Icarus
Everybody Votes Channel
Donkey Kong Country
New Adventure Island
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Chew Man Fu
Super Ghouls n' Ghosts
Excitebike
Beyond Oasis
Dragon's Curse
Star Fox 64
Galaga
Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
Bonk's Revenge
Wonder Boy in Monster World
Battle Lode Runner
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja
Pac-Man
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
ActRaiser
Kid Chameleon
Zelda II - The Adventure of Link
Milon's Secret Castle
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
NES Open Tournament Golf
Super Mario Bros. 2
Ecco: The Tides of Time
Yoshi
Paper Mario
Balloon Fight
Dynamite Headdy
Adventures of Lolo
Galaga '90
Metroid
Super Metroid
Neutopia
Super C
Adventure Island
Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure
Neutopia II
Metroid Prime 3 Preview
Yoshi's Story
Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
Gate of Thunder
Super Mario Bros. 3
Blue's Journey
Wrecking Crew
Check Mii Out Channel
Pokemon Snap
Bubble Bobble
Top Hunter
StarTropics
Adventures of Lolo 2
Harvest Moon
Lords of Thunder
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventure
Spelunker
Wonder Boy
Yoshi's Cookie

 

[Iam Canadian]

Wait, what's this I saw on the last page about Kirby Super Star being cancelled? I really hope that it's just referring to the fact that we're unlikely to see Super Star on the VC because of the DS remake.

 

[RedBoot]

wtf they were? What are they waiting for? The Kirby Superstar remake which will eat 90% of their sales? And Mario RPG was =O?! I sorta lost hope on that one.

No, Kirby Super Star and Super Mario RPG were never ESRB rated. That all stems from when IGN said (before the Wii's release) that both games would be coming to the VC. I don't know what source they had, if any (chances are they were just listing things they wanted or expected), but due to the Internet's mighty power to latch onto erroneous information no matter how obscure, they still get mentioned as "confirmed" or added to the Wikipedia Upcoming Games list to this day. KSS is unlikely to come due to the DS remake, and Mario RPG probably needs clearance from Square to get released (in other words, don't hold your breath).

As for TMNT2 and ZAMN, both were indeed rated at one point, but they have both since been removed. We can only assume some sort of insurmountable issue came up and that neither game is planned for release anymore.

Dr. Mario is coming to WiiWare, so don't expect it to get a VC release any time soon.

 

[Capndrake]

wtf they were? What are they waiting for? The Kirby Superstar remake which will eat 90% of their sales? And Mario RPG was =O?! I sorta lost hope on that one.

These were all ESRB rated around the Wii's release, but removed in early 2007: Dr. Mario, Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley, Wild Gunman, Kirby Super Star, Super Mario RPG, Zombies Ate My Neighbors.

These were all ESRB rated around the Wii's release, and are still on, the only problem is they're for "Nintendo" instead of "Wii", so it's a bit unclear what it means: Aerofighters Assault, Beetle Adventure Racing, Hagane: The Final Conflict, Pilotwings, Tin Star, Uniracers.

TMNT II was rated mid 2007 and removed a month or two later. Kirby's Dream Land 3 was rated around the Wii's launch and removed early 2007, but was recently rerated (So that should actually be coming soon).

 

[jarrod]

What's weirder is that if Japan has a glut of titles and America doesn't, it's the EXACT same situation as the PSN store, where there's hardly any PS1 releases in the US and Japan is hemmhoraging titles every week.

Eh, similar circumstances maybe, but PSN is several leagues worse in this regard. It's literally like a 15 to 1 ratio on PS Classics in Japan's favor, while VC is something like 1.5 to 1. There's such a wide disparity here, I'd argue if it's really even comparable...

 

[Yaweee]

Eh, similar circumstances maybe, but PSN is several leagues worse in this regard. It's literally like a 15 to 1 ratio on PS Classics in Japan's favor, while VC is something like 1.5 to 1. There's such a wide disparity here, I'd argue if it's really even comparable...

