[JAYSIMPLE]

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. Just because you owned the original doesn't mean you get the new game with updated features for free. With this you can either play your original VC game in Wii Mode, or you can pay a small(seriously small, IMO) fee for the updated features to use the GamePad, and access it in Wii U mode, Miiverse Integration, etc.....

stop thinking logically!

seriously tho i feel the same way

[Eusis]

I'm just worried they're going to drip them out way too fucking slowly like they did on 3DS VC. Who the fuck wants EVERY TITLE out monthly? Just have to hope there's plenty of 3rd party support or that Nintendo ramps it up.

[rbanke]

I must be misreading something. It says WiiU discount starting now for the NES games, but the WiiU VC isnt out until spring? So are they meaning buy it on the wii vc for discount price, then pay the upgrade fee later?

[IrishNinja]

Flying off the handle about Nintendo ripping you off seems misplaced here. They have to perform fresh development for these titles to add not insignificant new features. Charging a buck to upgrade seems reasonable. Because you can still play ALL your VC games on Wii U. They are not charging for being able to transfer and use your library on Wii U. They are charging a small fee for upgraded versions with a lot of new features - and it's not like they're holding a gun to your head to force you to upgrade every single game. Just pay the buck for the games you really want to play with the new features / on the gamepad, when you feel like it.

i tend to agree, miiverse stuff sounds cool to me too. id wanted achievements but this is another good social thing for me.

i'm also not salty cause ive got less than 10 VC games, never really big on the pricing structure...the 10% back deal will help this for me though

So is Earthbound forever doomed to never see the light of day outside Japan? :'(

*sigh* it's fucking heartbreaking, is what it is. especially with all this Itoi talk lately.

[nerdstick]

Wait, I thought the 30 cents was for a trial, then you had to pay the full price if you wanted to keep the game. But do you just pay 30 cents and get to keep it? So if I went to the eShop and downloaded Balloon Fight, I'd get to keep it forever for that price?

All evidence points to no, all wishful-thinking points to yes. Do you really think they'd sell you full permanent VC games for 30 cents a pop in the same announcement that they were charging you $1 to 'upgrade' all your old VC games?

[eXistor]

Lol the European Balloon Fight is the PAL version, 50 hz. C'mon Nintendo, this is basic stuff you're failing at.

[KAL2006]

I asked on the other thread but ill ask here are 3DS VC and WiiU VC unified buy one get the other free.

[Keiishi Viciat]

Wait, I thought the 30 cents was for a trial, then you had to pay the rest of the full price if you wanted to keep the game. But do you just pay 30 cents and get to keep it? So if I went to the eShop and downloaded Balloon Fight, I'd get to keep it forever for that price?

I'm not very sure about that.... There are not an explanation in the WiiU eshop ?

[PuppetSlave]

Flying off the handle about Nintendo ripping you off seems misplaced here. They have to perform fresh development for these titles to add not insignificant new features. Charging a buck to upgrade seems reasonable. Because you can still play ALL your VC games on Wii U. They are not charging for being able to transfer and use your library on Wii U. They are charging a small fee for upgraded versions with a lot of new features - and it's not like they're holding a gun to your head to force you to upgrade every single game. Just pay the buck for the games you really want to play with the new features / on the gamepad, when you feel like it.

Best post? Best post.

[Jarsonot]

Up for me (US)

[Rash]

So is Earthbound forever doomed to never see the light of day outside Japan? :'(

I can't believe they're not only releasing it, but giving it a 30 cent trial.

People in NA are paying bucket loads for the cart version, and the fanbase would be happy to pay even 10 bucks for the VC version. What is going on?

[BroBuzz]

I asked on the other thread but ill ask here are 3DS VC and WiiU VC unified buy one get the other free.

Nope.

[entrement]

I asked on the other thread but ill ask here are 3DS VC and WiiU VC unified buy one get the other free.

Not yet!

[Smedwicks]

Nintendo can give me Pokemon Puzzle League with off screen play and I'll buy it day one. Add online play and it would make it even better. The ball is in your court Nintendo.

[Imperial Hot]

Having to re-purchase everything is ridiculous? Would it really be that hard to have some sort of redemption system?

This makes me weary of being DLC from Nintendo.

[Qurupeke]

So which games are "upgradable"?

[Bony Manifesto]

Lol the European Balloon Fight is the PAL version, 50 hz. C'mon Nintendo, this is basic stuff you're failing at.

Oh fuck me, companies are still doing that with their ROM dumps? There should be no reason why you shouldn't be able to bring up a menu in the game and select which region's ROM you want to play. Especially for early NES stuff, where the games are only a few KB in size...

[Rash]

I'm not very sure about that.... There are not an explanation in the WiiU eshop ?

