Revolution's "Virtual Console" Details

[Warlock]

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/680/680846p1.html

Apparently Nintendo had some company do a market study with some mockup screens (there are more in the article):

http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revolution/image/article/680/680846/first-glimpse-revolutions-virtual-console--20060111050259615-000.jpg

http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revolution/image/article/680/680846/first-glimpse-revolutions-virtual-console--20060111050325191-000.jpg

http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revolution/image/article/680/680846/first-glimpse-revolutions-virtual-console--20060111050335862-000.jpg

The mockups are a bit ugly in my opinion but I know they are just that, mockups (hell, I'd expect the interface to at least be fancier than GameCube's). It also sounds like you can just buy a subscription for like $15 a month and download whatever games you want. They also list a few of the likely initial games:


NES Games
Balloon Fight
Baseball
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Jr.
Dr. Mario
Duck Hunt
Excitebike
Hogan's Alley
Ice Climber
Ice Hockey
Kid Icarus
Kirby
Kung Fu
Mario Bros.
Mario Open Golf
Metroid
Pinball
Pro Wrestling
Punch Out
RC Pro AM
Soccer
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Tennis
Tetris
Urban Champion
Volleyball
Wario's Woods
Yoshi's Cookies
Zelda
Zelda (Adventure of Link)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

S-NES Games
Battle Clash
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2
Earthbound
F-Zero
Illusion of Gaia
Killer Instinct
Kirby's Avalanche
Kirby Dream Course
Kirby Super Star
Kirby 3
Pilot Wings
Sim City
Star Fox
Stunt Race FX
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario RPG
Super Mario World
Super Metroid
Super Play Action Football
Super Scope 6
Super Soccer
Super Tennis
Tetris Attack
Tetris 2
Uniracers
Vegas Stakes
Wario's Woods
Yoshi's Hunting
Yoshi's Island
Zelda

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

N64 Games
1080
Blast Corps
Bomberman 64
Cruisin' USA
Goldeneye
Mario Golf 64
Mario Party 3
Mario Tennis 64
Ogre Battle 64
Paper Mario
Pilot Wings 64
Pokemon Snap
Sin & Punishment
Star Fox 64
Super Mario 64
Wave Race
Yoshi's Story
Zelda

I'm sure there will be more than that, but not a bad list to start off with.

[ONeilcool]

I dont really like the 15$ idea, It feels better to acutally have a game then just rent it. Id hate to be wanting to play a game but i only rented it for last month that would be so annyoing.

It makes me feel old school to have some of the game that are on the list, enough tho im only 14.

Does anyone know what the prices of the games are gonna be? the 500 in the star just confused me more.

[idontknow]

What if you pay $15 for like $5,000 stars? Like what if in the mock-ups, the 500 stars mean that's what it costs--you could purchase more stars do for additional money, but the standard starting cost would be $15 for 5,000. This means you could download & play 10 games for $15, which isn't that bad a price in my opinion.

[Warlock]

According to IGN the stars are probably for Nintendo promotional stuff. Like how in Japan you can register the games you buy and you get points for doing that. You can then use those points to "buy" cool merchandise you can't get anywhere else.

NOA sort of does this with their product registration, but all they do right now is if you register X number of games they might have a promotion going where they will send you something for free (i.e. Zelda Collection for GC, Metroid Prime 2 demo, Kirby Canvas Curse pink stylus)

[Daarkseid]

Nintendo would be smart to limit the download of Super Metroid to a one time 30-40 dollar charge of the account.

Seriously, Super Metroid is amongst the finest games ever made.

[ZeldaLord]

Paying for games per month? Just what wedidn't need. And does anyone else notice the absence of many great games? Where's Final Fantasy 1-6, Chrono Trigger, and Zelda:MM. I also find it strange that they have sequels without the originals.

[Daarkseid]

Paying for games per month? Just what wedidn't need. And does anyone else notice the absence of many great games? Where's Final Fantasy 1-6, Chrono Trigger,

Nintendo doesn't own the copyrights to those games.

