After today's revelation of WiiWare, the new original content download service, the idea of an add-on hard drive for the console seemed much more likely. Until, that is, Nintendo UK unequivocally said, "no." Looks like it's time to start employing a wee army of SD cards, because with all the downloadable goodness, that 512 MBs of space is going pretty fast. Posts with tag shoppingchannel
Nintendo waves away hard drive rumors
After today's revelation of WiiWare, the new original content download service, the idea of an add-on hard drive for the console seemed much more likely. Until, that is, Nintendo UK unequivocally said, "no." Looks like it's time to start employing a wee army of SD cards, because with all the downloadable goodness, that 512 MBs of space is going pretty fast. Mario Bros. in ur Shopping Channel, stealing ur coinz
We've been privy to undocumented Wii features like the 192-Piece Picture Puzzle and the elusive Help Cat for a while now, but did you know that there's a secret Shopping Channel animation of Mario and Luigi swimming together while you're at the download screen?
During a recent roundtable, the developers behind the Wii Shopping Channel talked about how they overcame obstacles with the project, which elements they're proud of, and what they hope to see implemented in the future. One little touch that the developers were pleased to include was this Minus World-esque scene of the Super Mario Bros. paddling through and collecting coins while you download games. It doesn't show up very often, so don't be too upset if you've never come across anything besides the Fire Mario animation before.
We didn't even believe it at first, but Nintendo included a video with the interview transcript to prove its existence. It's a good thing they did too, or we would've gone through our life savings downloading Virtual Console titles, trying to get this alternate animation!
Five TG-16 games coming to VC next month
Not to be outdone by Capcom's Virtual Console plans revealed earlier this week, Hudson has announced five TurboGrafx-16 games coming to the the North American shopping channel this April: Battle Lode Runner, Bonk's Revenge, Bravoman, Dragon's Curse, and Shockman.Bonk's Revenge builds upon the original adventure's headbutting formula, adding more complex levels and tightened graphics. Battle Lode Runner gets a similar visual upgrade from its Commodore 64 trappings, and it even features multiplayer action.
Dragon's Curse, or Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap in Japan, should be available to purchase by next Monday. Players will be able to take on the forms and powers of five different creatures in this side-scrolling RPG, questing to regain their original human body. Bravoman and Shockman sound like Mega Man spin-offs, and you wouldn't be too far off with that assumption! They're both action-platformers overloaded with robots and larger-than-life bosses.
All five of the Virtual Console games will be priced at 600 Wii points.
New videos and updates for the Internet Channel
We spent the morning crying into our pillows and refusing to come out of our rooms after we heard about the final version of Opera's Wii browser being delayed. Nintendo eventually called to console us though, directing our puffy eyes to an interview with the company's Internet Channel development team at its Japanese site. We had a really good talk.There are several videos and screenshots scattered around the Japanese transcript, demonstrating the changes with the Wii browser's final build. It's clear that Nintendo and Opera Software addressed a lot of common complaints users had with the trial version, making sure to implement variable zooming, improved starting times, and faster scrolling. Here's a list of all the other things we spotted on the page, mixed in with Nintendo's announced updates:
- new introduction animation
- new start page with search button
- auto-hide feature on navigation bar
- search and address buttons on nav bar
- multiple cursors (only one will be functional)
- quicker access to "favorites"
- an improved zoomed font
- buttons that will instantly type common preset letters, such as "www" or ".com"
In Defense of the Virtual Console's pricing
We've surveyed your irritation with the Virtual Console's rates and even had you calculate the exact amount of Wii points you've been swindled out of so far, but VGamp's Chris Sinclair argues that the game downloads aren't expensive at all. Chris listed eleven reasons to support his claim, even admitting that he would be willing to pay more for the retro titles. While he might come across as an inflexible apologist, some of his points make sense.
According to Chris, you're getting a deal whenever you make a purchase on the Shopping Channel. For example, let's say that you put out the cash for Soldier Blade, a title that sometimes sells for $50+ on eBay. You're scoring a discount on a relatively rare game that's guaranteed to work decades from now, and you don't even have to pay for the TurboGrafx-16 console or the controllers to play it with. As an added bonus, many of these emulated games look better than they ever did before.
Alright, so we're still not entirely convinced that Altered Beast is worth the 800 Wii points Sega is asking for, but we can see where Chris is going with this. What do you think? Does the pricing seem justified after considering his points, or do you still feel like you're being fleeced?
VC Friday: Get your race on
Only two titles on the Virtual Console this week in Europe, but it doesn't matter, because one of them is Mario Kart 64. So we'll just see you guys on Monday then, right? We recommend two applications of pain cream per day if you want to play at maximum capacity -- it keeps those fingers from cramping up. - Mario Kart 64 (N64) -- 1000 Wii points
- Soldier Blade (Turbografx) -- 600 Wii points