Have they ever said why? I'm guessing it is just Sony being Sony; they hate old games, or more generally, games with 'bad' graphics, and would rather not see them released in the US.

 

[Somnid]

There's reasons why Japan has higher output. Nintendo is Japan-local and so they have closer ties to devs over there. Most of the games that have not been released here are games have not been localized. The best are picked out and re-examined for localization but I'd imagine that there is difficulty both in audience interest as well as whether or not a suitable new translation is possible (does the source code exist? can new textures be added?) or if the game is lacking enough text to try and bring it out as is. The other issue is with publishers. Many games are published by smaller Japanese companies that do not do overseas publishing. These will need to be picked up by larger companies when being brought over. Also, there may be tricky situations with past-publishers and who owns the rights to certain properties. It's a little more black and white in Japan since basically all VC games originate from there.

That said Nintendo has made an effort to try and get more western-centric games out on the platform which should increase output for other territories (C64 games in Europe is an example). So far Factor 5 and Commodore Gaming (both European FYI) are the only western publishers on board. It's hard to tell what is keeping the others. But should Activision, EA etc. start getting stuff out then we may see releases at the same rate Japan does.

 

[Odrion]

Are people really complaining? Fantasy Zone and Mega Turrican makes for a pretty sweet deal.

People who are really being dramatic about the virtual console really need to quit geeking out and stop following every ESBR1UP rating update and quit wishing for a certain title coming out every week.

 

[Apenheul]

I think these games also have to be re-tested. Not only for glitches and bugs but also for current health & safety requirements (and ESBR rating). Possibly some hackish techniques used in games such as flickering aren't allowed anymore (yes there are regulations for contrasts, colors and stuff). Some games can be patched, maybe some have to be recompiled and some can't be recompiled or patched. I think the process isn't as simple as many people think.

 

[Somnid]

I went through Wikipedia's List of Nintendo Published NES games, here's what's left:

Clu Clu Land
Wild Gunman (Zapper)
Duck Hunt (Zapper)
Golf
Hogan's Alley (Zapper)
Stack-up (ROB)
Gyromite (ROB)
Donkey Kong 3
Popeye - [Liscensed]
Gumshoe (Zapper)
Pro Wrestling
Rad Racer - Square
Slalom - RARE
Vegas Dream - HAL
RC Pro-AM - RARE
Anticipation -RARE (4 player)
World Class Track Meet - Bandai (Powerpad)
Dragon Warrior - Enix
Faxanadu - Hudson
Tetris
To the Earth (Zapper)
Cobra Triangle - RARE
Dance Aerobics - Bandai (Powerpad)
Dr. Mario
Barker Bill's Trick Shooting [Liscensed] (Zapper)
Snake Ranttle and Roll - RARE
Pin Bot - Williams
Super spike V'ball - Technos
Nintendo World Cup - Technos
Tetris 2
Startropics 2

Filter out the games with other publishers or those requiring accessories:

Clu Clu Land
Golf
Donkey Kong 3
Pro Wrestling
Tetris
Dr. Mario
Tetris 2
Star Tropics 2
Vegas Dream - HAL

A whole 9 games left...

The SNES games:

Pilot Wings
Super Tennis
Mario Paint (Mouse)
Super Mario Kart
Super Scope 6 (Super Scope)
Battle Clash (Super Scope)
Super Play Action football [Liscensed]
NCAA Basketball [Liscensed]
Super Soccer - Human Entertainment
StarFox {Super FX chip}
Super Mario All-Stars
Yoshi's Safari (Super Scope)
Metal Combat: Falcon's revenge (Super Scope)
NHL Stanely Cup [Liscensed]
Stunt Race FX {Super FX chip}
Major League Baseball [Liscensed]
Super Punch-Out!!
Tetris and Dr. Mario
Tin Star (Super Scope/Mouse)
Uniracers - DMA Design
Wario's Woods
Illusion of Gaia - Square
Earthbound
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island {Super FX chip}
Killer instict - Rare
Super MArio RPG
Kirby Super Star
Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run [Liscensed]
Tetris Attack
Kirby's dreamland 3

Trim the Fat:

Pilot Wings
Super Tennis
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario all Stars
Super Punch-Out!!
Tetris And Dr.Mario
Wario's Woods
Earthbound
Super Mario RPG
Kirby Superstar
Tetris Attack
Kirby's Dreamland 3
Yoshi's Cookie
Starfox {Super FX}
Stunt Race FX {Super FX}
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island {Super FX}

16 games. Some might be held back for more strategic timing, others have special hardware to worry about.

