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Wii U Virtual Console Details
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Quadraphonic
Member
Good 'ol Nintendo. Bundling their emulator executable with EVERY download.
Velcro Fly
Member
So GBA support for the 3DS eShop hopefully coming soon too? Because I want to be able to play every gen of Nintendo handheld on the 3DS and that would be fantastic. So Nintendo definitely isn't doing it 
Dead Man Typing
Member
Did Nintendo compile every ROM when releasing them on the Virtual Console so that they would only play on a Wii?
I don't understand why the Wii U can't reach into those files, and play them on a new Wii U emulator which can output to the GamePad screen. Okay, you wouldn't have the Miiverse features but I think that's preferable for us to not have to pay again and for Nintendo to not have to re-develop each game.
Their short sightedness in releasing 50hz games on the PAL Virtual Console astounded me in 2007. Continuing to do it 2013 is downright insulting.
I don't understand why the Wii U can't reach into those files, and play them on a new Wii U emulator which can output to the GamePad screen. Okay, you wouldn't have the Miiverse features but I think that's preferable for us to not have to pay again and for Nintendo to not have to re-develop each game.
Their short sightedness in releasing 50hz games on the PAL Virtual Console astounded me in 2007. Continuing to do it 2013 is downright insulting.
It's not free.
And cloud saves don't mean jack if you don't have a Vita or multiple PS3s.
Davey Cakes
Member
To be honest, I'm actually curious about the pricing structure.
Considering that the Wii Shop Channel exists with current prices, does that mean Wii U VC prices will have to be in line? As in $5.00 for NES games, $8.00 for SNES games, etc.
Because you can't really charge less for the Wii U VC games. That wouldn't make sense. Though I was hoping with the new currency system that certain games, particular the first-gen NES games like Balloon Fight, would finally be priced less than later-gen NES games. Since the beginning of the VC I have felt that you shouldn't be paying the same for Donkey Kong as you do for Super Mario Bros. 3, but maybe that's just not going to change. If it did, Wii Shop Channel prices would need to drop, or Nintendo would have to find a way to unify the services.
And since they're charging $1.00 or $1.50 for upgrades, does that mean NES titles will now be $6.00 and SNES titles will now be $9.50 with their extra features? Or will these games be the same price as they currently are, and people with Wii VC versions already are just paying for the added features for...some reason?
Considering that the Wii Shop Channel exists with current prices, does that mean Wii U VC prices will have to be in line? As in $5.00 for NES games, $8.00 for SNES games, etc.
Because you can't really charge less for the Wii U VC games. That wouldn't make sense. Though I was hoping with the new currency system that certain games, particular the first-gen NES games like Balloon Fight, would finally be priced less than later-gen NES games. Since the beginning of the VC I have felt that you shouldn't be paying the same for Donkey Kong as you do for Super Mario Bros. 3, but maybe that's just not going to change. If it did, Wii Shop Channel prices would need to drop, or Nintendo would have to find a way to unify the services.
And since they're charging $1.00 or $1.50 for upgrades, does that mean NES titles will now be $6.00 and SNES titles will now be $9.50 with their extra features? Or will these games be the same price as they currently are, and people with Wii VC versions already are just paying for the added features for...some reason?
The wii app isn't a emulator. but I see your point some what.
Maybe nintendo will have the option of vinlila version and the upgrade as an option.
I am just glad the wii app is there. I was afraid non of my wii ware games where go to be playable.
You don't need PS+ to use PS1 saves. You can copy them from PS1 to PS2 to PS3 to PSP to Vita, it all works. ;-)
WrenchNinja
Member
You do if you want to use the Wii U's greatly touted off tv play feature. But hey, let's keep pretending that each purchased title totally deserves more money because of the great lengths Nintendo's going out of their way to include said feature. Disingenuous as hell.
Revolutionary
Member
He was using the easiest example. It's still relatively easy to share save files between Sony devices (SD cards, external hard drives, usb drives, usb cords, etc.). Point is: no $1-$1.50 fee for the privilege of playing your previously purchased games on your new device with a handful of new features. Keep in mind that the Vita has specific/new features for PS1 titles as well... for free.
Quadraphonic
Member
But it sure as fuck isn't a linear scale related to the titles you own.
Mudron
Member
Okay, so I was stupid enough to map the action button in Balloon Fight to the right trigger, which just happens to be the button that brought up the VC/button-mapping menu.
Has anyone discovered how to bring up the VC menu once you've mapped something else to the right trigger?
