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New PS3, Wii, 360 Downloadables Announced 151

Posted by Zonk from the something-to-tide-you-over dept.
360 gamers have Lost Planet to look forward to this week, but PS3 and Wii owners have things to smile about as well. Today's virtual console game releases feature the Hudson classic title Dungeon Explorer, as well as the shmup Gradius and the sidescrolling shooter Soldier Blade. PS3 owners will get six great downloadable titles sometime 'in early 2007', courtesy of Midway and Sony Online Entertainment. "The six games announced in the deal are Mortal Kombat II, Gauntlet II, Joust, Rampage World Tour, Rampart, and Championship Sprint. Sony Online said those titles were chosen specifically for their multiplayer components, as the company is adding online play for all six." Update: 01/08 22:32 GMT by Z : Oops. Missed Ms. Pac-Man on XBLA this week.
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New PS3, Wii, 360 Downloadables Announced More

New PS3, Wii, 360 Downloadables Announced

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  • Hey, that's pretty cool.. downloadable content for the console (Wii) I still can't find anywhere, despite calling stores and still being told "we're getting a shipment on Tuesday, you might want to line up the night before", only to see 10 people already lined up at 9pm the night before. :(

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Oz0ne ( 13272 )
      Same problem here. Though for some reason the target nearby regularly has a handful of PS3's available.
    • I got mine the first day (almost did not wait) and got the 8th to last unit - but still have not been able to get a second nunchuck!
      • Yeah, I managed to pick up an extra nunchuck & wii remote through Amazon, but now they are sold out as well.
    • I keep being told by Game (UK Highstreet game store) that come feb there will be loads of wii's available or if I want I can find out at 8:30 if they are due any in that day (They keep getting the odd 2 or 3 every few days) and then wait until they are delivered which could be any time of the day the only problem having a job and my boss won't be too impressed if I don't turn up (and they won't let you reserve one as apparently that won't be fair to others that come in asking for the machine!!?!?!). On top
  • Gran Turismo HD and Motorstorm demos are both outstanding, I spent a couple of hours playing each. Also Tekken 5 is available for Japan and Hong Kong accounts (USA users can create a new user account to download). About $15 USD for the download, it's definitely worth it if you can get passed the non-English menus.
    • I agree. All of the demos are fun at least for the small part that you can play them. I downloaded the GripShift demo last night and am looking forward to playing it when I get home from work today. And even F1 is great, but I really want to get better at racing without the aids.
    • Does anyone know the status of steering wheels for the PS3? I saw that Gran Turismo will take a few logitech steering wheels, but I haven't checked if they're PC wheels or proprietary to the PS3. Also, I haven't seen a steering wheel option in any of the other demos.

      TW

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Duds ( 100634 ) *
      Wait can I just check something here. They're charging $15 for demos?

      I mean to be fair they charged us UK people $50 for the demo of GT4 (by calling it "Prologue" rather than "demo") but sheesh!.

      Please tell me I'm wrong.

  • Argh!! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by WidescreenFreak ( 830043 ) on Monday January 08, 2007 @04:40PM (#17514484) Homepage Journal
    WHY is Nintnedo delaying the release of Super Mario Bros. 3 and more N64 titles in favor of a lot of the old 8-bit games that (let's face it) not many of us are waiting for? Compatibility problems? Artificial inflation of demand? Not that this list for the VC is all that bad -- hmmm.... Gradius -- but I'm not really looking to spend more Wii points just for the sake of spending Wii points.

    Mario, Mario, wherefore art thou a game that Nintendo dost sit upon?

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by kannibal_klown ( 531544 )
      Some of those games were released as Gameboy Adv or Nintendo DS games. So they have the fiscal dilemma: release a game for $3-$5 USD when they are still trying to sell those games for $20-$30 elsewhere.