And finally the N64 games:

Pilot Wings 64
Killer Instinct Gold - Rare
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire - Lucas Arts [Liscensed]
Blast Corps - Rare
Bomber Man 64 - Hudson
Diddy Kong Racing
Goldeneye [Liscensed]
Tetrisphere
Mischief Makers - Treasure
Banjo-Kazooie - Rare
Bomberman Hero - Hudson
Crus'n World
F1 World Grand Prix [Lisensed]
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside [liscensed]
Major League Baseball feat. Ken Griifey Jr [liscensed]
Waialae Country club: True Gold Calssics [liscensed?]
Pokemon Stadium (GB Link)
Command and Conquer - Westwood
Donkey Kong 64 (Expansion Pak)
Ken Griffey Jr's Slugfest [liscensed]
Mario Golf
Mario Party
NBA Courtside 2 [liscensed]
The new Tetris
Star wars Ep. 1 Racer - Lucas Arts [lisensed]
Smash Bros.
Banjo-Tooie - Rare
Cuis'n Exotica
Excite Bike 64
Hey You, Pikachu! (Microphone)
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Expansion Pak)
Mario Party 2
Mario Tennis
Mickey's Speedway USA [liscensed]
Perfect Dark - Rare
Pokemon Puzzle League
Pokemon Stadium 2 (GB Link)
Ridge Racer 64 - Namco
Starcraft 64 - Blizzard
Dr. Mario 64
MArio Party 3

And the reduced list:

Pilot Wings
Diddy Kong Racing
Tetrisphere
The New Tetris
Cruis'n World
Cruis'n Exotica
Mario Tennis
Mario Golf
Mario Party
Mario Party 2
Mario Party 3
Smash Bros.
Excite Bike 64
Dr. Mario 64
Pokemon Stadium (GB Link)
Pokemon Stadium 2 (GB Link)
Donkey Kong 64 (Expansion Pack)
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Expansion Pak)

18 games, 2 of which are essentially useless and 2 more using specialized hardware.

As is, Nintendo has 43 more possible games to output to VC. Just a note but this was using Wikipedia data, there are probably errors in here somewhere.

 

[EphemeralDream]

I went through Wikipedia's List of Nintendo Published NES games, here's what's left:

Slalom - RARE - Likely Possible
RC Pro-AM - RARE - Likely Possible
Tetris - Licensing Issues
Tetris 2 - Licensing Issues

A whole 9 games left...

The SNES games:

Pilot Wings - DSP1 Chip
Super Mario Kart - DSP1 Chip
Tetris and Dr. Mario - Licensing Issues
Kirby Super Star - Proprietary Chip
Tetris Attack - Licensing Issues
Kirby's dreamland 3 - Proprietary Chip

16 games. Some might be held back for more strategic timing, others have special hardware to worry about.

And finally the N64 games:

Diddy Kong Racing - Contains Rare characters
Tetrisphere - Licensing Issues
The new Tetris - Licensing Issues

Added some annotations to your list here. I'm pretty sure the Tetris games are not quite part of the potential pool as of now. If we see 1 go up, then that changes things, but right now THQ owns the license I believe. Also with the SNES games, we've yet to see any chipped games go up but one is ESRB rated (Kirby DL3). And some of those RARE games are likely possible since there's no IP issues.

