Commodore 64 Titles Join Wii's Virtual Console

TechDock writes "Gamasutra reports that several Commodore 64 games will be emulated on the Wii's virtual console." From the article: "Although no specific titles were named, the only indications so far are of titles from now defunct U.S. developer Epyx, maker of the likes of Impossible Mission and the Summer/Winter/World/California Games series. Best known for their work on the 8-bit Commodore 64 home computer, Epyx also designed the prototype Lynx console for Atari as well as several of its games." I'm thinking we need Ghostbusters, Defenders of the Crown, Maniac Mansion, and (of course) Boulder Dash.

M.U.L.E.

[jennis]

You can't leave this game off the wish-list of games to port.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.U.L.E [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[revlayle]

MULE would be awsome for the Wii (if EA bothers to let it happen), as it has 4 controllers and MULE is great with 4 players!

Re:

[jest3r]

Actually an update to M.U.L.E with better graphics, online gameplay, a little more depth on resource types and land usage and NO CHANGE to the audio would be pretty good.

Re:

[revlayle]

I would have no problems with updated graphics. However, adding more gameplay elements to an already damn-near perfectly balanced cutthroat game would have to be extensively playtested, IMNSHO.

Re:

[CaseyB]

And combat too!

(Mod: -1 Sad, Because it's the actual goddamn reason that M.U.L.E. wasn't remade by Dani Bunten in the '90s. Some EA fucktard wanted to add guns, and she wouldn't let them.)

Re:

[revlayle]

Archon, Wasteland (if the whole swapping floppies thing could be eliminated), Bard's Tale Games, and (not EA, however) the AD&D Gold Box games.

However, getting a nice integrated version of DOSBox for the Wii (one where the emulator and game and config is preset for each game download) could also open up a whole slew of classic DOS games too (like the PC versions of the AD&D Gold Box games, Wasteland, etc...)!

Re:

[revlayle]

I'm not so sure. Many C64 program *REQUIRE* the user to "switch disks" and then hit a key to continue (for multi-disc games). The various flavors of disk drive for the C64 has no auto detect routine to indicate to a program that a new disk has been inserted. While many emulator enthusists can deal with and manage switching disk images to emulate the switching disks operation, many causal users on something like a Wii may be confused or not understand why they have to do this.

Now, enterprising developer

Re:

[byolinux]

As an Amstrad CPC user, I am obliged to ask if C64 disk games will still be slower than molasses?

Re:

[Ucklak]

One game that comes to mind that was unique at the time was Mail Order Monsters.

Game play sucked because of loading times, 2 minutes of loading for 30 seconds of game play followed by another 1 minute of post round then repeat.
All the virtually limitless combinations, my favorite was the squid with the grav gun or the lion bear with beast fu.

Also, don't forget Archon and Adept.

Re:M.U.L.E.

[Original Replica]

If Mail Order Monsters was rereleased as an online game would it be MOMMMORG? Where can I buy one?

Re:

[Gulthek]

How about Autoduel?

Re:

[MarkAD88]

If they release Racing Destruction Set for the Wii I'm a dead man. That game nearly consumed my soul at the tender age of 14 and I can only imagine that the rerelease would suck me in just as well.

I'm sure if they release it on the Wii that my wife and children would simply abandon me.

Re:

[VJ42]

For some reason, the top of my list (i.e. the first game into my head) came Joust, followed by Miner 2049er. Both of which I played on my Atari, as opposed to the C64, but I kow that they were available for the C64.

Re:

[CronoCloud]

Port the C64 version? MULE was released for the NES.

Re:

[Tyger]

Hardly a "port" either way. Both the NES and the C64 used the 65xx chip. Which is probably why C64 was easy to add to the lineup. Just need to tweak 6502 to make it 6510, and add SID and VIC support.

Either way, the NES version wasn't as good as the C64 version. (I had them both.) But apparently the original Atari version was even better than the C64 version.

Re:

[LocalH]

Too bad the NES version of MULE sucks, well, mule balls.

Re:

[MilenCent]

Seconded. The NES version is so much worse than the home computer versions that there's an aspect of travesty to it.

