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[Jarsonot]

That sounds kinda shitty. Stuff would be way too small.

Not only that, but if player 1 is using the tablet as a controller, player 2's view of the action will be a bit awkward, no?

 

[cyberheater]

Just a little scared of them

And boy did I get crucified on here. To be clear I do not know all of the final specs. I only know some from a recent kit. So it "could" change... But I doubt by much. And based on that I think people on this board are going to be a little disappointed. I blame these crazy rumors from IGN with their whole 5x nonsense. That's all I'm gonna say.

So PS360 x 1.5 level of performance. Seems about right.

 

[StevieP]

welp, there you have it. PS3/360 power for another 5+ years in nintendoland.

So PS360 x 1.5 level of performance. Seems about right.

Your response is indicative of how exactly people will read that post.

Just a little scared of them

And boy did I get crucified on here. To be clear I do not know all of the final specs. I only know some from a recent kit. So it "could" change... But I doubt by much. And based on that I think people on this board are going to be a little disappointed. I blame these crazy rumors from IGN with their whole 5x nonsense. That's all I'm gonna say.

Don't confuse crucifixion with the heavy levels of neurosis in these parts

I think the problem with arbitrary numbers is that they don't make sense. In any respect. "8x. 6x. 2x - what does it all mean"? Clock speed, memory, architecture, bottlenecks, memory, GPU, optical medium speed, memory, gigaflops, megaturds, memory. You can't really put a magical mystical figure on that shit.

"All generations should be a 10x leap. Or a 50x leap" - I hear that a lot around here. But a leap in what? A leap in the amount of vaseline on the screen?

The problem with arbitrary figures like that is that we don't know what we're measuring FROM and we don't know what we're measuring TO. I mean, have you seen the alpha Xbox kit yet? If that's as the rumours say wouldn't that put it closer to the "3DS" (which is far more powerful than the PSP, btw) than the "Vita"? AKA the "1.5" factor as above.

 

[Twenty7KVN]

Just a little scared of them

And boy did I get crucified on here. To be clear I do not know all of the final specs. I only know some from a recent kit. So it "could" change... But I doubt by much. And based on that I think people on this board are going to be a little disappointed. I blame these crazy rumors from IGN with their whole 5x nonsense. That's all I'm gonna say.

So by little we can deduce that it's 4x more powerful that's good enough for me

 

[Dreamwriter]

There's been a lot of jaded revisionism in the last few pages of the thread about Retro's past. Nothing I have found suggests that Nintendo holds Retro in anything but the utmost highest regard as a development team and as an equal.

You need to search a bit harder Here's an artticle I found that lists many of of the points I brought up.

On all five projects, almost from the start, things went wrong. A lengthy N-Sider Retro retrospective tells the tale: Working in black, windowless offices deep inside the building, employees endured political infighting, egregious crunching and a paranoid atmosphere. They missed milestones. They couldn't make the games work. Spangenberg delegated a lot and was often absent.

At this point, Miyamoto got involved.

...

"Nintendo would come down about three times a year and rip on most of the games," a Retro employee told Electronic Gaming Monthly in April 2001. In 2000, Miyamoto himself visited Retro, an event compared to the Emperor visiting the Death Star. But a closer parallel might be the 2003 film Lost in Translation, where Bill Murray plays an American actor vainly trying to get direction from a Japanese- speaking filmmaker. A former Retro employee recalls, "[Miyamoto] would rant at us in Japanese for a minute and a half, and then the translator would just say, 'He's upset.'"

...

Miyamoto sincerely disliked Metroid Prime's original camera system. He ordered the game changed from third-person to first-person, which destroyed the schedule. He commanded Retro to implement several types of visors Samus Aran could use in the game, such as a scanner to bring up gameplay hints or interesting history about targets. And his changes didn't stop with Metroid.

Miyamoto pressured Retro to cancel several other projects, first (April 2000) an action adventure (working title: "Action Adventure"), then (February 2001) their football and car-combat games, and finally (July 2001) a Zelda-style roleplaying game called Raven Blade. The action-adventure team shifted to Metroid, but the later cancellations forced corresponding layoffs

That doesn't sound like a company held in high regard, it sounds like Nintendo having to work hard to make sure Retro doesn't release crap. I mean sure, with Nintendo really going out of their way to help Retro, they released a few great games, but they've had more crappy games canceled.