EDIT: YOU TOUCH THE FUCKING SCREEN TO BRING UP THE VC MENU.
This is what I get for having a martini for breakfast.
Has anyone discovered how to bring up the VC menu once you've mapped something else to the right trigger?
EDIT: YOU TOUCH THE FUCKING SCREEN TO BRING UP THE VC MENU.
This is what I get for having a martini for breakfast.
brandonh83
Banned
I'm under the impression that since I won't be able to transfer my VC games to a Wii U console that I buy in the future as I do not own the Wii that had those games tied to it, that I won't be able to buy them on the Wii U eshop at the discount. I do have the Club Nintendo account that the games were purchased under, but I don't think that I will just be able to buy a new Wii U, tie my CN account to a new NNID, and get the discounts.
Screamapillar
Member
I see your point, but I think Wind Waker is a special case and probably won't happen to too many other games. That requires a lot of money and a lot of man-power.
JoshuaJSlone
Member
They assume you're not a time traveler.
Really? A couple of years ago when my first PS3 broke, every one of my hundreds of saves were gone. A week later they cane out with cloud saves. I was mad, but now I'm happy I never have to worry about losing my saves again. Every night they are uploaded to the cloud without me ever having to even think about it.
Diddy Kong
Banned
Naturally I'd prefer being able to update for free, but reduce price is much better than full.
Well, I think they've already established the pricing too much on the 3DS to allow Wii U VC to be cheaper. I do think that third-party platforms/never-on-the-VC platforms (like GBA) will have that varied price structure as you said, since it's already that way on the 3DS. Also, prices will still be $5 for NES games and $8 for SNES games on the Wii U VC for people that don't own the Wii VC version of the game. I just hope it doesn't take them as long to release Chrono Trigger and Megaman X again (which I have slight hope in, due to their increasing digital policies).
You could have backed up many of them with a USB stick. ;-)
Besides plain greed, I think the reason they are just offering a big discount instead of handling them for free for Wii VC owners is because the Wii DD management was so poorly designed that they fear people might hack it to get free games (I remember you could steal games directly off the Wii Shop with some hacks).
Eh, I don't mind. Of course I would have preferred a free update but in the end $1.00-$1.50 will be worth the upgrade for certain games. It's not that I HAVE to upgrade them, much less all at once. Some games I haven't played in a while so I probably won't bother with updating them all.
Unless...
Holy crap, it just hit me. What if upgrading to the Wii U version nets you extra Club Nintendo coins in addition to the DDP points? Because that would completely make up for the extra buck in my book. Nintendo even gave you CN coins for the 3DS Ambassador games.
Those who downloaded Balloon Fight on Wii U should check if you get coins on your CN accounts.
Unless...
Holy crap, it just hit me. What if upgrading to the Wii U version nets you extra Club Nintendo coins in addition to the DDP points? Because that would completely make up for the extra buck in my book. Nintendo even gave you CN coins for the 3DS Ambassador games.
Those who downloaded Balloon Fight on Wii U should check if you get coins on your CN accounts.
Is the shop and downloading always that slow? Seems like a long time to purchase, a long time to download, and a long time to install an old NES game.
I think you get 2 DPP points for downloading the game.
Well, as a banking example: A credit union is supposed to be run in the interests of all members, he says, while commercial bankers tend to see consumers as customers who can be exploited by layering on more fees. That seems eerily similar to what Nintendo is doing right now.
Either way, the Wii U is selling relatively poorly. Nintendo needs the support of their fanbase to make the Wii U a success. Just look at this thread, at least half of the people are opposed to the extra fees that Nintendo is tacking on. If Nintendo made things more streamlined, I would feel A LOT more comfortable buying VC games from Nintendo in the future.
This could have turned out way different if they played the right cards.
I only bought 4 VC games on the Wii, + a few others I got for free from Club Nintendo. So personally I'm fine with the $1 or $1.50 upgrade fee. The 4 games I would've re-bought even at full VC price.
If I had a larger collection I might not be as OK with the fee. The only thing I can think of that's sort of comparable would be the 30 cent iTunes upgrade fee for DRM free music.
Anyways I bought Balloon Trip for 30 cents on the Wii U eShop, basically to just try out the emulator.
Finally custom button mapping! All VC games on the Wii and 3DS should've had this by default.
The only thing I don't like, is the standard filter Nintendo is using... I wish we could've got a few different filter options.
Other than that, from what little I've played, it seems to play great on the GamePad screen. I'll probably buy all the 30 cent games.
