A Calm and Collected Note on the Current State of the V.C.

[Major Tom]

I did......

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[danib62]

I think the one major problem here in this forum is that everyone assumes that Nintendo has every single classic game just sitting around waiting to go onto the virtual console and they're just holding out on us. We don't know what process it takes nintendo to get a game onto the virtual console. The process to convert a game, adapt the controls, write a virtual manual, and test it may take a month for all we know for any given game. In this case it's much different then iTunes where apple literally needs to do nothing to prepare an album for release. Can this possibly be the reason for the slow rate of release and can we cut nintendo a little slack? How pissed would you be if they release Goldeneye and there were numerous glitches and controller issues? My guess would be very. So let's let them get the job done right.

[CrowTRobot]

By the way, Nintendo didn't create Goldeneye, it was developed independently by Rare.

Sorry. I knew that, I wasn't very clear in my post.

What I meant to say was a Nintendo-released product.

[hiredgoonz]

I think the one major problem here in this forum is that everyone assumes that Nintendo has every single classic game just sitting around waiting to go onto the virtual console and they're just holding out on us. We don't know what process it takes nintendo to get a game onto the virtual console. The process to convert a game, adapt the controls, write a virtual manual, and test it may take a month for all we know for any given game. In this case it's much different then iTunes where apple literally needs to do nothing to prepare an album for release. Can this possibly be the reason for the slow rate of release and can we cut nintendo a little slack? How pissed would you be if they release Goldeneye and there were numerous glitches and controller issues? My guess would be very. So let's let them get the job done right.

I've seen this argument several times before and this is not meant as an attack or anything, but I want to clarify a few points...

The technical aspects of porting the games should really not be that difficult. Remember, we're talking about a company with talented programmers who have ALL the documentation for the hardware and software (this is a REALLY important point).

Look at what the emulation scene has given us...and these are people coding in their free time who have to reverse engineer the hardware, not only for the system, but for the many individual cartridges that use supplemental chips to provide additional functionality.

Creating virtual manuals should be a trivial enough process and the control schemes for the games are consistent for each console. Once you've decided what buttons are what for the Sega, as an example, then you don't need to spend any more time on that part, the rest of the games will use the same configuration.

The one area I can see presenting some challenge is emulation of N64 games. The N64 was a fairly powerful system and emulating it accurately on non-native hardware (that isn't a brute force powerhouse) could be tricky. Even the best N64 emulators for PCs require pretty substantial hardware to do fullspeed emulation.

Nintendo's motivation for the VC policy they're using is financial, pure and simple. Most people have a limited amount of "entertainment income." They're going to make game purchases out of this pool of money. If Nintendo released a schedule of what was coming out, people would likely make their choices based on the list as a whole, rather than making their decisions week to week.

They would pass on a lot of games that are probably selling right now simply by virtue of the fact that they're available. It's hard to wait on that game you really want when you have no idea when it's coming out, so in the meantime, you might pick up a couple of games that don't interest you that much. Also, they don't want to cannibalize Wii software sales.

I'm not saying that being motivated by profit is a bad thing; unfortunately, it doesn't provide the same outcome for the customer as would their policy being based on trying to get the popular games out the door as quickly as possible. (Which is what I imagine most of us would want

At this point, the delays have probably cost them at least one sale...I got tired of waiting for Super Metroid, so I picked up an FC Twin and dug out my cartridge, LOL...don't really need it on VC now...

[CrowTRobot]

How pissed would you be if they release Goldeneye and there were numerous glitches and controller issues?

That's a poor argument because you're assuming that these games AREN'T ready to go.

Nintendo is not a company to sit on their hands. I wouldn't be surprised if Golden Eye is all ready to go and all they're waiting on is the rights issue to be resovled.

Shifting gears for a moment, here's some quotes from Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata from his keynote address at the 2006 Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California

"Between them, these systems built a library of more than a thousand different games. Of course, not all of them will be available, but the best of them will." -Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata

"During a keynote address yesterday at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata divulged further plans for Virtual Console, an online download service he described as “the video game version of Apple’s iTunes music store.”

[Major Tom]

Oh well. I'll still get VC Games.

[FastJunkie]

Pretty much the same here. Last system I bought was the N64 which I bought used for 20 bucks. The Wii was my first system I ever bought new, the only reason I wanted it was for the back catalogue. I think it's lame how expensive how slow they are at releasing titles. VC was a cool idea but very poorly executed on Nintendo's part.

[FastJunkie]

Its not a link..... It's an cough* illegal *cough program. A few of my hacker friends have it...... Its called Wiivcon You kinda have to pay for it.....

What is this program?

[JerrodDRagon]

I think the one major problem here in this forum is that everyone assumes that Nintendo has every single classic game just sitting around waiting to go onto the virtual console and they're just holding out on us. We don't know what process it takes nintendo to get a game onto the virtual console. The process to convert a game, adapt the controls, write a virtual manual, and test it may take a month for all we know for any given game. In this case it's much different then iTunes where apple literally needs to do nothing to prepare an album for release. Can this possibly be the reason for the slow rate of release and can we cut nintendo a little slack? How pissed would you be if they release Goldeneye and there were numerous glitches and controller issues? My guess would be very. So let's let them get the job done right.

When you have 5 million untis out there you cant make crappy excuses like that.
And I do want to thank Nintendo for making the VC its one of the best things about the Wii but Im just made that they are holding games back I mean its not heard to put one great game out a weeks since there are over 20 great N64 games, over 30 SNES games, 30 NES plus at least 10 Great Trubrograhic games and 20 Sega games. That means if you release one great game a week it adds up to be over 100 weeks of games but Nintendo keeps holding games back, it almost seems as if they want the the VC to live on into the next Console.

[Major Tom]

1. Don't double post
2. It's a program you pay for that shows you VC server info.... Like how many times something gets downloaded & what servers are being activated. Last time I checked it was $15. I'm not paying that..... My hacker friends have it.