Slowdown in VC game sales

What if you break your Wii doing something that voids the warranty, like trying to mod it? I wouldn't expect N to do anything to help me but charge me for the repair. That would be pointless to me and a waste of time. And would they "authorize" a replacement for that? Not likely.

Whatever, though. This discussion is better suited in the thread I linked in the OP. The fact remains that the DRM on VC games has prevented me from buying any more. I wonder how many others' its done the same for.
 
[quote name='UncleBob']

Those who purchase/download legally get screwed. The owners of the material get screwed. The only ones who come out ahead are those who break the law and steal from others. Wow. That's fair.[/QUOTE]


Such is life. This is true for everything in life, if you steal you get farther, if you spend your life in clubs drinking you will have a lot of friends...etc. There was recently a very huge "have you ever shoplifted" thread on gamefaqs, yes I know a lot of people on gamefaqs make things up, yes I know that gamefaqs isn't the most reliable source of anything...., yes I know there are a lot of kids and underage users on gamefaqs.. yes I know that I probably shouldn't believe anything I hear on gamefaqs. However the thread was shocking, the amount of people that admitted to shoplifting was shocking, the main reason, they can't do anything to you if your under 18 if you shoplift but tell your parents, and if your parents don't care... etc. The truth is many people out there are immoral.. My point is if you are a moral person you cannot be so naive to think that there are not immoral people out there, and large amounts of them.

Stealing whether it be something physical or digital is a moral choice you have to make, if you choose to be moral you will have less friends, and you will not get as far in life, if you choose to be immoral, you will have more friends and get further in life, but you will not necessarily be considered a good person and what your doing may bother you inside a lot if you know what I mean. Its a moral choice you have to make... which path do I take in life??
 
This is what's maddening. People who are determined to steal a VC game will, regardless of the DRM. Those of us who don't want to (e.g., me) are burdened. Believe me, if it's possible to get a VC game stolen, I would be able to figure out how to do it. I know where to look and I'm savvy enough to do it myself. BUT I DON'T WANT TO. I just want to be unencumbered with shitty DRM.
 
If you did something that voided your warranty on your Wii, I'm guessing that Nintendo would charge you to fix/replace it (Super-cheap in comparison to buying a new unit - a kid brought a DS in that was in pieces after his dog chewed it to bits and one phone call to Nintendo later, they had replaced it for $50) and probably transfer your VC games over for you at no extra charge.

Now, if you're doing something that's illegal and voids your warranty... well, you're screwed and you should have known better in the first place. Tell me... if you mod your disc-based system and accidently knock the lens out of alignment without knowing it, then put a (legal) game in the system and it gets scratched up beyond repair, should Nintendo/Sony/MS have to replace your disc for free?

SaraAB: You're absoultly right. Those of us who make legal (or, "moral as we see it") choices get screwed, it's unfair but that's the choice we make in life. I'm not one to believe in Karma or some kind of after-life higher power, but I do hope it/something is there so all these "moral" choices that I make pay off eventually. ;)
 
how about this for slow down of VC games? Not enough Wii points cards out there (for some reason)

I work for a local retailer, and when we get Wii points Cards in, it is only in groups of either 2-4. (not everyone has a debit/credit card)

Sucks, huh?
 
I'll give you three reasons why VC games aren't selling as well as earlier in the launch.

1. Grandma doesn't give a crap about Mario Donkey Cart 64, she just wants to play bowling.

2. Everyone bought the VC games they wanted and realized they're not as good as they used to be 15 years ago and decided to not waste any more money on them.

3. They're TOO FREAKING EXPENSIVE. Why the hell would I pay anything over $3 for the same freaking Mario game I played on the NES, the Gameboy, the SNES, and the GBA remake.

For christ's sake, I can walk into a game store and get super mario bros for $1. Then I can get an NES at a garage sale for $5 or an N64 with 10 games for $10. They made millions of them and they're not hard to find. Heck, for $30-40, I can get me an N64 with 4-5 games for the same price as the VC, and I actually get to OWN THEM !

Corollary to reason #3. And, if I never see Golden Axe for the Genesis ever again it will be too soon since it's been on every sega compilation ever made and I would rather slit my wrists than fork over $8 for it yet again.

