Topic: Wii U Virtual Console Launch Lineup Announced

[Steel Diver]

Which brand new 20+ year old games will you be playing on the Wii U?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/33982

Nintendo revealed its Wii U Virtual Console launch lineup today on their official Facebook page.

Coming to the Wii U Virtual Console on day one are: Balloon Fight (NES), Donkey Kong Jr. (NES), Excitebike (NES), F-Zero (SNES), Ice Climber (NES), Kirby's Adventure (NES), Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream (NES), and Super Mario World (SNES).

No specific launch day has been announced, but rumors hint at the end of this week.

[TJ Spyke]

Not a single surprise, those are the games featured in the Nintendo Direct when Iwata was talking about the Wii U Virtual Console.

[supergtt]

Boooooooo!

[IssunZX]

Excuse my ignorance, but I haven't been following this very closely...If you already own these on the Wii, can you just transfer them to Wii U and use them on the Wii U Virtual Console (i.e. use them on the gamepad, etc.)? I love Kirby's Adventure and everything, but I'm not really interested in double-dipping if that's not the case. I'd sooner wait for some new releases that Nintendo ignored for VC the first time around.

[TJ Spyke]

Excuse my ignorance, but I haven't been following this very closely...If you already own these on the Wii, can you just transfer them to Wii U and use them on the Wii U Virtual Console (i.e. use them on the gamepad, etc.)? I love Kirby's Adventure and everything, but I'm not really interested in double-dipping if that's not the case. I'd sooner wait for some new releases that Nintendo ignored for VC the first time around.

You can do a system transfer (though you have to move ALL your Wii content) and transfer it to a Wii U. But you then have to play them in Wii Mode (essentially making the Wii U think it's a Wii). This means you can only use the Wii Remote or Classic Controller. If you want the Wii U version (i.e. the one that supports Miiverse, Off-TV Play, etc.), you have to pay a fee to upgrade the Wii version. It's $1 for NES games and $1.50 for SNES games. So if you want to upgrade to the Wii U version of Kirby's Adventure, you can pay $1 (though Nintendo said that when you upgrade, you will lose your gamesave).

[Magiteknights]

This line-up is pure trash! If you've owned a Wii U since launch than you already own 4 of these games. They're repeating the same mistake with this virtual console as they did with the Wii. Lackluster titles, trickle outs and nonsense.


For shame Iwata... for shame

[Fjurbanski]

Hahaha. The least they could have done is not included the ones already available. : /

[broodwars]

What a pathetic lineup, though I expected no less from Nintendo of America, who wouldn't know what to do if they didn't set the lowest possible expectations to ensure they'd exceed them.  Here's to a handful of actual new VC games scattered amongst the trick of old VC releases over the next 2-3 years, if the Wii U even lasts that long.

[AV]

what a disgrace!!  . I don't see why a huge collection of games is not available. Like 50+
How much work is it really?

[Adrock]

What a pathetic lineup, though I expected no less from Nintendo of America, who wouldn't know what to do if they didn't set the lowest possible expectations to ensure they'd exceed them.

Is Nintendo of America even responsible for that? I was under the impression that all the Wii U features are handled in Japan so Nintendo of America is just releasing what they're given.

what a disgrace!!  . I don't see why a huge collection of games is not available. Like 50+
How much work is it really?

Didn't each Virtual Console game have its own emulator or something? If Nintendo decided to emulate in a more efficient way on Wii U, they would essentially be starting from scratch.

[joshnickerson]

What a pathetic lineup, though I expected no less from Nintendo of America, who wouldn't know what to do if they didn't set the lowest possible expectations to ensure they'd exceed them.  Here's to a handful of actual new VC games scattered amongst the trick of old VC releases over the next 2-3 years, if the Wii U even lasts that long.

what a disgrace!!  . I don't see why a huge collection of games is not available. Like 50+
How much work is it really?

This line-up is pure trash! If you've owned a Wii U since launch than you already own 4 of these games. They're repeating the same mistake with this virtual console as they did with the Wii. Lackluster titles, trickle outs and nonsense.


For shame Iwata... for shame

[ShyGuy]

I wanted Gamecube VC

[Fjurbanski]

It just makes me wonder what exactly the problem is. Is it that difficult to add the new features? Maybe they don't like the idea of this or that game getting lost in a wave of games. Maybe they don't want to plop down 25+ new miiverse communities in one day? Maybe they've bitten off more than they can chew.


I really wish I could see what was going on over there.

