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Wii U Virtual Console Details

Of course they're going to be ROMs. All of that stuff will be emulator side. Charging people again is ridiculous.

I'd be surprised; if that was true then Nintendo could have shipped every 3DS ambassador game fully updated from the start, and not piecemeal. Seemed to me more like the Backbone approach of building custom emulation frameworks over each original ROM to specifically support however that game functioned. (At best they probably need extensive emulation testing.)
 
Wait... Aren't games on the Virtual Console emulated?

I don't have a Wii so I'm not so sure. If they are, then this is a straight up scam.

It's no more a scam then companies re-releasing games in HD. You pay for the new features of the release. In this case, rather than pay for HD you are paying for Miiverse, Off-TV play, access in Wii U mode, etc... The fee is pretty small, IMO.

You can still play all your Wii VC games on the Wii U but you just won't be able to use the new features.
 
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Somnid

Member
Upgrade price isn't bad, I'll upgrade what I have. My entire collection will cost less than one of those awful Genesis collections.

Still never cleaned up that whole 3DS VC mess though, I want some cross-platform.
 

King_Moc

Banned

They already announced that miiverse requires no work whatsoever to get working with games. I can't see the video at the moment, but if the $1 or so amounts being suggested here are accurate, then i'd probably be ok with that to get the off tv play.
 

Noi

Member
At least Nintendo is adding features to VC games, so the $1.50 will actually net you something new.

That being said, I won't rebuy most of my games.

Sony added features to PS1 classics when played on the Vita.

Didn't charge a dime.
 
I'm okay with this. For my collection, I can update everything for probably about $20-$30. I imagine it's still going to be a slow drip though when it does start this Spring, so my wallet won't be hit all at once. I'm sure I'll actually be excited to see Game X finally in stores again, actually.

Looking at my VC collection, I'd be looking at around $64 (or the GBP equivalent) to update all of my NES/SNES titles.
 

Gouty

Bloodborne is shit
Looks like about 80% discount. I guess you'll have to decide if ability to play them off-tv and Miiverse is enough to make you pay that. I'm not sure myself.

I'd probably bite on a couple of SNES games if they'd included a good scan line filter option or something.
 

entremet

Member
The funny thing is that the Wii U still doesn't have a true account system. Get ready to rebuy your games for 1 buck next Nintendo system!
 

SovanJedi

provides useful feedback
I don't think I'll be paying for any of the upgraded Wii U titles except on a per-basis impulse kind of buy (i.e. if someone RIGHT NOW wants to play Super Metroid on the Gamepad) or if I get really fed up of booting it to Wii mode each time.

I don't think the prices are bad, for what it's worth.
 

mackattk

Member
They're no longer roms (in order to get gamepad screen support + savestates + Miiverse or whatever options they add), hence dev time and cost to update.

I guess it's possible they could do some direct-dump games and update them later like on 3DS, though...

I understand that there is R&D to update the games, but I don't think that existing owners should have to pay for that though. Nintendo wants these games on the Wii U, as it will be profitable to do so. Nintendo is literally nickle and diming its existing customers.

I am not expecting to have to rebuy all the PS3 downloadable games on a PS4. Same with Xbox 360 games. I didn't have to pay a fee per game to play the PS1 or PSP games on my vita.

This is going to be an interesting thread. Curious to see how many are upset they have to pay a small fee to get the updated version. Personally, I don't have a problem with it. I don't see how it's different then releasing HD games and charging for them.

I think (this is just making assumptions, I have no idea how much work goes into remaking a game to be rereleased on a new system) making the older games HD would require considerably more work than what Nintendo is trying to do with the VC games.

I guess I just need to think of these Wii U releases as DLC for the VC games.
 

hongcha

Member
1.00/1.50 is not that much. They have to cover the additional cost of rewriting the per title emulators to work with the pad.

Some companies are even nicer to their customers in this regard: Sony didn't charge me a penny to play all the psx games I bought on my PS3 on my Vita, even though they spent months developing a psx emulator for the Vita.
 

Ninja Dom

Member
It's a Wii U so don't forget it had backwards compatibility.

Don't want to re-purchase? Then fine, continue playing your VC game on the Wii U in Wii mode, just as you always did.

Wanna play VC games on Wii U Gamepad with Miiverse functionality then pay the upgrade price.
 