The Dreamcast, however, has an excellent homebrew Atari 800 emulator, and with its four controller ports....

Re:

[simcop2387]

I vote for that and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potty_Pigeon">P otty Pigeon!</a> one of my all time favorites ever, what more can you ask than pooping on cars from above!

Re:

[shoptroll]

Don't forget there was a NES port done back in the day too. The NES version probably looked better than the C64 version, I wouldn't be surprised if they used that one for the VC in this scenario.

Re:

[Scoth]

There is a NES version, and while it's playable it just... doesn't quite have the charm of the original Atari version I grew up playing. I'm not quite sure why; maybe it's because they made the MULEs look more like mules than camels. Maybe it's the audio. I don't know. I still play it plenty since I have an NES emu on my GB Micro, but when it comes down to it the Atari version is the one of choice for me.

Re:

[bobdehnhardt]

Two friends and I learned that music well enough to sing it, each of us on a part. To this day, all one of us has to do is start the drum beat, and we can launch into it.

Hmmm.... If you'll excuse me, I have a conference call to make.

Wow

[caffeinatedOnline]

My first major introduction to computer games was on a C64. Sure, I played cartridge games on the Vic-20, but some of my most fond memories of gaming come from the C-64. Already owning a 360, I was going to put off buying another system for a few years till they dropped in price. Now, I might be in live for the Wii when it ships. Does anyone remember the ninja game for the C-64, the one where you would find different weapons laying around, angle view playing, little black ninja, etc.etc?

Re:

[revlayle]

The Last Ninja series... by good ol' System3?

Re:

[caffeinatedOnline]

That's it... The Last Ninja... ah, memories of many a late night spent playing that game. Thank you!

Re:

[Cybrex]

You can find it online. There are a few C-64 abandonware sites around that are very good. Also, decent 64 emulators are available for just about any platform (if you're using a Mac I highly recommend Power64).

little computer people

[grapeape]

They have to get Little Computer People, The Sims has nothing on that classic :) Above all I would love to see Miner 2049'er and Attack of the Mutant Camels. I love old school gaming but can only take Nostalgia in small doses, howerver the price is ok and the kids will get a laugh out of seeing what daddy played when he was their age.

Re:

[kinglink]

Miner 2049!!! VGA only please :)

Oh man now that was a great game... I only ever beat it once, but probably played it about a hundred times. Great game.

Re:

[Ucklak]

One of the cool things about the port for the Atari ST was when the dude played his piano and you had your MIDI compatible device hooked up to the onboard MIDI ports, the music he played channeled through.
I remember leaving the computer on, eating dinner and hearing The Entertainer on my keyboard.

worst. idea. ever.

[poot_rootbeer]

The Wii is gonna be soooo failure...!!! I mean, really, who wants to have to draw out LOAD "*",8,1 in the air with that lame remote all the time???

Re:

[ZoneManSPW]

Maybe the Wii controller will have
a slot where you can put a fastload
cartridge in it, for a 2 key shortcut
to LOAD "*",8,1

Re:

[kafka47]

Thanks for that. You made me spit out my tea lol.... :)

A few "wish list" titles....

[Zab UvWxy]

I echo a previous poster's vote for M.U.L.E. The article also mentioned the Impossible Mission titles (I much preferred the first).

I'd also like to see Forbidden Forest, the Jumpman series, and the Apshai games.

And of course.... ADVANCE OF THE MEGA-CAMELS!!!!!

Re:

[clem]

I'm hoping for Interplay's adaptation of William Gibson's Neuromancer. Loved the cyberspace battles.

Re:

[randyest]

It's Lode Runner and I want it too.

Re: Attack of the Mutant Camels

[mdfst13]

"Attack of the Mutant Camels"

That was my first thought too.

Lode Runner, Boulder Dash, original Bard's Tale...I might actually buy one of those game console thingies if it had all that.

Any Amiga games? E.g. Battle Chess or Pirates?

The Atari 5200 version of Centipede was great too.