      • yup... I had bought Super Mario 64 DS as a christmas gift, then when I saw it had been released on the Wii VC, I returned the $30 DS game and got a $20 Wii points card + some other stuff. Super Mario 64 not only plays better on the Wii it's only $10. Meaning the rest of the points could easily be used for something else.
      • I don't have a DS and I'm really not inclined to get one just for those games, although my daughter does have a GBA.

        The problem with your argument (not that it's an argument, but anyway...) is that at least the DS and GBA are portable. The Wii is not. Anyone who has both a Wii and a DS/GBA need to decide for themselves which features are more important - the portability and expense of the DS/GBA with a small screen and lower resolution or the low cost but higher resoluion and permanence of the Wii.

        T

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by 7Prime ( 871679 )

          Well, it still will cut into GBA cart sales. Many people are getting the classic games on the GBA/DS because they can't get them on any other (legal) platform.

          Remember, the DS isn't just a portable platform, anymore, it fills a bit of the roll for a full-sized console as well (especially since it can do things that other full sized consoles can't). Quite a few people are getting DSs as their MAIN platform, which means that it WILL compete with the Wii in some cases... this is one of them.

          It is ironic th

          • Remember, the DS isn't just a portable platform, anymore, it fills a bit of the roll for a full-sized console as well (especially since it can do things that other full sized consoles can't). Quite a few people are getting DSs as their MAIN platform, which means that it WILL compete with the Wii in some cases... this is one of them.

            This is probably the main reason we don't see TV out ports on the DS and the PSP (a lot of people have bean clambering for a PSP TV out). They'd be more (cannibalistic) competit

    • Re:Argh!! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by HappySqurriel ( 1010623 ) on Monday January 08, 2007 @04:51PM (#17514714)
      To maximize the interest in the Wii Shop channel, and to maximize their profit on each game, Nintendo is being very careful not to release too many of their biggest games at a particular time. If Nintendo releases one of their major classic titles every 6 to 8 weeks you will likely download it, play it until you complete it or get bored, check out the Wii shop channel every week for 4 to 6 weeks (and possibly buy 1 or 2 lesser known games), and when they release their next big game the cycle continues. If every game was available from the start, or they released too many big games at once, you'd likely buy a bunch of games and not look back at the Wii shop channel for months (or possibly years).
      • That's very true and I'm not ignorant of that fact; however, there are a number of games, particularly in the SNES and N64 lineup, that I'm sure people are aching to purchase -- not including those who are aching to get their hands on a Wii, of course. (Maybe I should rephrase that. Anyway...) Considering the rather large library of games for those two systems alone, it's staggering that they're still holding out. It's not that SMB3 would be the only game that people would buy or that it has the highest
        • That's very true and I'm not ignorant of that fact; however, there are a number of games, particularly in the SNES and N64 lineup, that I'm sure people are aching to purchase --

          You know they have to space out the goods. Considering they stated 1-4 downloads every week (despite Christmas having 5, I won't fault them for that :-> ) for around 10 VC games a month think about what that means. It may not seem like alot now, but 10 games a month = 120 games a year for a console with a 4-6 year life span (u

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by maynard ( 3337 )
      I care about the 8-bit releases. I'll probably spring for a Wii once the old NES standard Bionic Commando becomes available. If only for my own nostalgia. There are lots of great 8 bit games out there. Hey Nintendo, want to make me happy? How about an Atari 800 emulator too? I'd love to play Necromancer again...

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Aladrin ( 926209 )
        I remember when I first played Bionic Commando, I thought it was the HARDEST game. I could only get about halfway through. (I found out how far later. At the time, I thought I was only a little ways into it.) A decade later, it was pretty easy, of course. It will definitely be on my 'buy' list for the VC.

        Others on my list: Super Mario Bros 2 and 3, Ghostbusters (1, not 2), and another game that I forget the name of, but played incessantly. (I'll know it as soon as I see it... It was something about
        • For the NES, Ghosts and Goblins, and for the SNES, Super Ghouls and Ghosts. The one where your default weapon was a lance that you threw, and if you got hit your armor fell off leaving you in your underwear. In particular Ghosts and Goblins was one of the most evil games I can ever remember playing.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Aladrin ( 926209 )
            I already looked into that one, because I thought the game started with a G... But it doesn't seem to be it. I know I found it once as a ROM on the net, but that was like 5 or 10 years ago now.

