A VC Update, and some controversy to start the week off right…

Double Dragon (NES, 500 Points). Really, that’s it. I mean, for only getting one game this week at least it is a classic (and a damn good one at that).

But that’s not why I’m still typing… You see, it would appear that with the forthcoming appearance of Bionic Commando Rearmed on XBLA, quite a few people (myself included) began to wonder why the original NES Bionic Commando had not yet made its way to the VC. Some of those people (myself not included) saw it necessary to ask that question directly to Capcom. The answer was, to say the least, a bit shocking.

From this IGN article (by way of Kotaku), Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd is quoted as saying “If it’s not on the Virtual Console, you can bet there’s a reason for it.” Even better, this post on the Capcom Forums by Christian Svensson really raises some eyebrows:

Guys, you have to take this up with Nintendo. This is NOT, repeat NOT, a Capcom issue.
Please remember, Nintendo calls the shots on what goes up on VC, not third parties.

Isn’t that interesting?

Now, back when Bionic Commando was new, Nintendo held the distribution rights to the game, and if my memory serves me correctly those distribution agreements were pretty one-sided in Nintendo’s favor. Presumably that hasn’t changed, so it begs to ask why Nintendo hasn’t released more of the top-notch games for the VC? Why are we stuck with Yoshi’s f***ing Cookie when we could be playing Faxanadu?

A modest proposal… and Nintendo, you guys are in the best position of all the game companies to pull this off. Instead of keeping your VC game selection process a deep dark secret, involving dark rooms with men in black robes and human sacrifices, why not open up (to some degree) this process to the fans? I think you fill find, by involving the people who are spending the money, you might actually sell more games, hmm?

Just a thought…

Posted by admin on 28.Apr.08 Comments (0)
News
 capcom, controversy, nintendo, virtual console, wii

[duh] The ESRB and NIMF would like to remind you that Grand Theft Auto IV is not for children

In what can only be described as an unholy alliance sufficient enough to open a vortex of failure large enough to swallow an entire US city, the ESRB has released a joint statement in cooperation with the (largely impotent and oft maligned within these walls) National Institute on Media and the Family.

I’ll let you all read the release and come to your own conclusions. I do applaud the efforts of the ESRB and NIMF to make nice-nice with one another. While I hope this marks the end of NIMF’s efforts to cram their skewed definitions of decency and morality down America’s throat, we’ll just have to wait and see. Statements like the one below do inspire hope:

According to the Federal Trade Commission, a parent is involved in the purchase of a video game nearly nine out of every ten times, so it is critical that parents consider the assigned rating carefully when purchasing or renting computer and video games for their children.

The NIMF advocating parental involvement? I’m still in shock.

Posted by admin on 25.Apr.08 Comments (0)
Commentary, News
 esrb, grand theft auto, nimf, would somebody please think of the children?

Amazing… two good VC releases, and I almost missed it

I’ve not been paying attention to Virtual Console releases lately, mainly because it seemed like the best Nintendo could do is Yoshi’s Cookie. Imagine my surprise just a few minutes ago making the rounds through the various game sites to discover that this week we got two of the best games ever made for their respective platforms.

• River City Ransom (NES - 500 Points)
• Phantasy Star III (Genesis - 800 Points)

I sure hope this means that Nintendo is trying to redeem themselves… with the dawn of the WiiWare store just on the horizon (next Month), and the announcement that the Nintendo Channel will be coming at the same time, there might be hope for Nintendo’s online efforts after all.

Posted by admin on 23.Apr.08 Comments (0)
News
 nintendo, virtual console, wii

Burnout Paradise

First, a disclaimer. I loathe driving games. Absolutely hate them. With a passion.(more…)

Posted by admin on 21.Apr.08 Comments (0)
Reviews
 burnout paradise, criterion, ea, playstation 3, xbox 360