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[Glass Joe]

What's going on with the Wii U VC? Why is it as bad as it is? It's beyond a joke.

It's like as soon as Iwata says something, the opposite happens. He just talked about how he was hoping to leverage VC better.

We got Contra III last week in the US, so I can't complain too hard. In fact, for the first year, there's a lot of quality titles I've picked up. Just wish there was the promised GBA/N64, let alone Gamecube, Dreamcast, Saturn, Genesis, Arcade, Neo Geo etc etc. But instead of focusing on what we don't have, I'll today focus on what we DO:

NES:
Kirby's Adventure
Legend of Zelda
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 4
Metroid
Punch-Out
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

SNES:
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Earthbound
F-Zero
Mega Man X
Super Castlevania IV
Super Mario World
Super Metroid
Super Street Fighter II

And to be honest, with me working full time, I have a hell of a backlog of regular games. Some of these classics have been bought but barely touched.

Still I am of course hoping for a huge ramp-up in 2014. 3DS cross capability needs to happen too. Those VC games will likely share the same Miiverse, so buying them twice would be downright bizarre.

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

Galaxy Force will probably look very nice on 3DS.

I'm still planning to buy the side scrollers too, but I just don't see how they benefit from the treatment. Maybe after I play one, I'll see it.

Galaxy Force seems really cool actually, I watched a couple of YouTube videos of it since last posting. I'll pick that up now too when it's out.
I'm with you on the effect on side scrollers, unless the perspective is flipped like Nintendo did with Urban Champion then any effect seems like it would be minimal at best. Curiously optimistic though.
Something I am sad about is how Sonic isn't widescreen which bugs me even more now after seeing how Space Harrier is.

 

[Tenki]

Are the SEGA 3D Classics 60Hz in Europe?

 

[L~A]

Are the SEGA 3D Classics 60Hz in Europe?

.... why wouldn't they? They're on 3DS.

By the way, lil' update from Renegade Kid :

Mutant Mudds Deluxe
Mutant Mudds Deluxe has already made its way to Wii U and Steam, and on December 17, 2013 it will be available for download on the PS3 and PS Vita for $9.99 - supporting Cross-Buy (pay once and get both versions) and Cross-Save (transfer save progress between PS3 and PS Vita). This is North America only. Delays in Europe for this, and Wii U, are due to the cost and logistical hassle of submitting to the many age rating companies in Europe. We will eventually get our stuff together and sort it out, but for now we're devoting our efforts towards the development of games instead of dancing with PEGI, USK, and such. These companies really need to learn from the ESRB, who offer a free and fast on-line service to rate indie games.

3DS owners of Mutant Mudds (in NA and EU) should be on the look-out for a free update sometime in 2014. It will be luxurious!

Treasurenauts
Progress on Treasurenauts is going very well. We're happy with the game. We have received tremendous positive support from you and we're excited to get the game into your hands. However, it saddens me to announce that Treasurenauts will not be released in 2013. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong. The game means a lot to us, and we want to do it right. We need more time to make it the game we want it to be. We're aiming for a Q1 2014 release, and will have information on a more accurate date soon. Sorry for the delay, but as an independent developer we rely on the success and revenue generated from each of our self-published games. More time = better game = better sales (hopefully).

Cult County
Cult County is another game we're very excited about. We announced it very early in its development and, as with all games, it continues to progress and morph over the course of development. We'll have more news on our survival horror exploits in 2014.

Mutant Mudds 2
The development of Treasurenauts put Mutant Mudds 2 on hold for a bit. We feel that it is healthier/better for us to develop a new 2D platform game in between Mutant Mudds and Mutant Mudds 2 to maintain perspective on what Mutant Mudds 2 needs to be. We did this with the development of Dementium: The Ward, Moon, and Dementium II, which I believe helped make Dementium II a better game than it otherwise would have been if we had immediately dived into making a sequel. The development of Moon gave us creative perspective and technical advancements, which Dementium II was able to leverage.

New Games
We have two new games in the works. One of them is a 3DS title that will be announced in January 2014, and released early-mid 2014. The other game will be announced a little later down the road.

So yup, lack of MMD in Europe is just as expected. Though I totally agree with them about the PEGI and USK (besides, the USK really needs to GTFO).

 

[HamPster PamPster]

EnjoyUp Games on twitter last week said Unepic was already in the approval process for NOA. I hope it makes it out before the end of the year - it would be a fun holiday break game.

I'm curious what content is in the game since the PC version is still in early access on steam. I remember Toma in indie games thread saying the single player was done and co-op was being worked on but that was months ago. Anyway he had nothing but praise for the game and you figure if anyone on gaf knows a good indie game its probably him.

