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Virtual Console


moomooman

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Does anyone know if it has been announced that if the "Emulated" games on the Virtual console will be enhanced for the PAL signal or if we will once again forced to play unotimised SNES and N64 games in the "slo-mo with black bars" that used to be the case? At the time I hated this and brought myself an import US SNES just so that i could play Mana, mario kart, SF2 and others in all its full screen and full speed glory. I personnally cant wait for the Wii.

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I think there will be the different versions of a game (US EU & JAP), and I hope you will be able to choose which version you want. If that's the case, just go for the original.

I don't think they'll be optimized though, personally I hope they leave the current versions exactly the way they are (well, except for Wii specific optimizations).

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I think the slo-mo mentioned is because of the PAL / NTSC framerate issue.

We're running 25 frames a second, NTSC countries 30. I assume they didn't compensate for this fact (do they now?), and then games will be slightly slower, just like movies are. Most people don't really notice though, since it's all they know, untill someone mentiones this.

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They compensate in most games, however a lot of PAL games in the past have been a good deal slower than the NTSC versions. FFX on PS2 for example, as well as having massive black bars, is 17.5% slower than the NTSC.

 

17.5%....isn't that also the level of VAT in the UK????

 

Coincidence? I think not! We are paying VAT on games in the form of slowdown! Nooooooooooo!

 

Also, i can't see any way that they are going to make VC games online-enabled. They'd have to write all the online code from scratch and then it wouldn't be a simple job of emulation, they'd have to work the games to the Wii architecture.

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Also, i can't see any way that they are going to make VC games online-enabled. They'd have to write all the online code from scratch and then it wouldn't be a simple job of emulation, they'd have to work the games to the Wii architecture.

 

Agreed. It's not going to happen.

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Agreed. It's not going to happen.

 

 

Nintendo said early on they'd be open to the idea of making things like the old Mario Party titles online. And if they're going to be making totally new titles for the VC (assuming they'll be using NES/SNES/N64 code) it's not going to be a major deal to implement online features.

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I don't follow your point. If they made "totally new titles" then yes they could easily use the Wii's online features. But that has no bearing on retrofitting old NES/SNES/N64/Cube games with online functionality.

 

I hadn't heard that about the Mario Parties, that could be pretty cool. Though to be honest the draw of Mario Party for me is playing it with friends in the same room. A few rounds of Smash Bros. would transition to online much better I think.

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Let's put something straight. Nintendo doesn't have to change a single byte of the games on the virtual console to put them online. The emulators can be made responsible of the online part and it's relatively easy.

They just have to make the emulators so that they have the ability to emulate the controler 2 of NES, for example, on another Wii across the globe.

Hell, i've played lots of Tetris Atack (SNES) online in a PC emulator.

 

 

This brings 2 problems though:

 

1- Since the games are not modified, everything will be made as if the player 2 (or 3 or 4), is right next to you with his controler there. And there's no lobby, no chat funcion, etc. So Wii would have to had a comunication system in his firmware, made specificaly for the comunication between players. (voice chat would be ace, as you could bash/talk to your opponent/cooperative friend as if he where next to you)

 

2- LAG. Since the games are not optimized to use the lowest bandwidth possible, because the fisical bandwidth between a console and a controler is so big, and that no one in 1984, making Super Mario Bros, would ever thought that the game would, in 2007 be online. But as i played Tetris Atack through the internet using the full SNES controler bandwidth and noticed absolutely no lag, i think that's not a problem for 2 player/non-analogic controlers (joysticks and stuff). I would say NES, SNES, Mega Drive and TurboGrafx will be okay, but N64 and Gamecube games emulated in online mode would just produce a big ammount of lag, specially in 4 player matches.

 

But now that i think about it. The ideia is so plausible that nintendo will not do it for no reason. It would really be a great feature to us players, and would cost very little for nintendo to implement a "controler online" and chat feature in the emulators. As this would be set for every single game on the virtual console with just 1 algorithm or program, as you want to call it.

 

(Let me know if i'm talking non-sense or if you don't understand something.)

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What about VirtualBoy games games? I've seen people talking about Satellaview & 64DD games, but no mention of VirtualBoy games yet.

This would be a perfect opportunity to introduce people to these ehm "classics". As they go for the hits at first, I don't expect to see them anytime soon, but I hope to see them later, if the VC is a succes, and Nintendo is willing to experiment with other titles.

"What about the 3D aspect?" you ask? Obviously, this can't be emulated, but with my limited VB experience, I assume the lack of 3D effect won't have any gameplay issues. The 2 games I played (a tennis game and a shooter), could be done perfectly on a GameBoy or SNES in my opinion, without the 3D effects obviously. The 3D effect was, dare I say, "gimmicky", and had no real use in these 2 games.

I don't know how it technically works, but I'm guessing VB games use the normal display modes the other Nintendo consoles use, with added effects, like a blur effect (which can be emulated I think).

And, the advantage of lacking the headset and included 3D effect, is of course, no headaches people have been complaining about :D.

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"What about the 3D aspect?" you ask? Obviously, this can't be emulated, but with my limited VB experience, I assume the lack of 3D effect won't have any gameplay issues.

 

Well you're wrong I'm afraid. Playing some of the more ambitious game on the system such as RedAlarm and WarioLand definitely required the depth perception to play it. I agree that it's a great little system and I would love to be able to somehow play the games but it's a logisctics no no.

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