While there are quite obviously many different ways to purchase physical media many consumers are making the shift towards digital distribution. In fact, just about every home video game console on the market has its own form of digital distribution. For the Xbox 360 it’s Xbox Live, PS3 the PlayStation Network and on the Nintendo Wii ti’s the Virtual Console (among other outlets).
The Virtual Console, in particular has been known to be saturated with many different classic titles that give consumers a chance to relive the fun without breaking the bank. For example, it was just announced today that the Japanese Virtual Console will be getting access to both Mega Man X and Chrono Trigger. Both of these games were made available on the Super Nintendo in the 90s and have gone down as iconic titles.
Unfortunately, there is currently no word on whether or not Nintendo plans to bring these games to the North American Virtual Console but considering they are such highly popular games we’re going to assume that us here int he States will see them soon.
If you’ve played Square Enix’s WiiWare exclusive My Life as a King you’ll be glad to hear that the game’s follow-up, My Life as a Darklord, has recently hit the service.
This game will apparantly take the empire-building elements from My Life as a King and adapt them in a darker way. Players will be pitted against an onslaught of adventurers from who they must protect a tower from with an arsenal of traps and monsters.
There are two more WiiWare titles along with a DSiWare title included in this same update all of which you can read more about after the break.
READ ON »
Sony has recently made it known that classic games other than previous Playstation titles have made their way to the Japanese Playstation Network.
The classic games in question are those found on the Turbografx-16 such as Bomberman ’94, Sengoku Mahjong, Devil’s Crush and New Adventure Island all priced at 600 yen or about $6. Furthermore, all 4 titles will be playable on both the PSP and Playstation 3.
With Nintendo’s Virtual Console service proving to be quite profitable, it’s no surprise that Sony too would hop on the bandwagon to offer such games. Let’s just hope the same services gets implemented into the American Playstation Network.
via Joystiq
Nintendo has just released details on exactly what this week’s update, spanning the DSiWare, WiiWare and Virtual Console services, includes.
Well, most importantly we have Clay Fighter for the Virtual Console which made its original debut on the Sega Genesis in 1994. This is the classic 2D fighter in which the developers photographed actual clay models and then digitized them to make for the game’s graphics.
Other than that, we have ADVENTURE ISLAND The Beginning and BUBBLE BOBBLE Plus! for WiiWare and American Popstar: Road to Celebrity and Photo Clock for DSiWare. Yeah, we weren’t kidding when we said this weeks update is unexciting.
You can read more about the update including the pricing for all above mentioned titles in the press release after the break. READ ON »
Although the Wii Classic Controller or a Gamecube controller works well enough for most virtual console titles nothing would beat the sheer joy of playing old school Nintendo games with the original controller. Before now you’d have to possess MacGuyver level skills to wire an old-school NES controller to your Wii, but a new peripheral set to be revealed at E3 will substitute for the mullet-style tinkering.
The 3-in-1 Virtual Retro Adapter will plug into the Gamecube controller port and accept inputs from the original NES, Super Nintendo and N64 Controllers. It’s compatible with both 1st and 3rd party controllers and is set to launch June of this year, with an MSRP of $19.99. It’s manufactured and designed by Komodo and distributed by Innex
With the introduction of DSiWare comes the introduction of almost useless applications – Both additions for the DSi are based around Animal Crossing and get this; they are a clock and a calculator, nothing more. Both applications are priced at 200 DSi Points and do everything you would expect a clock and calculator to do.
On the Wii side of things, it gets a bit more exciting:
WiiWare
Penguins & Friends – Hey! That’s My Fish! (Gammick Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points™): The penguins are hungry and need your help. Catch all the fish you can before someone steals them from you. Strategy is fundamental in this exciting game. Keep moving ahead of the other penguins so you don’t get trapped, and try to get to the ice floes that hold more fish. One to four players can play Penguins & Friends at the same time, provided they can handle the polar cold. The board is made up of ice blocks with a set number of fish under them. The ice blocks are hexagonal and form a structure like a beehive. The starting position of the ice blocks can change, creating different game boards.
Virtual Console
Tower Toppler™ (Commodore 64, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Weird things are happening on Planet Nebulus. Someone or something has begun building huge towers on the sea floor without a construction license. Your mission is to ascend each of the eight cylindrical towers, passing various obstacles along the way, and to trigger the tower’s destruction mechanism to demolish the evil threat. Praised upon its original 1987 release for its graphical innovation, this is considered to be the most outstanding game from Hewson. Don’t miss out on this classic favorite.
Nintendo has recently released details on their weekly update for the DSi and WiiWare services, along with the Virtual Console.
This week, Mario will make his debut on the DSiWare starring in Dr. Mario Express. If you’ve played the previous Dr. Mario titles you’ll be familiar with the Tetris like gameplay. The game will hit the service for 500 Nintendo DSi points.
For everything else included in the update read on:
Nintendo DSiWare
Master of Illusion Express: Deep Psyche (Nintendo, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 200 Nintendo DSi Points): Master of Illusion Express titles offer mind-bending magic tricks pulled from the popular Nintendo DS™ game. Learn the illusions, practice up and amaze your friends.Master of Illusion Express: Deep Psyche asks a series of pointed questions and reveals a startling truth.