Each Announcement

[Anonymous Coward]

Every one of the virtual console announcements, on it's own, seems reasonably unimpressive but as time goes on I become more and more impressed with the system. When it was first announced as a NES/SNES/N64 emulator I thought that it was alright but nothing to write home about; after the Sega Master System/Genesis and Turbo-Graphics 16 announcment I was starting to get excited. With the C64 (and one would hope Colleco/Atari/Intellivision) announcments it seems like Nintendo is actually trying to bring the most retro-gaming together on one platform.

Re:

[MikeFM]

Really the backward support of old games is probably the most interesting thing about the Wii. They should really buy up all the old games wholesale and make them available for free on the Wii. Everything from Intellivision to Playstation. Heck, throw in older PC game support. If all this was available for free on the Wii I'd definitely buy one and if I owned one I'd buy new games for it.

I'm hoping for Zork.

Re:

[Bambi Dee]

This wouldn't work in emulation (or with any modern Z-code interpreter), but there is a Japenese Zork port for the Sega Saturn [plover.net]. The Real videos aren't working for me and the screenshots at if-legends.org [if-legends.org] are offline, so I can't tell how it's played. I imagine a menu would work just fine as an interface to the not-so-sophisticated Zork-era parser and world model, but the game does have its "secret" word(s) - how do you offer those up for selection without giving them away? Oh well.

Re:

[namekuseijin]

I predict Nintendo will haunt and criminally persecute all major emulation sites out there. That's the real reason behind these "virtual console" efforts: to make even legitimate uses of emulators by people who own the original machines and games a crime, so that people will have to buy the games they actually purchased back then again.

I don't know how they'll cope with open-source emulators, though, since the code is out there in the wild...

truth be told, it's not just Nintendo: M$ has a similar effort

Re:

[Planesdragon]

That's the real reason behind these "virtual console" efforts: to make even legitimate uses of emulators by people who own the original machines and games a crime...

If all it takes to turn your "legimitate use" into a crime is Nintendo offering a legal alternative, then you're outside the bounds of legal protection anyway.

Finding ROMs that match the same version of a console game you own is hard, and copying it over is less than simple -- in fact, if you can copy an old ROM, then you're smart enough to go f

Good roundup of Epyx games

[OakDragon]

A good roundup of Epyx games can be found here [arcor.de]. Lots of screenshots, ratings, and scans of old ads. (Not my site, but this topic reminded me of it.)

Re:

[Blakey Rat]

Lunar Outpost!!! No Zytrons In Range!

That's all I have to say about that.

Stay awhile...

[brunes69]

...stay FOREVER!!!!!!

Those words still run a chill down my spine.

Serioursly though, this is AWESOME!

Re:

[Ucklak]

You know, that opening was pretty damn fantastic but the let down was the end when all he says "no, no, NOOOO" and you see his big head.

Ghostbusters was the other speaking game at the time.

Re:

[Blakey Rat]

C-64 had a lot of speaking games. There was a Barbie game that talked, for instance. There was a shooter called "Psychastria" (or something similar) that said "Tough luck, dummy" when you died. Or something like that, it was hard to make out.

Re:

[Ucklak]

There was also a speech synthesis program called S.A.M I think.
I remember the syntax was something like

say"he4lo3. ha4rh r yuu tudah4"

for `Hello, how are you today?`

Re:

[hords]

Neuromancer (which I would love to see on the Wii) had a digitized intro, music and words. Of course it was only a short clip of the song with the limited ram.

"Another visitor..."

[CreateWindowEx]

It took me ages to figure out what it was saying before "stay awhile, stay FOREVER..."

Don't forget the echoing footsteps, the whirring elevator, or of course "AIIIIIIIIIGHHHhhhhh...."

defender of the crown

[gEvil (beta)]

Defender of the Crown was ported to the GBA a few years ago. [gamespot.com]

Re:

[sqlrob]

It's also out on PS2

Re:

[Daetrin]

It's also out on PS2

Unfortunately the developers totally screwed up the new version by making it the game one big quest mode. You always have to play as Robin Hood, you always have to go through the tutorial bit at the begining, you always have to go through the rest of the story elements for the remainder of the game.