If I had a larger collection I might not be as OK with the fee. The only thing I can think of that's sort of comparable would be the 30 cent iTunes upgrade fee for DRM free music.
Anyways I bought Balloon Trip for 30 cents on the Wii U eShop, basically to just try out the emulator.
Finally custom button mapping! All VC games on the Wii and 3DS should've had this by default.
The only thing I don't like, is the standard filter Nintendo is using... I wish we could've got a few different filter options.
Other than that, from what little I've played, it seems to play great on the GamePad screen. I'll probably buy all the 30 cent games.
Yeah, but Club Nintendo is separate from that. It nets you coins regardless of what systems you bought. Someone should definitely check if the Wii and Wii U versions of the same game on VC count as different downloads.
As far as I am concerned, Wii Virtual Console games on Wii U are BROKEN. This is why I hooked my old Wii up to a CRT rather than transferred them over.
The Wii version of VC *always* runs full screen, and *always* blows up the game to fill the entire screen, ignoring anything having to do with aspect ratio. Because the Wii didn't send an HD signal to my TV, I could fool with my TV's aspect ratio settings to fix this. But the Wii U sends a full screen image, so my TV assumes that aspect ratio is respected.
Therefore, if you are playing the Wii VC version of a game that was designed for 4:3 aspect ratio (basically, ALL of the VC games), you have a widescreen HDTV, and your Wii U is set to output an HD resolution, it will be stretched to fill the screen. In other words...it is BROKEN. I paid good money to play the game in the way it was meant to be played, and the fact that we can't change to 4:3 aspect ratio is ridiculous. (If there is actually a way to do this, and I'm wrong... please prove me wrong, that would be great.)
So what I am seeing is Nintendo charging us money to fix what they broke, which is not cool. Yeah, the fact that switching to Wii mode takes a while, not being able to use the GamePad is a PITA...those are inconveniences, but once you finally get into the game, they won't stop us from enjoying the game. But I can't even look at a game stretched that much, let alone play it.
Completely unrelated: the 2 points we get from buying the discounted VC games is going to be the best thing ever, for when we get 599 points from buying a full-priced game and wanted something that cost $6.00. =)
StAidan
Member
Those of you who claim we are rebuying games at $1 for "new features" are being completely disingenuous.
The game's intrinsic value remains the same across all available platforms because it's the same game in a content-to-content comparison. The new features have nothing to do with the games themselves, they're a function of improvements to the underlying hardware and operating system.
And the extra labor involved in creating these "new features" (save states, gamepad play) is, in fact, not repeated on a per-game basis. The emulator might be wrapped around every game download, but the actual per-game customization for that emulator is going to be negligible in almost every case.
How many times does one need to purchase Super Mario Bros.? Sure, I'll go for a digital purchase if all I owned before was the physical cart. But in today's digital world, I'd darn well better be able to buy a license to play my game, and then play it on whatever device I want.
If I wanted SMB on the NES, I had to buy the cartridge.
If I wanted SMB on the GBA, I had to buy the classic series re-release (cartridge).
If I wanted SMB on the Wii, it was available through a convenient digital download.
If I wanted SMB on the 3DS, I had to buy the download again, but there it was.
Now on the Wii U, guess what, there I am shelling out money for it again.
No. I'm done buying Super Mario Bros. I'm done buying Balloon Fight, I'm done buying all of it.
RetroUSB's got an HDMI-modded NES coming out in a few months. At that point, my NES carts are moving from my CRT cabinet to my big, bad HDTV to be played in high definition glory. No more of this digital download garbage from Nintendo.
The game's intrinsic value remains the same across all available platforms because it's the same game in a content-to-content comparison. The new features have nothing to do with the games themselves, they're a function of improvements to the underlying hardware and operating system.
And the extra labor involved in creating these "new features" (save states, gamepad play) is, in fact, not repeated on a per-game basis. The emulator might be wrapped around every game download, but the actual per-game customization for that emulator is going to be negligible in almost every case.
How many times does one need to purchase Super Mario Bros.? Sure, I'll go for a digital purchase if all I owned before was the physical cart. But in today's digital world, I'd darn well better be able to buy a license to play my game, and then play it on whatever device I want.
If I wanted SMB on the NES, I had to buy the cartridge.
If I wanted SMB on the GBA, I had to buy the classic series re-release (cartridge).
If I wanted SMB on the Wii, it was available through a convenient digital download.
If I wanted SMB on the 3DS, I had to buy the download again, but there it was.
