C64 Channel coming to Virtual Console News
Wii Retro News by Kristan Reed
Commodore 64 classics will be coming to the Wii's Virtual Console later this year, Nintendo has announced.
Available for 500 Wii Points (GBP 3.50/ EUR 5) a pop, all-time C64 favourites including Uridium and International Karate have been confirmed so far, with "regular updates" bolstering the line-up thereafter. Currently, the platform has only been confirmed for Europe - the legion of US C64 fans must wait patiently for now.
Originally released way back in 1982, the Commodore 64 went on to become the best-selling home computer of all-time, with 22 million units sold worldwide. Hugely popular across Europe and the United States, the C64 built up an incredible line-up of software, with well over 4,000 titles produced during its production lifetime (1982-1994).
In fact, you could say we saw this renaissance coming - back in October last year we launched our Retro channel and posted reviews of 50 of our favourite games on the system. Follow the magic blue words if you missed out and want to wallow in weepy '80s nostalgia.
Bala Keilman, CEO of Commodore Gaming, commented: "The massive impact the Commodore 64 had on video-gaming is still evident today with many gamers remembering the computer and its games with great fondness. By working with Nintendo of Europe, we are ensuring that future generations of gamers can play some of the best and most popular titles that kick-started the computer games revolution and so keep the C64 legacy in gamers hearts."
Laurent Fischer, Managing Director of European Marketing & PR of Nintendo Europe adds, "We are extremely pleased to be working with Commodore Gaming to provide even more retro hits for Wii owners to choose from on Virtual Console. We hope that this great choice of games will bring nostalgia to our gaming fans, while an entirely new generation of video game players can experience a host of classic games for the very first time."
As excited as we [Kristan - Ed] are, our eyes nearly popped out of our heads when we saw that Nintendo plans to charge 500 Points for the games. How much would you pay for them? Also, what other platforms would you like Nintendo to add? Spectrum? Amiga? Saturn?
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
|
Der_tolle_Emil
21/02/08 @ 12:11
0
Great news. However 500 points does seem a bit much. I grew up with a C64 and of course am a big fan but really, so many of the games are just not all that much fun anymore and I think many people will be disappointed. The C64 has had an incredible amount of games but let's face it, most of them are just so bad noone would consider playing them. There are still a few that a worth my time but really not enough to keep a steady flow of games. At least not for that price.
|
|
KingOfSpain
21/02/08 @ 12:15
0
£3.50 is fine.
Now all we need is Amiga games on VC, maybe even CD32 Games :) |
|
SeesThroughAll
21/02/08 @ 12:18
0
Can't wait until they release the Speccy channel.
Tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Trrr! Tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Brbrrbtruadubbrrr.... |
|
BiscuitBase
21/02/08 @ 12:21
0
£3.50?? They were only £1.99 when they were new and that was over 15 bloody years ago!
|
|
0
"Playing Treasure Island Dizzy on a Wii?"
Or play it RIGHT NOW, completely free of charge: http://www.codemasters.co.uk/downloads/?... |
|
Britesparc
21/02/08 @ 12:24
0
AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA
AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA AMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGAAMIGA
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 21/02/08 @ 12:24
|
|
0
The price seems a little much for C64 games, even for a person like me who gets really nostalgic over retro gaming and the C64 in particular. Not that it makes much difference to me as I don't own a Wii, but it's the principle.
These sort of things work much better in compilations, it makes duds much easier to overlook. I think buying retro games individually always makes them seem overpriced. |
|
kaosridder
21/02/08 @ 12:40
0
MS - take note and act swiftly. Amiga-games on Live Marketplace. Please. pls. pls. pls. pls. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
|
JohnnyWashnGo
21/02/08 @ 12:47
0
The only C64 game I want to play right now is Thing on a Spring.