 

[JJConrad]

You need to search a bit harder Here's an artticle I found that lists many of of the points I brought up.



That doesn't sound like a company held in high regard, it sounds like Nintendo having to work hard to make sure Retro doesn't release crap. I mean sure, with Nintendo really going out of their way to help Retro, they released a few great games, but they've had more crappy games canceled.

What? That was over 10 years ago. No one has denied that the company originated in chaos.

 

[Penguin]

You need to search a bit harder Here's an artticle I found that lists many of of the points I brought up.



That doesn't sound like a company held in high regard, it sounds like Nintendo having to work hard to make sure Retro doesn't release crap. I mean sure, with Nintendo really going out of their way to help Retro, they released a few great games, but they've had more crappy games canceled.

This was their first game, and I'm sure Nintendo does some of this stuff to even their most trusted developers.

If you have similar stories about Donkey Kong Country Returns or Metroid Prime 3, maybe.

 

[Jorok Goldblade]

You need to search a bit harder Here's an artticle I found that lists many of of the points I brought up.



That doesn't sound like a company held in high regard, it sounds like Nintendo having to work hard to make sure Retro doesn't release crap. I mean sure, with Nintendo really going out of their way to help Retro, they released a few great games, but they've had more crappy games canceled.

You're quoting an article from 2001 discussing events from 2000. Pre-Prime Retro was a complete mess of a company lacking focus that needed Nintendo to come in and restructure. Nobody's arguing that point. Retro as they exist now is one of Nintendo's stronger developers, with a perfect track record for their released projects. There were massive, sweeping changes to that studio made in the two years between the events discussed in your quote and the 2002 release of Metroid Prime.

 

[Christine]

They've been putting out games every 2-3 years since Prime, and whatever you think about how fun they are, they feature a substantial amount of development work product. Retro is clearly a studio that knows how to organize effort and release software.

 

[Shion]

3. Retro Studios should probably develop some type of FPS / Action-Adventure game for the western audience. It makes more sense than them "saving a random Nintendo intellectual property".

A new Metroid where the shooting sections play like a good FPS would be nice.

 

[Übermatik]

Just a little scared of them

And boy did I get crucified on here. To be clear I do not know all of the final specs. I only know some from a recent kit. So it "could" change... But I doubt by much. And based on that I think people on this board are going to be a little disappointed. I blame these crazy rumors from IGN with their whole 5x nonsense. That's all I'm gonna say.

Ummm, 'recent'? Now according to IGN and Develop, the final dev kits had a large boost in power, where ever that may have been.
So I'm thinking you heard about an earlier dev kit that was slightly underpowered, and wasn't representative of the final capabilities of the system.

 

[Rösti]

I wonder how Virtual Console (part of eShop on Wii U I suppose) will be handled in comparison to Wii. While I have both an NTSC-J Wii and a PAL Wii, I rarely use the service as I would prefer having all of my downloaded games on one system. I favour downloading games on my Japanese Wii while playing games bought in B&M stores on my European Wii, and switching between the two setups can sometimes be a hassle; and this due to Nintendo's agenda regarding region encoding. With regional lockout for Nintendo 3DS games I doubt there will be any change regarding downloadable titles, which is dull. But if I could suggest to Nintendo (which I can't, as they do not accept unsolicited material), this is what I would like for Virtual Console on Wii U:

• No region encoding
• Continuous weekly additions of software, evenly spread on all formats where applicable
• Distribution of unreleased games, such as Ura Zelda

Currently Japan and USA have an equal amount of formats featured via Virtual Console, but the two regions do not have access to the same formats. Japan hasn't got access to Commodore 64 whilst USA can't access MSX. This may not be much, but the more people that can experience the legacy of the interactive entertainment industry more easily, the better (at least I think). Furthermore we've got a heap of formats that could be featured through this media, and we can start with two of Nintendo's properties:

Satellaview
This could be rather difficult to emulate, but for the games that got released for the system, I think it would be worth it. Notable titles include BS Albert Odyssey, BS Dragon Quest I, BS F-Zero, BS Super Mario USA Power Challenge, BS The Legend of Zelda and my personal favorite Sutte Hakkun (if you haven't played it, do so), to name a few.