[Art_de_Cat]

Not every vc game needs a community........but they need a better way to search through communities, hell even alphebetical order would be a nice start.  I am dissapointed that some of the games were already .30 cent titles.  And only eight?  I have a ton on my Wii still, but not looking to pay 1 or 1.50 to upgrade.  By then I could have bought two-three retail wii u games.........

[ShyGuy]

I would be okay with this if we get eight games next week and the week after. But I doubt that will happen.

[broodwars]

Get that weak **** outta here. It's a video game site. Everything is a so-called "1st World Problem", so you're going to have to do better than that.  The internet, you see, is serious business. 

It just makes me wonder what exactly the problem is. Is it that difficult to add the new features? Maybe they don't like the idea of this or that game getting lost in a wave of games. Maybe they don't want to plop down 25+ new miiverse communities in one day? Maybe they've bitten off more than they can chew.

Granted, Nintendo's not the most competent video game company around, but on this I'm more inclined to believe it's sheer laziness.  It's just Nintendo trying to space out their existing library over the lifespan of the Wii U because they don't want to have to put the effort into putting new content on the Virtual Console (at least, not for quite a long time).  They know that there will be fanboys out there that will line-up to defend them to the death with tales of "how hard" putting ROMs up on their Wii U eShop is and new message board forums to go with them.

Apparently it was an outrage when Sony only had something like 50 freely-transferrable PSP games compatible with the Vita when that feature launched, but when Nintendo launches the Wii U's counterpart with a whopping eight games (half of which were already available and the other half largely aren't worth playing) we should be grateful. 

[TJ Spyke]

Apparently it was an outrage when Sony only had something like 50 freely-transferrable PSP games compatible with the Vita when that feature launched

Except the major difference is that was the ONLY way to play your PSP games on a PS Vita. You can technically play all 400+ Virtual Console games on your Wii U already, this is just a upgrade to those games to add Wii U functionality like playing with the Wii U GamePad and Miiverse support. But you can already play all those VC games on your Wii in Wii Mode.

[Adrock]

Are we talking about the UMD Passport? I think my main issue with it was the pricing. In some instances, Sony was charging more for the transfer downloads to Vita than the UMD currently cost at retail which is a total WTF. The concept was good and Sony didn't have to go out of their way, but the execution was terrible. Nintendo could have offered the Wii U extras for free and that would have been awesome, but at the very least, they're offering the upgrade at a discount and no one is forced to upgrade. Nintendo could have charged more or even full price. Yes, the upgrade cost adds up for those with hundreds in Virtual Console titles. Then again, they already spent hundreds of dollars on Virtual Console games. I wonder if the issue is more money or principle though I still think the upgrade is justifiable since it isn't mandatory and you are getting something for that fee.

[Phil]

That's insanely disappointing. Is Nintendo intentionally sabotaging their own system now?

[Pixelated Pixies]

For me, this issue has been one of the most disappointing things about Virtual Console, and it appears that it's an issue on both 3DS and Wii U; which is the slow and tedious process of re-releasing virtual console games that were already released on Wii. I think my hope (one which I don't think was entirely unrealistic) was that the Wii VC would provide a base library that would then be built upon when subsequent hardware launched. In other words, I did not expect Nintendo to go through the whole interminable process of slowly re-releasing VC games for each individual piece of hardware. I did expect some type of re-licensing fee for those who already owned the games, but my hope was that the existing Wii VC library would be fully available on any subsequent Nintendo hardware (both for those who already purchased the games and those who are purchasing them for the first time).
 
The idea of going through this piecemeal release schedule again for games which were already released on Wii VC and/or 3DS VC is far from appealing.

[Pixelated Pixies]

Just another quick thought. I'm no expert, but you'd think that purely from a business standpoint, launching Wii U VC with a substantial library could be used as a major selling point. The Wii U does not have a wealth of games out there right now; I'm sure for owners of the system having access to a large library of classic Nintendo games would be very much welcome and it might even sell a few systems.
 
I really can't comprehend who is supposed to benefit from this decision to re-release these VC games piecemeal.

[regin]

I don't know about you guys, but I will definitely check back every week for the next five years to see if the game I'm waiting for is randomly selected for a VC release!

[Kytim89]

One thing that could happen is that each Virtual Console game that has similar enough emulators that should be able to release large quantities relatively quickly. Each game has its own emulator, but Nintendo could have design a umbrella emulator and thus would only have to marry it to be able to work only for the Wii U. This should not take more than two months to get the full library on the Wii U. In the mean time they could release games that they have neglected to put the normal Wii as exclusive to that of the Wii U.

