Dcubed

The upgrade will still apply. Even though it's the US version, you still get the cheap upgrade price

Contra 3 seems to be our next upcoming Wii U VC game according to NOE's website. Yes that's Contra, not Super Probotector. That means 60hz humans and not 50hz robots :p Actually, thinking about it, going the Wii upgrade route is probably the best way in this case. That way you get both versions in the end

They ARE doing a 2nd round right now. First game from this new set is Afterburner 2 (the arcade version)

A game in the same vein as Bayonetta 2, a character-action game and also a new IP ? Wouldn't it be fun if it turned out to be Devil's Third? :p (Nintendo seem to like reviving dead projects... )

Finally got round to buying the last 3 remaining SEGA 3D Classics games, so now I have all of them! (except Ecco, because lol - no amount of 3D can make that game fun for me) Man, the 3D really does breath all new life into the visuals and makes them all feel fresh again! It also actually really benefits the gameplay of Streets of Rage, I'm having much more fun with the 3D version than I did with the original! Being able to actually see my character's depth position really makes the game much easier to play (and the B/C back hit being assigned to a separate button is also much appreciated!) Shame about the lack of Download play though. Guess I'll have to get my friend to get a copy of his own. Altered Beast is also more fun on the 3DS than it was on the Wii VC. I feel that the game is a better fit for quick fire handheld play than on a console, due to its short length and simplicity. Anywho! Without further adieu, here's the full list of M2 interviews for the 1st round of SEGA 3D Classics (would be nice to stick these all in the first post for easy access ) Space Harrier 3D Super Hang On Sonic the Hedgehog 3D Altered Beast 3D Ecco the Dolphin 3D Galaxy Force 2 3D Streets of Rage 3D (@f00had There you go There's the interview you wanted to read) Shinobi 3 3D Here's to the next volume! (And hopefully the one after! )

As a kid I was always loyal to Nintendo (though I secretly also liked SEGA's games). I never really liked what Sony and Microsoft stood for (and really, I still don't to this day) but it doesn't stop me from enjoying the good games that are exclusive to their machines. The SNES was my first real console (we had a NES before, but I was too young to play it really). I had the SNES and my friend had the Megadrive; we used to jokingly argue over which was the better machine, but we both just played each other's games. The Dreamcast was my first non-Nintendo console that I bought though (I could never afford to buy my own consoles until then) and I bloody loved it! SEGA's death as a hardware manufacturer hit me hard I skipped out on the PS2 and Xbox and went Gamecube only for the majority of the generation (though I did pick up a PS2 in 2006 at the end of the generation - a good opportunity to go back and get antiquated with the PS1 and PS2 libraries; though I ended up getting the majority of my PS1 games via the PSN Archives) Last gen was the first time I ever bought all 3 consoles (360, Wii, PS3) and I bought them all right at the start! In retrospect though I kinda wish that I didn't as the 360 has turned out to be an almost completely redundant machine; save for a few games that are currently exclusive though now going PC (more on that later). Probably the best thing about this gen though has been the introduction of services like the Virtual Console, that have given me the chance to catch up with all the great games on other consoles that I didn't own as a kid! Finally I could get my hands on all the Megadrive games that I couldn't have gotten before! (and I now have a soft spot for both the TG16, the little console that could, and the Neogeo - the arcade powerhouse that forever remains ahead of its time!) Moving onward to today though and the industry landscape has changed so much that it's barely recognisable anymore. Things have changed so much since 2006 that it's just mindboggling! I have become somewhat disillusioned with the "traditional" side of the industry as most of my favourite 3rd party game devs have fallen apart (save for a few exceptions from Capcom, the ever surprising and wonderful Atlus, the amazeballs Platinum & Treasure, and a recent resurgence from SEGA) and console exclusive games are now (for the most part) dead! The days of console manufacturers securing exclusives like Resident Evil and Devil may Cry are long gone and now something has happened that I could never have imagined would ever do back in 2006... The PC has become a viable alternative to the non-Nintendo 8th Gen consoles for me! Gone are the days of fragmentation and bad controller support and in its place is Steam & Xinput; it's great! Indie games are thriving on PC (and on Sony/Nintendo consoles too), variety is plentiful here and most of the good games on consoles are available (in superior form even!) on PC/Steam; hell we're now even seeing Treasure and Platinum of all developers bringing their games to PC! Who would've thought that we'd ever see a time when you'd get proper native versions of games like Ikaruga and Metal Gear Rising being brought to PC by these developers!? (in house developed even! ) Now strangely enough I find myself looking to go forth into the future with just a Wii U and a PC (with a Steambox in the living room). I would never have even imagined myself doing this, just a scant couple of years ago; whodathunkit!? : peace:

I'd still wait for a bit if I were you guys though... Wait till it's fully stable before buying all your stuff...

This ought to be of some relief to DQ fans here... http://www.siliconera.com/2013/12/26/dragon-quest-xi-wont-smartphones-says-dragon-quest-creator/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+siliconera%2FMkOc+%28Siliconera%29 Horii, forever the voice of reason

No doubt they have, and it still wasn't enough. GOG for instance quadrupled their capacity during a similar time; and they still went down. Steam, PSN and Xbox Live have also suffered outages too. That being said, releasing Pokemon Bank on Xmas day in Japan was a monumentally stupid idea. As if they needed even more server load during a time when millions of people will be opening up their shiny new Wii Us & 3DSs and when tons of existing 3DS users will by trying to link their NNID accounts to their handhelds AND when people are scrambling to buy NES Remix, WSC Golf, A Link Between Worlds (both those trying to redeem codes that come with the Zelda 3DS consoles AND those in Japan, where the game just came out today), the Pikmin 3 Xmas DLC and the free Yoshi's Island themed Sonic Lost World DLC... What the hell did they expect to happen!?

