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More good news comes from the Nintendo camp

During a Japanese marketing event yesterday, Nintendo President Saturo Iwata revealed that games for the Nintendo Wii's virtual console will be available for $4.50 to around $8.99 per game.  The virtual game console will allow gamers to play older games from Nintendo consoles is expected to be one of the key selling points for the Wii console.  The price of game downloads is aimed to be competitive with the Microsoft XBOX Live Arcade service, which charges users between $5 to $12.50 for Arcade titles.   

In other Wii news, Nintendo also expects limited losses from the Wii launch later this year.  Fellow Japanese rival, Sony, expects to suffer severe losses after its PlayStation 3 launch in November.  Even though the Nintendo Wii will already be the least expensive console compared to the Microsoft XBOX 360 and Sony PlayStation 3, price cuts could further lower the cost of the console.

Nintendo has been surrounded with good news as of late -- the company just announced it passed the 8.43 million shipped mark for DS systems in Japan.  The Nintendo DS Lite, a console that hasn't seen an official release in the United States, is also seeing good sales numbers.

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wow...
By ksherman on 6/8/2006 12:15:17 AM , Rating: 5
the Wii just keeps getting better and better IMO...

kudos to Nintendo. I certainly was skepticle




RE: wow...
By GhandiInstinct on 6/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: wow...
By Xavian on 6/8/2006 12:59:05 AM , Rating: 4
notice in the article between $4.50 and $8.99? did you even read the article?

anyways for the older NES games i expect they will sell for the lower bracket of $4.50 rather then the highest possible (reserved for N64 games no doubt)


RE: wow...
By tuteja1986 on 6/8/2006 1:03:11 AM , Rating: 2
Well they will have to have the same pricing structure as Xbox live arcade. But i still wonder , are these gaming going to be tweaked or just Exact port. Just Wondering because when you buy an xbox live arcade game like Smash tv , it was in High Dfi and also had online support.


RE: wow...
By SubKamran on 6/8/2006 7:58:52 AM , Rating: 2
I swear I read somewhere that there were going to be tweaked versions as well as originals. Like, improved graphics and such. Don't know if they're still doing that.

All I know is that I am JUMPING on the Intendo bandwagon once it starts rolling by. I am buying a Wii and no one will stop me. Backwards-compat, free games, classic games, SNES, NES, N64, slip-disc drive, controllers that you wave around, I mean damn, this baby's got it ALL. Plus I heard there'll be many launch titles, so that's awesome.


RE: wow...
By Scrogneugneu on 6/8/2006 9:12:03 PM , Rating: 2
You forgot the best part : it's by far the least expensive of this console round.


I never really loved console games that much (I have a SNES, a PS and a N64, and the N64 was a complete waste). But the Wii might just be what will get me back to it. I'm curious.


RE: wow...
By Trisped on 6/8/2006 1:53:04 PM , Rating: 2
I don't think Wii supports HD output, so no big deal there.
I belive that they recompiled the games to run on the Wii, but that might have just been a rumer.

As for cost, the majority of that will be royalties on the games.

Still, if I own the game already then there should be a way to upload it so I can play it on the Wii without paying for it again. But that would open it up for piracy and hackers.


RE: wow...
By cubby1223 on 6/8/2006 11:09:00 PM , Rating: 2
But how are you going to upload the old games into the wii? It would take a $50 add-on to connect NES games, another $50 add-on to connect SNES games, another $50 add-on to connect N64 games...

So you might as well just pay the $5 and be done with it.


RE: wow...
By Alphafox78 on 6/9/2006 12:30:33 PM , Rating: 2
that would be sweet! they should have a NES port, SNES and 64 port on the Wii!! ;)


?
By Soccerman06 on 6/8/2006 12:21:41 AM , Rating: 2
I thought these classic games were suppose to be free or like $2, Im not paying $9 for the classic Zelda games, I can just pull out my old NES and play for free.




RE: ?
By middlehead on 6/8/2006 12:24:16 AM , Rating: 2
They never said everything would be free. They said there would be freebies, and a pricing model was being worked out for all other content. Any expectation of a total absence of cost is your own fault and they are not beholden to it.


RE: ?
By TheDoc9 on 6/8/2006 11:08:59 AM , Rating: 2
They most certainly did. Maybe not officially (or maybe so), but it was certainly hinted at - at the very least. Im not sure why ya'll are so exited about re-buying the same games and giving N pure profit. Plus these games aren't as fun as you remimber them to be. This must be the only company in the world that can make people WANT to give them money for stuff the've already bought. Either that or this board is full of plants. Imagine if Sony tried to advertise how much there going to charge you for games you already own...