            Another one that I REALLY like is Blaster Master, the original one. I dunno why, but I spent forever with that game.
        • Ghosts and Goblins sprang to mind, but... are you talking about Gauntlet? That has too many damn Ghosts. VALKYRIE NEEDS FOOD.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Aladrin ( 926209 )
            Nah... Gauntlet was a different style. I already have it for the 360 anyhow. I always used to play the blue valkyrie, so the 'Blue valkyrie needs food badly' has rung through my head for the last couple decades. heh.
        • Could be Wizards and Warriors [wikipedia.org]. Or one of it's iterations.

    • WHY is Nintnedo delaying the release of Super Mario Bros. 3

      Because Nintendo is still selling Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 for Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS's GBA compatibility mode.

      and more N64 titles

      Nintendo is selling N64 titles on the Nintendo DS.

      Compatibility problems?

      Could be part of it. I've read reports of sound being off. If the emulator used for NES games in Virtual Console is anything like the emulator used for NES games in Animal Crossing Population Growing for GameCube, then it appears that bug-for-bug compatibility isn't Nintendo's first priority. Specifically

      • Because Nintendo is still selling Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 for Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS's GBA compatibility mode. Nintendo is selling N64 titles on the Nintendo DS.

        I agree with your sentiments, but that reply is a tad flip. The GBA version of SMB3 was released in October 2003, hardly a sales threat to a VC release and not even a blip on the DS scene. And the only N64 game on the VC - Super Mario 64 - was already released for the DS anyway! Looking at the DS library, I don't s

    • They're using virtual console releases to pad gaps between the release dates of highly anticipated Wii games. Expect to see the big virtual console titles released during months when there aren't any good Wii games being released.

  • Almost never heard of.... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Fozzyuw ( 950608 ) on Monday January 08, 2007 @04:50PM (#17514704)
    Dungeon Explorer, as well as the shmup Gradius and the sidescrolling shooter Soldier Blade

    Well, i've never heard of Dungeon Explorer or Soldier Blade, but DE seems like an interesting game, I might download that one. However, I'm still waiting for my Baseball Stars and Tecmo Super Bowl. =) I already got my Toe Jam and Earl, but I'm still crossing my fingers for Metal Warriors and waiting for Super Mario World (SNES).

    Boy, Nintendo is surely making a killing on these (expensive) download games ($5-10 for what? Converting a ROM?)

    Cheers,
    Fozzy

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Rydia ( 556444 )
      And for testing, and royalties for non-nintendo system games.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by 7Prime ( 871679 )
        Not to mention ESRB ratings... which costs time and money.
      • Plus, I would bet that most people are getting their Wii points through a store rather than direct from Nintendo, and I have to imagine that the store gets a cut of that.....(searches).... according to this website [engadget.com] retailers pay nintendo $17 for a 2000 point card.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Fozzyuw ( 950608 )
          Plus, I would bet that most people are getting their Wii points through a store rather than direct from Nintendo, and I have to imagine that the store gets a cut of that.....(searches).... according to this website retailers pay nintendo $17 for a 2000 point card.

          I've seen a Wal-Mart selling a 2000 point card for $21.99. I scawfed at thinking they're that stupid. At least other stores sell them for $19.99.

          Cheers,
          Fozzy

          • I've seen the same 2000 point card somewhere(wish I could remember) for $24.99. Ouch!
            With prices like that, I'd bet that the store will only sell a handfull of them.
            Pennywise and pound foolish.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by elcid73 ( 599126 )
      It was an old game on the Turbo Grafix-16.

