Virtual Console Releases for 10/01/07. ( It's a SIN! )

WII-KLY UPDATE: TWO NEW CLAS-SIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

Oct. 1, 2007

This is a special week on the Wii Shop Channel. Frankly, it's a gamer's dream come true: Nintendo is launching the new Import genre with the release of two games that previously have never been available in the Western Hemisphere on their original platforms. The first will be hugely popular with MarioTM fans, who will love reliving the style of his classic games as they encounter new skills, new levels and new dangers. Nintendo® 64 enthusiasts also get a masterpiece of the shooter genre and perhaps the best game never released outside of Japan. Welcome to Import Week for the Wii Shop Channel!

The two new clas-sic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday. WiiTM owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii PointsTM to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

Super Mario Bros.TM: The Lost LevelsTM (NES®, 1 player, rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): Originally released in Japan as Super Mario Bros.® 2, this game has previously made only brief cameo appearances in the Western Hemisphere. Now available on the Virtual ConsoleTM in all of its original splendor, Mario fans will appreciate the familiar look and feel of the game, while finding that its updated game play creates an entirely new challenge. No longer content just to wear different-colored overalls, Mario and Luigi also possess different skill sets: Mario can stop quicker, while Luigi can jump higher. In addition to the clas-sic enemies already known to fans worldwide, there are also Poison Mushrooms, backward Warp Zones, and the occasional wind gust (which can help or hinder your progress) to take into account. And if that's somehow not enough, expert players can go looking for the game's secret worlds. So get ready to put your Mario skills to the ultimate test, and save the Princess again. Just don't be surprised if she's in another castle.

Sin & PunishmentTM (Nintendo 64, 1-2 players, rated T for Teen - Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, 1,200 Wii Points): Created by the legendary development studio Treasure, this is a game that hard-core gamers and fans of Japanese imports recognize as one of the finest Nintendo 64 titles to have never previously reached North American shores. Its unique combination of English voice-overs with Japanese subtitles (preserved in this version) has only added to the enthusiasm for its eventual release here. Experience the frenetic pace of a clas-sic shooter, while choosing from a variety of options and a number of different skill levels until you are ready to take on the full-blown challenge of Turbo Hard mode. Not to be outdone by the action, however, the intriguing story line gives the game its soul and draws you even further into the mix. Set in the near future, on an overpopulated Earth starved for resources, players uncover the intriguing mystery of two teenagers (Saki and Airan) and their battle against the Ruffians as they advance through level after level of nonstop action. Take a deep breath, gather your energy and prepare to see why this game is so highly praised.

Wow...gotta get both games. :D Why do they cost more, though?King9999

They have never been released outside of Japan, I think it's probably to cover the localisation costs.

Nice for you guys now download sin and punishment and join the fun.

Sin and Punishment (N64) Who Downloaded this on Wii?

Wow...gotta get both games. :D Why do they cost more, though?King9999

[QUOTE="King9999"]Wow...gotta get both games. :D Why do they cost more, though?EdgecrusherAza

So is that the original unmodified FDS version of Super Mario Bros. 2? If so, it's about damn time.

Is it going to be available forever or only for a limited time like in Eurpope?

Nice for you guys now download sin and punishment and join the fun.

Sin and Punishment (N64) Who Downloaded this on Wii?

gaminggeek

So is that the original unmodified FDS version of Super Mario Bros. 2? If so, it's about damn time.

Is it going to be available forever or only for a limited time like in Eurpope?

LordAndrew

http://www.n-europe.com/news.php?nid=11118

It's gone in europe now :(

[QUOTE="gaminggeek"]

Nice for you guys now download sin and punishment and join the fun.

Sin and Punishment (N64) Who Downloaded this on Wii?

selbie

I don't want that pressure :P

BOOOOOOO!!! I wanted Gate of Thunder. Lost Levels... meh. They could have released something better like, Gokujo Parodius, Gradius II, or Bangai-O. Oh well, at least I can finally unplug my N64.:D

1200 points is a freaking steal, I paid $89 dollars for a brand new copy of Sin and Punishment and it was worth it!