Nintendo 64DD
Should be easier to emulate than Satellaview, but features fewer games. Though we have of course some real golden nuggets here, such as Super Mario 64 2 and previously mentioned Ura Zelda. It remains to see however if Nintendo is willing to release such titles or if they want the mystery surrounding them to remain. Nine full games were released for the system, with the most interesting I think is Mario Artist (kinda like a very primitive version of 3ds Max).

Other Nintendo formats to mention (some that are more suitable for 3DS) are Color TV Game, Game & Watch, Virtual Boy and really strange things like iQue Player and Yakuman. And moving to other formats than Nintendo there is Magnavox Odyssey, Atari 2600, ZX Spectrum, Atari 8-bit, TurboGrafx-CD/PC Engine CD, Dreamcast, Amiga... well, the list can go on and on. All in all there is much to choose from, and if Nintendo further wants to bring new gamers (including those that used to play but have stopped), why not invest more in this sector? They could create an unparalleled software library which wouldn't only bring amusement but much knowledge as well.

 

[Grampa Simpson]

A new Metroid where the shooting sections play like a good FPS would be nice.

Everyone has a different opinion of what constitutes a good FPS. Personally I think that if my health regenerates and I end up being forced into a series of scripted encounters, its an utterly crappy game, no matter what the budget.

 

[MDX]

The problem with arbitrary figures like that is that we don't know what we're measuring FROM and we don't know what we're measuring TO. I mean, have you seen the alpha Xbox kit yet? If that's as the rumours say wouldn't that put it closer to the "3DS" (which is far more powerful than the PSP, btw) than the "Vita"? AKA the "1.5" factor as above.

I will add is this, not all developers are cut from the same cloth.
Some developers put work into harnessing the power of a console, many other developers don't. Some can do a lot with little, many others can't.

Ill patronize those developers that actually can use what they have an make compelling & beautiful games, not the ones making excuses.

 

[wsippel]

He speaks!

It depends how recent of a kit you're talking about here. From what we've heard, the (supposedly) final kits just went out a few weeks ago, and there have been some improvements made to them.

Turns out even the recent (December?) kits might still be subject to change. At least that's what John Harker recently wrote in a different Wii U thread, and he usually knows his stuff. He also wrote that there's no full technical documentation yet.

 

[DrWong]

And not all the developpers work with the same dev' kit version... isn't it ?

 

[Rösti]

Turns out even the recent (December?) kits might still be subject to change. At least that's what John Harker recently wrote in a different Wii U thread, and he usually knows his stuff. He also wrote that there's no full technical documentation yet.

No full technical documentation, eh? I hope data sheets and specifications of components/materials as well as measurement and control is supplied, so the developers don't have to be all alone in the dark. It is in times like these I wish I had access to https://www.warioworld.com/http://www.warioworld.com. Not that the site is very exciting, but it could provide us with at least a bit more info.

 

[Übermatik]

The idea that the dev kits have been constantly evolving excites me. It shows that Nintendo have been responsive to developer comments, and are dedicated to tweaking the hardware to be the best it can be given the limitations.
If the recent Develop/IGN rumours are true, then it's great to see Nintendo giving support to designers who look for a bit more power.

 

[Shion]

Everyone has a different opinion of what constitutes a good FPS.

Well, I guess that true.
Still, I think that a new Metroid with Halo-inspired FPS sections would be amazing.

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

Well, I guess that true.
Still, I think that a new Metroid with Halo-inspired FPS sections would be amazing.

No...Keep all things Halo out of my Metroid.

 

[Übermatik]

No...Keep all things Halo out of my Metroid.

Not going to lie, learning a few things from Halo's online multiplayer wouldn't do any harm. There's certain things you have to admit, and this is one of them.

(That said, Hunter's online wasn't bad at all - quite enjoyable, in fact - but I like certain aspects of Halo that would fit nicely with Metroid's online).

 

[Forsaken82]

You need to search a bit harder Here's an artticle I found that lists many of of the points I brought up.