It's the SNES one. The TG16 original is called Rondo of Blood (that's the name used in all English speaking regions and that's the name it has been rated under before by the OFLC). I love Rondo of Blood, but I've never played Dracula X before (it's one of only two 2D Castlevania games that never got released on the Wii VC - the other being Castlevania Bloodlines for the Mega Drive). While I understand that most people consider it to be a weaker game than its inspiration (it's not just a port of Rondo, it's a completely new game with new level designs that happen to be based on Rondo), I still can't wait to finally play it for myself! BTW: The fact that its been rated under the name "Dracula X" means that it's the US 60hz version that we're getting The EU version was called Vampire's Kiss...

I'm feeling pretty good about what I said those few weeks ago now... Look what just got rated a few days ago by the OFLC!

I hope so, or better yet, give us Ghost Zelda! Let her be able to possess objects too!

This Zelda design is weird, I'm not sure what it is, but it's odd... I LOVE the Spirit Tracks Phantom though! Was hoping that they'd get some Spirit Tracks into her moveset this time around (Though I have to admit, I was hoping they'd ditch normal Zelda in favour of Toon Zelda from ST...)

Head's up. The eShop download version of Mario Tennis Open has been reduced to £17.99 on GAME's website! http://www.game.co.uk/en/mario-tennis-open-158038?provenance=Download&categoryIdentifier=428847&attributeName1=Shop%20By&attributeValue1=107 Not sure if it's a mistake or not, but it does work (I bought a code while it was available and have had it sent to me just fine), so GO GO GO! Go get it!

MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS!!! Hope your haul was as good as mine! Left one is Typing of the Dead PC if you can't tell... This is the Zelda treasure box in the middle... and the Wii is a JPN region one, so I can get at the Japanese Wii Shop Channel content... BUT STILL! OH MY FUCKING GOD I GOT PDS FOR XMAS!!!

Edit: Goddammit! I can't read, obviously :p

Well clearly I do in this case :p Merry New Year everyone!

Mario Tennis GBC!? What a nice Xmas present Nintendo

I know I'm late in posting here about this week, but I'm really stunned at the Wii U's Xmas performance in Japan! For reference, Wii U did almost DOUBLE what the GCN did in its equivalent 2nd Xmas week back in 2002 (Wii U = 74,903 GCN = 44,902) So...yeah! What a bump! SM3DW's legs are also like fucking tree trunks! It has held on fantastically well! 3DS hardware is a bit disappointing, but P&D's peformance is spectacular! Hopefully it'll encourage other JPN developers to think twice about going mobile only (and encourage them to bring their games to 3DS!)

A shame that you're playing the PS3 version, but at least you're still enjoying it regardless I was hoping that it would appear in this Nintendo Direct, but I suppose it gives you another reason to get the Wii U version for your 2nd playthrough if it happens

It's not about it being positive or negative. It's just that this is Nintendo's standard policy on paid DLC. Every single one of their games has kept DLC confined to modes outside of the main "story" mode if you will and Iwata has repeatedly stated that they want to sell their games as "complete" experiences where any DLC that gets released is only additive (not affecting the main game modes) and comes out after the game has been released (usually made to spec based on their customer feedback). I'm just expecting them to continue the trend that they have publically said that they will set out to follow. That means that, going by Nintendo's own policy, any potential DLC for MK8 or SSB4 must be seperate from the main game modes.

They wouldn't do something like that though since it would affect the main game. Whatever DLC Nintendo does, it must be separate from the main Race & Battle mode experience... Maybe they could actually sell different modes altogether! Add additional battle modes (with their own set of stages) later on down the line... Stuff like a new Bobomb Blast style battle mode, or a mode with all new items that are only for use in that battle mode. Or if Mission Mode makes a return, they could sell additional missions with their own set of leaderboards after launch... Or you know what would be cool? A retro mode that re-creates stages from the 3D games (MK64, MKDD, MKDS, MKWii, MK7, MK8) in SNES style Mode 7! I'd definitely buy that one! Items/Characters/Stages for the main mode though? No way. They wont do it.

They didn't... but they DID announce DLC for NSMB2 and FEA before they got released. Either way the DLC didn't start getting made until after the games were released because they wanted to make them in response to the feedback they got from players after they already played the game (with NSMB2 in particular, players asked for classic stages, very difficult stages and stages that allowed you to earn lots of coins very quickly). Announcing free or paid DLC before release isn't unprecedented for Nintendo, so I can see them announcing such DLC before MK8 and Smash Bros get released, but the actual DLC wont start being worked on until the game is actually unleashed onto the world. What's interesting with those games though is just how exactly they would handle DLC. All of Nintendo's games that have paid DLC have it ONLY for modes that are separate from the main game (Coin Rush Mode, Mission Mode in Pikmin 3, Side Chapters in FEA, NSLU etc). With MK8 and SSB4 though, I'm not sure how they'd handle that since they're multiplayer experiences that rely on everyone having access to the same base content and they want to sell the base game as a "complete" experience. They wouldn't want to split their userbase, so simply adding additional characters or tracks to the roster is out of the question...

I wonder if we'll get the English version of Rondo of Blood this time around? They made a localised ROM for the PSP release, but when it came to the Wii VC release, they put out the original JPN version instead. Not that it really matters much with this game (given that all the in game text is in English anyway), but it'll still be interesting to see Here's hoping that we get Ys 3 this time around (and hopefully Ys 4, both versions, and Ys 5 in English too!)

Hmm... Stealth reveal of something Toad related? Is he finally getting his own game!?