 

[Khaz]

Are the SEGA 3D Classics 60Hz in Europe?

I believe they are. They are arcade emulated (kinda) games so they don't have the pal/ntsc restrictions. They feel quite smooth and snappy for what it's worth.

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

Is there a comprehensive list of everything released on the 3DS eShop? For Europe? The Wikipedia lists are annoying to go through and incomplete, as are the lists on the official Nintendo website weirdly.

 

[rpmurphy]

Is there a comprehensive list of everything released on the 3DS eShop? For Europe? The Wikipedia lists are annoying to go through and incomplete, as are the lists on the official Nintendo website weirdly.

You might want to check out NintendoLife as a resource as well. I don't know how to get a list of VC games specifically on the 3DS though... you may have to also try GameFAQs for that (e.g. http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/list-999?region=3&dist=14).

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Ehh I'll bite at Sonic 2. Sonic 2 in 3D would be so good. Nintendo's offerings are pretty pathetic. I guess I can start whining about the Miiverse update not being here yet now too.

Also, when's Retro City Rampage coming to 3DS?

 

[Glass Joe]

So a couple of hot Cyber Monday deals showed up on the Wii U eShop:

Barbie Dreamhouse Party: $29.99 (was $39.99)
Monster High 13 Wheels: $29.99 (was $39.99)

Lulz.

 

[Chrom]

So a couple of hot Cyber Monday deals showed up on the Wii U eShop:

Barbie Dreamhouse Party: $29.99 (was $39.99)
Monster High 13 Wheels: $29.99 (was $39.99)

Lulz.

Weird. You're right that they are on sale but they don't actually show up on the price drops section. Is that all of them?

 

[joedick]

Also, that Pac-Man collection isn't on the list, guess it was delayed.

A month or two back on Nintendo World Report's Connectivity podcast, it was mentioned that the Wii U version was going to be delayed. I haven't found any other mention about that on the internet, so I don't know if they mixed it up with something else.

 

[Glass Joe]

Weird. You're right that they are on sale but they don't actually show up on the price drops section. Is that all of them?

I've noticed at times that sale games aren't always put in the sale section right away. But yeah, that's all of 'em... the new sales anyway. The Mario stuff, Puddle and Kung Fu Rabbit are still on sale.

 

[Chrom]

I've noticed at times that sale games aren't always put in the sale section right away. But yeah, that's all of 'em... the new sales anyway. The Mario stuff, Puddle and Kung Fu Rabbit are still on sale.

I see. I decided to check the 3DS eShop and some of the other Barbie and Monster High games are on sale, too. They're all published by Little Orbit, so that makes sense. The other games on sale over there are the 3DS versions of the two games you already mentioned, plus Barbie: Gloom and Glam Pup and Monster High: Skultimate Roller Maze.

 

[donny2112]

Do we have a block count on the Louvre app yet? It looks amazing, just need to make sure I have the space before jumping in.....

Thought it said it was ~12K blocks when downloaded. That'd be ~1.5 GBs.

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

You might want to check out NintendoLife as a resource as well. I don't know how to get a list of VC games specifically on the 3DS though... you may have to also try GameFAQs for that (e.g. http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/list-999?region=3&dist=14).

Cheers for that! I seem to always forget that NintendoLife is there, it's a pretty cool site. For the VC stuff 'luckily' (hmmm) there's not that many releases overall, especially considering handheld only stuff, so I'll just jump onto the store and make a manual list.

Thought it said it was ~12K blocks when downloaded. That'd be ~1.5 GBs.

Yeah it's as I thought, I need to get a new card before I can download it

 

[Conrad Link]

I never got Mutant Mudds on 3DS because I was waiting for Deluxe, but I live in a PAL country so sounds like I'll never get the play it.

:|

 

[RionaaM]

.... why wouldn't they? They're on 3DS.

By the way, lil' update from Renegade Kid :



So yup, lack of MMD in Europe is just as expected. Though I totally agree with them about the PEGI and USK (besides, the USK really needs to GTFO).

Glad to hear there will be a free update for the 3DS version.

 

[Glass Joe]

The newest Pikmin 3 DLC (which is pretty cool by the way) snuck its way into the eShop today, BTW. It's $4.99, higher than the rest. But unlike the previous $1.99 "remix" packages, these are new stages with new assets.

Such a great game, every U owner should give it a shot. I wish it had a demo, just one of the mission modes, to show people how addictive it can be.

 

[Infernal Monkey]

Pop'n Twinbee appeared on the Australian Classification Board today, most likely the Game Boy version for 3DS VC (since it's been out in Japan for over a year now!)