How much extra work would it have taken to add an extra mode where you could start a strategy only game which allowed you to pick any one of the sides? I can't imagine that much, expeciall

This is like the best news ever

[clu76]

I always thought that c64 games on the wii virtual console would be awesome. Though I never thought it would actually happen. Games I want:

Alice in Wonderland
Below the Root
Jumpman
Beach Head
Montezuma's Revenge
Labyrinth
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mind Benders

C64 titles - oh yes!

[skurk]

Two words: Bloody. Brilliant.

Just when I thought the Wii couldn't get any more attractive, they come up with this. This cute, affordable console just gets more attractive for every day that goes by. Just check out the preview videos of some of its titles [google.com].

..And ofcourse, the reason to choose Wii over PS3 [google.com]. I mean, hey - who wouldn't? :)

Seriously though, all we need now is a free (or affordable) devkit and we've got ourselves a wi(i)nner.

I can't wait. I'm getting one the minute it hits the shelves.

Re:

[Leto-II]

[blockquote]..And ofcourse, the reason to choose Wii over PS3. I mean, hey - who wouldn't? :)[/blockquote]

Hilarious video. :)

Re:

[Leto-II]

If there is a mistake...well, you should have used the 'Preview' button!

Games copyright,

[mnmn]

Shouldnt all the Atari games' copyright be over by now? If thats true, we can see a cheap single DVD with the emulation and all C64 and Atari 2600 games ever produced.

If it hasnt expired, can an expert here give us a year?

Re:

[maynard]

See the wikipedia entry on US copyright law [wikipedia.org]:

The length of the copyright term within the United States was extended by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act which made the copyright term the life of the author plus 70 years for works created after January 1, 1978. In the case of a work of corporate authorship (also known as "Work for Hire") the term will be 95 years from the date of first publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever expires first. This legislation was challenged in cou

Re:

[LocalH]

Try October 1977-January 1992. This means that some of the earliest 2600 games will enter PD long before the majority of the system's catalog, as there were three months betweem the 2600's introduction and the earliest date covered by the Bono Act.

Re:

[Surt]

Indeed, and no doubt it will be extended again before then to protect the mouse indefinitely.

Copyright laws have completely failed the people in their intended purpose to both reward creators AND bring new material into the public domain.

Re:

[mrchaotica]

Copyright laws have completely failed the people in their intended purpose to both reward creators AND bring new material into the public domain.

Only the latter is the intended purpose; the former is just a means to that end.

Re:

[Ucklak]

You can fit all of the games for the Atari 2600 on a CD (or a couple of floppies).
Hello, just market a thumbdrive with all the games on it including the emulator.

Re:

[snuf23]

They've released Atari 2600 compilations for consoles and Windows. You can usually find them pretty cheap for example here [direct2drive.com].

Now for Commodore 64 - nothing on the legal side I guess, but this site has been around forever:

ftp://arnold.c64.org/pub/games/ [c64.org]

Re:

[Conspiracy_Of_Doves]

You think that copyrights should ever expire? Report yourself to Father^H^H^H^H^H^HHomeland Security immediately, you unamerican scum!

ARCHON!!!!!

[crotherm]

Archon [wikipedia.org] is a MUST.

Here's hoping we can use USB Keyboards

[Daimando]

That way, it will feel more like using a Commodore 64 when we download the games.

Xmen: Madness in Murderworld

[LoverOfJoy]

That's what I want! Along with all those other Paragon software games that involved superheroes.

Viva Epyx!

[Xaroth]

On the one hand, I desparately want to say things like "Woohoo! Jumpman, here I come!". On the other hand, I'm totally sure that Nintendo is lurking around internet forums looking for which games to port. I can just imagine the conversation:

Nintendo Secret Ops Agent Alpha: "Oh! Some random person on the internet just said that Jumpman must be ported!"
Nintendo Project Lead: "That's great! We'll get right on it!"
Nintendo Secret Ops Agent Alpha: "...oh, wait. Someone else on the internet says that game sucks."
Nintendo Project Lead: "Nevermind, then. Cancel the programming team."

Great! Now...

