allmybase's forum posts
As far as I know, there's been next to nothing worthwhile for the Xbox that's come out within the past seven to eight months (even earlier if you count Microsoft's cut-off date for development of first and second-party titles). However, if you're in the neighborhood for some older games, I would personally recommend Guilty Gear X2 #Reload, Indigo Prophecy, Psychonauts, and, as has already been technically mentioned, the Grand Theft Auto Triple Pack. (I don't believe they make the Double Pack anymore.)
Hope it helps!
It's actually relatively surprising to see something like this happening so early in the Wii's life cycle. The piracy base for the Wii, as far as I know, is actually relatively small and nowhere near the levels of other systems. Historically speaking, a console maker typically doesn't move until both pirates and homebrewers are really working on the system. For example, Microsoft didn't really try to crack down on the shady side of its own Xbox until someone had published old BIOS code still lying around on the system onto the Internet. Sony also didn't make much of an effort with its PSP until the hacks started popping up with the WipeOut exploit that enabled one to browse the Internet. So it's more than a bit surprising to see Nintendo go out and actually try to nip this in the bud right now.
However, Datel recently released some hardware for the Wii which could make this battle a tad more interesting, as it supposedly lets you send code to the Wii and do other such things. (The hardware is tailored more to homebrewers than pirates.) I wonder if that hardware got voided with this update. Either way, I see this turning into another battle like the PSP where hackers will simply work with older firmware and then figure out compatibility issues with later editions at another time. For basically anybody who isn't already a part of that scene, this update is basically moot for them anyway because it doesn't affect them all that much. (Well, unless they were hoping for Linux on the Wii or something.)
The problem is mainly a legal one. Even though the game was released on the N64, Rare was the one who created the game and thusly has the legal rights to that game, including how it should be distributed. Nintendo, even though it owned Rare during the period in which the game was being made, has little to no legal permission right now to just go out and bring the game to the Virtual Console. Couple this with the fact that Rare is owned by Microsoft and chances are very slim that it'll happen. The only consoles other than the Xbox360 which Rare has developed on are Nintendo portables and I imagine that Rare won't have the right to make any Wii games soon or be given permission to let Nintendo be green-lighted for putting Perfect Dark on the console.
It's all a sticky mess. However, it's not nearly as sticky as the mess which involves Goldeneye, which is actually a bit of a mystery, since it's not clear who owns the rights to that game. (Rare wouldn't since it doesn't have the rights to make James Bond games anymore.) I recall reading that there were logistical issues involving Nintendo, EA, and Activision (the current James Bond game licensee) on that matter. It should be mentioned, though, that because Rare isn't really involved with Goldeneye's rights anymore, there is a better chance of that game appearing on the Virtual Console. (I recall reading that Reggie said Nintendo was trying to see if it was legally possible.)
Games like that can still take their toll on the processor and we just may not know it; one would like to think that Capcom has brilliant programmers ensuring we don't see any possible strain which the game could be placing on the system. It's wise to avoid saying it's "just" a small shanty town with a lot of zombies because, if RE4 indicated anything, those are zombies which are all thinking independently of one another and are adopting different methods for how to go after and kill Chris. Being able to handle so many different entities with artificial intelligence is no easy feat on a processor today, let alone the one which the Wii comes packed with.
But, as you've pointed out, we haven't seen so much thus far. All we got was a trailer and there's only so much information we can gather from it. So for all we know, one or both our arguments could be moot or valid. We just won't know until later on. Still, as an educated guess, I'm sticking to my argument because the Wii's architecture and its capabilities are vastly different than its counterparts. I won't completely rule out the notion of a port taking place, but I find the possibility to be very unlikely at best. Again, graphics aren't the issue at hand; it's how well Capcom could scale down the game to work with a vastly underpowered processor in comparison to the 360's and PS3's.
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