 

[Jazzem]

I think I'll get into the VC again after my exams. It was amazing for me last year, as I was falling in love with games like Super Castlevania IV, Super Probotector, Chew Man Fu, Super Metroid and Sin & Punishment for the first time. There's still been a lot of good stuff this year (Lords of Thunder <3), but I haven't felt that compelled to play games I've bought strangely. For whatever reason, I'm in a retro mood now, so I hope to get stuck into some classics

 

[Ranger X]

I went through Wikipedia's List of Nintendo Published NES games, here's what's left:

As is, Nintendo has 43 more possible games to output to VC. Just a note but this was using Wikipedia data, there are probably errors in here somewhere.

And that's very interesting and demonstrate the problem with the VC.

- Nintendo will want to spread out the 43 games on the next 2 years AT THE VERY LEAST.

- If Nintendo only have 43 games, just imagine the other 3 publishers...

The real problem with the VC is that there's not enough publisher pushing their games there. Period.
In the meantime Nintendo is obligated to stretch the release ALOT in order for the service to receive periodic update until the end of the generation.

 

[Visualante]

Wiiware should be the natural progression. By the time Wiiware arrives every game should be on virtual console. I hate to basically carbon copy what Kobun says but it's true.

They want to create a fertile environment for Wiiware? Then it needs the entire spotlight.

 

[Ranger X]

Wiiware should be the natural progression. By the time Wiiware arrives every game should be on virtual console. I hate to basically carbon copy what Kobun says but it's true.

They want to create a fertile environment for Wiiware? Then it needs the entire spotlight.

But this won't happen and both side will be updating sporadically.

 

[Somnid]

And that's very interesting and demonstrate the problem with the VC.

- Nintendo will want to spread out the 43 games on the next 2 years AT THE VERY LEAST.

- If Nintendo only have 43 games, just imagine the other 3 publishers...

The real problem with the VC is that there's not enough publisher pushing their games there. Period.
In the meantime Nintendo is obligated to stretch the release ALOT in order for the service to receive periodic update until the end of the generation.

Nintendo has about that amount of games on VC already. That was after about a year so I don't think they'll get stretched much past this one. N64 games are slower to get up at 1 per month and like mentioned there are some emulation/publishing hurdles to get over for some of the others making newer ones less likely in general. Hudson and Sega don't have much more than Nintendo on their own platforms (Sega does only because Master System is still new). Also there are nearly 50 publishers on VC right now IIRC (representing even tinier Japanese ones), you don't see all of them in North America for reason I mentioned in another one of my posts. What is really lacking is western publishers.

 

[EphemeralDream]

Wiiware should be the natural progression. By the time Wiiware arrives every game should be on virtual console. I hate to basically carbon copy what Kobun says but it's true.

They want to create a fertile environment for Wiiware? Then it needs the entire spotlight.

Makes sense. By spreading VC really thin, they're really killing its former momentum. Gamers are going to get restless waiting for some of their favorites to show up and many will (if they haven't already) give up on the service. They can still extend the longevity of the service by adding other consoles and if some publishers (like Nintendo) exhaust their catalog in the first few years, they can step aside and let other companies have the spotlight. Is there anyone here who doubts that Nintendo wouldn't remain the top VC seller if they no longer had anything left to upload? Sega likely would maintain some selling power as well. There's still quite a few consoles that could be added to extend libraries (Sega CD, 32x, X68000, MSX, Game Boy family, arcade versions, etc.)

Smart companies can use WiiWare to retroactively promote VC titles, such as with Star Soldier R, the new Alien Crush, etc. Imagine checking out a new 2D Mega Man on WiiWare and then realizing there's ~15 other MM titles available through VC. Potent stuff I'd say.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Heh, the only game on this list actually made by Nintendo itself is Majora's Mask... I don't really understand your rules for how you "reduced" the list, though. Given that most of the games aren't by Nintendo itself, for the N64, dividing it just by "first party/third party" is problematic.

