GBA-Based Classic NES Series Confirmed For States 78
Thanks to IGN for its article revealing that Nintendo has confirmed their Game Boy Advance-based classic NES conversions for U.S. release on June 7th. According to the article: "The collection [already released in Japan as the Famicom Mini Series] will be called [the] Classic NES Series, and will begin as a limited edition NES Game Boy Advance SP as well as a line-up of eight classic games", with the specific titles being Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros., Excitebike, Ice Climber, Xevious, and Bomberman. The piece also notes: "Each game in the series will be priced at $19.99, and will be packaged in a standard Game Boy Advance box featuring the classic artwork of the original game."
Yes, I know replying to your own post is stupid... (Score:2, Insightful)
Anyways, click on the article (I wish I that went without saying) to see the rad retro boxart and the special GBA SP. I was pumped for it, and I'm glad it won't be as rare as the Famicom one, but it's just kinda...ugly. Rumor has it that Nintendo is coming out with new SP colors, though. I'm holding out for yellow
$20 does seem a bit steep for a NES game, though. I mean, you could get Card-E versions of some NES games for $5 a pop. I'll still end up buying them all...sigh...
Cue The Complaints... (Score:5, Insightful)
This post differs from the similar troll post below from the anonymous coward in that, to the best of my knowledge, I'm not being a total asswipe about my complaint. Please moderate accordingly.
20 Bucks? (Score:5, Insightful)
And they didn't include Punch-Out!....
Re:Cue The Complaints... (Score:4, Insightful)
These should be, like, all on one cartridge.
Imagine an "NES Sports" GBA cart, with Excitebike, Ice Hockey, Tennis, maybe even something later like NES Play Action Football... easily worth full price.
Then maybe an "NES Adventures" with Zelda and some others. You know, group a bunch of NES games together in that vein. Those would be the must-have GBA carts of the year.
See, this is why Nintendo is less than loved (at least as loved as they could be). They could take a very profitable yet consumer friendly approach, but they opt for the "fuck the customer" approach instead. A bit less customer screwing would certainly breed more brand loyalty in me. I just don't really feel compelled to jump on Nintendo stuff immediately - I pick up a lot of stuff second-hand, after the fact.
Petition failures (Score:2, Insightful)
This is why companies don't listen to people on Slashdot. Before companies started doing this, we all whined about how companies weren't making classic games available. We all had to pirate them and emulate them... we had no option. Poor us.
"Windwaker to be cel-shaded," we whined. "I'd rather the original Zelda any day, but they won't sell it to me!"
Now Nintendo is offering its old games in a variety of formats. What happens? More whining. First, we whine that it's only releasing them in Japan. "Bring them stateside!"
Now they bring it stateside. "They aren't selling it cheap enough," we whine. "They should be bundling more together," we whine. And worst of all, "they already gave this to us free!"
Horrible profiteers, yes, absolutely. They gave us four Zelda adventures essentially free, and now they dare to offer us a portable version for a small price on a console we're actually likely to own.
a similar problem exists for open source advocates. "Every company should give us Linux driverS!" So they give us Linux drivers. "But the Linux drivers aren't open source!"
It's never enough on here.
Europe (Score:4, Insightful)
This Game Boy Advance Famicon/NES with NES games package has first of all been released in Japan, which I read the said series would be exclusive in, and it is now America which is granted with its release. I truely hope Nintendo seriously consider releasing it on the European market, as over here, it would sell like hot buns. Why is the European gaming market always the last one considered when a game is released? On the Nintendo France forums, people are crying and even writing petitions to have Baten Kaitos and Naruto (also Animal Crossing, which is not planned to be released in France) sold over here. There is a real gaming public over here and for some reason, it does not seem to be taken seriously, at all: in the majority of cases, we are always the last to get a bite on the good games; a number of awesome video games products and gimmicks stay exclusive to Japan, when I am sure that they would be a real success here.