Now on the Wii U, guess what, there I am shelling out money for it again.
No. I'm done buying Super Mario Bros. I'm done buying Balloon Fight, I'm done buying all of it.
RetroUSB's got an HDMI-modded NES coming out in a few months. At that point, my NES carts are moving from my CRT cabinet to my big, bad HDTV to be played in high definition glory. No more of this digital download garbage from Nintendo.
User 73706
Banned
VIRTUAL CON$OLE
makingmusic476
Member
why can't they just make a single goddamn store? Why do we have Wii VC, 3DS VC, Wii U VC, 3DS eShop, and the Wii U eShop?
Emulator is better than I expected. Button mapping? Nice! Still, some improvements I'd like to see:
* Original box arts (probably on the load / splash screen)?
* Filter options. Balloon Fight looks kind of dull and blurry.
And the last one, some clever way to indicate whether or not save states are being used when posting high scores / screens / game endings on Miiverse. Some kind of icon by the screen shot? Or maybe have the emulator disable screen grabs if states have been turned on for a particular game? Because honestly, why should I be impressed by a Balloon Fight high score when you can save state your way through infinity?
I can understand the desire for both screens and save states in games like RPGs, where I could easily imagine someone saying "hey I'm stuck here, what do I do??" But in a game like Donkey Kong? Pssh.
* Original box arts (probably on the load / splash screen)?
* Filter options. Balloon Fight looks kind of dull and blurry.
And the last one, some clever way to indicate whether or not save states are being used when posting high scores / screens / game endings on Miiverse. Some kind of icon by the screen shot? Or maybe have the emulator disable screen grabs if states have been turned on for a particular game? Because honestly, why should I be impressed by a Balloon Fight high score when you can save state your way through infinity?
I can understand the desire for both screens and save states in games like RPGs, where I could easily imagine someone saying "hey I'm stuck here, what do I do??" But in a game like Donkey Kong? Pssh.
Those are only the ones sold with the 30 cent price tag. When VC hits on Wii U there will be steady releases (and hopefully several games on Day 1)
One game at 30 cents for 30 days per month until July. We don't know how frequent regular Wii U VC releases will be.
Interceptor
Banned
Actually you are reading it wrong. There will be more than one game.
It is one game per month for the Trial programme. Aka 30 Years of nes and special prices. (30 cent)
Many people don't understand this..
Another thing I just realized: some of the games have been de-listed, like R-Type, right? So those will likely never be fixed for Wii U, because they're no longer purchasable. Ugh.
You know? My gut feeling is that everything we're buying digitally on 360 and PS3 right now will run just fine on their successors...especially in the case of 360, because Microsoft's been supporting backwards compatibility since the 80s. If that actually happens, it'll help to illustrate just how ridiculous Nintendo's policies are. The "locked to a single console" philosophy is how we got to this point in the first place, and it's the reason why I've spent less than $50 on Nintendo digital content to date, and refuse to buy more. (The Pepsi Rock Band promotion ultimately led to my having a small library of Virtual Console games.)
You know? My gut feeling is that everything we're buying digitally on 360 and PS3 right now will run just fine on their successors...especially in the case of 360, because Microsoft's been supporting backwards compatibility since the 80s. If that actually happens, it'll help to illustrate just how ridiculous Nintendo's policies are. The "locked to a single console" philosophy is how we got to this point in the first place, and it's the reason why I've spent less than $50 on Nintendo digital content to date, and refuse to buy more. (The Pepsi Rock Band promotion ultimately led to my having a small library of Virtual Console games.)
No, no, no. You're not paying to access your purchased games, you can do that for free.
You're paying IF you want to add features to those games, like off-TV play and Miiverse.
Do not understand the continued confusion over this. If people disagree with being charged to update, that's one thing. I think it's a fair charge, but at least that disagreement is a matter of opinions.
People blindly and wrongly being outraged at the thought they have to pay again for an unaltered transferred game is another. That isn't the case, and has been very clearly stated.
Official roll-out of VC to be in the very vague "spring." Why they don't just get the ball rolling by tossing up a few classics too like SMB, Metroid, and Zelda is beyond me though. U needs games during this drought and certainly those have been created/tested. They can still do that 30 cent Balloon Fight promotion simultaneously. But I guess they're still trying to figure out how to let the shop know if your Wii mode has a game to make a discount relevant?
I don't own my original Wii, sold it years ago. But I had a lot of VC games, which are reflected in my Club Nintendo account so I have proof that I bought them. But I'm still not eligible for the discount because I can't transfer the old & busted versions to a Wii U?