Wow...gotta get both games. :D Why do they cost more, though?King9999

im disgusted by the pricing. /spit on you nintendo.

Quit complaining, a $2.00 increase is nothing. Now I know a lot of people don't import games but, they allways cost more than games released here in the U.S. and thats not including the shipping and handling. It doesn't matter what the product is, imports will always cost more.

Quit complaining, a $2.00 increase is nothing. Now I know a lot of people don't import games but, they allways cost more than games released here in the U.S. and thats not including the shipping and handling. It doesn't matter what the product is, imports will always cost more.

Spirit_of_87

i dont give a crap. im not paying premium on already overpriced games from ages ago. ill complain all i want. the price-points suck and nintendo can shove it when it comes to the virtual console and their rip off pricing. and there is no shipping/handling here. not to mention amateurs take emulated games and translate them in their spare time. there's no reason for a higher price other than "because we can".

alot of people wont complain though. they will just keep playing emulators. nintendomay be on the right track with the rest ofits business, but the VC is a disheveled heap. where are all the huge hit titles? they should be a priority. the VC is so great in theory. play all your old favorites right from your wii!! well, maybe you can find around 4 of your favorites...out of hundreds...eventually, a couple years down the line...

every week i come into this thread looking for good news, and most weeks its a huge letdown.

[QUOTE="Spirit_of_87"]

Quit complaining, a $2.00 increase is nothing. Now I know a lot of people don't import games but, they allways cost more than games released here in the U.S. and thats not including the shipping and handling. It doesn't matter what the product is, imports will always cost more.

OneWingedAngeI

i dont give a crap. im not paying premium on already overpriced games from ages ago. ill complain all i want. the price-points suck and nintendo can shove it when it comes to the virtual console and their rip off pricing. and there is no shipping/handling here. not to mention amateurs take emulated games and translate them in their spare time. there's no reason for a higher price other than "because we can".

alot of people wont complain though. they will just keep playing emulators. nintendomay be on the right track with the rest ofits business, but the VC is a disheveled heap. where are all the huge hit titles? they should be a priority. the VC is so great in theory. play all your old favorites right from your wii!! well, maybe you can find around 4 of your favorites...out of hundreds...eventually, a couple years down the line...

every week i come into this thread looking for good news, and most weeks its a huge letdown.

The way I see it is, atl east they are not charging you taxes to buy points like some other downloadable service. Now that's a rip-off. I am only speaking (typing) for myself, but saying that the VC is a letdown is an understatement, as a matter of fact it's been nothing but a haven for me.

There are plenty of huge hit titles (once againg just typing for myself) with tons of replay value. I really can't say the same thing about the other downloadable service with it's maufactured replay value of patting people on the back, "Way to go Johnny Joe Blow, you just finished the level without firing a shot. You earned the rank of "BAD ASS." Whatever.

Where you can only find four titles that are your favorites, I have already reached the double digits and already knowing the titles that are coming in the future, I know that I will continue to add titles that ooze replay value.

I am well aware of your mantra of being a CAG but if your willing to pay the taxes for points on that other service than a $.100 - $2.00 increase should be something you're acustomed to.

i dont give a crap. im not paying premium on already overpriced games from ages ago. ill complain all i want. the price-points suck and nintendo can shove it when it comes to the virtual console and their rip off pricing. and there is no shipping/handling here. not to mention amateurs take emulated games and translate them in their spare time. there's no reason for a higher price other than "because we can".OneWingedAngeI

How are you so sure? Every game that is released has its own emulator attached. The reason for this is to allow those emulations to be customized for the best performance for each game. It takes time to do this work, rather than just "because we can". We have no idea how long it takes to make sure that a game released previously had major work associated with it, and rushing the games out with a common emulator isn't a solid answer either. Something as simple as "Military Madness" was released in exactly that way, and ended up with some major flaws because the emulation wasn't perfect and had to be reworked, despite the fact that it worked quite well for other games that it was released with. This is done on a case by case basis. To do it using global emulation would eventually mean that games already released might not work in the future after an emulator update. It is far too reminiscent of the 360's BC support for games like KOTOR for my comfort -- I'd prefer it continue to be done as is.