I have bought ZERO VC games to date. If they dropped the prices by 50%, I would definitely buy anywhere between 10-12 of them right now just becuase I am a cheap mutherfucking bastard. I like to be stroked, not fucked hard in the ass. Thats the difference between $4 and $8 for a Genesis game, IMO.

Then there's econ 101 solution: Want more demand for your etherial product? Lower the price, you'll get more suckers.
 
Why is $.99 for a 3-4 min song from iTunes a fair price, but $5-$10 for a game that'll likely last you more than 20-40 mins not a fair price?

Heck, why is $5-$10 not a fair price for a VC download, but $5+ for a cell phone game download a fair price? I'd rather pay $5 for Super Mario Brothers than $6.99 for Jewel Quest or Bejeweled.
 
The big reason for the decline in VC sales is that videogame sales typically decline (big-time) in the quarter after xmas.

Factor in more Wii games available too and more deals on Wii games.

Not very smart to try and extrapolate these very short term numbers. It also makes for a better comparison using same quarter year over year numbers.
 
[quote name='UncleBob']Why is $.99 for a 3-4 min song from iTunes a fair price, but $5-$10 for a game that'll likely last you more than 20-40 mins not a fair price?

Heck, why is $5-$10 not a fair price for a VC download, but $5+ for a cell phone game download a fair price? I'd rather pay $5 for Super Mario Brothers than $6.99 for Jewel Quest or Bejeweled.[/quote]

Man, VC games are a freakin' bargain compared to cell games. I've never bought one of those.

But we're not allowed to compare prices across different sources.
As much I want to compare the super cheap PS1 titles PSN offers....
 
[quote name='bmulligan']
Then there's econ 101 solution: Want more demand for your etherial product? Lower the price, you'll get more suckers.[/quote]
I hate to correct you on this, as it happens all the time, but the demand won't change, the quantity demanded will change. As an econ major it's a pet peeve. Everyone (including myself), knew what you meant. I just am an ass sometimes.
 
[quote name='dallow']Man, VC games are a freakin' bargain compared to cell games. I've never bought one of those.

But we're not allowed to compare prices across different sources.
As much I want to compare the super cheap PS1 titles PSN offers....[/QUOTE]

I don't see any problem with comparing similar games from different platforms.

Has Sony made it so all PS1 downloads can play on the PS3 yet, or do some/most of them still require playing them on a PSP?
 
[quote name='torifile']Wrong wrong wrong. I've contacted Nintendo about it and they say it's NOT POSSIBLE. Are you just making stuff up as you go along? The point is I want to be able to play my games on whatever machine I own. I'm not asking a whole lot. Apple's got it right with their system. I'm not even asking that much; just one machine of my choosing.[/quote]
Alright, I looked back through the tread, and you yourself posted a link in the OP to another thread saying that it wasn't possible to transfer games between Wii's.

You also mentioned in another post in the thread:

[quote name='torifile']Umm. NO YOU CAN'T. I've tried. I had a Wii that I gave away to a family member. I had purchased LoZ:OoT and saved it on my SD card. Couldn't transfer it. I bought Donkey Kong, backed it up. Same deal.[/quote]
Therein lies your problem. Lost VC games by giving away or selling your Wii is not covered by your warranty. You were simply trying to transfer games from one Wii to the other. If your Wii had broken, and you processed a warranty claim, then Nintendo would have been able to allow you to re-d/l the VC games you had purchaed to your new Wii. However, based on what you said in the above quote, it seems as if you're be out of luck.
 
[quote name='Scorch']That, and there haven't been any OMG MUST HAVE~! games lately.[/QUOTE]

Punch-Out disagrees with you. And disregard my avatar for any signs of potential bias.

Super Contra?
Castlevania IV?
Super Mario World?
Mario Bros
That ninja game I remember from the SNES days made by either Konami or Natsume?
Link to the Past?

Cmon, all great games.
 
[quote name='strayfoxx']Punch-Out disagrees with you. And disregard my avatar for any signs of potential bias.

Super Contra?
Castlevania IV?
Super Mario World?
Mario Bros
That ninja game I remember from the SNES days made by either Konami or Natsume?
Link to the Past?

Cmon, all great games.[/QUOTE]
And almost $50 to buy all those games. Thats insane!
 
[quote name='whoknows']And almost $50 to buy all those games. Thats insane![/QUOTE]

Or $50 to buy the latest bad Video-Game based off a movie.
 
