Topic: Capcom's Bionic Commando Not Approved for Virtual Console

[NWR_Neal]

"Told no" when they tried to get the NES classic on the Wii's downloadable retro library.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=16538

 In a recent interview with 1UP, Capcom's Ben Judd said that they "couldn't get (Bionic Commando) approved for the Virtual Console." With the pending release of a remake of the game and an upcoming release of a new Bionic Commando game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Judd was disappointed that they couldn't work it out.    

"We're huge fans of the game," Judd replied when asked about the topic. "When you think about it, it totally makes sense as a strategy to have the original game out there in some format that people can play and see what was so great about it. But we were told no."    

Judd also declined to elaborate on exactly why the game proved objectionable. "I can't say why," Judd said, "I can just say that we tried to get it to work."

[Dirk Temporo]

wtf is this?

It's like Nintendo is TRYING to alienate people.

[Nick DiMola]

This is odd, I'm curious to know the exact details behind this and why it was such a questionable release when it is appearing on both of the other consoles.

[Rize]

Come on this is obvious.  The last boss looks like Hitler and when you kill him his head explodes graphically.  Nintendo is playing it safe.  Sadly.

[Enner]

No exploding heads for us
A darn shame.

[Ian Sane]

Funny how the second Nintendo becomes number one again they turn into the big tyrant again.  They learned nothing.  They found a new audience to attract and got back to number one that way, instead of learning from their mistakes and improving to attract the old audience back.  And because they learned nothing they will lose the top spot again and will have no idea how to turn things around.

Nothing that was previously an official release on the NES (ie: no Bubble Bath Babes is acceptable) should be refused for the VC.  There are already sh!tty games on the VC including ones made by Nintendo so it's not like they have some high standard of quality to maintain.  It should be a free-for-all.

This game is an NES classic.  The VC loses credibility when a game like this is rejected.  Nintendo should be doing the opposite; BEGGING Capcom to put their best games on the VC.

The irony is that to even see the exploding Hitler head you have to beat the game which requires skill.  Any kid who has been raised on the easier games of today or any fragile non-gamer living in Nintendo's nerfed marshmellow world won't be able to get that far.  I'm the right age but I wouldn't know what that ending looked like if I hadn't seen it on the internet.  The only people who play these superhard NES games are adult hardcore gaming nuts.

[nilcam]

Bionic Commando was released on the GBA as part of the Capcom Mini Mix. I don't see why it cannot be released on the VC.

[Smakian]

Please, really? Exploding Hitler? No. They're not releasing it solely because Capcom wants to release it to hype the new Bionic Commando games on Xbox and PS3, and Nintendo doesn't want to facilitate their PR for other systems. Fair? No, probably not. But I see where they're coming from. Same reason, if Rare had wanted to bring out Banjo-Kazooie on VC right before Nuts and Bolts releases on the 360 (yes, yes, I know, it's coming to XBLA, this is a hypothetical), I bet they would get a big fat no.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Nice try, Capcom.  Read the preceding post.

[AV]

why is it controversial to have the head of murderous horrible man explode in a videogame?

Why should children not learn to hate Hitler?

Show the clip of Hitler's head exploding and tell Veterans of World War II that children are learning how to kill him in videogames, They will cheer.

[Ian Sane]

They're not releasing it solely because Capcom wants to release it to hype the new Bionic Commando games on Xbox and PS3, and Nintendo doesn't want to facilitate their PR for other systems.

Maybe instead of denying Wii owners the ability to play Bionic Commando on the VC they should try to get the new Bionic Commando game on the Wii.  You know, make an EFFORT of some sort to attract third party support?  But, hey, pissing Capcom off is a much better approach.

Does Nintendo get money from the new Bionic Commando game?  No.  Can they make money from the Bionic Commando VC release?  Yes.  Might as well take that extra bit of money instead of getting nothing.

[Smakian]

Maybe instead of denying Wii owners the ability to play Bionic Commando on the VC they should try to get the new Bionic Commando game on the Wii.  You know, make an EFFORT of some sort to attract third party support?  But, hey, pissing Capcom off is a much better approach.

Capcom decides what systems their games are released on. Like many 360/PS3 games, I doubt the new BC would even work on Wii, from a technological standpoint. I imagine Nintendo would have no problem with them releasing it on the Wii, and what's more, the NES original would be guaranteed approval for VC in that case.

[Nick DiMola]

You know all of this technological talk downplaying what the Wii can do is a bunch of crap. People managed to do similar stuff on GC/Xbox/PS2 hardware, yet all of a sudden its impossible to do on Wii. I call BS, it can be done, everyone just doesn't want to invest the effort to downgrade the visuals for Wii.

[Kairon]

Dead Rising shows that anything is possible in my book.