And I'm fairly certain Majora's Mask will be available.

[Darth Marsden]

According to IGN the stars are probably for Nintendo promotional stuff. Like how in Japan you can register the games you buy and you get points for doing that. You can then use those points to "buy" cool merchandise you can't get anywhere else.They do that over here as well. Back before they redesigned it to have some decent stuff, I got a spiffy Metroid Bookmark. Which I still use to this day.

I'm not sure about the idea of having a fixed rate a month. It sounds like a nice idea, and I'll wait til they actually give us the details before fully judging them about it, but if people are anything like me, then they'll play like a bunch of games for a week, then gradually drop down to one or two games for a few hours a month. I'd prefer buying individual games which you download to a hard drive of some sort, but I can understand how that might be impractical and easy to pirate. Again though, I'll wait for more details before casting my ideas into stone.

[ZeldaLord]

Nintendo doesn't own the copyrights to those games.

And I'm fairly certain Majora's Mask will be available.

In which case, do you think Nintendo could get permission from square to release those games, for a share of the profits?

I have to say, it would suck if you had to pay every month just to keep playing a game... I thought that kind of stuff was just limited to MMORPGs. However, I think it's pretty unlikely that subscription will be the only option for playing games. Look at this screen:
http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revolution/image/article/680/680846/first-glimpse-revolutions-virtual-console--20060111050325191-000.jpg
You can clearly see the word "Buy" next to the star symbol (which I presume will be used as a universal currency by Nintendo for purchasing games), and I'm 90% sure that the word below it is "Rent", which I suspect is what the $15 subscription will be used for.

[Petoe]

Uh oh... I hope the 500 inside the start doesn't mean $500. :P

Anyways, I like the current list already. I am certain Majora's Mask will be downloadable as well, and I'd pay anything to be able to play FF6 on my big TV!

[Tygore]

The 500 is more likely to be yen than dollars, and 500 yen is... not a lot. (I don't know the exact conversion! I'm sorry!)

The game I got excited about on that list? Earthbound.

And if you've played Zelda: Collecter's Edition, you know that Majora's Mask had some wierd issues in being converted to the GC format. It could be why it isn't an initial offering.

[MottZilla]

Tygore, Majora's Mask wasn't "converted". The Zelda Disc for GC used an emulator for the NES games, and another emulator for the N64 games. Part of the reason for problems was GameCube only has 24MB of system RAM. The Zelda 64 and MM are both 32MB. So the emulator streams in data as it's needed but this can have ill effects.

The Revolution however, will have alot more power for emulation, as well as alot more RAM. You can expect a better play on the Revolution than that ZC Collectors disc.

[Tygore]

OK< maybe "converted" wasn't the right word. Also, I just remembered: MM required the N64 expansion pack, which is why OoT most likely didn't suffer as poorly.

Also, NES has Duck Hunt. Which, thanks to the Rev's controller, is 100% doable.

Friggin. Sweet.

[Grasshopper]

Hey!, where is Star Tropics? I want my STAR TROPICS!

It could just as easily work like online services like Real Arcade or Steam. Where you have an account, log in, pay for a game, download the game, and delete the game. But the service will always keep track of what you bought, so you can always download it again, without having to repay.

¥500 is $4.38 so I would assume each game would cost $5.00


Also, NES has Duck Hunt. Which, thanks to the Rev's controller, is 100% doable.
As well as Hogan's Alley, which is also on that list

[MottZilla]

OK< maybe "converted" wasn't the right word. Also, I just remembered: MM required the N64 expansion pack, which is why OoT most likely didn't suffer as poorly.

Also, NES has Duck Hunt. Which, thanks to the Rev's controller, is 100% doable.

Friggin. Sweet.

That's a good point. The Expansion Pak is an additional 4MB of RAM to worry about. Which means RAM alone (which cannot be paged like ROM) takes atleast 8MB of the 24MB of RAM in the GC. That leaves less than 16MB for the ROM image. Anyways, depending on the game and how exactly it's emulated with an insufficant amount of RAM the annoying effects could vary. Esspecially since new data much be loaded off the disc which can be quite slow.