[quote name='UncleBob']I don't see any problem with comparing similar games from different platforms.

Has Sony made it so all PS1 downloads can play on the PS3 yet, or do some/most of them still require playing them on a PSP?[/quote]

I was told not to by Botticus.

Last Thursday Sony made all but two of the PS1 titles compatible with both the PS3 and PSP.
I expect the final two to get updated soon. So far, they're all still $5.99.
 
[quote name='dallow']I was told not to by Botticus.

Last Thursday Sony made all but two of the PS1 titles compatible with both the PS3 and PSP.
I expect the final two to get updated soon. So far, they're all still $5.99.[/QUOTE]

There's nothing wrong with comparing similar games with similar distribution methods. I mean, people commonly point at Wii's $50 games vs. the 360/PS3's $60 versions.

I'm glad to see that the PlayStation download service has been updated as such. Now, instead of needing a $600 unit to download games on your $170+ handheld, you can just use the $600 unit (somewhat joking here ;))...

$5.99 is a good price for some PS1 games. For a lot of those PS1 games, it's a better price than $5.00 for Urban Champion or NES Tennis, but I'm not certian I'd call it a better price than $8.00 of Link to the Past or $5 for Kirby's Adventure.

It really should depend on the game for the cost (both the PS1 downloads and the VC downloads). I mean, there are plenty of PS1 games well worth more than $6 and, likewise, there are some that aren't. Same thing with VC downloads. IMHO, the original Super Mario Bros is well worth $5. Urban Champion, on the other hand, isn't even worth the space it takes to download it.

It'll never happen, but I wish Sony and Nintendo were more honest and/or forthcoming with their actual download numbers. It'd be very interesting to see how they compare to one another (both the raw numbers and the numbers compared to the number of units sold)...
 
The ability to play it on a portable system should factor in too.
With the same game save as well.

Plus, it's not tied to your Wii, you can download it, on any PS3 system, up to 5 times.
I don't even think the files are locked (i may be wrong) so even if you download it once, you can copy it and do whatever you want with it.
Really helps justify the $6 for some of the lesser PSX titles.

If there were a way to get most of these games to play on the DS... then it's another story.
 
[quote name='torifile']What if you break your Wii doing something that voids the warranty, like trying to mod it? I wouldn't expect N to do anything to help me but charge me for the repair. That would be pointless to me and a waste of time. And would they "authorize" a replacement for that? Not likely.

Whatever, though. This discussion is better suited in the thread I linked in the OP. The fact remains that the DRM on VC games has prevented me from buying any more. I wonder how many others' its done the same for.[/quote]Don't try to mod the Wii and you have no problems.

If, however, something accidently happens to the Wii (falls off the table, whatever) they'd surely fix it for a fee, and you could keep your games. That's no different than any other company. I admit that it would be nicer, in that case, to just be able to go to the store, buy another system, and load your games on that one. But, it would be cheaper to have Nintendo fix, just slower.

I'm not sure what the big deal is. It's a bit inconvienet, and I still believe that well-handled, DRM-free software and media is the best option for consumer and provider alike, but it's not like the Wii's DRM makes you sacrifice a goat every time you want to play Star Fox.
 
[quote name='daroga']Don't try to mod the Wii and you have no problems.

If, however, something accidently happens to the Wii (falls off the table, whatever) they'd surely fix it for a fee, and you could keep your games. That's no different than any other company. I admit that it would be nicer, in that case, to just be able to go to the store, buy another system, and load your games on that one. But, it would be cheaper to have Nintendo fix, just slower.

I'm not sure what the big deal is. It's a bit inconvienet, and I still believe that well-handled, DRM-free software and media is the best option for consumer and provider alike, but it's not like the Wii's DRM makes you sacrifice a goat every time you want to play Star Fox.[/quote] So now it's ok for companies to tell me what I can and can't do with my stuff? That's nice.

If I choose to take my Wii apart, I should be able to. I should also be willing to accept responsbility for my actions - which is why I should take my Zelda out of the drive and back up my stuff.

Oh, wait, I *can't*.

When presented with the choice between spending $150 and waiting a week to get a fixed machine, that's still likely out of warranty, or spending $250 and getting the console right now complete with 15 more months of warranty and the added resale value that these entail, I'll take the latter.