On this list, first parties include: Nintendo, Nintendo EAD, NST (Nintendo Software Technology), HAL Laboratory (I'd call it one, but some consider it second party)

Second parties include: Rare, Left Field, Ambrella (according to Wikipedia)

Third parties include (titles of theirs published or distributed by Nintendo): Paradigm, Midway, Camelot, Hudson, Lucasarts, Newcom, Treasure, Angel Studios, Mass Media, Looking Glass Studios

So really, what makes most sense is to divide it by how likely each game is to show up. Licensed titles should go first, for the ones that might have the most difficulties (Lucasarts games aren't really licensed! I mean, licensed to themselves? What's the point of noting it...).

Titles added are in bold.

Tetrisphere - H2O [from The Tetris Company]
The New Tetris - H2O [from The Tetris Company]
Goldeneye - Rare
F1 World Grand Prix - Paradigm (Published by Video System but distributed by Nintendo in the US and Europe; Published by Nintendo in Japan)
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside - Left Field
Major League Baseball Feat. Ken Griffey Jr. - Angel Studios
Waialae Country Club: True Golf Classics [licensed?]
Command & Conquer - Looking Glass Studios [from Westwood] (supports Expansion Pak)
Ken Griffey Jr's Slugfest - Angel Studios
NBA Courtside 2 - Left Field
Mickey's Speedway USA - Rare [from Disney]
Ridge Racer 64 - NST [from Namco]
Starcraft 64 - Mass Media [from Blizzard] (supports Expansion Pak)
The NHL & NHLPA Present Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey - Midway [licensed] (Midway developed and published in the US, but Nintendo published in Europe and GameBank in Japan)

Of these, Ridger Racer 64 is a first-party title and I would say is very likely to show up eventually. Command & Conquer might be possible as well, though Looking Glass Studios' closure years back might complicate things there, if they had rights instead of just Westwood (now EA). The two Tetris games remain possibilities as well.

The rest we probably will never see.

Pilotwings 64 - Paradigm
Diddy Kong Racing - Rare
Cruis'n World - Midway (note: Cruis'n Exotica was published by Midway, not Nintendo, so it was removed from the list.)
Mario Tennis - Camelot
Mario Golf - Camelot
Mario Party - Hudson
Mario Party 2 - Hudson
Mario Party 3 - Hudson
Super Smash Bros. - HAL
Excite Bike 64 - Left Field
Dr. Mario 64 - Newcom
Pokemon Stadium - HAL (Supports Transfer Pak)
Pokemon Stadium 2 - HAL (Supports Transfer Pak)
Donkey Kong 64 - Rare (Requires Expansion Pak) ("Rare" published in the US, Nintendo published everywhere else)
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Nintendo EAD (Requires Expansion Pak)
Pokemon Puzzle League - NST
Star Wars Episode I Racer - Lucasarts (Published by Lucasarts, Distributed by Nintendo in the US; Published by Nintendo elsewhere)
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron - Lucasarts (Published by Lucasarts, Distributed by Nintendo in the US; Published by Nintendo elsewhere)
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire - Lucasarts
Bomberman 64 - Hudson
Mischief Makers - Treasure
Bomberman Hero - Hudson

The last six titles are ones that the original list didn't put in the "likely to see" category, for whatever reasons, (because five of the six are third party developed? But so are most of the rest of the games on the list... and that still doesn't explain Pokemon Puzzle League's omission.) but they should be there.

Midway's only VC game so far is Cruis'n USA of course, and Lucasarts hasn't released anything on VC yet, but I would be surprised if they don't eventually release some of their N64 Star Wars stuff. Rogue Squadron was added because it had a similar publishing arrangement as the later Episode I Racer.

Killer Instinct Gold - Rare
Blast Corps - Rare
Banjo-Kazooie - Rare
Banjo-Tooie - Rare
Hey You, Pikachu! - Ambrella (second party) (Microphone)
Perfect Dark - Rare
Jet Force Gemini - Rare ("Rare" published in the US, Nintendo published in Europe & Japan)
Conker's Bad Fur Day - Rare ("Rare" published in the US, THQ in Europe, Nintendo in Australia)

For the last category, Hey You Pikachu requires a microphone and the rest are Rare games.