Revolution ofcourse has plenty of RAM no doubt.

[goKi]

OK< maybe "converted" wasn't the right word. Also, I just remembered: MM required the N64 expansion pack, which is why OoT most likely didn't suffer as poorly.

Also, NES has Duck Hunt. Which, thanks to the Rev's controller, is 100% doable.

Friggin. Sweet.

As far as i can recall, OoT ran better on the GCN port than the N64.

[ZeldaLord]

Do you reckon they might update some of the old games with more difficult versions, like Master Quest for OOT, and (although it isn't really a separate game) the second quest in Zelda 1? After all, they own the source code, so it wouldn't be hard, and it would definitely be a good way to make money...I'd certainly like to see a harder version of ALttP. ;)

[Daarkseid]

Hey!, where is Star Tropics? I want my STAR TROPICS!



God no, that game was fucking frustrating. It had a decent ending though, it's just the way in which the game fucks you over.

For people who don't know, imagine a Zelda game without a source of refilling your hearts, and each time you get a sword upgrade, it can only be used so long as you have a certain number of hearts filled. Otherwise, you're downgraded to your weaker shittier sword. When you die, you restart with the minimum of three hearts filled, and the enemies get progressively tougher(requiring more hits, as usual). The only way to refill your hearts is to beat a boss, find a potion in a hidden room(the number of potions in the game is finite), or slowly collect hearts that are rarely lying around or that rarely drop from enemies.

I'd have to stop, frequently, in some places to continually hunt enemies to get my heart meter up enough to use my badass new weapon.

Also, the controls were abysmal. You moved along Zelda like dungeons as if it were a regular RPG, that is, one 16x16 tile at a time. You can only occupy a tile at a time, you can't stand in between or inch around like you can in Zelda, meanwhile the enemies are moving around in zelda-like fluid motion. Also, you can jump, but thats for jumping between special tiles and hitting switches. On the normal ground, you can only jump straight up, and jumping is only useful in this regard for avoiding projectiles.

The game is just too frustrating control-wise and in its gameplay concepts to be any fun. At all. It was only through extreme boredom and the fact the game cost only 5 dollars new from K-Bee toys that I withstood this monster of a game to get to the end. Which I don't think is worth the anguish I went through, but its surprisingly good.

The sequel to Star Tropics, Zoda's revenge, is a much more balanced game in that you can move almost as fluidly like in a zelda game, and move while jumping. And your weapon can still be used even when your hearts are low. Unfortunately, it sucks plotwise, and the ending just ties up the series story so as to make the first's ending a little less dramatic.

Fuck Nintendo if they ever put those two games up for download.

[Grasshopper]

Geez, ease up there a little.:rolleyes:

Apparently, I must be a mindless zombie to have enjoyed that game, but I know a lot of other people who did too. I hated the controls, but I still dig the game, I liked it better than Zoda' Revenge. And besides, its no better than the controls on Ice Climbers, and is a better game to boot.

[Daarkseid]

Apparently, I must be a mindless zombie to have enjoyed that game, but I know a lot of other people who did too. I hated the controls, but I still dig the game, I liked it better than Zoda' Revenge. And besides, its no better than the controls on Ice Climbers, and is a better game to boot.

Not a mindless zombie, just a masochist.

[ONeilcool]

¥500 is $4.38 so I would assume each game would cost $5.00



Is it just me or is that a really good deal?

[Kairyu]

Why Goldeneye, but not PD? I'm wondering about this list...

[ZeldaLord]

And how come the original SSB isn't on the list, and yet Pokemon Snap is? If they're going to select games, they might as well select good ones.

[VI3T_DR@GON]

For well if you dont want to pay for the games, just play them on your systems! Ive got most of the SNES, NES, and N64 games, and I dont want to pay $5 to play a game I already own.