I also doubt the "exploding Hitler head" story. I mean... just slap a rated M for everyone label on the game and I'd like to think it would be ready for VC, maybe behind a password pin or whatever, but still.

[Bill Aurion]

Maybe instead of denying Wii owners the ability to play Bionic Commando on the VC they should try to get the new Bionic Commando game on the Wii.  You know, make an EFFORT of some sort to attract third party support?  But, hey, pissing Capcom off is a much better approach.

At this point Nintendo shouldn't have to GROVEL for a multiplatform game...And funny enough, Capcom has a lot more to lose by not supporting Nintendo than Nintendo has to deny a single VC game...

[NWR_pap64]

I think some people are jumping into conclusions too quickly. Notice the reason as to why the game wasn't approved for the VC isn't mentioned. That "why"  is the key to fully understand this issue.

The exploding head could be an issue, but the VC has games like Splatterhouse, which has blood and violence. Not to mention that this was featured in the original NES, back when Nintendo was even more strict.

Or, maybe people are right in that Nintendo saw through Capcom and didn't want to "promote" a remake and a sequel that will be appearing on other consoles. The deal is that the game would be featured on the VC...IF the Wii gets a Bionic Commando game.

Or, if you want to play the cynical Nintendo fan card, Nintendo is just being a big meanie.

The reality is that we don't have the full details and this could clearly be a sensationalistic article that makes Nintendo look bad, so jumping into conclusions is silly as we don't know what fully went on behind the scenes.

[Urkel]

The exploding head can't be the reason. Splatterhouse II is on the VC and that's rated Mature. And it wouldn't even get a Mature rating in the first place. Capcom Mini Mix was only rated Teen.

Since the VC is essentially free money for the publishers involved, I believe Nintendo is using it as a reward for support. Look at which publishers get the most games released.

There are a ton of Sega games, and they've been a pretty good Nintendo supporter. There are a ton of Hudson games, and they've stepped up their Nintendo support a lot this generation. Not counting the C64 games in Europe, there are no western games on the VC, except for Factor 5 games. I don't think that's a coincidence, considering the rumors that they're making the new Kid Man Icarus. I suspect there would be a ton of SE games on there, but SE has their reasons for holding those games back.

Nintendo plans on releasing Megaman 1 and 2 prior to Megaman 9 to promote that game. I see that as a reward for support. I bet Bionic Commando will end up on VC somewhere down the line anyway, but Nintendo isn't going to reward Capcom any time soon with that free money.

[ShyGuy]

I hope Nintendo trades Bionic Commando on the VC for a port of RE5.

[KDR_11k]

He didn't say the reason so it's possible it was some serious technical issue. He also said something about "trying to get it to work"...

[Michael8983]

Sony and MS have played hardball with developers for years. Now Nintendo finally has the same option.
Why would it want to essentially advertise for a PS3/360 title? I don't think this has anything to do with the game's content. I mean there are upcoming Wii titles that are FAR more violent and controversial afteralll. If Capcom was willing to give the Wii a port or even a different version of the new Bionic Commando we'd almost certainly see the original on the VC and maybe we still willl. All Nintendo is asking of developers is to support it's console which I don't think is too much to ask considering it's by far the most popular and most successful.

[Deguello]

Come on this is obvious.  The last boss looks like Hitler and when you kill him his head explodes graphically.  Nintendo is playing it safe.  Sadly.

Could somebody be a journalist on the staff once in a while?

Pap and Urkel seem to have the basic skills necessary to make a logical conclusion based on data.  Why can't the press corps?

[ShyGuy]

Cool it boys, Internal Affairs is here. Wasn't there a censored version of Bionic Commando released later?

[Luigi Dude]

There are a ton of Sega games, and they've been a pretty good Nintendo supporter. There are a ton of Hudson games, and they've stepped up their Nintendo support a lot this generation. Not counting the C64 games in Europe, there are no western games on the VC, except for Factor 5 games. I don't think that's a coincidence, considering the rumors that they're making the new Kid Man Icarus. I suspect there would be a ton of SE games on there, but SE has their reasons for holding those games back.

Plus SNK has been a good supporter of the Wii and as a result, we already have a lot of Neo Geo games on the Virtual Console as well.

So yeah the point of the Virtual Console is pretty much, if your good to Nintendo, Nintendo will be good to you back.  But if you screw with them, you'll be left out in the cold. 

[ShyGuy]

I thought Capcom had been decent to the Wii, at least compared to Namco, Konami, and Square.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

They've been two-faced.  They're doing better than Namco, Konami, and Square, but they're also outdoing Ubisoft by doing a better job of teasing the Wii audience with "limited" products to support their "ambitious" HD projects.