Does Apple make me send my iPods in to transfer my purchases? Does MS make you send your computer in to transfer your docs? Hell, even MS's onerous activation scheme allows me to reactivate my copies of Windows with a phone call or two. :roll:
 
You don't really think that Nintendo is pioneering the movement to making modding hardware a violation of warranty, do you? That's been a rule for as long as I can remember. Their warranty covers something that is wrong with the console, not when you go in and fuck around with it. So if you're going to take responsbility for the consequences, then you have to acknowledge that losing your VC games is one of the consequences.

And for dallow, you can compare the prices between platforms all you want, but my point was the average consumer won't, so your points won't be valid when arguing Nintendo's business strategy. They generally don't have to worry about customers choosing another $300-$600 piece of hardware because their downloadable games are cheaper. But for the record, I'd glady pay $5-$8 for almost any NES or SNES game before paying $5-$7 for almost any PS1 game.
[quote name='torifile']So now it's ok for companies to tell me what I can and can't do with my stuff? That's nice.

If I choose to take my Wii apart, I should be able to. I should also be willing to accept responsbility for my actions - which is why I should take my Zelda out of the drive and back up my stuff.

Oh, wait, I *can't*.

When presented with the choice between spending $150 and waiting a week to get a fixed machine, that's still likely out of warranty, or spending $250 and getting the console right now complete with 15 more months of warranty and the added resale value that these entail, I'll take the latter.

Does Apple make me send my iPods in to transfer my purchases? Does MS make you send your computer in to transfer your docs? Hell, even MS's onerous activation scheme allows me to reactivate my copies of Windows with a phone call or two. :roll:[/quote]
 
I stopped buying VC games because I'd rather spend my $$ on games I can play online with my friends on XBLA. If i could play Ice Hockey or Gunstar Heroes online with the Wii, I'd be back in flash... paying $5-$10 a pop no problem.

The hardware's all there Nintendo... c'mon!
 
[quote name='dallow']I was told not to by Botticus.

Last Thursday Sony made all but two of the PS1 titles compatible with both the PS3 and PSP.
I expect the final two to get updated soon. So far, they're all still $5.99.[/QUOTE]

The big question is when they will us with just PSP's to download these games directly. It's so dumb we can't do that.

RD
 
Especially when that's what we were told we would be able to do... wasn't it a huge selling point at E3?

Then, it became "Well, PS3 owners will get them first, and can download them to PSP, but soon just PSP users can download them too!"

Now it's just "Who cares about PSP owners?"

I don't care, the PS1 game offerings I know of are all nothing interesting to me, and I doubt we'll see the big guns on that service, so I don't care at all... it would be a lot different though if FF 7 or MGS was downloadable, but it'll never happen.
 
I have a PSP, not a PS3 I would def be interested in this service.
But, they don't offer it to us yet lol :(

I was really looking forward to it too since I never.. gasp.. owned a PSone!
But whatever!
 
If you use the custom firmware, you can rip your own PSX games.
I tried it out for a couple of my old games, worked just fine.

The only thing I really want from PSN is a English version of Tobal 2.
Oh, and Vib Ribbon would be nice.
 
I have two problems with it (and no, the price isn't one...seriously, 5.00 for NES games is not bad, what else would you use 5.00 on? A couple cups of coffee?)

1.) No ties to your games. Nintendo needs to fix this NOW. I'm so afraid my Wii will konk out and the only way to keep my VC games is to send it to nintendo to be fixed.

2.) Sometimes while playing a VC game I think, "Hey, I played an beat this years ago, why not play one of my new games I'm in the middle of." So yea, I wish there were some original games up there right now.
 
I haven't bought Wii VC games mostly for the reasons already mentioned in this thread.

The DRM is antiquated crap. I would be perfectly happy with it if Nintendo stole Microsoft’s DRM scheme... I can deal with being online when I play DRMed software on the non-original console.

My biggest problem with the VC is that they are simply ROMs. They don't offer updates in any way, and really, if they're going to charge me $10 for a 10 year old game, they should at least update it so it doesn't ask me for a fucking memory card. Further more, there are better versions of many VC games out there. Why would I pay for Super Mario Bros again, when I could play Super Mario Bros Deluxe - easily the best version of the original game ever made? Why would I buy any original Mario game when I could play Super Mario All Stars with updated graphics? Nintendo could at least look at their back catalog and offer the best version that already exists of these games.