 

[Zonic]

Huh, interesting. Might pick it up for curiosity's sake. Though wasn't that the title for EU, as that was the name for the SNES/Super Famicom version? Though guess if that's what's on the JPN VC, we're getting the GB version & not the SNES one.....though is it the original GB version or the enhanced GBC version?

Spoiler

Now bring Sexy Parodius to PSN via PSOne Imports

 

[BriBri]

Huh, interesting. Might pick it up for curiosity's sake. Though wasn't that the title for EU, as that was the name for the SNES/Super Famicom version? Though guess if that's what's on the JPN VC, we're getting the GB version & not the SNES one.....though is it the original GB version or the enhanced GBC version?

Spoiler

Now bring Sexy Parodius to PSN via PSOne Imports

GB

And Swords & Darkness (edit: and escapeVektor - ¥700) to Japan 11 December ¥900.

 

[zroid]

edit: oh wow i'm super late lol

looking forward to that Mutant Mudds update for 3DS!

 

[Teknoman]

Space Harrier is soooo good, the range of options Sega add to their VC stuff is amazing. I'm definitely in for 3D Hang-On, Streets of Rage and Sonic. The rest I'm not too sure about yet.....
Never really loved Ecco, Altered Beast is terrible and I've never played Shinobi 3 or Galaxy Force.

Shinobi 3 is a must play for anyone that likes side scrolling action games, and the soundtrack is incredible.

 

[GeekyDad]

Any Japanese-3DS-owning gaffers have a chance to check that Phosphorescent Lanze game yet? Impressions?

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Wow, I never bothered finishing Mudds, but it's cool we're still getting (free!) content for it.

 

[SmashN'Grab]

Will they ever release SNES titles on the 3DS (I'm sure this has been asked before, so sorry to bring it up again)?

It's just... the thought of Super Metroid or Link to the Past as a 3D Classic makes me go all weak at the knees...

 

[frankie_baby]

Will they ever release SNES titles on the 3DS (I'm sure this has been asked before, so sorry to bring it up again)?

It's just... the thought of Super Metroid or Link to the Past as a 3D Classic makes me go all weak at the knees...

I highly highly doubt it, I suspect the 3ds may not be powerful enough to emulate the snes accurately enough

 

[Herb Alpert]

I highly highly doubt it, I suspect the 3ds may not be powerful enough to emulate the snes accurately enough

really?

 

[frankie_baby]

really?

as far as i'm aware emulation is a entirely a cpu thing (and only on one core at that)

 

[rjc571]

as far as i'm aware emulation is a entirely a cpu thing (and only on one core at that)

And yet somehow Namco managed to do the impossible and emulate the uber powerful SNES on the 3DS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Xxz0biwgRC8#t=118

I guess that throws your theory out the window.

 

[GeekyDad]

Weren't SNES games already being emulated on DS via homebrew?

 

[flowsnake]

Weren't SNES games already being emulated on DS via homebrew?

At absolutely horrible framerates, yes.

 

[frankie_baby]

And yet somehow Namco managed to do the impossible and emulate the uber powerful SNES on the 3DS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Xxz0biwgRC8#t=118

I guess that throws your theory out the window.

most of them look like nes games to me, possible perhaps the couple of snes games aren't emulated?

 

[GeekyDad]

At absolutely horrible framerates, yes.

Shit looks pretty comparable to the original to me.

 

[rjc571]

most of them look like nes games to me, possible perhaps the couple of snes games aren't emulated?

Yu Yu Hakusho and Go Go Ackman 3 are SNES games. It's unlikely that they're being ported. The 3DS doesn't have dedicated 2D hardware, so it would actually take more work to port the games individually than to build an emulator.

 

[frankie_baby]

Yu Yu Hakusho and Go Go Ackman 3 are SNES games. It's unlikely that they're being ported. The 3DS doesn't have dedicated 2D hardware, so it would actually take more work to port the games individually than to build an emulator.

its also possible they'll be glitchy as hell, we will have to see when it comes out

 

[hongcha]

most of them look like nes games to me, possible perhaps the couple of snes games aren't emulated?

The snes games are also emulated and they run at 60fps. The 3DS can do it, nintendo just doesn't want to, for whatever reason.

 

[hongcha]

its also possible they'll be glitchy as hell, we will have to see when it comes out

The game has been out in Japan for about a month. They're not glitchy, they run wonderfully.

 

[Herb Alpert]

but there are gba games in the ambassadeur programm. isn't gba around snes power? How are the games on 3ds?