[copsgotguns]

that list better include 'zombies ate my neighbors' eventually, or i will be one unhappy camper

[VI3T_DR@GON]

That was on SNES am I right? I thought that game was plain and simple stupid. I thought the idea was weird too.

[Darth Marsden]

Yeah, ZAMN was on the SNES. I sucked at it. But did I see Super Mario RPG in that list? Glee!

Although where the fuck is Metroid II? I know it was a GB game, but it's the only one which you won't be able to get once the Revolution is out (Metroid 1 - NES/GBA, Super Metroid - SNES, Metroid Fusion - GBA, Metroid Prime I & II - GC), and I wanna see it supported! The fact that I already own the cartridge is totally irrelevant.

[Dechipher]

Zombies Ate My Neighbors was fun as fuck. Who cares if it was weird? Do you not think a leaping plumber attacking a giant gorilla who throws barrles and kidnaps mushroom princesses is weird?
SMRPG is my favorite game ever.

[VI3T_DR@GON]

Ok, I guess it was fun...for a while...I have SMRPG on an Emulator disc, and it is awesome! All of the metriods should be on there, plain and simple.

[Daarkseid]

Although where the fuck is Metroid II? I know it was a GB game, but it's the only one which you won't be able to get once the Revolution is out (Metroid 1 - NES/GBA, Super Metroid - SNES, Metroid Fusion - GBA, Metroid Prime I & II - GC), and I wanna see it supported! The fact that I already own the cartridge is totally irrelevant.

Yeah, that game seriously needs to be rereleased. Its one of the few great Nintendo games to not get a remake or reissue of some kind(beyond the mid-90s rerelease of million seller GB games).

Although, it might be worthwhile for them to remake Metroid II for GBA or DS, and then include the GB version as a bonus, like original Metroid was for Zero Mission. Metroid II, never being updated for GBC graphics, looks hideous(comparatively) and would probably turn off alot of newcomers to the game.

I own the old cart too, though it is slightly damaged. Something has come loose inside the cartridge, and moving the GB device in a way that jolts the cart can cause the game to reset or lose contact with the GB entirely.

[Orion]

Metroid II will always kinda be the "original metroid" for me... it was the first one in the series I had ever played. I would love to see a remake, but I loved the feel of the original game. I really wanna see the metroid mutations make a comeback in a metroid game someday, too.

Aaanywhosawatsit.. as excited as I am for the virtual console deal, I don't see too many games on there that I would actually download and pay for. Most of the ones on there I want to play, I own on cartridge.

[Tygore]

I really wanna see the metroid mutations make a comeback in a metroid game someday, too.
Look VERRRRY carefully in Fusion. They're there, in the background of the Metroid Room SA-X destroys. I would like to see them in action again, though.

[koopa]

If I can play super mario rpg on it, I'd better start saving up for the revolution ...

Of course if you could also play GB/GBA games on it that would be even better.

[vegeta1215]

That would be cool to see a remake of Metroid II, because even though it's a good game, it's easily the worst game in the Metroid series.

[Warlock]

That would be cool to see a remake of Metroid II, because even though it's a good game, it's easily the worst game in the Metroid series.

I concur. Honestly, it's a great game that is ruined by the inferior hardware it was limited to at the time. The original Metroid was kind of the same way but at least that had color.

A lot of the locations are a bit bland too, which I can only attribute to the system again. Everything kind of looks the same, except maybe some areas might have some different plant graphics or something.

But yeah, I'd love to see them do what they did with Metroid: Zero Mission to that. Zero Mission was quite possibly one of the best remakes I've ever seen. Heck, they could do the same thing with the original Legend of Zelda. Actually put a story in there with towns and people and whatnot.

[punkonjunk1024]

Slightly off topic, but what system is star tropics and the sequel on? Those controls sound like NES to me, but I couldn't find it as an NES rom.

[Dechipher]

NES.
Also, I would suspect SSB isn't on the list because of two reasons: SSBM, and SSBRev.

Think about it.