Comments on: Editorial: Dear Console Developers, Please Sell Us Our Old Games Again. Thank You!

By: mary760

mary760 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:35:00 +0000

http://www.tvokay.com for free movies and tv shows… check it out, it’s worth a bookmark

By: Shaun

Shaun — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:58:44 +0000

release Marvel vs Capcom 2 !!!!

By: Pedle Zelnip

Pedle Zelnip — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:11:50 +0000

Actually porting a game for an old platform to a new one can be quite labour-intensive depending on the game and the platform it’s coming from. For example, many of the really older consoles required people to write the game in such a way that it was very closely tied to the hardware the game was running on, so moving to a completely different platform would be non-trivial.

As well, ask any programmer who’s had to do maintenence work on a major piece of software — it’s not an easy task.

As well, if devs did give us the same game exactly as it appeared originally, most gamers would still gripe about how they didn’t add anything new like spiffier graphics, or multiplayer play, or achievements, or etc, etc etc.

And then on top of all that, while sure, as a gamer I’d love to get some of my old favourites working on my 360, I’m not going to pay $15-$20 to do so. Most of the arcade titles I’ve purchased have been 400 MS points (about $5), and unless it was a game I *REALLY REALLY* wanted, I wouldn’t pay more than that.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 05:59:15 +0000

What someone needs to do is create emulators for the Wii/xbox360/ps3. The Wii and 360 have some kind of development kits availabl (XNA/WiiWare).. don’t know about the ps3. Figure out a way to run these on their respective consoles and load ROMs from a memory card.

Sure, this may not be easy or *cough* legal *cough* but it’s a way to get these games on consoles today (well, tomorrow). Despite these virtual consoles, many of the games I’d love to play again are only playable through MAME. I *wish* I knew how to program because I’d be trying to port MAME to the 360 via XNA.

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:08:38 +0000

My wife doesn’t understand how come we spend $250 + on a Wii, and I spend more time playing Tecmo Bowl than anything else. I can’t wait to get a classic controller so I can download FZero and there is word that Pilot Wings will be out soon! I think the Wii has the best mix of classic games at fairly decent prices. $5 for an NES game beats trying to secure a system on Ebay and blow into the cartrdige every 20 mins.

By: William

William — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 12:51:35 +0000

@Free-Vo: I definitely believe that more effort needs to put into these re-releases. Even aside from graphics, some XBLA titles such as Sonic The Hedgehog had terrible issues such as Sonic’s speed. If you play Sonic on the Genesis and compare it to the 360 version, you’ll notice how much slower he moves on the 360. There’s no excuse for that.

By: Free-Vo

Free-Vo — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 10:44:04 +0000

I agree, but i would like to see some effort made into the rereleases (ala Bionic Commanda and Speedball2). Keep the gameplay, just soop up the graphics!

By: liltrix

liltrix — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:46:14 +0000

i want my Banjo-Kazooie…. and tooie… which will prob happen as BK3 is scheduled for this year (2008) but rare being rare its prob more like 2010

By: Cough

Cough — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 01:50:40 +0000

*CoughEmulatorsCough*

By: Adam Selene

Adam Selene — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:16:02 +0000

THE ANSWER:

The #1 answer to your question of why there aren’t more old virtual console games available is INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.

That is, the console maker needs to renegotiate publication rights and royalties to republish any game (other than the games they themselves own).

Take for example GoldenEye 007 for N64 (arguably one of its best games). Rare Ltd developed that game. Rare was acquired by Microsoft and now does XBOX 360 development. Exclusive license for James Bond games is owned now by Activision.

Reportedly Nintendo tried to come to an agreement with Microsoft which would have allowed GoldenEye to come to both Wii and XBox 360 virtual consoles, but were unable to reach an agreement. It is uncertain that even if an agreement was met, whether they would still have needed the permission of Activision.

Certainly given the new phenomenon of virtual consoles, I can see future game publication contracts including rights for re-releasing games on future platforms without the need for renegotiation.

By: John

John — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:35:24 +0000

That’s the beauty of emulation.

By: Joerdie

Joerdie — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:17:57 +0000

I sort of agree. I would love to play some of the games that I liked but never beat… I just don’t see myself buying Legend of Zelda again. I know how you feel though. Sometimes I check out the virtual console on the Wii and think, “I would like to spend more money on that!”

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:14:09 +0000

Pokemon Snap is already out on the Wii virtual console.

http://www.nintendo.com/wii/virtualconsole/games/detail/_RSlYU7hZA_yb-mvRqDeol7mHtsaGmS6

I’m guessing Goldeneye will come out on the Wii before XBL as it was a n64 game as well.

By: Steve Hipkiss

Steve Hipkiss — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:13:35 +0000

GIVE ME R-TYPE CO-OP NOW

By: Kanadwen

Kanadwen — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:23:59 +0000

Very excellent post Jon! I agree with everything! 10/10!

By: weclock

weclock — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:16:02 +0000

it’s like some sick kind of.. I don’t know!

Who in their right mind would be willing to buy the same game, over and over again, despite the new capabilities..

we would..

Sure, I bought Goldeneye, still have the cartridge and a working N64, but if they released it on XBL, then HELL YES, I’d buy it again

I’d buy pokemon snap again!

all these games, again and again, why?? is it to relive those past experiences? is it because the old controllers no longer work? is it because my fingers forgot to work those old controllers?

is it because we want to buy something we know is good?