That doesn't sound like a company held in high regard, it sounds like Nintendo having to work hard to make sure Retro doesn't release crap. I mean sure, with Nintendo really going out of their way to help Retro, they released a few great games, but they've had more crappy games canceled.

I think we all remember this...

Now go find some negative press about how Nintendo had to go out of their way to help Retro post Metroid Prime. The only negative press I can think of is when certain senior level developers/artists left the studio, but I can't recall anything in which Nintendo had to intervene with creative control of any of their titles.

 

[BD1]

I'm interested in how Nintendo plans to handle additional controllers, beyond the new tablet controller. Obviously they have already confirmed compatibility with the Wii Remote and its various attachments, but do they just assume everyone has a Wii Remote & CC Pro?

Just as an example, let's say you're playing 4 play local multiplayer in Madden. Two players use the tablet controller and assuming the 2-per system cap is right, the other players will need a CC Pro. Will Nintendo expect you to go out and buy a Wii Remote + CC Pro, or will they release a standalone bluetooth traditional controller?

Personally, I'm hoping for a bluetooth Wii U WaveBird 2.0

 

[Shion]

No...Keep all things Halo out of my Metroid.

Well, if Halo is the problem, then choose something else. My point is that a new first person Metroid would really benefit if its shooting sections played like a proper FPS (imo of course).

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

Not going to lie, learning a few things from Halo's online multiplayer wouldn't do any harm. There's certain things you have to admit, and this is one of them.

(That said, Hunter's online wasn't bad at all - quite enjoyable, in fact - but I like certain aspects of Halo that would fit nicely with Metroid's online).

I'm going to be honest...I don't want multiplayer, of any sort, in my Metroid. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes multiplayer was, atrocious to say the least. Just stick to the 40 hour+ single player.

Well, if Halo is the problem, then choose something else. My point is that a new first person Metroid would really benefit if its shooting sections played like a proper FPS (imo of course).

So you want Metroid to be more linear, or am I misunderstanding you?
I, personally, think Prime was a perfect FPS.

 

[AzaK]

There is no need for the Retro Studios to work on the next Zelda. Zelda doesn't need them!

They should focus on what they've already done a couple of times, that is looking for some very famous IPs that haven't been around for years, reviving and making them awesome AGAIN and taking 'em to the next level.

There are plenty of other franchises that could need their genius expertise, but not Zelda.

They also have to work on Donkey Kong Country Returns 2, which just needs to be done...

I just want Retro to do a new IP. They've earned it and would do wonders.

welp, there you have it. PS3/360 power for another 5+ years in nintendoland.

Just a little scared of them

And boy did I get crucified on here. To be clear I do not know all of the final specs. I only know some from a recent kit. So it "could" change... But I doubt by much. And based on that I think people on this board are going to be a little disappointed. I blame these crazy rumors from IGN with their whole 5x nonsense. That's all I'm gonna say.

Proverbial Pre Order Cancelled!

Turns out even the recent (December?) kits might still be subject to change. At least that's what John Harker recently wrote in a different Wii U thread, and he usually knows his stuff. He also wrote that there's no full technical documentation yet.

Because Nintendo are waiting until the very last minute to reveal their super secret piece of tech in the thing. Can be no other explanation.

 

[Übermatik]

I'm going to be honest...I don't want multiplayer, of any sort, in my Metroid. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes multiplayer was, atrocious to say the least. Just stick to the 40 hour+ single player.



So you want Metroid to be more linear, or am I misunderstanding you?
I, personally, think Prime was a perfect FPS.

But Hunters was great... If they take the mechanics of 'Prime and Hunters, and add a bit of Halo style leaderboards and large scale maps etc, it's be perfect.

 

[StevieP]

But Hunters was great... If they take the mechanics of 'Prime and Hunters, and add a bit of Halo style leaderboards and large scale maps etc, it's be perfect.

Make a separate game. Metroid isn't about that. Heck, people are still pissy about the switch to first person view lol

 

[blu]

Because Nintendo are waiting until the very last minute to reveal their super secret piece of tech in the thing. Can be no other explanation.