Note -- while this only originally included some of Rare's 13 N64 games, really, they all should be listed, because I think that even the titles that were technically "self-published by Rare" on N64 were actually done by Nintendo, just with Rare's logo on them. Either way, they should all be together. All except the two DK games go in this category.

There's also the N64 version of Glover, which was published by Hasbro here, but published by Nintendo in Europe.

There's only one more to mention... Ogre Battle 64, published by Nintendo in Japan but Atlus here, and now an ignored part of Square-Enix's library. We probably will never see it, sadly.

 

[Somnid]

Smart companies can use WiiWare to retroactively promote VC titles, such as with Star Soldier R, the new Alien Crush, etc. Imagine checking out a new 2D Mega Man on WiiWare and then realizing there's ~15 other MM titles available through VC. Potent stuff I'd say.

I think you've got it backwards. By releasing a VC game interest in a series can be re-evaluated at pretty much no risk. I think this is why Star Soldier and Alien Crush got Wiiware sequels in the first place.

edit: My list wasn't seperated by devs because that's irrelevant except were the property would have returned to the original owner, such is the case of many of Rare's games.

edit2: It's also from a US point of view, international publishing gets very tricky, there's no garauntee stuff on that list applies to Europe.

 

[chidrock]

I wonder what 3rd parties think about the Virtual Console. Do they think that it isn't worth it, or is it that they just haven't thought about it?

Also, since we're talking about the games that Nintendo has licensed, what about Sega and Neo Geo? I really thought that Sega was going to jump in on this, but I guess that I was wrong. (I just mentioned Neo Geo because I want Samurai Showdown)

What about Zombies Ate My Neighbors?!!! I was hoping that if they didn't put it on the VC, they'd at least put it somewhere else as a bonus. (such as some new crappy game that needs something to help push it)

 

[borghe]

I wonder what 3rd parties think about the Virtual Console. Do they think that it isn't worth it, or is it that they just haven't thought about it?

My guess is for most it's probably a little bit of both, but I don't think this necessarily applies to VC specifically at all. If you look at the biggest 3rd party VC supporters, they are also typically the biggest third party PSN and XBLA supporters. Capcom, Konami, Sega, Hudson, etc. What I WILL say is that I don't think companies differentiate ANY difference between the VC and those other services (or WiiWare). I think they just view it all as downloadable gaming and either see a business pro or a business con to it right now.

Take EA for example. When you start seeing a large variety of downloadable games hitting those servces from EA, I'm guessing you are going to start seeing VC games from EA also (though EA is not thrilled to be doing those services when it has it's own online "downloadable" game service to already support). I think the bottom line is that a lot of these companies are already running thin just to get their boxed product out the door. Most probably don't have the resources to put at downloadable gaming, even if it's just a handful of people bugfixing and ok'ing a VC release.

 

[jarrod]

ITrim the Fat:

Pilot Wings
Super Tennis
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario all Stars
Super Punch-Out!!
Tetris And Dr.Mario
Wario's Woods
Earthbound
Super Mario RPG
Kirby Superstar
Tetris Attack
Kirby's Dreamland 3
Yoshi's Cookie
Starfox {Super FX}
Stunt Race FX {Super FX}
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island {Super FX}

16 games. Some might be held back for more strategic timing, others have special hardware to worry about.

Just an aside, some other games use specialized chips that are so far unemulated on the VC...

DSP-1
-Pilotwings (Nintendo EAD)
-Super Mario Kart (Nintendo EAD)

SA-1
-Kirby's Dream Land 3 (HAL)
-Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Square)


...also, Super Tennis is a 3rd party game that NOA just licensed. I think there'll be licensing issues with any Tetris titles, but they may still come.

 

[beelzebozo]

i really wish capcom would jump on board and push a lot of their nes/snes library through v.c. if i could name one publisher i wanted to release all their old library, it would probably be them.

 

[jarrod]

I really want Natsume's awesome SNES stuff... instead, I got Dead Moon. :/

Square Enix is sitting on a goldmine, even if they exorcize FF/DQ/Chrono. Actraiser was a great start, but we really need more... and no, King's Knight doesn't count.