Of course, there is the difference in culture, which I know plays the main role in this game of releases and exclusivities. Whereas in the 'land of the rising sun', video gaming has become a cult phenomenom, a true subculture, to the point of having been banalized, here in Europe we seem to have been somewhat "late" in on the market, or so that is what it looks like. Japan has known a real growth in the technology market and America is not far off (if not on a par with) the Japanese technology market, but this does not mean Europe is not ready to be the host to new kinds of technology, which seems to be the constructors' perception of the situation. Their is a real and serious gaming audience in Europe and one that could be of profit, which is, let's not forget, why companies sell games. How could they not understand us being frustrated on being left out on some products which we will never get our hands on excepted in the pages of our favorite magazine? The culture difference is a big factor in this game, as you can notice if you compare the prices of games in Japan to those of the same games in Europe, but I am pretty sure that one can affirm that Europe is ready for the new games and gimmicks, and that there is a public here which can be taken seriously.
Now don't get me wrong, I never said we would want all Japanese releases over here, become some are seriously quite dodgy (what's with the manga whorehouse puzzle games?), but some have true appeal over here and not only to an "elitist" bunch of gamers, but also to a genuine and expanding public which is ready to hand over the cash to get these gems. The best I can hope for is one of the major Japanese companies of the industry seeing the potential of this market; I am conscious this is something which shall not happen overnight, let alone happen at all perhaps, but we over here need to be seen as gamers now, and not only as 'hobbyists'. Whoever knows, maybe one day video games will be as banalized over here as they are in Japan, but as long as the European public is not seen as a serious one, that will not happen... Though will it ever?
Re:Thanks! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Petition failures (Score:5, Insightful)
And in case you're not ousted for a fool yet, your logic falls apart when I point out that nobody's complaining about the collections of Atari or Activision or Intellivision games - which usually bundle anywhere from 5 to 20 games for about $20. Not one game.
Those collections are doing it right. No complaints. Nintendo is not. Complaints.
Can you wrap your brain around that?
Re:Thanks! (Score:1, Insightful)
And let's not forget younger generations. I got my nephew (10) a GameCube for his birthday, and honestly, the first game he ripped into was BeyBlade, from his older brother. But over the next few weeks, it was the Zelda Collector's Disc that came with his Cube that had his full gaming attention, even after getting NFSU for himself with the rest of his birthday money. The classics have their market, whether or not some among us are part of it. Thankfully, there are still kids being born whose recognition of substance over style borders on transcendental.
Re:Petition failures (Score:2, Insightful)
Dude, no one's holding a gun to your head and FORCING you to buy them. It's called free-market economics, and it means that things are priced based on what a SELLER is willing to give it up for and a BUYER is willing to pay. Nintendo owns these games, they sold them once at $60 a pop on the NES, some of them once again as e-Reader cards or special collections (Zelda Disc, Mario All-Stars), and now they're providing them once again in a portable format for yet another price. If you still feel the price is too high, you can simply refrain from buying them and wait for the price to drop yet again.
As for the collections from other companies, charging any more than $20 would probably lead to a price that NO ONE WOULD BUY, because their games, sadly, don't have the brand recognition that Mario, Zelda, and Donkey Kong has. (Or even that the company Nintendo has.) All these companies are simply selling at what the market will bear, and none of them are forcing you to buy them, they're simply providing a means to do so for those that missed out on these titles in the 80's, or would like a portable version now.
Easy Explanation (Score:5, Insightful)
The US market gets it next, because we're a large market which only speaks one language (theoretically).
You get games last, because they have to be localized in several languages, plus you have a different TV standard (not applicable in the case of GBA games).
Why is animal crossing probably not going to make it over there? I don't think that it sold that well in the US, and given the sheer ammount of text that needs to be translated into french/spanish/german/Italian, NOJ probably won't release it.
In short, Europe gets games last, or not at all, because the number of languages spoken on the continent fragments the available market for each translation of the game. More effort, less reward.