WiiWare
CRYSTAL DEFENDERS R1 (SQUARE ENIX, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points™): In CRYSTAL DEFENDERS R1, you must deploy various units such as Soldiers and Black Mages to stop wave after wave of encroaching monsters from escaping the area with your party’s crystals. There are many different types of units to choose from, some specializing in powerful short-range attacks, some wielding far-reaching magicks, and still others equipped with bows that enable them to bring down aerial foes. Deploy units in strategic locations to take full advantage of their traits. Each time an enemy breaches your defenses and reaches a map’s exit, your party will lose crystals. When all your crystals are gone, the game is over. CRYSTAL DEFENDERS R1 comes complete with a plethora of exciting stages, each varying in layout and difficulty. Can you defend them all without losing a single crystal?
Virtual Console
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Cartoon Violence, 900 Wii Points): The once-quiet town of Xenobia is under attack from fierce and gruesome monsters. As Leo, it’s up to you to save Xenobia from danger as you navigate through a series of worlds in a race against time. Use your sword and jumping abilities to battle foes. Watch for power-ups that will increase your health and add to the amount of time you have to complete your missions. Go it alone or play co-op with a friend who can take the role of Priscilla. Do you have what it takes to save the world?
It looks like we’ll have to change the name from Weekly Wii Update to Weekly Nintendo Update as Nintendo has recently announced they will being updating the DSiWare service along with the WiiWare and Virtual Console services.
Retro gamers will be happy to hear that Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, which originally made its debut on the Sega Genesis, was added to the Virtual Console this week for 800 Wii Points. Other than that, we have puzzle and party games added for both the Wii and DSi which you can read about below:
Nintendo DSiWare™
Mixed Messages (Activision, 2-21 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Nintendo DSi Points): Mixed Messages is the hilarious party game of mixed-up miscommunication. Sketch a picture to capture your friends’ sentence, or try to figure out what in the world they’ve drawn. You might start with, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” and end up with “A crazy surfer outruns flying sticks of dynamite while his fans cheer!” Two to 21 players take turns writing sentences and drawing pictures to pass along a message. This isn’t a game about winning and losing – it’s all about the funny miscommunications that happen along the way. You’ll laugh when you see just how wacky things can get. Get together with your friends and mix it up.
Master of Illusion™ Express: Shuffle Games (Nintendo, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 200 Nintendo DSi Points): Master of Illusion Express titles are mind-boggling magic tricks pulled from the popular Nintendo DS™ game. Learn the illusions, practice up and amaze your friends. Master of Illusion Express: Shuffle Games will boggle your audience members’ minds as they try to figure out how you know exactly what they’re thinking. Also included is the bonus Vanishing Card trick, which the Nintendo DSi system performs for your enjoyment.
WiiWare
Party Fun Pirate™ (TOMY Corporation, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Comic Mischief, 500 Wii Points): Based on the popular Pop-Up Pirate toy, players take turns thrusting swords into a barrel that holds your captain captive, trying to see who can insert the most swords into the barrel. Thrust a sword into the wrong hole and you’ll send your captain flying, which means it’s game over for you! Unique Wii features add to the excitement, making for a fun-filled party game. Try swapping out the captain and putting your custom Mii character in the barrel for some real laughs!
Nintendo recently announced that the N64 title, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, has hit the PAL Virtual Console today.
Priced at 1000 Wii Points, Majora’s Mask makes for an almost complete library of console Zelda games provided by the Virtual Console, quite impressive.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask was originally released in 2000 for the N64 and was met with praise from the gaming community, so now’s your chance to experience it if you never got the chance to.
Read (ThatVideoGameBlog)
Yep it was inevitable, another update from Nintendo for the Wii’s WiiWare and Virtual Console services. Hey, it is Monday after all.
This week we are greeted with the Commodore 64 tite, Summer Games II for the Virtual Console and the beat makin’ BIT.TRIP BEAT for WiiWare.
More information, straight from Nintendo, below:
WiiWare
BIT.TRIP BEAT (Aksys Games, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): BIT.TRIP BEAT is a rhythm game that brings retro action into the present, letting you use the motion-sensing Wii Remote™ controller to bounce beats. Retro visuals, classic game play, four-player multiplayer and an 8-bit soundtrack will get you in the zone and rock your world. The challenges are mighty, but if you can stay cool as the difficulty increases, you’ll discover the beginnings of the BIT.TRIP saga.
Virtual Console
Summer Games II™ (Commodore 64, 1-8 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): A thousand athletes. A hundred countries. Billions watching around the world as you enter the stadium, marching confidently among your nation’s strongest, fastest and boldest young men and women. Your gaze sweeps the crowd as you realize the scope of your achievement. You are about to compete against the world’s best athletes in a 3,000-year-old competition. This is the pinnacle of athletic achievement: the Summer Games. Summer Games II challenges your competitive skills with a series of athletic contests for one to eight players. Experience the excitement and realism of eight different events: cycling, equestrian, fencing, high jump, javelin, kayaking, rowing and triple jump. Practice each event to sharpen your skills, then choose from the 18 countries you can represent in the competition.