That game rocked. |
|
0
"Most can emulated for free on the PC"
Fucking ILLEGALLY though. Jesus. You don't get people commenting on reviews of music, films or even new games saying "yeah but you can just download it for free can't you?" even though it's equally possible. just because it's piss easy to pirate old games, it doesnt mean the companies who actually own the rights to them are obliged to sell them at a knockdown price. and, actually, re-released old games are better value than either old films or old music - reissues of albums and films typically cost about the same as a newly released one. edit: oh and fucking Game Boy please
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 21/02/08 @ 12:51
|
|
monkie_king
21/02/08 @ 12:58
0
It's OK, if you think they're too expensive, Nintendo won't make you buy them. I have tons of C64 games on an emulator, but my C64-compilation-in-ajoystick that gets more use. I'd be happy to pay £3.50 to play Impossible Mission from the sofa on a big TV. Might get a couple of Epyx sports games for multiplayer too. The vast majority of titles from that era only hold your attention for 5 minutes now though, mainly out of nostalgia.
It's really only expensive if you are contemplating buying 20 games or something, in which case you're much better off going down the emulator route. edit: not that it has any bearing on the value of the VC titles today, but C64 games were £14.99 for the disk version, £9.99 if you were patient enough for tape (and a lot of the best titles were disk-only, or crippled on the tape version). Budget titles were generally pish, with a few notable exceptions.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 21/02/08 @ 13:02
|
|
0
@aine
I don't know where you're from but in Germany fo example several lawyers made it pretty clear that there will be NO PROSECUTION for downloading these 20+ year old games! Downloading C64 games = ZERO RISK. Most of the original publishers and developers are out of business anyway. By buying from this channel you're giving ALL your money to greedy Nintendo and NONE of it goes to the original developers that's why your comparison with music and films is bullshit. These classics should be free or the money should go to some charity. Don't support ripoff VC. |
|
0
Why should any money go to "Commodore Gaming", whoever they are? Did they buy the rights to the games from the original publishers/developers?
Anyway, I remember games costing £7.99 to £9.99 all those years ago, plus the Mastertronics ones at £1.99 - so this price is rather steep. They need to make them into compilations for that price to be justified |
|
monkie_king
21/02/08 @ 13:39
0
Skeletor: "Don't support ripoff VC"
vs. bdgr: "Gimme them NOW!" See, capitalism is a wonderful thing. People get to choose what they spend their money on, based on the value that they perceive something to have. Nothing has any intrinsic worth. People don't go around saying "bloody Wii game prices, ripoff, boycott Nintendo", when Cooking Mama and PDC World Championship Darts 2008 are selling for £35. Instead, you avoid the crap games and buy the ones you think are worth the money. Same applies to VC. If you think no C64 game is worth £3.50, that's your prerogative, keep playing them on your emulator instead. But considering I got about 8 hours of entertainment out of WarioWare, buying a C64 game for 1/10th of the price means I only have to play it for 48 minutes to get equivalent value. It's the price of a sandwich, FFS. |
|
monkie_king
21/02/08 @ 14:32
0
bad09: heh, I cheekily put that in as a potential bit of flamebait ;) You can have exactly the same debate about the price of a BLT.
A better one might be the price of a pint, though. Why pay £3.50 in a nice bar (VC) when you could sit at home drinking own-brand lager from Aldi and get just as drunk (emulators)? Tortuously-stretched analogies ftw! /tucks into M&S "limited edition" Oakham Chicken & Pancetta Caesar--it's good, but it's no Paradroid
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 21/02/08 @ 14:34
|
|
0
@monkie_king
If you think that the the price is fine for you, then well...go ahead, no one's stopping you. Fact is though that the people you're paying here (Nintendo) are the same people who'll tell you that pirating stuff (even older stuff) is bad because the creators don't get paid. Unfortunately, the very same people don't feel like paying Andrew Braybrook (the author of the original Uridium) at all! And oh, btw...another reason why your "lager from Aldi" analogy is rather illogical crap: DRM and region coding. |
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
