This morning saw two new games added to the Wii Virtual Console library - River City Ransom (NES) and Phantasy Star 3: Generations of Doom (Genesis).
PAL owners who want their River City fix don’t need to wait until Friday. Just check the Virtual Console for Street Gangs (the name of the PAL release) - it’s been available since February!
Pic via ConsoleClassix
And what’s more, games for the Mark III and Game Gear will be making their way to the VC too.
But before you get all excited and run off to the Wii shop channel, only a couple of Master System titles will be released on VC during February in Japan only. Those titles will be: Fist of the North Star (600 points) and Fantasy Zone (500 points). North America and Europe will be getting those games at some unspecified time in the future.
via Gaming Today
This weeks Virtual Console update brings the analog-destroying Nintendo 64 classic 1080 Snowboarding and another TG-16 game I’ve never heard of, Riot Zone.
via GoNintendo
The Wii Shop Channel has been updated with the ability to send someone a Virtual Console game as a gift. To send a gift, select the software you want to send in the Wii Shop Channel, select “Gift”, and choose a friend from your Wii Friends Roster - you can also give it a personal touch by attaching your own Mii and a message.
If you’re looking for something to give someone, you could always try the recently added Nintendo 64 title Pokemon Snap, enhanced by integration with the Wii Message Board, allowing you to share your best shots with friends.
We’re feeling a little festive at The Gamer Gene, so we’re giving away a Virtual Console game to celebrate Christmas (and test out the new functionality, of course) - check out how to enter at this post.
To celebrate Christmas and the new gift feature in the Wii Shop Channel, we’re giving one lucky reader the Virtual Console game of their choice. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling us which game you want, and why.
Best answer wins at 6PM EST on Friday, December 21 - because who doesn’t love an early Christmas present? Just remember to use your real e-mail address - otherwise you won’t get our e-mail telling you you’ve won.
UPDATE: It looks like Nintendo have blocked gifts to Wiis from other regions - so this competition is unfortunately only available to PAL Wii owners.
Nintendo must be feeling bad about screwing their loyal European and Australian fan base for so long. What gives me that idea, you ask? They’ve just announced that a heap of previously Japan-only titles will be released on the Wii Virtual Console in PAL territories throughout September - with no such announcement made so far for the US.
The Australian Office of Film and Literature (OFLC) have updated their classification database with some great news for Wii owners in Australia - Sin & Punishment: Successor to the Earth has been given an M rating, which can only mean one thing - it’s coming to the Virtual Console in Australia.
One can assume the game will cost the standard Nintendo 64 price of 1000 Wii Points, however there’s no such assumptions to be made with the release date. This would be a pretty neat consolation prize for Australian Wii owners to sink their teeth into while gamers in the US play Metroid Prime 3 and Super Smash Bros.
Unless you’re Japanese, an importer, or a pirate, you probably haven’t experienced Treasure’s Nintendo 64 masterpiece Sin & Punishment - which is a crying shame. I’m not the only one who considers it the most amazing game ever released for the long-dead platform, and as such it has become one of Virtual Console’s most requested games.
Fortunately an eagle-eyed, Japanese-reading NeoGAF poster has spotted the game on Nintendo of Japan’s Virtual Console site.
Of course there’s no word on whether the title will be released in other regions, but with such overwhelmingly positive word-of-mouth advertising coming from those who have experienced the game subsequently perking the interest of just about everyone else, it’d be downright silly for Nintendo to knock back all those Wii Points…
A member of NeoGAF has found a couple of interesting images pop up on the US Virtual Console server - the title screens of Metroid and Super Metroid.
With Metroid Prime 3: Corruption set to hit shelves on August 27, one would expect Nintendo to release the predecessors pretty soon - I don’t think nostalgia will be high on the priorities of Metroid fans for some time after Corruption hits.
Looks like Sony marketing boss Peter Dille needs to familiarize himself with the offerings of his competitors a little more. He recently told CVG,
Whereas our competition takes a bunch of old content and catalogs content from previous generations and offers that in a download fashion, our development organization are making games specifically for PS3.
When you download them, they’re in 1080p, and they’re showing off what’s going on with Cell and the PlayStation 3 technology,
Someone forgot to word Pete up on the fact that fl0w, Castlevania: SOTN, Mortal Kombat II, Lemmings, Crash Bandicoot, Tekken 5, Championship Sprint, Gauntlet 2, Joust, Q-Bert, Rampage World Tour and Wipeout weren’t developed for the exclusively for the PS3.
…and that once you subtract the Geometry Wars clones from the remaining games, you’re left with the abysmal Calling All Cars, and the forgettable Super Rub a Dub.
…and that the XBLA version of Castlevania is in high-def, unlike the PlayStation Store offering.
…and that the XBLA already has a number of original titles under its belt.
…and that WiiWare will be bringing original downloadable titles to the Wii, possibly by the end of the year.
There’s always next time, Peter.
via CVG