 

[frankie_baby]

but there are gba games in the ambassadeur programm. isn't gba around snes power? How are the games on 3ds?

the gba is technically a lot more powerful but the games run natively on 3ds

 

[Khaz]

iirc Nintendo wanted to keep the virtual consoles separated, handhelds on handhelds and console on consoles. But with having NES games on 3DS and possibly GBA on WiiU it doesn't really mean anything anymore.

 

[qq more]

but there are gba games in the ambassadeur programm. isn't gba around snes power? How are the games on 3ds?

GBA runs natively on 3DS, not really emulated, which means it requires far less CPU

but I think the 3DS can likely handle SNES emulation... I'm more concerned about the super FX chip games like Star Fox and Yoshi Island though, they likely weren't on the Wii due to that.

 

[frankie_baby]

GBA runs natively on 3DS, not really emulated, which means it requires far less CPU

but I think the 3DS can likely handle SNES emulation... I'm more concerned about the super FX chip games like Star Fox and Yoshi Island though, they likely weren't on the Wii due to that.

I see almost no reason the wii wouldn't have been able to emulate the superFX chip, the wii CPU is apparently a bit of a beast when it comes to emulation, the more likely reason is some legal problem with ownership of the chip (and thus Nintendo's knowledge to emulate it)

 

[Herb Alpert]

the gba is technically a lot more powerful but the games run natively on 3ds

GBA runs natively on 3DS, not really emulated, which means it requires far less CPU

but I think the 3DS can likely handle SNES emulation... I'm more concerned about the super FX chip games like Star Fox and Yoshi Island though, they likely weren't on the Wii due to that.

thanks i didn't know that. i thought that It would be easy.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Excited for 3D Sonic the Hedgehog this week.

 

[90sRobots]

Any insight as to where these 3D classics come from? Space Harrier looks and sounds better than the Genesis port, but not as good as the arcade. What I'm saying is I really want these to somehow be 32X ports.

I don't need Sonic again though. Maybe if there was a restore point feature.

 

[rjc571]

Any insight as to where these 3D classics come from? Space Harrier looks and sounds better than the Genesis port, but not as good as the arcade. What I'm saying is I really want these to somehow be 32X ports.

I don't need Sonic again though. Maybe if there was a restore point feature.

You're in luck! http://archives.sega.jp/3d/sonic/

In the "middle save" function, save is possible at any time during play.

 

[kitsuneyo]

I'm gonna be sad if Pac-Man Museum doesn't show up.

 

[BearChair]

Siliconera's interview with M2 brought up a really interesting point about the 3DS and emulation, and why we may not have seen SNES games.

The 3DS had a big change in architecture from the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance; it uses a GPU that specializes in stereoscopic 3D. When you bring software from an era when games were composed of sprites and backgrounds into an emulator on the 3DS, you wind up doing a lot of work in a very roundabout way. And that offsets the performance gains you get with the CPU. That’s why I said “they probably won’t work out.”

Anyways, since this is supposed to be a “Remaster” project, we were in a bit of a bind. Horii-san had said “the games won’t run”, however he came back and told me “but there’s a way to make them run.” The same thing happened when we started on the SEGA AGES 2500 series for PlayStation 2. The typical emulation methods didn’t work at first, but after a while we were able to get a MegaDrive emulator running on the platform. He told me: “If we use the same approach, we might be able to get MegaDrive games running on 3DS too.”
NH: It’s not quite the same approach. The point was that if we struggled with it as much as we did for the PS2 games, it might work. Doesn’t have a damn thing to do with the approach. (both laugh)
Did you wind up cutting MegaDrive features that weren’t being used in the game?
NH: We cut some of the fat, accelerated things by writing some assembly code and whatnot. However for the 3DS remakes, we wanted to effectively utilize the 3DS’s CPU resources as much as possible, so we wrote assembly where we needed assembly, and swapped out code as needed from the emulator, which was written in C. This took quite a bit of time, and turned into quite a magnificent bit of work. So we had to slowly cobble together performance speed by doing things like writing code that more easily hits the cache every time it’s called.
YO: So in the end, we decided not to do any straight MegaDrive ports for [3DS] Virtual Console. However, we figured that if we put in more resources and time than we would for a typical Virtual Console game, added in bonus content, and brought it to the table as a 3D Remaster Project title, then it might be worth doing. So we moved forward with several MegaDrive projects.

Sorry for the length, but those are the relevant sections. Basically, the 3DS does not like to accept content that isn't 3D. It can be made to work, but it has to be worked at by hand. It is the best explanation that I've seen so far.

The whole article is pretty great if you want to read about porting games to 3DS.
Part 1 covers Space Harrier and Super Hang-On
Part 2 covers Sonic the Hedgehog
The quote above comes from part 2.