That's why I'm confused. When watching the Nintendo Direct, that seemed way too good to be true. I thought you just pay the rest once the game becomes available if you want to keep it.

[teeny]

It is completely unrealistic, but I wish Nintendo could develop some kind of streaming service for VC titles that will allow them to run an independent emulator and then stream it to the Wii U. Then we wouldnt have this BC mess next time round, as the next machine would only need the streaming app.

Or, even better, something like Netflix, a rental subscription for access to a library of games for old systems. Allow users to stream VC games if they can, or allow a five game download limit. £5.99 a month and it would probably make more money that the current VC service.

[evanmisha]

I'm just worried they're going to drip them out way too fucking slowly like they did on 3DS VC. Who the fuck wants EVERY TITLE out monthly? Just have to hope there's plenty of 3rd party support or that Nintendo ramps it up.

Presumably, the monthly drip is for the discount prices. Once the VC launches, games will come out more frequently. Much more frequently, I'd imagine.

Just speculating, though.

[Ninja Scooter]

You are not paying more to play already purchased games. You are paying a very small fee for upgrades. That you don't have to pay, to play your VC games on Wii U. The only significant criticism of Nintendo here is that they may fall back on their "trickle down" strategy and be too slow with releases - but at the same time, they do have to develop and test the Wii U upgrades individually.

The "upgrades" are simply being able to play your games on your new device (wii u gamepad) and transfer them over without having a disjointed library or having some games in wii mode and others on your wii u library if you pay. That's a ridiculous feature to be charging for. If you want to release special "mii verse" versions of the games later at a special cost (like the wii play versions of pikmin, for example) charge away, but somebody shouldn't have to pay extra money to simply transfer their library over or play it proper on the new device they just spent $350 on, and on top of that, even if you do decide you want to pay, you have to wait until Nintendo gets around to "re" releasing their 25 year old games all over again. It's all so dated and just a missed opportunity.

[Kusagari]

Fuck Nintendo.

I'm not buying anything off VC until we get Earthbound.

[hongcha]

Oh fuck me, companies are still doing that with their ROM dumps? There should be no reason why you shouldn't be able to bring up a menu in the game and select which region's ROM you want to play. Especially for early NES stuff, where the games are only a few KB in size...

Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to do that in the future... For an extra $1 per game.

[SmokyDave]

Flying off the handle about Nintendo ripping you off seems misplaced here. They have to perform fresh development for these titles to add not insignificant new features. Charging a buck to upgrade seems reasonable. Because you can still play ALL your VC games on Wii U. They are not charging for being able to transfer and use your library on Wii U. They are charging a small fee for upgraded versions with a lot of new features - and it's not like they're holding a gun to your head to force you to upgrade every single game. Just pay the buck for the games you really want to play with the new features / on the gamepad, when you feel like it.

It doesn't seem reasonable to me. It seems like Nintendo ought to have created an emulator with the desired features and then allowed you to use your existing ROMs. I buy one digital PS1 release and I'm free to use it on PS3, PSP & PSVita.

The only reason I don't think people should grumble is because they should have seen it coming with Nintendo.

[BlackBanditSho]

edit: deleted post

[Napalm_Frank]

People defending it not being free makes me shake my head.

So let me get this straight: there are even some games you need to buy two times if you want them on Wii U+3DS? And without account system who knows if you need to buy them again with the next one...

Yeah I think I won't buy anything digitally from Nintendo again. I'll just emulate the games on my PSP or something. I am not buying the same fuckin game a fourth time at best. If Sony can have the classic games on 3 different platforms there is no excuse. As Noi said Sony even added features for PS1 emulator on vita (and PSP for that matter).

[Vane_MagicCity]

I guess it's the same, in a way. The Wii was a big disconnected storage system, just like a UMD. You'll have to pay a small fee to convert to an account network (well, Nintendo is still a little behind on that front).

No, UMD to digital = SNES cart to Virtual Console.
This is like when Sony didn't charge you to play your digital games on the Vita but Nintendo is.

[olimpia84]

Let's see, off the top of my head games that I will be upgrading:
Super Mario Kart
Super Metroid
DKC
DKC 2
Zelda ALTTP

I have a few other SNES games like Street Fighter II but I'm not interested in updating those so I'm looking at $7.50 in 'upgrading fees'. Not too bad.

[polyh3dron]

You know, you could treat your loyal customers nicely and not nickel and dime them...

This. All my PS1 games I purchased on PSN can be transferred to my Vita with no additional charge. This is why I will support Sony's digital offerings way more than Nintendo's nickel and dining bullshit. And don't even get me started on Nintendo starting their VC library from scratch and just trickling out the releases AGAIN.. I'm sorry but these releases don't take much additional dev time, you make a new emulator and you can throw in any ROM you want in there with very minimal effort.