Finally, I think the VC is sort of a fool’s paradise of finality. Nintnedo is marketing these as "all your games in one place" etc... Until 5 years passes and they want me to buy them again. Now, if these games were linked to my "My Nintendo" account, and Nintendo was saying this was the last time I'd have to buy the game from them, that would be something. As it is, I think the Wii reeks of a double standard - of Nintendo trying to have the best of both the digital and the physical worlds. When I buy a physical product, a company can argue that my rights to it are bound by its physicality (e.g. they say I don't have the right to play a game on my computer because I only bought it for my NES), but when I buy a digital product, the IP owners must relent and recognize that my ownership of it cannot be bound to a physical device. Imagine if Apple came out with an iPod2 that wouldn't let you play your old iTunes. We have not received an acceptable guarantee from Nintendo that this will not be the case.
 
I'd glady pay $5-$8 for almost any NES or SNES game before paying $5-$7 for almost any PS1 game.
Wow, that's pretty ridiculous.
You are true blue Nintendo. 100%. I'll give you that.

I mean I'd choose a couple of NES games over some PSX games, but very few if I'm actually trying to get my money's worth. And that's what it's all about.
 
Okay, one phone call to Nintendo later and I have some infomation for you.

If you choose to purchase a Wii later (either a new color or an upgraded unit, i.e.Wii+DVD), Nintendo has not ruled out letting you transfer VC content from one unit to the other by sending your consoles in. However, they haven't commited to it yet either. The rep simply said it was something they had talked about.

If you send in your Wii for warranty replacement/replacement - all costs are free (Nintendo will even ship you/fax you a pre-paid shipping label). Turn around time is usually 2-3 days + ship time.

If you send in you Wii for replacement/repair for something either not covered by the warranty or after the warranty expires (although since no Wiis were out of warranty yet, she said this may or may not apply, depending on the situation), the costs to you are as follows:

$75 for repair or replacement ("in cases where your system is completely beyond repair").
$7,50 if you wish for them to send you a pre-paid postage package (or you can ship your unit in at your own costs).
$25 discount if you unit is still covered under warranty.

There you go, quite a bit less than $250 for a new system and still even more less than the made-up-outta-nowhere $150 price someone quoted above.

I did not ask if someone tears up their Wii while involved in illegally modding their system. Quite frankly, I don't care a bit about this situation. You screw up your Wii doing illegal stuff, you get what you deserve.

Additionally, as with any Nintendo system sent in for replacement or repair (either through the warranty or outside the warranty) your 'new' unit comes with a brand-spakin' new 1-year warranty

$50-$75 + shipping for a replacement system and a brand new warranty (although you do have to wait about a week) vs. $250+tax to purchase a new system... Seriously, is anyone here *not* going to send their old system in?
 
[quote name='CokeCola']
Now, if these games were linked to my "My Nintendo" account, and Nintendo was saying this was the last time I'd have to buy the game from them, that would be something[/QUOTE]

All of the VC games and channels I've bought and downloaded are all linked to my "My Nintendo" account, and show up in my profile on mynintendo.com.

I actually went and checked, and sure enough everything I've gotten is right there.

It's not much, but it's proof I did in fact buy the games at one point.

But the same thing can be said for EVERY console out now... there is no guarantee the 360 XBLA will transfer over to a new Microsoft console (the one after the 360), same with the PSN stuff on the PS4. I guess that's just one big gray area nobody thought about yet.
 
[quote name='dallow']Wow, that's pretty ridiculous.
You are true blue Nintendo. 100%. I'll give you that.

I mean I'd choose a couple of NES games over some PSX games, but very few if I'm actually trying to get my money's worth. And that's what it's all about.[/quote]You'll notice I didn't include N64 in there. Nothing from that generation has any draw for me.
 
I've read every reply in this thread, and not one has given a link to back up the claim that VC sales are slowing. Where is this news coming from? Reliable source?
 
[quote name='MisterHand']I've read every reply in this thread, and not one has given a link to back up the claim that VC sales are slowing. Where is this news coming from? Reliable source?[/QUOTE]
If you actually read every reply in this thread, you'd have known where I got it from - the CAGcast. I posted that Cheapy didn't cite a source and I was hoping he would. Maybe he'll pop in here and give us some linkage. Although at this point, the thread's turned into a "we love DRM because it helps protect IP at any cost" vs. "DRM sucks" debate. And that's not the point of the thread. Oh well.
 