      Most people haven't even heard of the console let alone the games :)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by seebs ( 15766 )
      Dungeon Explorer? I think that was a gauntlet clone for Sega CD, or something similar.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by LKM ( 227954 )
      I bought Dungeon Explorer (it's already out in Europe). It's basically Gauntlet. It's kinda fun if you're playing with other people - mainly for its badness. It's definitely not a good game by current standards. Buy it if you often play with two or three pals. Don't if you don't.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Fozzyuw ( 950608 )
        I bought Dungeon Explorer (it's already out in Europe). It's basically Gauntlet.

        Yup, I downloaded it last night. I can see it being more fun with others, but it's pretty crappy even by most action RPG standards. It reminds me a lot of Gauntlet, right down to monster generators.

        Cheers,
        Fozzy

  • Turbo Grafix-16 (Score:3, Interesting)

    by elcid73 ( 599126 ) on Monday January 08, 2007 @04:56PM (#17514836)
    ...you were ahead of your time with your color handheld game that took the same credit card sized game cartridges of as the regular console. I'll wax nostolgic about how I used to play Dungeon Explorer until the wee hours of the morning- on a quest for Natas.
  • As the original system was not released here :( I'm not sure why Nintendo wont release the games to Australian users. Any ideas?

    But you can get the games by changing your region to UK and then download. But the consumer shouldnt have to do that.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by trdrstv ( 986999 )
      But you can get the games by changing your region to UK and then download. But the consumer shouldnt have to do that.

      I had no idea you can do that. Do the Wii points still work? I'd be interested in picking up Fire Emblem from Japan... (with a US Wii)

      • Re:No turbografix for Australians (Score:4, Informative)

        by Chuck Chunder ( 21021 ) on Monday January 08, 2007 @06:06PM (#17516128) Journal
        Yes the Wii points work. The manual does warn that you may lose your Wii points by changing regions but so far that has not happened (I have "moved" to the UK twice, once to get Bomberman and once to get R-Type).

        Just to be safe I wouldn't do it if you had a lot of Wii Points in your account. There doesn't seem to be a discount for buying Wii Points in bulk so there is no reason to buy anything other than the smallest amount anyway.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Duds ( 100634 ) *
      That's not the reason. The UK never got the TG either yet apparently we get the games.
  • that played it on an original TG16? Military Madness was a mess when you got to larger levels, slow scrolling with the sound cutting out. I want confirmation dorm someone before I d/l DE that the emulation is better than in military madness.
  • Ah, online Rampart at last, after all these years!

    I still wouldn't pay $600 for it, though.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Maserati ( 8679 )
      It's not a system-selling feature, but adding online play to old multiplayer games is a Good Thing. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Joust wound up with a small but fanatical following online, I've been dragged into multiplayer matches and they turned into grudge matches very quickly. If I end up with a PS3 I'll probably pick up a couple of these. If Sony is smart (heh) they'll show you how many people are only currently while you're shopping for downloads (these days, that'd be patentable).

      How cool a gig
    • Then it's a good thing it costs less than a hundreth that then.

      Saying the game costs $600 because the console does it like me claiming it costs me £5500 to drive to work in the morning because that includes what I paid for the card.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by geminidomino ( 614729 ) *

        Then it's a good thing it costs less than a hundreth that then.
         
        Saying the game costs $600 because the console does it like me claiming it costs me £5500 to drive to work in the morning because that includes what I paid for the card.
        If there's absolutely nothing else on the system that he's interested in, then yes, Rampart online does cost him $606.

        Just like DarkAlex's 302OE-b cost me $154.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Duds ( 100634 ) *
          That's an unlikely scenario, especially as there are many cheaper ways to play Rampart.

          You could write off every game on the system as not being worth $600 but in reality the system costs is spread over all those $10-$60 games that ARE worth those prices.
        • Not quite true, that'd be true if there were nothing else on the system he's interested AND there never will be, which seems "unlikely" at best.
          • Not quite true, that'd be true if there were nothing else on the system he's interested AND there never will be, which seems "unlikely" at best.