[writermike]

Now let's bring in games from the following:

Atari 2600
Bally Astrocade
Vectrex (simulated, of course)
Intellivision
Atari St
Amiga
MSX
Odyessy
Neo Geo
Sega Master System

And while you're at it, why not throw a PS-1 and PS2 in there. Go ahead, they won't mind.

But, please, please! No CD-i. I don't care how possible it is. It's just not right. No one should ever seen that ... thing ... again.

Re:

[British]

Yes, let's port MESS(and mame) over, put some tweaks in to make it easy to use, secure some licenses, and BAM: instant retro-library at launch.

I'd love to be able to play classic games in the living room instead of fighting with so-so programmed emulators.

Re:

[ZombieRoboNinja]

"But, please, please! No CD-i." Aw, how will I complete my Zelda game collection? :-(

Since everyone's doin it

[CrazyJim1]

Gotta give a shout out to Legacy of the Ancients and Wasteland.

What is the point?

[DrXym]

If I want nostalgia, I can fire up an emulator and play thousands of easily obtainable C64 (or Spectrum, ST, Amiga, Amstrad, BBC, Atari, Gameboy, N64, PS, SNES) games. Or I buy something like this [amazon.com] and do the same.

STAY AWHILE..STAY FOR-EVVERRR. HAHAHAHAHHAHA

[siberian]

If you don't remember that you didn't game on a 64.

i dont care

[minus_273]

as long as they have burger time im happy.

I would like to vote for:

[lorelorn]

Ghosts 'n Goblins: a great arcade conversion

Monty on the Run: Platform perfection!

Wasteland: an RPG better than Fallout, I swear

Ranarama: Sort of hard to describe, plus the C-64 version is just a straight port from the Spectrum 48k, but still a great game.

Lords of Midnight and Doomdark's Revenge: The ultimate in fantasy strategy

Ultima V: My personal favourite, also the last Ultima to appear on the C-64

Re:

[revlayle]

They did make Ultima VI for the C64 - kind of a pain in the ass to play with the interface it was designed for (and the first Ultima game I would completely recommend the PC or Amiga version to play instead)

I need to know.

[steveo777]

I used to have a c64, and I may still have it, but the c64 stopped working 10 years ago, haven't pulled out the box or looked for it at my dad's place for just as long. There was a game called Star Fox or Space Fox or something for it. It was a side scrolling game, but I don't remember much else about it. Except that you would fly through a cave which my brother and I both agreed was the moon (back when we were 4 and 6 years old, and moon experts). Anybody have any clue what I'm talking about?

Jumpman

[MilenCent]

Not only is Jumpman one of the games that could specifically be brought to Wii by this very deal (published by Epyx), it's one of the Commodore games that still holds up well today. There's thirty levels in the thing, and every damn one of them has a different challenge than the others. There are levels with robots that follow rote paths, levels with bats chasing the player around, a couple of levels that give the player a gun but remove the ability to jump, levels where picking up objects makes ladders a

Re:

[RingDev]

Oh man, if they bring U3 over my wife is going to demand that we buy one.

-Rick

Re:That's funny, cause I wuz thinking

[01101101]

Oh man, if they bring U3 over my wife is going to demand that we buy one.

Your wife is cool.

Re:

[Qzukk]

Haha Phantasie! I never managed to beat that back when I had a C64, or on an emulator now, I'd always ended up lost somewhere. My cousin would spend hours creating characters just to find a party of people that could swim (the hard way). Heavily ripped off LOTR, what with the rings, the wandering dark knights, and "JRR Trollkin" in there.

Re:

[snuf23]

You can play it on an emulator now days. I don't think most of the old RPGs would work well on a system without a keyboard.
Nevermind, I just booted it up and now I remember it's mostly joystick driven. Of course there is the problem that the spells just had a number and you needed to look them up in the manual to see what they did. I had to look up the manual online to figure out that my level one Wizard had Spell #5.
Ah now those were the days eh?

Re:

[snuf23]

I was lucky, I actually owned the boxed game when I was a kid. I remember the stiff carboard box from SSI. Here's the spell list [project64.ath.cx]. That site also has the full docs if you go to the root URL and search for Phantasie you'll find it.
I forgot how brutal these old RPGs can be. As far as I can tell you can't ressurect your dead characters except with a high level wizard. I've taken to using Vice 64's quick snapshot function after every battle. Now that's cheating!