[quote name='dallow']Wow, that's pretty ridiculous.
You are true blue Nintendo. 100%. I'll give you that.[/quote]I think it depends on what you grew up with. I gre up on the NES and many of those games hold a lot of appeal for me. I had a PS1 back in the day, and yet I think of any console I've ever owned, it's had the fewest amount of games I've ever even had the itch to replay. I think one, maybe. FF7? Every other day onthat system that was worth anything was turned into a series and found vastly superior versions in the PS2/Xbox/GC era.

The PS1/Saturn/N64 era games, except in a few rare occassions, make my eyes bleed. That horrid 3D and terrible frame rates make me very rarely want to revist that era, unless it's something unique I can't get elsewhere (Nights, Star Fox 64 [Why Can't Nintendo just make a proper sequel to that?], etc.). Call me a Nintendo fanboy all you want, but I include the two N64 Zeldas on the list of games I rarely, if ever, want to play again for the same reasons.

That's a lot of words to say that, as a general rule, PS1 games hold up for me about as well as Atari 2600 games. They're ugly and control poorly. It would be hard to overstate either system's importance to games for laying the ground work for things to come. But the specific platforms' software is something I'd rather not ever revisit.

NES games have just aged better in 20 years than PS1 games have in 8.

[quote name='torifile']So now it's ok for companies to tell me what I can and can't do with my stuff? That's nice.

If I choose to take my Wii apart, I should be able to. I should also be willing to accept responsbility for my actions - which is why I should take my Zelda out of the drive and back up my stuff.[/quote]What are you talking about? Your stuff? You think you own those games? That software on your computer? That's pretty naive. Read an EULA sometime. You own nothing, other than the right to use it. And that, even if you screw up your hardware, can be retained on the Wii. What's the problem with that again?

You lose your warranty by messing with the hardware. That is nothing new. You haven't suddenly forfeitted the ability to play those games though. In fact, if you screw up trying to mod your system Nintendo for some reason pays you a favor by getting you a replacement system at a greatly reduced cost.

But, that's ok. It's the Internet. Everyone needs something to complain about.
 
You think you own those games? That software on your computer? That's pretty naive. Read an EULA sometime. You own nothing, other than the right to use it.
And there's the crux of the problem. You better believe I own my games. My Zelda game sitting by my t.v.? Hell yeah. My DS games? Yup. VC games? Apparently not. I'm only buying the right to use it. And I choose not to.

And, fer chrissakes let go of the modding thing. It was just an *example* of a time Nintendo's repair services wouldn't be on my list of people to call to fix it. Replace "modding" with stolen if you'd like. (For clarity's sake, let's assume that I save my VC games on an SD card and those would be playable on that Wii again.) What would I do then? I took the only precautions available to me at the time but I'm still SOL? That's harsh.
 
[quote name='torifile']And there's the crux of the problem. You better believe I own my games. My Zelda game sitting by my t.v.? Hell yeah. My DS games? Yup. VC games? Apparently not. I'm only buying the right to use it. And I choose not to.

And, fer chrissakes let go of the modding thing. It was just an *example* of a time Nintendo's repair services wouldn't be on my list of people to call to fix it. Replace "modding" with stolen if you'd like. (For clarity's sake, let's assume that I save my VC games on an SD card and those would be playable on that Wii again.) What would I do then? I took the only precautions available to me at the time but I'm still SOL? That's harsh.[/quote]Even with the physical copy of the game, you don't own the game. You own a license. You own physical media behind it, but the company still owns the game. Technically, it's illegal to do any hacking, cracking, ripping, etc. of anything in a piece of console software. Not that they enforce it (that I've ever heard of) but it's the same thing as a downloadable game in the terms of the EULA. Not owning physical media is a pitfall with buying anything in electronic form, DRMed or not. A too-quick format, or a backup that goes corrupt and you're SOL.

If someone stole your bag of DS games, you'd be SOL too. That's why insurance is a good thing. It's not Nintendo's fault. That being said, knowing how top-notch Nintendo's customer service is, if your Wii got stolen, I think they'd get something figured out for you with the downloadable games. You might have to go up a level or 2 in the chain of command, but I'm fairly certain they'd help you out.