[Like the hat?]

No, UMD to digital = SNES cart to Virtual Console. This is like when Sony didn't charge you to play your digital games on the Vita but Nintendo is.

But You can play every vc game you own on your wii u at no charge, the upgrade fee is for additional features

[evanmisha]

Balloon Fight = 35 mb

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

So when does it drop? I wan play super metroid on my gamepad. Spring???

[Qurupeke]

Wait what. You keep the game after the trial? :O

[Zoramon089]

It doesn't seem reasonable to me. It seems like Nintendo ought to have created an emulator with the desired features and then allowed you to use your existing ROMs. I buy one digital PS1 release and I'm free to use it on PS3, PSP & PSVita. The only reason I don't think people should grumble is because they should have seen it coming with Nintendo.

Why do people keep using this as an example? Did you get added features going from PSP->PS3/Vita versions?

[GulAtiCa]

I wonder what other US VC games will arrive soon.

[polyh3dron]

You can play every vc game you own on your wii u

Yeah but I have to switch to Wii mode and there's this shitty black border on the edge of the screen that wasn't there with the original Wii. Plus the aspect ratio is now all fucked up with the VC games.

I just want to play the VC games in their original 4:3 aspect ratio with the top and bottom of the game screen going all the way to the top and bottom of my TV screen and I will have to pay extra for that privilege plus ill have to wait years for all the games to be released so that I can have the privilege of paying extra to "upgrade" them. Fuck off Nintendo.

[BGBW]

This. All my PS1 games I purchased on PSN can be transferred to my Vita with no additional charge. This is why I will support Sony's digital offerings way more than Nintendo's nickel and dining bullshit. And don't even get me started on Nintendo starting their VC library from scratch and just trickling out the releases AGAIN.. I'm sorry but these releases don't take much additional dev time, you make a new emulator and you can throw in any ROM you want in there with very minimal effort.

You can play your old VC games on the WiiU. :S

[nerdstick]

Wait what. You keep the game after the trial? :O

Unknown, but all signs point to 'no'.

[olimpia84]

Balloon Fight = 35 mb

Why is the file size so big for an old NES game?

[entrement]

Kinda weird how Nintendo has one the best catalog software libraries, but they're so stingy with it, in terms of this trickling nonsense.

[friskykillface]

lololololololol repurchase :/ get the fuck out nintendo

even with a discount thats nothing, add online play and i'll rebuy :(

smh

[evanmisha]

Wait what. You keep the game after the trial? :O

Did Iwata even use the word trial? I don't understand why people assume this is a trial. It's a 30th Anniversary Event / Quasi-Ambassador Campaign

[PaladinsArc]

Balloon Fight = 35 mb

So... 20-30 minute download/install time?

[Andrex]

Crazy hyperbole overreacting going on here. You don't have to pay for anything as you can play just fine in Wii mode. It's a $1.00 to $1.50 (That's literally the cost of a bottle of Coke) for GamePad and Miiverse integration. Seems reasonable.

Except:

a) It's not the full catalog
b) It's not even half the roster of systems the Wii launched with
c) It's not account based

I'd be fine with rebuying all my games at full VC price if they were guaranteed to be linked to my NNID across Wii U and 3DS and any future consoles.

[entrement]

lololololololol repurchase :/ get the fuck out nintendo even with a discount thats nothing, add online play and i'll rebuy :( smh

To be fair that would add more dev time and QA.

[Ninja Scooter]

Lol holy shit they are releasing 3DS and wii u versions of roms and charging separately for them!?! Icing on the cake. So, so, so painfully out of touch. Wow. It's funny that in that other thread about DLC and "complete" games Nintendo was constantly brought up as this company that has admirably resisted the allure of nickle and diming their consumers. Remember that next time you are buying Super Mario Bros. for the 7th time.

[Vane_MagicCity]

But You can play every vc game you own on your wii u at no charge, the upgrade fee is for additional features

I don't know for certain as I don't have a Vita but didn't other say that new features were added to play PS1/PSP games on the Vita?

To be fair that would add more dev time and QA.

The games were overpriced on the Virtual Console, this was a pretty common opinion. Surely they already made loads of profit on them.

[Ein Bear]

Lol the European Balloon Fight is the PAL version, 50 hz. C'mon Nintendo, this is basic stuff you're failing at.

You have got to be fucking kidding me. I honestly figured that by 'upgrading' we'd at least get the 60hz versions.

[polyh3dron]

You can play your old VC games on the WiiU. :S

Post above yours.

And yes, what my good friend Ninja Scooter said.

[evanmisha]

Why is the file size so big for an old NES game?

Packed in emulator

The Virtual Console loading jingle is nice