 

[Conrad Link]

I'd probably do it too.

Yes! Sonic 3 & Knuckles is worth that and more.

Maybe I don't understand how the Virtual Console works, but why do some people act like its Nintendo's fault Mega Man isn't out on VC? :lol Isn't that Capcom's problem?

 

[RedNumberFive]

I would be a happy man if either Pilotwings game was released. I really miss how relaxing those games were.

 

[beelzebozo]

what i find really funny about square-enix refusing to release games like ff6, secret of mana, chrono trigger, and dragon quest on v.c. is that--presuming the reason is that they plan to do remakes/rereleases in the future--the kind of person who would buy said games on v.c. are also the kind of person who would likely still buy a rerelease on a handheld, or even a moderately updated version on a console (added cinematics, ala f.f. chronicles). their net loss would, by my estimation, be zero: the games would sell like mad on v.c., those same customers would likely buy the game again when it was remade or rereleased, and you have more money to buy ivory back scratchers.

 

[Bloodwake]

what i find really funny about square-enix refusing to release games like ff6, secret of mana, chrono trigger, and dragon quest on v.c. is that--presuming the reason is that they plan to do remakes/rereleases in the future--the kind of person who would buy said games on v.c. are also the kind of person who would likely still buy a rerelease on a handheld, or even a moderately updated version on a console (added cinematics, ala f.f. chronicles). their net loss would, by my estimation, be zero: the games would sell like mad on v.c., those same customers would likely buy the game again when it was remade or rereleased, and you have more money to buy ivory back scratchers.

Yeah, Square Enix is one of those companies that I have determined don't want to make a shitload of money. I mean, an FFVII remake on a next gen console would basically sell as good as Halo 3 IMO.

So, we still won't see shit like Dragon Quest or Chrono Trigger. I mean, Square Enix doesn't want too much money, do they?

 

[borghe]

Maybe I don't understand how the Virtual Console works, but why do some people act like its Nintendo's fault Mega Man isn't out on VC? :lol Isn't that Capcom's problem?

Much like XBLA and PSN, Nintendo directly controls the release schedule and the overall approval. It "could" be Capcom's fault for not having Mega Man out in the US, but being that it's already out in Euroland it is more than likely NOA's.

Yeah, Square Enix is one of those companies that I have determined don't want to make a shitload of money. I mean, an FFVII remake on a next gen console would basically sell as good as Halo 3 IMO.

So, we still won't see shit like Dragon Quest or Chrono Trigger. I mean, Square Enix doesn't want too much money, do they?

You do realize the irony of this post, right? If Square didn't love money, you wouldn't see FF1 released on: NES, PSX, GBA, WonderSwan, PSP, cellphones. Heck, FFIV is about to hit its fourth system!

They love money SO much that their bread and butter, PS2 and DS games, carry a $10 SQUARE TAX!!

Square is not stupid, and their timing is always impeccable. We will see Chrono Trigger, FRVII remake, DQ, etc all when it is the absolute right time, on the right system and all at a premium over other games for the same systems.

Why release ChronoTrigger for the VC at $8 (I can't believe Nintendo will let them charge more) when they can redo it for the DS or DS2 at $40!?! Why start on FFVII remake only one generation later when you can wait two generations, after a platform has sold through 40m units worldwide and release a game that truly destroys the original graphically?

 

[brandonh83]

Do we already know what's coming today? I haven't been in this thread much (for obvious reasons) so I don't know how we're finding out stuff lately. Pardon the ignorance.

 

[borghe]

Do we already know what's coming today? I haven't been in this thread much (for obvious reasons) so I don't know how we're finding out stuff lately. Pardon the ignorance.

Fantasy Zone (SMS)
Mega Turrican (Gen)

 

[brandonh83]

Thanks much

 

[twinturbo2]

Do we already know what's coming today? I haven't been in this thread much (for obvious reasons) so I don't know how we're finding out stuff lately. Pardon the ignorance.

Fantasy Zone and Mega Turrican.

Dammit, beaten...