[pokepal148]

Nintendo honestly has no idea what to do there, there are indie developers on the eshop who would hate to be lost in an ocean of virtual console games and so releasing them all at once is a horrible idea, but they know they will get some pretty heavy heat if they choose to go the 3DS route, it is a tough spot tbh

[azeke]

there are indie developers on the eshop who would hate to be lost in an ocean of virtual console games

Hm. Interesting point, but as a consumer i kinda think of VC and WiiWare/DSiWare/eShop as separate platforms.

[Pixelated Pixies]

Nintendo honestly has no idea what to do there, there are indie developers on the eshop who would hate to be lost in an ocean of virtual console games and so releasing them all at once is a horrible idea, but they know they will get some pretty heavy heat if they choose to go the 3DS route, it is a tough spot tbh

That's like saying there's no point in releasing new music on iTunes because there's already a huge catalogue of classic albums. What indie developers want most from Nintendo is for them to get people to visit the eShop. I can't think of any better way to raise awareness and promote the eShop than to have a wealth of amazing titles.
 
If anything, having a wealth of virtual console games available from the beginning would mean that new titles wouldn't have to compete with the likes of Super Mario World and Kirby's Adventure on a weekly basis. Had the Wii VC catalogue been available on Wii U eShop from the beginning there would undoubtedly have been a rush towards that content at launch, and perhaps within that window certain eshop games might have been swamped, but longer term I actually think it would be beneficial to eShop developers. By releasing a large proportion of classic games at once, the Virtual Console would then become more of a library (albeit one that you're paying for), one which could be perused at leisure and which allows people to build out there own collection of classics. Not having constant VC re-releases alongside new eShop titles would be a boon to developers because not only would it promote the eShop, but it would also mean that, with the exception of new VC additions, eShop developers would have the digital release schedule to themselves.
 
What my argument really boils down to I guess is that VC would be amazing if it were comprehensive, and if it offered a subscription model.

[xcwarrior]

Let's hope next week's releases are better. Ugh Nintendo. Ugh.

Give us new VC titles, not ones we already bought on Wii's virtual console.

[Ian Sane]

So when will Earthbound actually come out?  Do we have to go through the same slow VC release schedule as before first before the "new" VC games come out?

The best excuse I can think of for this process is that if they released everything at once shitty ol' Balloon Fight and Ice Climber wouldn't sell worth a ****.

What sucks is that this approach will probably not be well received and Nintendo will then interpret that as a lack of interest in the VC.  Everyone wants to take their existing Wii VC games and update them to the Wii U ASAP, even with the fee.  No one wants to wait around for their games to get the updated release.  And if they did them all at once, there would be keeners that would update every game they had but with this approach they might grow bored of it or not really see much value in it and only update their first couple of games.

[TJ Spyke]

Iwata said EarthBound will come out "later this year", I would assume sometime in the second half of the year.

[Fatty The Hutt]

I don't know about you guys, but I will definitely check back every week for the next five years to see if the game I'm waiting for is randomly selected for a VC release!

LOL
+1

[NeoThunder]

Iwata said EarthBound will come out "later this year", I would assume sometime in the second half of the year.

that means dec. 29th

[stevey]

Pretty much what I expected Nintendo to do this but this still sucks. All I really want from the VC shop is Earthbound, Mother, and Mother 3 anyway....

Didn't each Virtual Console game have its own emulator or something? If Nintendo decided to emulate in a more efficient way on Wii U, they would essentially be starting from scratch.

They did have their own emulators built in, but for the most part all the NES, Genesis, and SNES emulators are identical. (There were even 'tools' floating around to inject different roms in to a given VC channel that worked for anything that didn't have something like a super-FX chip.) Nintendo could have very easily separated the emulator and turn the VC files into just the rom, instructions, and a very small setting/version file for bootstrapping the emulator.

The only excuse Nintendo has are N64 games that were 85%-emulated and 15%-ported.

Iwata said EarthBound will come out "later this year", I would assume sometime in the second half of the year.

that means dec. 29th

A March 31, 2014 release at the end of the financial year is more Iwata's style...

[pokepal148]

so febuary 30th

[Jess1053]

The more disappointing Nintendo is being with games few and far between and now an extremely disappointing vc launch lineup, the more I'm wanting to buy a PS4.

[NeoThunder]

Any guesses on VC releases tomorrow?

[Shaymin]

Pac-Man and Mega Man (NES).

Not making either one up.