Either that or they need good silicon yields and product burn-in tests to lock down their clocks. But when in doubt I'd personally go with the orange port.

 

[BY2K]

That wait better be damn worth it, Nintendo. Your next E3 Conference better blow me...

away.

 

[Übermatik]

Make a separate game. Metroid isn't about that. Heck, people are still pissy about the switch to first person view lol

I know, I know, 'Prime is about an other-worldly, eery, atmospheric first person experience, exploring vast areas and fighting bizarre aliens and creatures.
But with the potential of using the myriad of creative weapons against other people online is just too cool to ignore!

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

But Hunters was great... If they take the mechanics of 'Prime and Hunters, and add a bit of Halo style leaderboards and large scale maps etc, it's be perfect.

I never really got into Hunters, due to how uncomfortable the controls were for me.
I don't know though. I really only play Single Player games for a reason..

That wait better be damn worth it, Nintendo. Your next E3 Conference better blow me...

away.

I honestly don't see how Nintendo could screw up this years E3, but..what do I know?

 

[Shion]

So you want Metroid to be more linear, or am I misunderstanding you?

Hell NO.

I'm not saying they should turn Metroid into another FPS. I'm saying keep Metroid as it is (a nonlinear Action/Adventure with heavy exploration, backtracking etc.) but, whenever there's shooting in the game, it' be nice if they tried to approach it as a proper FPS would.

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

Hell NO.

I'm not saying they should turn Metroid into another FPS. I'm saying keep Metroid as it is (a nonlinear Action/Adventure with heavy exploration, backtracking etc.) but, whenever there's shooting in the game, it' be nice if they tried to approach it as a proper FPS would.

I don't get it...what does a "proper" FPS do that the Prime games don't?
Sorry for all the questions...I just don't see it.

 

[Penguin]

Well, I guess that true.
Still, I think that a new Metroid with Halo-inspired FPS sections would be amazing.

At that point, I feel like it should be a different franchise/spin-off.

I think remember hearing that Retro had pitched a Metroid spin-off with one of the characters from Corruption, it would be an interesting path to follow.

 

[TheCongressman1]

Hell NO.

I'm not saying they should turn Metroid into another FPS. I'm saying keep Metroid as it is (a nonlinear Action/Adventure with heavy exploration, backtracking etc.) but, whenever there's shooting in the game, it' be nice if they tried to approach it as a proper FPS would.

I don't get it...what does a "proper" FPS do that the Prime games don't?
Sorry for all the questions...I just don't see it.

You actually have to aim in a proper FPS, I'd say.

I've never been a fan of the lock-on mechanic in Prime one and two because it kind of takes away the point of it being a shooter. They were both more like Zelda with guns instead of a sword. I was really glad when the third utilized the method of using lock-on camera with free aim shooting. Needless to say, the definitive version of Prime 1 is on the Wii.

 

[stupidvillager]

Hey guys, new here, been following this thread since page 70 or so of the original thread and just got validated!! I enjoy the speculation but wonder why conclusions are drawn so quickly. If you see some specs from a not final kit how can you jump to a firm conclusion. Not only do things change, but what about the actual architecture of the final system, not just the "specs". You see it all the time, something with a high clock is outperfomed by something with a lower clock because of a better design.

 

[bgassassin]

Just a little scared of them

And boy did I get crucified on here.

You haven't been on GAF long enough to know what being "crucified" is like.

Turns out even the recent (December?) kits might still be subject to change. At least that's what John Harker recently wrote in a different Wii U thread, and he usually knows his stuff. He also wrote that there's no full technical documentation yet.

Link to different Wii U thread?

Not surprising at the latter.

 

[Terrell]

Hmm, it's been announced for, what, six years now, but how long has the game been actually been worked on? How large is the team working on it? Is it financially viable to keep exclusive to one platform at this point?

Suppose the answers to the first two questions are "for most of the six years" and "large", then I'd have a hard time believing that Versus isn't a money sink at this point. That'd mean that the 360 and maybe even the Wiiwoo would be candidates for ports, correct? Hell, the game wouldn't even have to be a financial disaster for SE to consider porting it, right?