Besides just the development work on emulation, which has to be considerable, it takes time to test it on all levels. This is not just some automatic "throw it on the heap" reflex reaction that Nintendo, Hudson, or Sega do on a whim.

alot of people wont complain though. they will just keep playing emulators. nintendomay be on the right track with the rest ofits business, but the VC is a disheveled heap. where are all the huge hit titles? they should be a priority. the VC is so great in theory. play all your old favorites right from your wii!! well, maybe you can find around 4 of your favorites...out of hundreds...eventually, a couple years down the line...OneWingedAngeI

Again, it takes time to customize these games for release. It is not an overnight occurance. This "people will just use emulators rather than complain" thing is particularly odd in this context. It is THEFT to take these games without paying for them -- not just in a legal sense but in a moral sense. They are the property of the developers and those who paid them to develop. That may not seem to mean anything to you, but you should realize that video game development is a money-making enterprise, not something done out of the goodness of the heart.

I can understand the frustration if the service doesn't fit your needs and wants, and there is nothing wrong with airing those concerns, but this talk about "people will just steal them if Nintendo doesn't give them what they want" sounds too much like a call for (or at the very least acquiescence to) a gamers' socialist revolution to be included in a "Nintendo should be offering a better service" rant.

The way I see it is, atl east they are not charging you taxes to buy points like some other downloadable service. Now that's a rip-off. I am only speaking (typing) for myself, but saying that the VC is a letdown is an understatement, as a matter of fact it's been nothing but a haven for me.Spirit_of_87

Hmmm... buy a points card and you pay sales tax. Buy the points online and you pay sales tax. That's how it works here in Texas.

I don't know what you mean when you say that they don't charge you taxes -- they do, at least whenever the powers that be require it. This isn't something to fault Nintendo with specifically though -- it is not up to them to decide if they charge taxes or not. That is entirely up to your government at all levels. If you aren't being taxed for this, it's likely because it isn't required in your area.

And today, I just crossed the 100 VC game barrier.

The Real Super Mario Bros 2 put me at 100, and my next 100 got underway with my backtracking download of Moto Roader.

At 101 games, I now have over 2/3 of the Virtual Console library.

Keep it rolling, Nintendo.

Hmmm... buy a points card and you pay sales tax. Buy the points online and you pay sales tax. That's how it works here in Texas.

I don't know what you mean when you say that they don't charge you taxes -- they do, at least whenever the powers that be require it. This isn't something to fault Nintendo with specifically though -- it is not up tothem to decide if they charge taxes or not. That is entirely up to your government at all levels. If you aren't being taxed for this, it's likely because it isn't required in your area.

m0zart

*Waits for Sin and Punishment to DL after buying SMB2 as well.* On topic more directly, this is exactly what I wanted the VC to be focused on, and hopefully we'll see more games come out that were never brought here before.

i dont buy a ton of things on live either. im glad you have found alot of games on the VC that you like, i wish i could say the same for myself. :(OneWingedAngeI

I don't like the higher price for these import games, but they were never ever availible to buy in my region so even getting the chance to play some of these games in the first place is a godsend. I've found a ton of great games on the VC so far and if I had the cash I would immediately download about 10 more. Frigging Cybernator just got announced in japan :D And Neo Geo and Turbo CD games are coming very, very soon - this very month in japan.

According to the Wii Shop channel this versionof Sin and Punishment has beenlocalised for the westwith english text, subtiles, menus and credit sequence. So presumably some of the extra cost has gone towards that.

Well, I can also share the same experience that Spirit has regarding points. Down here in Orlando, FL, I don't have to pay sales tax for points bought online, which is a nice touch indeed.Skylock00

Yeah, but again that isn't something to either praise or fault Nintendo with. That's really up to your government's dictation.