You seem to think that the companies are out to protect your interests first-and-foremost. Companies have their own interests in mind first, thus the DRM. We could go round and round about the validity of DRM and Fair Use etc. (and I have a feeling we would be on the same page--I'm a firm believer that if I own the original cart, since I own a license to that game, I Should get it for free on the VC), but in the end the company does what it wants. The fact is, the vast majority of people don't care. Be it ignorance, or apathy, or just happy the way things are, it only effects a very small portion of the population.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']But the same thing can be said for EVERY console out now... there is no guarantee the 360 XBLA will transfer over to a new Microsoft console (the one after the 360), same with the PSN stuff on the PS4. I guess that's just one big gray area nobody thought about yet.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I actually wouldn't count on any of these carrying over, but the difference is in what I'm paying for. On the 360, at least, games are not simply ROMs. They're upgraded, and they have Xbox only features. With the VC, I'm only paying for the original game... again. If they're reselling me identical content in digital form, I think I should expect it to be useable from here to eternity.

Of course, I don't expect that, and I consequently have not bought any VC games.
 
[quote name='daroga']I think it depends on what you grew up with. I gre up on the NES and many of those games hold a lot of appeal for me. I had a PS1 back in the day, and yet I think of any console I've ever owned, it's had the fewest amount of games I've ever even had the itch to replay. I think one, maybe. FF7? Every other day onthat system that was worth anything was turned into a series and found vastly superior versions in the PS2/Xbox/GC era.

The PS1/Saturn/N64 era games, except in a few rare occassions, make my eyes bleed. That horrid 3D and terrible frame rates make me very rarely want to revist that era, unless it's something unique I can't get elsewhere (Nights, Star Fox 64 [Why Can't Nintendo just make a proper sequel to that?], etc.). Call me a Nintendo fanboy all you want, but I include the two N64 Zeldas on the list of games I rarely, if ever, want to play again for the same reasons.

That's a lot of words to say that, as a general rule, PS1 games hold up for me about as well as Atari 2600 games. They're ugly and control poorly. It would be hard to overstate either system's importance to games for laying the ground work for things to come. But the specific platforms' software is something I'd rather not ever revisit.

NES games have just aged better in 20 years than PS1 games have in 8.[/quote]

I grew up with a ColecoVision and NES and plenty of games for both.
I am from that generation. There's lots of classic titles that I will forever cherish as a result.

I will 100% agree that NES games have aged better, it's hard for 2D games to look that bad.
I tried playing Tony Hawk 1 and it gave me a huge headache, I can't believe I spent hours on that game. There are still pleny of PSX games that have a huge draw for me. It could handle 3D well when it wanted to (Tobal 1 & 2) and there's plenty of 2D games I'd want to get. Especially on a Saturn.
Just don't assume I'm some kid who only grew up on PSX and PS2.


You'll notice I didn't include N64 in there. Nothing from that generation has any draw for me.
Pure old school. I don't doubt you. Game on.
 
[quote name='seanr1221']How do you get games to show on mynintendo? By registering your wii at nintendo.com?[/quote]You have to link your account on the Wii to the MyNintendo (there's an option to do this int he Wii Shop I think). I'm not sure if it'll retroactively put things you've already bought inthere after you link it, but I know it will put in all the ones you buy afterward (even things like the Internet Channel and such I think)
 
[quote name='daroga']You have to link your account on the Wii to the MyNintendo (there's an option to do this int he Wii Shop I think). I'm not sure if it'll retroactively put things you've already bought inthere after you link it, but I know it will put in all the ones you buy afterward (even things like the Internet Channel and such I think)[/QUOTE]

Psh...it better put things I've bought before on the list...I want proof god-dammit! ;)
 
I still don't see any proof anywhere that shows the VC sales are slowing down. I beleive is was announced in February that they had hit a little over 1 million downloads, and now in April they hit 3.3 million, so I would say that it looks like VC sales have increased. 1 million downloads from the End of November in to February, and then another 2.3 million in the 2 - 2.5 months since... Yep, really slowing down.
 
the problem with any discussion of VC sales is that Nintendo is pretty hush hush on the actual numbers. On January 25th NOA said they had sold 1.5 million VC games. Was that through the end of December, through January 25th? For arguements sake lets just say it was 2 months worth of sales, or 750,000 per month.