Fuck you Nintendo.
Fuck you Nintendo.
Robin64
Member
Already confirmed, yes, we have shitty 50hz ROMs.
Nintendo tends to use the term "user account" pretty loosely.
Edit: I don't want to sound overly harsh on Nintendo. I do enjoy their games and their systems. I think I am just too spoiled over Steam/PSN right now, and being able to play the games on the systems I want, when I want, and without any headache over system transfers or what will happen to my media/games after this generation dies. Does it cost money for Sony or Steam to update their client to be able to support newer hardware/software? Yeah, it does. But not being charged any extra fees to be able to use the games I purchased is what keeps me coming back to them.
Those aren't game features, those are system selling features. They should apply to all first party releases by default.
brandonh83
Banned
Sounds like you're in my boat. It would be a pleasant surprise to discover otherwise.
This is still, all after taking BC out of PS3 at launch, charging for expensive memory cards for play on Vita (and to a lesser extent, PSP), and having you buy the games all over again, even if you were already playing them on an old BC PS3. It's not like they had all this stuff straight from attempt 1 on PS3 either.
And ignoring the point that the PS3 has nothing like Miiverse attached to any of it's games, so global sharing of screenshots and such with an online community from within the game/system is totally out of the question.
And again, the point that Sony's portables are playing-catch-up to Nintendo's... of course some of their portable offering are going to appear generous, in order to try and ramp up the system popularities.
And what Sony-provided way is there to freely transfer my saves between all these consoles? I had to buy a memory card unit for PS1 to PC saves. There's no PS2 card reader slot on PS3. Even with Plus, I'm pretty sure there's no way to share saves between PS3 and PSV on PS1 games, I've asked in the Vita thread before, as I wanted to play Alundra between both. Unlike the Wii U, the PSV came with no system memory off hand, and I can't even begin to think about playing my shared games on the Vita without buying memory cards that cost almost the price of a system for good storage size.
Sony offers a nice gesture, but it's silly to think they're not offering these things in order to make up some money on development cost, same as Nintendo.
Why does everyone keep ignoring that all of these various options have their own positive sides, as well as negatives? Why do people continue to act like each option exist in a vaccum, without any outside factors influencing the various methods and price points?
-----
As a gamer, these complaints over these small chuncks of change... In 10 years, if I payed $9.99 for Final fantasy tactics on PSN, or 13 dollars for an 8-Dollar download of Secrets of Mana +1 dollar each for the next 3 generations of Nintendo consoles, and 2 dollars for the 4th... Am I really going to care, if I got 10 years of fun out of those puchases?
I get so much more out of my gaming dollar NOW a days, than I used to in the past. Even with "nickle and dime" content now, I also get free patches left and right, and very often, multiplayer that's not limited to the friends I could invite to a house, or the people I could find in my area, who like my taste.
I get 10 and 15 dollar downloadable games that last as long as many console games I had in the past. For the price of rentals, I get full games I can keep.
What I once paid 50 dollars to get and use on a system for 4 years, I now smetimes pay 5, 8, 10, or 15 dollars to get, and play on the next 2 or 3 generations of console going forward, as is the case with many PS1 games.
I used to have to wait a year or more for a game to drop 20 dollars on sale. Now you have deals that do such a thing in a few weeks. I NEVER got a game for less than 20 dollars during some of these system generations. Now I can walk into places and get 4 or 6 month old games for 4.97, 6.75, 9.98...
Compared to the prices of everything else I enjoyed as a kid, Gaming has become oddly cheaper. While my old 3.99 action figures now go for 12.99, sometimes with less articulation and cheaper parts, many games that rival what I'd spend 20 dollars + on a visit to the arcade to play, can now be had for 7.99 / 9.99, without a need to even travel anywhere to get, or play it.
In light of it all, some of these complaints just seem so ridiculous. Heck yeah, I would have payed a dollar to be able to share my scores on Milon's Secret Castle with a few friends, after buying the game a few months back. Heck yeah I would have payed a Dollar to show some of my favorite moments of Rollergames, Kabuki Quantum Fighter, and T&C surf designs to someone, NOONE knew what this stuff was back then!
I would have loved to have been able to pay a buck-fifty to be able to play Run Saber on a handheld unit, while my brother wanted to watch TV.
We can get SO MUCH with our games, for comparatively so LITTLE now, that even the little stuff becomes an issue! Oy.
Hi i'm Caleb
Member
annnnd precedent. Welcome to next gen!