Anyhow, those are just my assumptions, and I'd like to know what the current state of the game is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_Versus_XIII#Development

It's only JUST entered "full production" as of last year, with all the work before it being teaser trailers, theoretical game design and scenario writing from the looks of it. Essentially, the game's announcement was severely premature. SEVERELY. But at the same time, SQE and Nomura have delighted in dicking us around and wasting money making trailers involving CONCEPT WORK. So the money invested in it before production even began is ludicrous.

We'll see a port, definitely. How quickly we will see one depends on whether or not Crystal Tools and Luminous Engine are ready to go for WiiU. But I really see no reason for doubting that it WILL happen.

 

[StevieP]

Hey guys, new here, been following this thread since page 70 or so of the original thread and just got validated!! I enjoy the speculation but wonder why conclusions are drawn so quickly. If you see some specs from a not final kit how can you jump to a firm conclusion. Not only do things change, but what about the actual architecture of the final system, not just the "specs". You see it all the time, something with a high clock is outperfomed by something with a lower clock because of a better design.

Welcome! As you've already figured out, one of GAF's specialties is jumping to conclusions.
With that said, the dev kits are supposed to be an indicator of what the final system *could* represent. You will have a lot of changes between the first dev kit and the last, always ending up with an increase in performance. However you're not going to end up going for a drastically large, generation-jumping leap from 1 kit to the next.

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

You actually have to aim in a proper FPS, I'd say.

I've never been a fan of the lock-on mechanic in Prime one and two because it kind of takes away the point of it being a shooter. They were both more like Zelda with guns instead of a sword. I was really glad when the third utilized the method of using lock-on camera with free aim shooting. Needless to say, the definitive version of Prime 1 is on the Wii.

Fair enough, it personally didn't bug me at all.

Welcome! As you've already figured out, one of GAF's specialties is jumping to conclusions.

One of our favourite things to do.

 

[ReyVGM]

I wonder how Virtual Console (part of eShop on Wii U I suppose) will be handled in comparison to Wii. While I have both an NTSC-J Wii and a PAL Wii, I rarely use the service as I would prefer having all of my downloaded games on one system. I favour downloading games on my Japanese Wii while playing games bought in B&M stores on my European Wii, and switching between the two setups can sometimes be a hassle; and this due to Nintendo's agenda regarding region encoding. With regional lockout for Nintendo 3DS games I doubt there will be any change regarding downloadable titles, which is dull. But if I could suggest to Nintendo (which I can't, as they do not accept unsolicited material), this is what I would like for Virtual Console on Wii U:

The ideal thing would be to be able to download games from all regions, but there's a problem with the ratings. Not every country has the same rating procedure/standards and that creates a problem for Nintendo. I don't know about other countries, but in the USA you can't release a game without an ESRB rating and I've heard that it costs like $5,000 to get a title rated. So if Nintendo were to allow MSX or C64 games in the USA, they (or the companies that own those titles) would have to pony up a lot of cash for each title, just to get it rated and the sales would probably not even make up for the money spent on the rating. That's not mentioning the money Nintendo keeps for each sale too.

Distribution of unreleased games, such as Ura Zelda

URA Zelda was released as Master Quest for the Gamecube and it's included in the 3DS version of OoT. If you're talking about the alleged new content/areas, then if they didn't include that in the Master Quest version, then I guess it was never really in the game in the first place or they decided it wasn't good enough to be included.

Satellaview
This could be rather difficult to emulate, but for the games that got released for the system, I think it would be worth it. Notable titles include BS Albert Odyssey, BS Dragon Quest I, BS F-Zero, BS Super Mario USA Power Challenge, BS The Legend of Zelda and my personal favorite Sutte Hakkun (if you haven't played it, do so), to name a few.

This will never ever happen. It could, but not by Nintendo's hand.
BS Mario USA and BS Zelda (all 3 of them) were Soundlink games, which means that they were played in conjunction with a live radio broadcast that streamed arranged tunes while voice actors dramatized the in game situations. To be able to emulate those games, Nintendo would have to either use recordings of each radio broadcast (which I doubt they have) or get the original dialogue scripts (which they don't have since a lot of the dialogue was improvised), they would also have to get all the arranged music they used (which are probably stored in a vault somewhere), emulate the BSX correctly (which they won't do judging by their lack of interest in emulating the SFX Chip and the N64 Memory Pak) and somehow manage to combine all that into a cohesive gaming experience. That's just too much damned work.
Fans have been trying though, for many years now. Getting VHS recordings of the broadcasts or getting clean and original ROM dumps in hopes that one day they can recreate the Soundlink games as they were originally intended to be played.