Of course, If you were a pirate, you could just download the old games, but be carefull!! This is a hanus crime and you will be in league with murderers and terrorists.


RE: ?
By Trisped on 6/8/2006 1:55:45 PM , Rating: 2
The games are as fun as the use to be, your likes have just changed. Similar to fasion, people don't wear clothes from 10 years ago because they don't like them any more.

You are right about the free part though. Nintendo said that you would be able to download their whole library of games. They also talked about free downloads. If they talked about downloading their library for free I am not sure, but it was deffinatly implied.


RE: ?
By GameManK on 6/8/2006 12:26:26 AM , Rating: 2
I was hoping they'd all be <$5, but this is OK.


RE: ?
By GameManK on 6/8/2006 12:27:29 AM , Rating: 2
I was hoping they'd all be <$5, but this is OK.


RE: ?
By littlebitstrouds on 6/8/2006 12:52:43 PM , Rating: 2
I was hoping they'd all be <$5, but this is OK.


RE: ?
By Scrogneugneu on 6/8/2006 9:13:35 PM , Rating: 2
I was hoping they'd all be <$5, but this is OK.


RE: ?
By Alphafox78 on 6/9/2006 12:32:05 PM , Rating: 2
I was hoping they'd all be <$5, but this is OK.


RE: ?
By Mudvillager on 6/9/2006 6:37:27 PM , Rating: 2
LOL WTF?


No!
By Doormat on 6/8/2006 12:42:47 AM , Rating: 2
The original article says new and original games for the Wii will be $5-10, not classic NES/SNES games. I still expect games ranging from $.99 for old throwaway titles for the NES and SNES, up to probably $5 for N64 or really good SNES/NES games (zelda, metroid, etc). $5 is a good ceiling for games, but a horrible price floor.




RE: No!
By Xavian on 6/8/2006 1:00:48 AM , Rating: 2
nope all classic games on the VC will range between those prices. Check wii.ign.com for more info.


RE: No!
By Xavian on 6/8/2006 1:03:42 AM , Rating: 2
oh, you were expecting the price of a single iTunes song (3 mins of njoyment), for many hours of entertainment (for a NES game say)?

I think you may have set yourself up for a dissapointment before you even heard the news. Put the prices in perspective and maybe you'll see these are reasonable prices considering the $5-$12.50 prices on Xbox Live Arcade.


RE: No!
By Trisped on 6/8/2006 1:59:58 PM , Rating: 2
When you already own the game, its development costs have been paid for, and the distribution cost here is pennies, paying $5 for a game is excessive.

As for $1 iTunes music, that is way over priced considering the crap they call mucic these days. For that quality I expect I could take any garage band and make them famous.


RE: No!
By Mudvillager on 6/9/2006 6:39:57 PM , Rating: 2
there's still a lot of good music out there, you're just not looking in the right direction.


RE: No!
By ksherman on 6/8/2006 1:02:37 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Iwata revealed that games for Nintendo's "virtual console" that will allow Wii owners to play old titles on their consoles will be priced at ¥500 and ¥1,000, roughly US$4.50 to US$8.99.


not sure where you got your info... but this article is CLEARLY refering to the "old" games


While I'm well aware...
By DestruyaUR on 6/8/2006 1:39:59 AM , Rating: 1
...emulation is "illegal," and I'm sure Nintendo's going to pull a "yoink" policy once they figure out more money is to be had from reinstituting their stranglehold on NES/SNES/N64 games...

...why are people so goddamned excited about the fact that the Wii will be able to emulate games (at a cost) that people have been reliably emulating for FREE on their PCs for well over a decade?




RE: While I'm well aware...
By TheBytemaster on 6/8/2006 2:31:56 AM , Rating: 2
Emulation is not illegal. In fact, in one of the good sections of the DMCA in the US, emmulating older console game systems is specifically made legal.

Of course, copying the software to run under the emmulator when you don't have a legal copy of it, or the rights to do so... that is illegal.


RE: While I'm well aware...
By Phynaz on 6/8/2006 9:58:15 AM , Rating: 2
Because playing console games on a PC sucks?


RE: While I'm well aware...
By Kilim on 6/8/2006 11:09:25 AM , Rating: 2
Because most people do understand that you should pay for something even though you can steal it easily?


RE: While I'm well aware...
By PrinceGaz on 6/8/2006 3:37:47 PM , Rating: 2
Playing console games on a PC is great provided you have a gamepad. I'm guessing that you don't have a gamepad and are trying to play them with your keyboard, in which case yes, they do suck. I suggest you buy a decent gamepad (or two if you intend to play with a friend).