            It might seem unlikely to you. I personally doubt anything will ever warrant those prices for me, and consider it unlikely that anything will come out on it that I'm interested in. All the must-have series that prompted me to get the PS2 have either ended (Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver) or been driven into the ground (Final Fantasy, MGS) in the PS2 generation. I doubt
      • Except, to play this online version of Rampart, I would have to buy a console because it's only for the damnable PS3, a system that there is nothing else for it I'm even remotely interested in playing, bunky.
  • Midway has already put out several collections that include those games. I believe they are out for PS2 and Cube, so if the PS3 and Wii are backwards compatible, I don't understand why people are excited about titles like Guantlet 2 and Rampage since you can already get them for your system, and not waste HD space. I love retro gaming on my new 360, and can't wait to get the other systems, but if they are in a collection, I opt for that. The only problem with the 360 is its crappy compatibility, but I he

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by hurfy ( 735314 )
      Fair warning on midway collections....

      Skip the PC versions :(

      Starforce infested and sucky sucky controls. No steering wheel recognition for race games, no joystick for joystick operated games, etc. Annoying interface and bloated install. Very cheesy port of a port, some shareware ripoffs are better done. Maybe #1 was ok, but #2 sucked and #3 was worse.

      At least these guys can't possibly do any worse with the d/l games.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by 7Prime ( 871679 )
      Wii/GameCube yes... PS2, no way... I bought the Sonic Collection for PS2 (because it included a bunch of GameGear games), and boy was I dissapointed, all the emulations were screwed up, sound was slow and out of sync, and I remember the GameCube version being completely flawless. I don't know about the Midway collection, but I've heard about other PS2 classic collections having problems, before.
      • This is a great point. Lots of people screw up emulation. I got two different collections for the PSP (Midway and I forget the title of the other) , one was great, the other had issues.

        You have to think about how you're going to do this stuff with wide screen displays, different controls, etc. Thoughtful translators will take the original ROM and tweek it ever so slightly for those factors, like putting score displays on the side for wide aspect ratio. They'll give you the same tweaks, and maybe more th
    • The PSP version is pretty much broken. Rampart on the PSP is unplayable since the cursor moves so fast. Don't buy it.

  • An idea for Nintendo... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Bones3D_mac ( 324952 ) on Monday January 08, 2007 @09:30PM (#17518008)
    How about a trade-in program so those of us with the original NES/SNES/N64/Sega/NEC game cartridges can exchange the old physical game carts for their Wii virtual console counterparts? That way, these aging game carts can be collected at a centralized location and recycled (as in real recycling, not the "sprawl the toxic parts on the ground of a third world country" type). They could also offer such a service to recycle old consoles as well, and then credit the user 500-1000 points for each console they send in.

    15-20 years worth of games/consoles adds up to one hell of a lot landfill space.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Duds ( 100634 ) *
      Or they could actually let those of us who don't like emulation and actually prefer to play the game as designed have them rather than destroying parts of history just so you can get some money off a shit version of a game you already own.

      If you have the original carts, you could, you know, PLAY the original carts.
      • Limited entertainment center space, man! Switchbox + PS2 + GCN + Xbox + N64 + Wii + DC + SNES... I don't even have room for my Genesis/SegaCD or my old toaster-NES! Have a heart, man!

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Duds ( 100634 ) *
          Then since you already legally own the games in this scenario, play them all on that xbox.

          If you're going to play emulated versions you might as well at least do it without paying a 2nd time and without destroying the old carts.

          I'm biased of course since the versions Nintendo foisted on the UK of these games almost univerally run 20% slower than they should do.
    • How about a trade-in program so those of us with the original NES/SNES/N64/Sega/NEC game cartridges can exchange the old physical game carts for their Wii virtual console counterparts?

      Let's see if I have this straight. In exchange for the 500 Wii points it costs to download Zelda, you propose that I hand over the cartridge? The gold one? The one that sells secondhand at the same price I bought it for some fifteen years ago?

      The phrase 'cold dead hands' springs to mind from somewhere.

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