Re:

[Scoth]

I was looking for something in the basement of my parents' house recently when I happened upon the cassette tape drive for the Atari 130XE we had growing up, complete with game tape still in it. I immediately ran upstairs and hooked it up to the computer (my parents still have it up and running in my old bedroom; my dad still plays a few old games on it). My fiancee had never heard a tape booting before; it's a horrid, wonderful sound full of memories of days long past when I'd sit for 5 or 10 minutes waiti

Re:

[drinkypoo]

Amen to that. Space Taxi and Archon are the two finest C64 games ever. IMO, anyway. But especially space taxi. Then again, Thrust would be a nice addition as well.

Re:

[AKAImBatman]

I hope Space Taxi makes the cut. I've been trying to make a clone of it, but it keeps getting pushed to the back burner.

How about an officially sanctioned sequal [twilightgames.com]?

Re:

[Frag-A-Muffin]

How about an officially sanctioned sequal?

Heh, very nice. Looks so 3D though ;) I just might give it a shot. The most important part would be the voices though. Nothing compares to the "Hey Taxi, Pad 4 Please" on the C64 :)

Ugh.

[eddy]

Ah, yes. The NES version which was famously [crockford.com] RAPED by Nintendo's stupid censorship rules.

Almost makes me not want to support Nintendo, still.

Re:

[WilliamSChips]

It's more legitimate than calling George Lucas's changes rape. At least George Lucas didn't change the message(if Han were really supposed to be badass Greedo wouldn't've been armed) or anything like what Nintendo did.

Re:

[ElleyKitten]

It's more legitimate than calling George Lucas's changes rape.

You know, maybe that word shouldn't be used lightly, on edits to movies and videogames. It kinda diminishes what the word actually means.

Re:

[WilliamSChips]

True.

Paradroid

[David Rolfe]

Paradroid is an absolute classic (and the first game I ever bought on diskette). The "battle for control" of other droids brains is one of the most fun action-puzzles I've ever played. The smooth scrolling 'hi-res' graphics were a class above at the time. And finally, one of the robots you could take over was a Dalek in all but name! Mmmm Daleks. The control felt great, the tension and challenge are also superb -- this is from back when games weren't soothingly easy. And the flavor and illustration of the w

Re:

[DanloRingess]

On the Wii Channels page, it lists "NES, SNES, N64, Sega Genesis and NEC TurboGrafx platforms" So I count 5, plus the Commodore 64 bringing it up to 6. If you count the backward compatibility with the GameCube, that is 7 older platforms they support. Not too bad in my opinion.

Re:

[Jace of Fuse!]

Cannon Fodder with the Wiimote as a pointing device would probably be a lot of fun if it was precise enough.

Re:

[Cybrex]

The Amiga was hands-down the best platform for Syndicate! The DOS port was great and all, but the Amiga version was a work of art.

Re:

[hords]

While Great Giana Sisters was fun, it sucked in comparison to Super Mario Brothers in my opinion. It was too buggy and felt like a little bit more polishing could have done wonders for it.

Re:

[ZzzzSleep]

Quoth deadryk about Wizball

Two player would be a must, not sure how you would control CAT otherwise.

They'd probably do the same thing that they did in the C64 version. You hold down a button, Wizzie keeps firing/moving/doing whatever he was doing before, and the joystick now controls CAT.

Re:

[hords]

Both were great games. I played Fist a lot, I thought the soundtrack was awesome. It got so hard when you got further in, the guys would keep spawning over and over. I figured out a cheat to get over pits or just to bypass enemies, hit the restore key while walking and you keep moving while the game is paused. Unfortunately I'd get really far in the game and then I'd get stuck in an area I couldn't get out of, which I assumed was a bug. It sucked after spending so much time to get that far.

I almost won Pa

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[hords]

Thanks for the info! Now I'm going to have to fire that game up again. Horrible to release a game with such a bug when there is no way to patch it.