BS Albert Odyssey is the same version as the normal SFC game. It isn't called "BS" though. Only the games that were different from their original versions had the "BS" prefix.

Nintendo 64DD
Should be easier to emulate than Satellaview, but features fewer games. Though we have of course some real golden nuggets here, such as Super Mario 64 2 and previously mentioned Ura Zelda. It remains to see however if Nintendo is willing to release such titles or if they want the mystery surrounding them to remain. Nine full games were released for the system, with the most interesting I think is Mario Artist (kinda like a very primitive version of 3ds Max).

Super Mario 64 2 never really existed as an actual game. There's nothing to be released other than maybe test demos or concept art. The only thing worthy of 64DD emulation is that F-Zero X expansion. The one with Mr. EAD dancing in the credits.

Other Nintendo formats to mention (some that are more suitable for 3DS) are Color TV Game, Game & Watch, Virtual Boy

Virtual Boy really really needs to happen. I want to play VB Wario Land.

And moving to other formats than Nintendo there is Magnavox Odyssey, Atari 2600, ZX Spectrum, Atari 8-bit, TurboGrafx-CD/PC Engine CD, Dreamcast, Amiga... well, the list can go on and on. All in all there is much to choose from, and if Nintendo further wants to bring new gamers (including those that used to play but have stopped), why not invest more in this sector? They could create an unparalleled software library which wouldn't only bring amusement but much knowledge as well.

Turbografx CD has been emulated for quite a while now, it's just that they don't make the distinction of games being for the TG16 (HuCard) or TGCD. Same with Neogeo and NeoGeo CD (yes there's a Neogeo CD title).
I wouldn't count on DC emulation anytime soon, at least not before Saturn or Sega CD emulation.

 

[DCKing]

Just a little scared of them

And boy did I get crucified on here. To be clear I do not know all of the final specs. I only know some from a recent kit. So it "could" change... But I doubt by much. And based on that I think people on this board are going to be a little disappointed. I blame these crazy rumors from IGN with their whole 5x nonsense. That's all I'm gonna say.

So what is different from what we heard about other devkits / by other people? Would be interesting to see whether they are factually different or just different interpretations of how much power is implied by the specs.

 

[Anth0ny]

This will never ever happen. It could, but not by Nintendo's hand.
BS Mario USA and BS Zelda (all 3 of them) were Soundlink games, which means that they were played in conjunction with a live radio broadcast that streamed arranged tunes while voice actors dramatized the in game situations. To be able to emulate those games, Nintendo would have to either use recordings of each radio broadcast (which I doubt they have) or get the original dialogue scripts (which they don't have since a lot of the dialogue was improvised), they would also have to get all the arranged music they used (which are probably stored in a vault somewhere), emulate the BSX correctly (which they won't do judging by their lack of interest in emulating the SFX Chip and the N64 Memory Pak) and somehow manage to combine all that into a cohesive gaming experience. That's just too much damned work.
Fans have been trying though, for many years now. Getting VHS recordings of the broadcasts or getting clean and original ROM dumps in hopes that one day they can recreate the Soundlink games as they were originally intended to be played.

BS Albert Odyssey is the same version as the normal SFC game. It isn't called "BS" though. Only the games that were different from their original versions had the "BS" prefix.

If I recall correctly, one of the BS Fire Emblem games were included with one of the DS Fire emblem games.

I don't think emulating the games is a problem, as fans have already done that. The problem is finding that music and voice work somewhere deep in the vault. I'm sure if they really wanted to, they could release the BS Zeldas in all their glory... but they probably don't really want to.