Now on April 27th they say they've sold 3.3 million worldwide, once again, no dates or other concrete information, but using some simple logic we can say that in 3 months they sold an additional 1.8 million units. Or 600,000 a month, a drop off of 150,000 a month. Or a 20% drop. Of course more concrete information would certinaly help. One could make the arguement that sales spiked with launch and levelled off over time. 600k a month is respectable, but it could be a lot better.

here are some links:

http://wii.ign.com/articles/758/758397p1.html

http://wii.ign.com/articles/784/784065p1.html

You can argue the benefits and value of the Virtual Console, but really I don't care. I've been able to easily play Kid Icarus and many great TG-16 titles over the last few months and I definitely can't complain about being able to have access to these games at a relatively cheap price.
 
[quote name='daroga']I think it depends on what you grew up with. I gre up on the NES and many of those games hold a lot of appeal for me. I had a PS1 back in the day, and yet I think of any console I've ever owned, it's had the fewest amount of games I've ever even had the itch to replay. I think one, maybe. FF7? Every other day onthat system that was worth anything was turned into a series and found vastly superior versions in the PS2/Xbox/GC era.

The PS1/Saturn/N64 era games, except in a few rare occassions, make my eyes bleed. That horrid 3D and terrible frame rates make me very rarely want to revist that era, unless it's something unique I can't get elsewhere (Nights, Star Fox 64 [Why Can't Nintendo just make a proper sequel to that?], etc.). Call me a Nintendo fanboy all you want, but I include the two N64 Zeldas on the list of games I rarely, if ever, want to play again for the same reasons.

That's a lot of words to say that, as a general rule, PS1 games hold up for me about as well as Atari 2600 games. They're ugly and control poorly. It would be hard to overstate either system's importance to games for laying the ground work for things to come. But the specific platforms' software is something I'd rather not ever revisit.

NES games have just aged better in 20 years than PS1 games have in 8.
[/QUOTE]

I couldn't agree more. Although I reckon I owned more games for the psx than any other console - most have since been sold,traded or given away - I haven't felt the urge to play a psx game in years. The last one was probably big race pinball. The games just didn't age well - I can't think of one game that I would download on the PSN (if I had a ps3).
 
[quote name='natureboy46']I couldn't agree more. Although I reckon I owned more games for the psx than any other console - most have since been sold,traded or given away - I haven't felt the urge to play a psx game in years. The last one was probably big race pinball. The games just didn't age well - I can't think of one game that I would download on the PSN (if I had a ps3).[/QUOTE]

Same here!

And I loved a ton of PS1 games, but early 3D, no matter what the system, is painful to look at these days. PS1, Saturn, N64... at least the VC cleans up N64 games a bit so they look better and aren't as blurry.

I want to finish my copy of FF7, but it looks like shit, and it's hard playing more than two hours of it. Silent Hill lost a lot of what made it so awesome (like the atmosphere) when everything just looks shitty.

Nintendo does at least add Progressive Scan to all of the games on the VC... the colors pop more, the edges aren't as rough, and they look a lot better on my television than they do if I just plugged in an NES and ran it through the old school cables.
 
I'm afraid of playing Silent Hill because I don't want my memories tarnished by a bad framerate, pop up, muddy textures.

But I do want to be scared again.
They should just remake it for PS3, a perfect remake, nothing added except for better graphics.

The first one is still the best one to me, still the scariest.
 
[quote name='jerfgoke']Honestly, my two biggest reasons for not buying more VC games are the overly-restrictive DRM, which you mentioned and the fact that the Wii doesn't really offer any easy or intuitive way to manage the VC games accumulating on our systems. Not only is the free space getting quickly smaller and smaller, but it's simply annoying to have to manage all the icons on the menu.

I'm sure all the Nintendo fans are going to tell me that it's not that difficult if you just do X and Y and Z, but as somebody who is obsessive about organization, I wish Nintendo would have allowed us to organize the games a bit better. Even a simple Wii Channel containing all the purchased VC games would be OK for now.[/QUOTE]

You really have so many VC games that A+B drag n drop doesn't cut it?
 
$5 is too expensive. Only reason I will not ever buy a VC game. $1 for the most expensive game is the highest I will offer.
 
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