Or maybe it is -- maybe some providers require sales tax on items that technically aren't taxable just because they are too lazy to implement a system to do the determination properly. Do other online services charge tax? Do the XBOX Live points or the PS network equivalent charge tax for digital downloads? If so, then it is definitely to any provider's credit for being willing to weed out the taxes when they can.

Here in Texas, food isn't subject to sales tax. Going to big supermarkets means no sales tax for any food items based on very subjective criteria to categorize what is food and what isn't. But often times when I go to small market shops, they will still charge sales tax on everything I buy, including food items -- mostly because they just don't have the automatic means in place to determine what is taxable and what isn't.

[QUOTE="Skylock00"]Well, I can also share the same experience that Spirit has regarding points. Down here in Orlando, FL, I don't have to pay sales tax for points bought online, which is a nice touch indeed.m0zart

Yeah, but again that isn't something to either praise or fault Nintendo with. That's really up to your government's dictation.

But if you live in Texas, Skylock lives in Florida, and I live in California. Then don't we have the same government? Anyway I just downloaded some more points, 2000 points to be exact and the screen read like this:

Points Purchased: 2000

Tax: 0.00 (High lighted in red)

Total: $20.00

Now are you talking about buying a points card online, because that is completely different than buying them in on the VC.?

@Onewing Angel - Dude dont be sad. Patience is a virtue. By the way what games would you like to see come out on the VC?

@Dark Catalyst -Wow 100 games, where do you store them all and do they charge you taxes for buying points on the VC channel in Utah?

What about Europe? Hey GG do they charge you taxes for buying points on the VC?

Higher price, yeah, no thank you. *still buys SMB2* :Pdvader654

That's right! Stick it to the man!

[QUOTE="m0zart"]

[QUOTE="Skylock00"]Well, I can also share the same experience that Spirit has regarding points. Down here in Orlando, FL, I don't have to pay sales tax for points bought online, which is a nice touch indeed.Spirit_of_87

Yeah, but again that isn't something to either praise or fault Nintendo with. That's really up to your government's dictation.

But if you live in Texas, Skylock lives in Florida, and I live in California. Then don't we have the same government? Anyway I just downloaded some more points, 2000 points to be exact and the screen read like this:

Points Purchased: 2000

Tax: 0.00 (High lighted in red)

Total: $20.00

Now are you talking about buying a points card online, because that is completely different than buying them in on the VC.?

@Onewing Angel - Dude dont be sad. Patience is a virtue. By the way what games would you like to see come out on the VC?

@Dark Catalyst -Wow 100 games, where do you store them all and do they charge you taxes for buying points on the VC channel in Utah?

What about Europe? Hey GG do they charge you taxes for buying points on the VC?

It's basically a tax loophole that only a few states have bothered to close so far. TN did it, however, because they have a 9.25% sales tax and no state income tax. Most states barely feel it because of their income tax, but... :evil:

I can't believe that people will keep pissing away money at this stuff...and now seem to have no problem with Nintendo jacking up the price on ancient games while they laugh all the way to the bank. I guess people really will buy anything.

[QUOTE="DarkCatalyst"]

And today, I just crossed the 100 VC game barrier.

The Real Super Mario Bros 2 put me at 100, and my next 100 got underway with my backtracking download of Moto Roader.

At 101 games, I now have over 2/3 of the Virtual Console library.

Keep it rolling, Nintendo.

DeadlyZodiac

Dear God I don't even know what to say to this. :|

Oh well, to each his own I guess.

See now this, THIS is what the Virtual Console should be for! :)

And today, I just crossed the 100 VC game barrier.

The Real Super Mario Bros 2 put me at 100, and my next 100 got underway with my backtracking download of Moto Roader.

At 101 games, I now have over 2/3 of the Virtual Console library.

Keep it rolling, Nintendo.

DarkCatalyst

I assume that you love your Wii. :P

See now this, THIS is what the Virtual Console should be for! :)

[QUOTE="DarkCatalyst"]

And today, I just crossed the 100 VC game barrier.

The Real Super Mario Bros 2 put me at 100, and my next 100 got underway with my backtracking download of Moto Roader.

At 101 games, I now have over 2/3 of the Virtual Console library.