Coen

Member
I was really looking forward to playing Wave Race on the pad. I guess that's not hapening any time soon. :(
 

kunonabi

Member
Sounds like you need to transfer in order to get the discount. Balls to that. Had everything been available from the start I'd have considered it. I'll probably just pick up the absolute must-haves and leave my collection on my Wii. Super Metroid with off tv play and miiverse is awesome though. Why the hell are GBA games coming to the Wii U? Leave the portable stuff to the 3DS.
 

leadbelly

Banned
It's no more a scam then companies re-releasing games in HD. You pay for the new features of the release. In this case, rather than pay for HD you are paying for Miiverse, Off-TV play, access in Wii U mode, etc... The fee is pretty small, IMO.

You can still play all your Wii VC games on the Wii U but you just won't be able to use the new features.

Well, if you look at my last post, as long as you at least have the option to play those original DL games, I don't have a problem with it.

The point I was making is, if the games are emulated then there is no reason in the world for them not to work on the Wii U.
 

Jarsonot

Member
So we can download balloon fight now, must be on wii's virtual console right? Then transfer to Wii u?

But that would mean I will have to transfer ALL my games to Wii u?

Hope the spring update comes out before April, I'd like Wii u Super Metroid, but don't want to transfer games from my Wii.

Or am I understanding this wrong?
 

grumpy

Member
Nice, The majority of Metroid games will now be available on a single platform:

Metroid
Super Metroid
Metroid fusion
Metroid Zero Mission
Metroid Prime Trilogy
Metroid Other M
 

King_Moc

Banned
The funny thing is that the Wii U still doesn't have a true account system. Get ready to rebuy your games for 1 buck next Nintendo system!

You realise that all Wii Virtual Console titles carried over for free already, don't you? This is just for Wii U specific updates.
 

Raist

Banned
The Japan UMD transfer program.

Very obscure reference, since it is related to the Vita ;)

That would be comparable to NES/SNES/N64 > WII VC, it's a complete change of medium.

Now it's a ROM dump on a console with essentially has the same architecture.

I don't understand the "oh they have to add the transfer to make it work for the pad" argument. Do they really have to code that stuff? I mean it's just a recipient of a stream from the console, so this must be entirely possible to do it hardware wise and not on a per-title basis.
 

dkeane

Member
It's a Wii U so don't forget it had backwards compatibility.

Don't want to re-purchase? Then fine, continue playing your VC game on the Wii U in Wii mode, just as you always did.

Wanna play VC games on Wii U Gamepad with Miiverse functionality then pay the upgrade price.
Yeah - doesn't seem so bad. For games I want to play a lot of I'll pay the buck or so. No big deal.
 

hongcha

Member
It's a Wii U so don't forget it had backwards compatibility.

Don't want to re-purchase? Then fine, continue playing your VC game on the Wii U in Wii mode, just as you always did.

Wanna play VC games on Wii U Gamepad with Miiverse functionality then pay the upgrade price.

This is a very poor way to treat loyal customers. Nickle and dime you for every new "feature".
 
They're no longer roms (in order to get gamepad screen support + savestates + Miiverse or whatever options they add), hence dev time and cost to update.
None of those things make them any less ROMs than the Wii versions. Taking screenshots or outputting to a different screen are no big thing, nor setting up a Miiverse community based on the Wii U executable.

That said, I don't think it's unfair to charge a little for that--don't want the new features, keep the version you've already got with the same features it always had.
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
Goddamn you Nintendo.

At least get goddamn Genesis and N64 games too. This is a joke, right?

My only hope is that they'll unify VC purchases between 3DS and Wi- bbwhahahahahahahahha.

:/
 
so wait... balloon fight is NOT available on WiiU?

WiiU virtual console comes out in spring-but you announce a game will be available after the Nintendo direct...lol so confused...
 

ElRenoRaven

Gold Member
You know with gameplay on the gamepad I'm fine with this. I can't wait to play some of these games from the gamepad in bed at night or just when watching a hockey game on tv during the breaks between periods.
 

Omikaru

Member
its a buck you cheap fucks. Its free. In exchange for Miiverse integration and off tv play. Seems more than fair

So $1 = free now? What sort of mental gymnastics did you need to do to get to that conclusion?

I'm not necessarily disagreeing, since you can play those games as they are on the Wii Mode, and simply paying the money gets you new features, but, you know, less BS please. Nintendo are still charging for them.
 
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