 

[Rösti]

The ideal thing would be to be able to download games from all regions, but there's a problem with the ratings. Not every country has the same rating procedure and that creates a problem for Nintendo. I don't know about other countries, but in the USA you can't release a game without an ESRB rating and I've heard that it costs like $5,000 to get a title rated. So if Nintendo were to allow MSX or C64 games in the USA, they (or the companies that own those titles) would have to pony up a lot of cash for each title, just to get it rated and the sales would probably not even make up for the money spent on the rating. That's not mentioning the money Nintendo keeps for each sale too.

This is directly from ESRB:

Are all games required to have a rating?

The rating system is voluntary, although virtually all games that are sold at retail in the U.S. and Canada are rated by the ESRB. Many retailers, including most major chains, have policies to only stock or sell games that carry an ESRB rating, and most console manufacturers will only permit games that have been rated by ESRB to be published for their platforms.

Source: http://www.esrb.org/ratings/faq.jsp#2

But yeah, it could be problematic in other countries, such as Germany where laws and regulations on game ratings are very strict.

 

[A less bigoted Deku]

Nintendo should simply rate their DD titles until something can be settled with the app-store titles, right now, they along with Sony and MS are putting themselves at a huge disadvantage requiring ESRB on DD titles on their platforms.

It increases the cost to developers and creates fragmentation of the online marketplace.

Nintendo already test the games they are about to release anyways, if Jools Mutant Mudds dev diary is anything to go by.

 

[wsippel]

Link to different Wii U thread?

Not surprising at the latter.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=34716696&highlight=#post34716696

 

[suracity]

Hi gaf, this is my first post and I have been following this and original wii U speculation threads for quite long time. Thank you all for your posts. These threads gives me a lot of pleasure to read.
One thing I got particularly excited about is Nintendo finally plans to enter the Asia market properly, which means we finally may get a local eshop and local Club Nintendo. Which makes me even happier is that I can contact Nintendo not a 3rd party distributor to repair my DS ;_;

 

[ReyVGM]

If I recall correctly, one of the BS Fire Emblem games were included with one of the DS Fire emblem games.

Yep, but that's not a soundlink game. All of the intended content is inside the ROM (unlike soundlink games). So it wouldn't be that hard. However, the version in the DS game is a port/remake and not an emulation.

Now, emulating the original BS-X hardware (even if that Fire Emblem didn't use any of hardware tricks) is a bit trickier. Nintendo likes to emulate the games correctly (or at least tries to), so I don't think we'll see any BS-X games in VC anytime soon, and never for the soundlink games.
If you want to read a great piece as to how emulation works (real emulation, not hacked Dolphin-like emulation), then read this by Byuu, the author of BSNES

I don't think emulating the games is a problem, as fans have already done that.

Not really. The BS Zelda 1 dumps are not even clean dumps. The actual game was split into 4 distinct parts (weeks) with clear beginnings, endings, loading and results screens.
BS Zelda A Link To The Past had to be hacked and remade to fill the missing graphics from all the dungeons. This was accomplished by looking at niconico videos and recreating each graphic title in the ROM. It is not known if those missing graphics were due to a bad dump or because the original game "streamed" some graphic titles from the St. GIGA/Nintendo server.

The problem is finding that music and voice work somewhere deep in the vault. I'm sure if they really wanted to, they could release the BS Zeldas in all their glory... but they probably don't really want to.

IF they wanted to, yes. But they haven't emulated the SFX Chip or released Earthbound in the USA. So I doubt they'll take the time to recreate the soundlink games AND translate them for the USA.

This is directly from ESRB:

Source: http://www.esrb.org/ratings/faq.jsp#2

But yeah, it could be problematic in other countries, such as Germany where laws and regulations on game ratings are very strict.

Ok, so it's not obligatory to submit the game to the ESRB. But everyone forces you to do it. So it ends up being an official guideline that gets treated as an unofficial rule.

 

[Terrell]

Hi gaf, this is my first post and I have been following this and original wii U speculation threads for quite long time. Thank you all for your posts. These threads gives me a lot of pleasure to read.
One thing I got particularly excited about is Nintendo finally plans to enter the Asia market properly, which means we finally may get a local eshop and local Club Nintendo. Which makes me even happier is that I can contact Nintendo not a 3rd party distributor to repair my DS ;_;

Which markets? I know about Korea and their fairly good success there, but where else? I'd like to hear more about this.