Keep it rolling, Nintendo.

Gunraidan

I assume that you love your Wii. :P

And are also insane. :P

[QUOTE="Spirit_of_87"][QUOTE="m0zart"]

[QUOTE="Skylock00"]Well, I can also share the same experience that Spirit has regarding points. Down here in Orlando, FL, I don't have to pay sales tax for points bought online, which is a nice touch indeed.MAILER_DAEMON

Yeah, but again that isn't something to either praise or fault Nintendo with. That's really up to your government's dictation.

But if you live in Texas, Skylock lives in Florida, and I live in California. Then don't we have the same government? Anyway I just downloaded some more points, 2000 points to be exact and the screen read like this:

Points Purchased: 2000

Tax: 0.00 (High lighted in red)

Total: $20.00

Now are you talking about buying a points card online, because that is completely different than buying them in on the VC.?

@Onewing Angel - Dude dont be sad. Patience is a virtue. By the way what games would you like to see come out on the VC?

@Dark Catalyst -Wow 100 games, where do you store them all and do they charge you taxes for buying points on the VC channel in Utah?

What about Europe? Hey GG do they charge you taxes for buying points on the VC?

It's basically a tax loophole that only a few states have bothered to close so far. TN did it, however, because they have a 9.25% sales tax and no state income tax. Most states barely feel it because of their income tax, but... :evil:

Wisconsinites have to pay sales tax (5.5%) on points bought (and I believe even city tax for people who live Madison so 6% total). Annoyingly, Wisconsin taxes are crappy in that our state has one of the worst income made-vs-what you're taxed on that income ratios in the country.

But if you live in Texas, Skylock lives in Florida, and I live in California. Then don't we have the same government? Anyway I just downloaded some more points, 2000 points to be exact and the screen read like this:

Points Purchased: 2000

Tax: 0.00 (High lighted in red)

Total: $20.00

Now are you talking about buying a points card online, because that is completely different than buying them in on the VC.?Spirit_of_87

We share a Federal government, but not State or local governments. Sales tax is not generally collected at the Federal level (yet). Itis collected by States, so you will see differences depending on what State or even local municipality someone lives in.

I don't mind paying sales tax in this case, at least in general -- my State doesn't have a State income tax, so at this point sales tax is all I pay to fund the State itself, outside of an annual automobile and property tax.

If this is timed release, then I better buy more points... quick!

If these games will be around 6 months from now, then I'm saving my credit card. I'm far too broke right now.

I sit here looking at my topic, head tilted like a dog hearing a high-pitched noise, wondering how an ultra-fun topic like import-VC games got derailed into a snore-fest discussion about... taxes... You people kill me sometimes! :PPhantom_Leo

Don't worry I'll cook it up.

Damn you Square-Enix for not supporting the VC so we could finally play Live A Live, Secret of Mana II, and others.

I hope Shin Megami Tensei is released in the West along with Bahamut Lagoon if it comes to the VC! :)

See now this, THIS is what the Virtual Console should be for! :)[QUOTE="DarkCatalyst"]

And today, I just crossed the 100 VC game barrier.

The Real Super Mario Bros 2 put me at 100, and my next 100 got underway with my backtracking download of Moto Roader.

At 101 games, I now have over 2/3 of the Virtual Console library.

Keep it rolling, Nintendo.Gunraidan

I assume that you love your Wii. :P

It's actually not a favorite of mine, but it's nice having a good library of old-school games condensed onto one of my smallest game systems should I ever have to travel on short notice.

Hey GG do they charge you taxes for buying points on the VC? Spirit_of_87

There is no avoiding UK tax laws. They're like the terminator of taxmen.

Higher price, yeah, no thank you. *still buys SMB2* :Pdvader654

Don't be so cheap man, it's definetely worth it.

[QUOTE="King9999"]Wow...gotta get both games. :D Why do they cost more, though?Mantorok

They have never been released outside of Japan, I think it's probably to cover the localisation costs.

Actually, Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Levels was released on the Super NES in Super Mario All Stars.