RE: While I'm well aware...
By TheDoc9 on 6/8/2006 11:11:29 AM , Rating: 2
Amen


Should be a success
By Plasmoid on 6/8/2006 7:43:05 AM , Rating: 2
With Final Fantast IV selling for the equivalent of $60 and still moving of the shelves fast im glad to see nintendo stayed low on the prices.

But... when the exact sames game are available on the wii for so much less then they are on the DS and GB advance, how does nintendo plan to justify that?




RE: Should be a success
By ZeeStorm on 6/8/2006 9:01:29 AM , Rating: 1
Portable over stationary. They will control both markets now. I'm not a fan of Nintendo at all. GC games rarely impressed me, and I'm not a fan of portable consoles, but this is by far the most interesting next-gen console I'm looking forward to. CT and FF3 for the win.


RE: Should be a success
By Scabies on 6/8/2006 11:45:56 AM , Rating: 2
I'm just upset cause I own both CT and FFIII, and have to pay another ten bucks to get them on the Wii. Petty? I have a handful of other games that fetch $40-60 at used game dealers and ebay, my friend has like +80% of the entire NES library (including crap like Barbie and Post Cereal Adventure) amounting to something like 400 carts (i forgot, but its taken him forever to build this collection.) These guys are going to make a killing over stuff they've already made a killing on.
So A+ for marketing and such. Too bad for us that will buy the same game twice anyways.


RE: Should be a success
By rushfan2006 on 6/8/2006 4:13:15 PM , Rating: 2
Stop your crying...I agree with other guy who says some folks just post on the Internet merely to complain and nothing else. I think some people would complain if a company said "with our console system you will get a free bag of money". Folks would write about that complaining about the denominations or something.

Also, Where the hell do you sell your games that'll pay you $40-60 to buy them? Unless I misunderstood your post -- which I don't think I did, I believe that is a bold face lie or the shop you are going too has to be owned by the stupidiest MF on the planet!

I have a huge collection of PC games (as to this day I still believe PC rules over consoles, but just my opinion)..even a game bought last week for $50 won't clear $30 top from Ebgames and that's even lucky, often its like $20-25.

Finally, how is it Nintendo's problem that you stupidity want to buy the same game again to play on Wii when you already have it to play on another system that you apparently already have anyway?

Good god folks today -- especially the younger folks...think everything is their "right" and everyone owes them something...



RE: Should be a success
By littlebitstrouds on 6/8/2006 1:00:02 PM , Rating: 2
Kinda wanna clear this up... You never bought the game. You bought a medium for playing the game and then a cartridge/disk which contained the game's data which allowed to you play the game. You could never copy the game and redistribute, because you don't own the rights to the game.

So what you're paying for is to play the game on a new console. If you own the game already and feel the need to not pay to play on a your new console, then play it on the system you ready have. Why is this still an issue?


RE: Should be a success
By zeekle on 6/8/2006 1:12:54 PM , Rating: 2
Sometimes I think people just get on the internet to complain.

Its a reasonable price. If you have the game already go ahead and play it on the system you have.

Of course they may have made more money with a subscription service where you could download all the old games for a monthly fee ala gametap.

I plan on getting a WII sometime in 2007 but I dont think I will take too much advantage of this service myself. There are too many new games coming out that I have never played that I would rather play than metroid for the SNES.... again.


Gamecube?
By Shoal07 on 6/8/2006 7:28:53 AM , Rating: 2
What about gamecube games? Are they also going to be emulated and for sale?




RE: Gamecube?
By Josh7289 on 6/8/2006 8:07:29 AM , Rating: 2
No, GameCube games will not be emulated. You will have to use your original GCN discs to play GCN games on Wii.


RE: Gamecube?
By ZeeStorm on 6/8/2006 9:02:45 AM , Rating: 1
I just hope I can play imports. My friend has a Naruto game imported from Japan, and has to use a special cd first to play it. I hope they do this for the Wii too.


RE: Gamecube?
By Mudvillager on 6/9/2006 6:43:50 PM , Rating: 2
Are you sure no emulation occurs when you play a GC game on Wii?


Not everyone has these old consoles!
By Assimilator87 on 6/8/2006 5:29:38 AM , Rating: 2
Emulation is a must in my opinion because as time goes on, all these older consoles breakdown and become increasingly rare to find. Not everyone has a Nintendo sitting around with a bunch of old games so stop flaming this legitimate service. You can't seriously be telling me that these old games aren't worth at least the $5-$9 that Nintendo is asking for when tons of these are being ported to other consoles, especially the GBA and DS, at $30-$40 each.




RE: Not everyone has these old consoles!
By Alphafox78 on 6/9/2006 12:34:32 PM , Rating: 2
I have an old NES, SNES, N64 just sitting around..
try ebay?


By Mels on 6/10/2006 8:47:47 PM , Rating: 2
I will NEVER sell my N64 + Goldeneye.