 

[mooreupp]

Is there any chance of Duck Hunt coming? I know someone listed that as being an original one that was withdrawn, but is there any reason to think it won't come at all (or that it will come relatively soon)? Thanks.

 

[jjasper]

So which is better Mega or Super Turrican? Or are they the same game?

 

[jarrod]

I don't mind missing the Square/DQ stuff, just give me the Quintet/Produce/Almanic/Quest goodness.

 

[borghe]

Is there any chance of Duck Hunt coming? I know someone listed that as being an original one that was withdrawn, but is there any reason to think it won't come at all (or that it will come relatively soon)? Thanks.

Is there a chance? Possibly... Sega proved that you can tack on a perfect light gun replacement over an existing game engine with HotD2+3. But with the super low number of light gun games out there (and relative overall lack of quality in general) I don't know how interested Nintendo is in it.

Personally I am more hoping Sega emulates the light gun ala HotD2+3 in their SMS emulator. I would LOVE to have Wanted, Gangster Town, and Rescue Mission on VC.

 

[flamesofchaos]

Is there a chance? Possibly... Sega proved that you can tack on a perfect light gun replacement over an existing game engine with HotD2+3. But with the super low number of light gun games out there (and relative overall lack of quality in general) I don't know how interested Nintendo is in it.

Personally I am more hoping Sega emulates the light gun ala HotD2+3 in their SMS emulator. I would LOVE to have Wanted, Gangster Town, and Rescue Mission on VC.

I think if Nintendo ever released a duck hunt or a hogan's alley it would be done on WiiWare.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

Much like XBLA and PSN, Nintendo directly controls the release schedule and the overall approval. It "could" be Capcom's fault for not having Mega Man out in the US, but being that it's already out in Euroland it is more than likely NOA's.

Europe never got the Mega Man: Anniversary Collection.

I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Europe got MM1 and MM2 and the US and Japan did not.

Is Capcom still seeing profit from those Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox disks? Could be.




That doesn't explain why, however, that Capcom has chosen not to release the other NES games like 1942, 1943, Gun.Smoke, Commando, Trojan, Bionic Commando, Strider, Mighty Final Fight, etc etc.

You might say, "well, the Capcom Arcade Collections, of course."

Except they let the Ghouls 'n Ghosts games through, as well as the Street Fighters. So "hmm!" is what I says.

 

[EphemeralDream]

I think you've got it backwards. By releasing a VC game interest in a series can be re-evaluated at pretty much no risk. I think this is why Star Soldier and Alien Crush got Wiiware sequels in the first place.

I realize that, but I imagine that Hudson has long seen the majority of the sales it's going to see from Alien Crush. The WiiWare game could bring a good deal more sales to the VC title.

 

[Capndrake]

ESRB:

Double Dragon Aksys Games E10+ Mild Violence Wii
Renegade Aksys Games E10+ Mild Violence Wii

And not VC, but came out of nowhere (Also ESRB):

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. T Blood, Fantasy Violence Nintendo DS

 

[evilromero]

ESRB:

Dick hardening.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

Technos!

The US would like River City Ransom, too, please.

 

[crowphoenix]

I picked up Mega Turican today, and holy shit is that game awesome. The grappling hook is a nice touch, though I wish it would fire in air, still it's nice to be able to climb high walls. The levels all have little nooks and crannies that yield weapons, power ups, and diamonds. The only complaint I have is that your guys can only shoot to the sides, which makes a game where enemies come at you from everywhere challenging. The first level is pretty easy, but the game jumps in difficulty in the second.

I didn't read the plot, so I'll make up my own. You are Turrican, Mega. Once long ago, you were a miner, and you were damn good at your job.; Some might say the best. But that all ended tragically when your buddy, Ron, hit the wrong spot, and the cave collapsed. You survived, somehow, but your body was destroyed. Evil Co rebuilt you, and set you to work. But you scared the other workers and were fired, without your pension. Now it's time to stick to the evil co. Get in their and get those diamonds you worked so hard to dig up. Turn about is fair play.