Even though this evil combination was directly responsible for me failing 1st year University Calculus.


Good value
By psychobriggsy on 6/8/2006 5:40:45 AM , Rating: 2
For people that have not played the games before. Many of those games will give a good 10 - 20 hours of enjoyment, possibly even more, so even at $9 that's good value. I guess the NES games will mostly be in the <$5 zone apart from the major classics, the SNES games will be $6 to $8, and the N64 games will be $9.




RE: Good value
By TheDoc9 on 6/9/2006 5:15:10 PM , Rating: 2
That's an interesting way of looking at it. While true,
What if we compared this to an old cd or movie collection. Think about how rediculous it sounds to have to pay for your kids to listen to or watch a movie that you bought 20 years ago, just sitting there in the book case.

You could install a credit card reader onto the side of the book case, so that every few years when you comeback to an old book you've read you can swipe your card.


By middlehead on 6/8/2006 12:22:54 AM , Rating: 2
Considering the ridiculous wellspring of preexisting content the Wii has access to. I'm betting there's enough people who'll pay 5 to 10 for FF1 or Dragon Warrior 1 through 4 to keep the Wii solidly in the black from go.




Nintendo Rocks
By VenomStryker on 6/8/2006 2:19:22 AM , Rating: 2
I for one am happy that Nintendo is sanctioning emulation of their games (at cost). I am a big fan of nintendo and their penchant for totally new types of gameplay instead of the same old crap that sony and MS deliver.




Pricing is fine by me
By omniscient101 on 6/8/2006 7:59:28 PM , Rating: 2
5 -10 bucks is fine for classic games. for the true 'throw-aways' no-body (certainly not many) would honestly want to download them anyways so a cost barrier could actually help prevent people form wasiting time on absolute *crap* and stick to the well know 'true classics' that are certainly worth the money. Maybe you already bought it once but thats on an old system, and IMO:
A.) 5 bucks is certainly worth being able to play all my games on 1 system rather than fight with the un-reliable NES (remember jamming stuff into the slot to hold down the cartridge just right to get the system to boot)
B.) Just because I bought a vinle record or vhs doesn't mean I can demand the cd or dvd for free. (or currently even download a soft copy) so this is nothing new.
C.) Royalties (hopefully whenever possible ) are owed to the creators. <- actors, authors, labels, producers all get paid every time a re-run is played on tv even though the network may have alread 'bought' a copy of the film. And I'll glady spare some pocket change for the ones that are worthy of my download.
D.) yes emulating console games does suck on a computer even with the best gamepads. not only are many emulations buggy, but the entire experiance is detriminted vs playing with a 'set-top' box in the livingroom. maybe some htpc setups could be coming closer to the right touch, but (and belive me I've tried) its still not 'as good' as picking a game pressing power and instantly be playing a familiar game with a friend on the couch.




Hmm..
By KingOfOldSkool on 6/8/2006 10:28:19 PM , Rating: 2
I'm not saying the Wii is going to be a bad system or anything of that sort.. but you have to imagine skimping on the technology will eventually catch up with Nintendo over the long run and stunt growth to an extent. I mean a lower price point and a few novelty features that get stale over time especially when done wrong may work sometimes in the handheld market.. but that strategy may not hold up as well when making the transition to the home console market.. Nintendo had such a huge advantage with the DS because Nintendo had virtually no competion for over a decade.. and has been the clear leader for awhile.. but has been lagging in the console market for some time now. Yeah, I will buy the Wii when it launches, but I believe the virtual console will be a big seller really only in japan which it was made mostly for anyways.. as well as the new features may prove unique and interesting at first and may be the systems biggest strength alongisde the system cost.. but at the same time may be its biggest weakness.. if not done right and the possibilty of not enough games being able to take advantage of the features may doom the Wii.. as the gamecube proved that first party titles alone cant keep a system afloat. I firmly believe that there hasnt been a launch as important to a new system since the original nintendo.




No Again!!!
By Clonester on 6/8/2006 10:40:36 PM , Rating: 2
The information in this article is WRONG! The pricing only applies to new games created for the Virtual Console (like indie games) and NOT classic titles from the NES, SNES, and N64.

IGN Wii: "These prices apparently encapsulate only titles newly created for the Virtual Console. It is not yet clear if classic NES, S-NES and N64 games will fall under the same price range umbrella."




Emulate the game pads too?
By Mudvillager on 6/9/2006 6:49:39 PM , Rating: 2
Wouldn't it be great if Nintendo could release USB adapters or exact copies of the original consoles game pads for Wii? I mean a game pad is at least 30% of the feeling in a game, wouldn't you say?
Anyways if Nintendo won't, surely others will...




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